WOW - I won something else!!

I'm loving this blogging stuff - I've just won a CREATE A CRITTER cartridge from Tammy Skinner at Creative Critters Cricut Club!  http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cricutcritters/gjxc/~3/OtyZxvCVq5Y/winners.html

Woohoo!!

Thanks Tammy!

xoxo Deb.

Flaunt It Friday - Challenge #2: "Deb's Silhouette"

 Good evening Friday Flaunters (it's Saturday here in Melbourne, lol!)  I LOVE this particular Flaunt, as the PDDU cart is pretty much my all-time favourite!  Check out the challenge to 'Flaunt' the sleigh on P.74 of the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge at  http://flauntitfridays.blogspot.com/2010/12/fif-2-blog-hop-1-winner.html

Oh, and congrats to Erika for last week's win!  Woohoo!!  This blog stuff is fun!! :)

Here is my effort for this week: a 12x12 layout, with "Space" paper from Disney/Pixar as the background, using the cloud-covered moon from the Disney - Princesses Dreams Come True cartridge.  I then used the reindeer from the Christmas cartridge, copied and welded in pairs using my ever-wonderful Gypsy (of course!), and the blackout head and Santa hat from the PDