Back 2 School Blog Hop

 

Hi everyone!!!  Welcome to the Back 2 School Blog Hop!!  If you came here from Cassie’s Blog….you are in the right place!  If you just happened upon the Blog Hop, please start over at Cassie’s Blog so that you don’t miss out.  There are giveaways along the way and Craftwell is giving away an eCraft Machine!!

 

When I get my boys ready to go back to school, we always come up with a little gift to give the teacher to welcome him or her back as well.  Usually we like to include some school supplies because teachers can’t seem to get enough school supplies!  A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by State Line Bag Company and they asked me to try out some of their new Premium Muslin bags.  I just knew that these would be perfect for my teacher gift.  These bags are perfect for packaging so many kinds of things.  They are made from a high quality muslin and come in lots of different sizes.

 

To start my project, I turned to a Lettering Delights Cut Its Set called Toad-ally School.  I selected my image and then using Make the Cut, manipulated it by using the Boolean Join function so that I actually created a stencil of each color.  Then I cut out each one in vinyl.  Next, I took some scrap cardstock and placed it inside the bag.  I applied the first vinyl stencil.

Then I painted it in…

Then removed the stencil…

Once the paint is dry, apply the next layer and repeat until all done.

Now, I couldn’t stop there.  I decided to add the teacher’s name to the bag using a thin metal die and fabric and to do that I used my trusty eBosser.  I am guessing that you want to see how I did that, so I made you a little video…

Here is the final project!

 

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Now, on with some fun stuff!  State Line Bag Company has given me some bags to give away!  To win the bags, you must be a follower of my blog and you must leave me a comment below!  That’s it! Easy Peasy!

 

And you don’t want to miss out on that eCraft giveaway, so make sure you continue on with the hop by going to Kelly’s blog next.  Here is the whole lineup in case you get lost!

Cassie Box http://www.somethingfromcassie.com/

Denise O’Connor: http://purplepaperparadise.blogspot.com/ <—YOU ARE HERE

Kelly Feldman: http://www.wannabeescrapper.blogspot.com/ <—GO HERE NEXT

Kim Gaughan: http://www.craftypinkanchor.blogspot.com/

Carrie Walz http://everydaymoments-carrie.blogspot.com/

KimberlyRae Forde: http://kreationsbykimberlyrae.com/blog/

Aimee Maddern: http://aimeesarmoire.typepad.com/

Jodi Baune: http://dancingintherainjb.blogspot.com/

Debi Tullier: http://fabric-ecraft.blogspot.com/

Lowri McNabb: http://www.papervinenz.com/

Craftwell Blog: http://blog.craftwellusa.com/

 

Happy Hopping Everyone!

Sweet Teacher Cookie Basket and another eBosser Video

 

So, I got the Papertrey Ink Berry Basket Die a few months ago and haven’t even used it yet…and I was sitting there thinking what can I make with this that is Back to School?  The problem was that none of the ideas that I thought of really worked with those classic back to school colors.  Then I thought…DUH!!!  I don’t have to use the classic colors if I don’t want to!

I went with my gut and drove myself over to our neighborhood bakery.  They make these wonderful sprinkled butter cookies and I could just envision a bag of them sitting in that berry basket.  After I bought the cookies (way more than I needed), I went home and got to work.  I cut the Berry Basket die four times from Aqua Mist cardstock and scored and adhered the four sides together to create the basket.  I added some pink shredded paper to the basket and then a clear bag and filled it with the cookies.  I knew that I wanted to make a tag to be tied in with the ribbon that I was using to hold the bag closed.  Again my eBosser came to the rescue!  I cut PTI’s Tag Sale 5 from Hibiscus Burst Cardstock, My Favorite Things Fancy Flourish from Aqua Mist, PTI Doily Details from Dark Chocolate, PTI Ad Sense from Dark Chocolate Gingham pattern paper and PTI Double Ended Banner from Hibiscus Burst. Now for my sentiment…

For the sentiment, I went through my stash of sentiment stamps and did not find something that I wanted to use.  So that is when I decided that I would just need to create my own.  Using my computer and the Lettering Delights LD Carefree Black font, I printed out my sentiment onto a piece of PTI Aqua Mist Damask patterned paper.  Then I picked out a Spellbinders Label #4 die that I wanted to cut it with.  The question was how to do that so that my sentiment was perfectly lined up.  That is when the experimenting started with different sandwiches in the eBosser.  I finally found one that allowed me to get that cut perfectly lined up and so that is what today’s video is all about!

 

Now, what to do with these leftover cookies…LOL!!!

eBossers are Shipping!!!

 

Hello Crafty Friends!!

 

I have gotten confirmation that late last week, Craftwell started shipping eBossers to retailers that placed pre-orders at the CHA Winter 2012 show or sooner.  What this means is that stores may be getting them in stock any day now! 

 

I have been absolutely loving my eBosser and I can’t wait to hear what all of you think of it!  To celebrate, I have a little list for you!

 

 

5. Can cut all kinds of dies from thin metal dies to the old AccuCut wood dies.

4.The larger platform means I can cut out more dies in one pass.  Great time saver!

3. Love the safety features, don’t have to worry about my kids getting their little hands stuck in there.

2. Auto-eject feature!  Now I don’t have to worry about breaking my machine by using a sandwich that is too thick!

1. This is a no babysitting machine!  Love that I can get it going and then go and do something else while it cuts.  No button to hold down, and no need to catch the platforms when it is done!

 

 

This actually was a hard list to come up with!  There are just so many things that I love about the eBosser!  To help you get ready for your eBosser, I thought it would be a good idea to share one more time all the videos to date that I have done on the eBosser.  I do have more videos coming too!  So here we have over 50 minutes of videos all about the eBosser.  Sit back, relax, and dream about what you are going to create with your eBosser!

 

Back to School Chalkboard Countdown and Another eBosser Video

 

So we are in big time Back to School mode in our house!  My son Jared is going to be starting 2nd grade and he is a little nervous about it.  Part of the reason why he is so nervous is that for Kindergarten and 1st Grade, he had the same teacher whom he just loved!  Now with 2nd Grade he is about to get a new teacher and he is worried that he won’t like her as much as his last teacher.  To get him prepared for 2nd grade and maybe even excited about it, I decided that we needed to have a Countdown to the first day of school.

 

When thinking about how I wanted to do this project, I knew that I wanted to make something that could be used for other occasions as well.  So, my trusty wonderful eBosser helped me to create some bottle cap magnets for the title.  My eCraft has been a little lonely since the eBosser came home, so I had to show my eCraft some love too.  My eCraft cut out the green vinyl for the letters in the bottle caps as well as the “Countdown” out of the white vinyl.

The very first step was to prepare my surface…do you recognize what it was?  It is actually a cookie sheet.  I got a three pack of Chefmate cookie sheets from Target and decided to use the smallest one for this project.  I began by painting the back of the cookie sheet with some Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint.  While my cookie sheet was drying, I cut out all my vinyl using the Lettering Delights font called LD Mon Cherie.  I set those to the side, and set out to flatten some bottle caps with my eBosser.

 

I experimented with a couple of sandwiches and finally found one that works great with the No More Shims Embossing Mat made by Scor Pal.  Want to see how it works?  Check out the video below!

After flattening the bottle caps, I used a 1” punch to punch circles from the My Mind’s Eye School Daze 6x6 paper pad.  I added one letter to each circle and then using a little Glossy Accents adhered the paper inside the bottle cap.  I added an epoxy sticker on top of each one and then once that was dry, I adhered a magnet onto the back of the bottle cap.  The cookie sheet is still magnetic through the chalkboard paint.  You just want to make sure the magnet is strong enough for it.  Once my cookie sheet was dry, I added the “Countdown” vinyl onto the chalkboard and then using my Big Bite punched a hole into the Cookie Sheet so that I could attach my ribbon.  I made the ribbon kind of on the long side so that my son can erase the numbers and write in the new one each day.

I just love that when Halloween comes around, I can make a new set of bottle caps that say Halloween to add on the board.  Also by using the back of the cookie sheet, the Back 2 School bottle caps can be stored on the other side for next year.  So easy! 

 

I think this just may work because when I was taking the above pictures, Jared asked me if he could be in the picture with it, and of course I said YES!

What do you think?  Have I won this Mommy battle? 

eBosser Videos & Back 2 School Project

 

BOY OH BOY!!!  My eBosser got a work out with my project for today!  Starting today, the Craftwell Design Team is going to be focusing on Back to School projects.  My oldest son starts 2nd grade in a couple of weeks and my youngest starts pre-school next month, so I have lots to get ready for!

 

Since my eBosser was on overdrive, I went ahead and filmed TWO all new eBosser videos for you!  Before we get to the videos, let’s talk about my project.  Today I made a card to give to one of the teachers.  This is something that I always do, mainly because I want them to understand that I am here to support them.  I always try to build a relationship with the teacher, because if there is something that I can do to help my kids do well in school, I want to be sure to know about it.  The extra little touch makes a difference!

 

To start with I picked my color scheme.  I decided on Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy and Vintage Cream.  I decided that I wanted to use a Papertrey Ink impression plate called Bookprint for the background so I used that in my eBosser onto a piece of Summer Sunrise cardstock.  The first video that I have for you today is all about embossing with various different materials.  Next I took a piece of Vintage Cream cardstock and using two Spellbinders dies (Labels #6 & 11), I cut and embossed those in the eBosser.  That just so happens to be the subject of my second video.  I then decided to use my Copic markers (R29 & YR15) and air brush those labels to enhance the embossing even more.  I also cut some Pure Poppy cardstock with the My Favorite Things Fancy Flourish die and some Dark Chocolate Striped Pattern Paper with a PTI Half & Half Die.  On the larger Spellbinder die, I stamped an apple from a Unity Stamps Itty Bitty set called To The Core with some Pure Poppy ink.  On the smaller Spellbinder die, I stamped my sentiment from the Taylored Expressions The Places You’ll Go stamp set in Dark Chocolate ink.  The final touch that I threw in right before assembling was to spritz the impressed background with a little Mister Huey’s Warm Calico spray ink.  Put it all together and I have a card that was created using my eBosser in about 20 minutes. 

 

So, now that I have my card all put together, it is time to watch the videos.  First we have one that is all about embossing!  In this video, I demonstrate embossing with embossing folders by Cuttlebug, Sizzix, and Lifestyle Crafts.  I also show how to use the Papertrey Ink impression plates like I used in my project today as well as using the Fiskars Texture Plates.

 

Next, we have a video that was requested by several people on demonstrating cutting and embossing with the Spellbinders dies.

 

Hope you all enjoyed my project and the videos today! 

Another eBosser Video!!!

 

Happy Monday Crafters!!  I am so excited for today’s post because I have an all-new eBosser video for you!

 

Before we get to the video, let me share with you first the card that I made using fabric cut with the eBosser which is what the video is all about.

The flower in my card is cut using the AccuQuilt Go Die called Round Flower.  The first thing that I did was cut all my fabric pieces (up to 8 layers at a time) in one pass with the eBosser.  That’s right!  8 Layers!  How awesome is that?

 

Next, I used that same die to cut out some cereal weight chipboard from the same die and I used some liquid adhesive to adhere the fabric to the chipboard to create this layered, dimensional fabric flower.

 

I couldn’t stop there, after all the eBosser was all warmed up and ready to go for me, so I decided to have some fun with embossing!  Using the Craftwell Regency embossing folder, I brayered on some Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores ink onto one side of the embossing folder.  I then carefully inserted a piece of Hawaiian Shores cardstock into the folder and ran it through my eBosser.  This technique really adds something to embossing and I just love how it makes this folder look even more vintage.  All that was left to do was to round the corners, add it to a white cardbase and stamp my sentiment on the leaf of the flower.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink’s Signature Series: Butterfly stamp set.

I just love how this card came together and it just goes to show you….the possibilities are endless with the eBosser.

 

So, now here is the video that I put together for you showing you how to cut 8 layers of fabric in a single pass.  I demonstrate this with two of the most common types of steel rule dies available…AccuQuilt Go dies and Sizzix Bigz dies.  Enjoy the show!

 

Excited about the eBosser? Then Check This Out!

 

Well I am just OVER THE MOON about my post for today!!!  You better get comfy and have the beverage of your choice handy!!  You will not want to miss even a second of this!

 

First off…a little announcement!  CHA starts tomorrow!!!  I am going to be there with Emily from Craftwell to do demos of the eBosser.  I am really excited about CHA and I really hope that if you are going to be there, you stop by the Janome booth where we are doing demos to see me!

 

Since I am going to demo the eBosser, Craftwell graciously sent me the very 1st eBosser to leave their warehouse.  The pre-orders will start shipping soon.  Oh and if you have not pre-ordered an eBosser…get your orders in ASAP.  Right now, Craftwell has told me that there have been so many pre-orders that they don’t expect these to hit store shelves until sometime in August.  RUN DON’T WALK!!!  The eBosser is absolutely AMAZING!!!

To get this very special post started, I thought I would show you some cards and tags that I made using the die cuts that I created in my videos….YES you heard me!  I have some videos for you today showing the eBosser in action!!

 

 

Supply list is below…because I am sure you can’t wait for the videos!!!

Supplies used on above cards and tags:

Papers

Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream & Kraft Cardstock, also Melon Berry Damask Paper, Simply Chartreuse Bitty Dot Paper, Dark Chocolate Striped Paper

Shipping Tags

Dies

My Favorite Things Fancy Flourish

Papertrey Ink Double Ended Banner, Ad Sense, Celebrations Frame, Christmas Label, Limitless Layers (1 3/4”)

Circle Punch (1 3/4”)

Stamps

Papertrey Ink Tagged Sentiments & Fancy Flourishes

Ink

Papertrey Ink Melon Berry, Simply Chartreuse, Dark Chocolate

Embossing Folder

Craftwell Regency

Embellishments

Papertrey Ink buttons in Melon Berry, Simply Chartreuse, Dark Chocolate

Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream Twine

Blinged Out Create Shirt

 

PrintOnIt.com has some great products, and this week I decided to create some a t-shirt perfect for crops or any other crafty get together.

First off, I took to Photoshop and created this design using some Digi Stamps.  I printed it out on Print On It’s Inkjet Opaque Transfer Paper.  I then cut out a rectangle with the eCraft around the design using the Print & Cut-Hinge Method.  When I adhered this down on my veggie mat, I made sure to tape it down really well because this paper has a real slick feel to it and that means that the rollers can have trouble gripping it, but if it is taped to the veggie mat, then no worries!

 

Now, while this was very nice…it still needed something.  Well I went in search of some inspiration by looking through my stamps and I came across some flourishes that I thought might make for some good rhinestone patterns and decided to see if I could make a rhinestone pattern from a stamped image.  Since this is a totally new to me technique, I decided to go ahead and make a little video for you so you can see how I did it. First a closer look at those rhinestones…

And now for those videos…first off, using Make the Cut and my scanner how I turned a stamp into a rhinestone pattern…

Next up how I applied the rhinestones right next to the Transfer Paper without ruining the transfer paper…

Hope you enjoyed my project this week!  Don’t forget to watch the eCraft on HSN on March 11th & 13th.

eCraft Monday Design Team

 

Color Blocking is all the rave right now in fashion.  Here is a picture from Pinterest to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

Source: bloomingdales.com via Kristina on Pinterest

 

So, I thought what a perfect effect for us paper crafters to apply to our projects!  Now, our lovely sponsor Unity Stamps sent me the Going Retro stamp set which is just PERFECT for this technique.  I also was inspired by our other sponsor eCraft Diecutable Cardstock from the Paper Mill Store.  When they sent us our paper, they also sent us a little swatch book that has a small sample of each color of paper.

 

Well, that little swatch book has gone everywhere with me and it is wonderful!  With this little gem, when I am at a store and wonder if that ribbon will match…all I have to do is pull that little number out of my purse.  I decided to expand on this little idea of a swatch book and create an expanded version so that I can come up with color combinations on the fly. 

 

 

I get inspired by color all the time so I figured if I have something that will help me see all the colors together I can create color combinations on a whim.  Just the other night, I came up with a new color combination while I was waiting for my son to finish up his karate class because I had this handy.

 

Here is how this works…

 

 

The colors shown here are Lemongrass, Mint, Key Lime Pie, Purple Cabbage, and White Flour.  I will certainly be making something with this color combination soon!

 

So now, how did I create this little gem?  Well I have made it super easy for you.  Below is a link to download the SVG files for this project!

 

I cut out the Insert file on each of the 26 colors of eCraft Diecutable Cardstock. I used a pressure of 4 on a veggie mat. Then I cut out the cover to use as a template because for this project I made I wanted to use a really thick chipboard.  This chipboard is more than 1 mm thick so it won’t fit in the rollers of the eCraft for cutting.  I also cut out my 3 color blocking layers in Key Lime Pie, Mint, and Lemongrass.

 

 

Now it is assembly time!  I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig (available at Michaels) to stamp my lovely lady on the chipboard cover and all three color blocking layers in the exact same place.  I then used Scor-Tape to adhere each layer of the color blocking layers onto the chipboard cover.

 

Then I threaded some handmade crinkle ribbon through both covers and the inserts and tied off each section of ribbon.  I topped them each off with a coordinating button threaded with some rustic twine.

 

I just LOVE this color blocking look and thought that all of you might want to see how I created it, so here is a little video for you!

 

 

Now, the next time I find inspiration I can pull this little number out of my purse and put together a color combination.  It really helps to see the colors right next to each other so you will know that they work before cutting.

 

Have a great week everybody!  Oh, and before I forget HERE are your free SVG files so you can duplicate this project!

eCraft Videos Page is updated!

 

I have been just horrible at updating this page!!!

I just went through and added the last few months worth of videos to the ever-growing list for you.  I will also be working on adding some other videos to the page from other crafters showcasing the eCraft.  I hope that this will be a good starting point for people learning to use the eCraft!

 

As always, if you have a suggestion for a video, please let me know!!

eCraft Video using Make the Cut

 

Hi everybody!

 

I have a fun and quick little project today for you!  I bought a canvas on clearance that had the “Keep Calm and Carry On” phrase that has been so popular lately.  I wanted to alter it to really make it my own and that is where my eCraft and Make the Cut came into play.  Here’s the final project….

 

and here is the video showing you how I did this using the eraser tool in Make the Cut….

As promised in the video, here is a link to the Kevin & Amanda blog.  At the top, you will see a page called Free Fonts.  That is where I get a lot of cool handwritten fonts.  You may have noticed some of them throughout my blog including in my header.  Enjoy and Have a Great Day!

eCraft Video using SCAL 3

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Here is wishing all of you a creative and crafty 2012!

 

Today I have a quick video using SCAL 3 showcasing how to use the Rhinestones and Lattice Features!  Enjoy and I will be back soon!!

 

eCraft Videos Now for eCraftshop Pro

 

This is my second post of the day, so scroll down to see the Make the Cut video.

 

For my eCraftshop Pro video today, I thought I would show you all how to cut a banner from the eCraftshop Pro software.  I used the eCraft vinyl from Craftwell and used the roller end caps and everything for this video.  I hope this helps out some of you that have had questions about this!

 

eCraft Videos–First off Make the Cut

 

Hi everybody!  As promised, I have two videos to share with you today.  The first is my Make the Cut video.  In this video, I show you some tips on how to create your own rhinestone patterns in Make the Cut.  So much fun to do!

 

Here are some rhinestone videos that I did for the eCraft Design Team showing you how to do the entire process from cutting the rhinestone rubber, applying the rhinestones, etc.  In these videos I used a rhinestone patterns from eCraftCentral.com.  They have some really great patterns in case you don’t want to make them yourself! 

eCraft Videos–SCAL 3 Path Menu

 

This is my 2nd post (and 2nd video) for today.  So if you missed my Fun Foam video, be sure to scroll down.

 

This month’s SCAL 3 Video is on the features in the Path Menu.  These features are crucial to modifying your files so that you can get exactly the cut that you want.  Enjoy!

 

eCraft Design Team Video Tutorial!!!

 

Are you ready for some fun foam?!?!?!?!?!  I am SO excited about today’s video because I have been wanting to cut some fun foam with my eCraft for awhile now.  I have had trouble with it and could not get it right.  Then I got a wonderful e-mail from Tracy about how she was able to do it.  Here is the e-mail that she sent to me.

 

Hi Denise,

First, I want to say that your blog has been pivotal in my enjoyment of my ecraft - thanks soooooo much for all you do!  I wanted to add a new setting for your chart - I've had excellent luck cutting foam (Darice sticky-back foam, which I found at Joann individually and in value packages) on a pressure of 8 with blade cap ON, and the pen removed.  This has given me a perfect kiss-cut.  A few notes:

-the blade will cut a little into the foam just while moving the cutting head to position it- I found it's better to position the head, pull it up, load the foam, then put the head back down. 

-the kiss-cut seems essential, that is, attempting to cut all the way through both the foam and the backing will probably jam the foam in the rollers. 

-don't try to load the foam through the front rollers - it won't roll smoothly and will jam.  Position and load the foam only into the large rollers behind the blade.

Thanks again,

Tracy

Now, I will admit that I never tried this sticky back foam before, so I ran over to Joann’s and got some.  This product is 2mm thick and our eCrafts are really only designed to cut products up to 1 mm thick so I was a bit skeptical about it.  I was able to get it to cut.  The only problem that I had was that the cut was a bit jagged, so I decided to do another internet search to see if I could find someone that sells 1mm fun foam….and to my surprise I did!  WOOHOO!!  Wandy-foam is an eBay seller and I ordered some 1mm fun foam (12 sheets of 12x18 for $8 plus shipping).  It works great and leaves a much cleaner edge.  When I went back to Wandy-foam’s eBay store, I found that they had listed some 1mm fun foam with the sticky back, so I have that ordered.  I will report the results of that product once I have it all tested out.

 

Tracy was so nice to let me make a video of her discovery with the 2mm foam (and I also demonstrate the 1 mm in this video), so THANK YOU TRACY!!!

 

Oh and in case you are wondering, I used my fun foam to make some stamps!  So much fun!  Here is what I made!

Background frame stamp created with the 2mm fun foam which I texturized to give it a vintage look (LOVE THIS!) and I show you in the video how to do this.  The holly is made from the 1mm fun foam and stamped with paint.  My cutie gingerbread man is cut from my eCraft with some Core’dinations cardstock at a pressure of 5 1/2 and embellished with the WONDERFUL Peachy Keen Stamp set Winter Wonderland Faces and some hand drawn chevrons with my Signo Uniball white pen and adorned with some pretty red buttons.  I used 3L Scrapbooking Adhesives’ 3D Foam Squares to pop up him up!  Oh, and in the video you will also see me use the Adhesive Sheets from 3L Scrapbooking Adhesives.  These are great for when you need to add adhesive to any die cuts (especially small pieces)!

 

Now enough with my yapping….on with the video!

 

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  We are planning on a Christmas movie night, and I am also going to attempt to make a Gingerbread House with the boys…should be interesting!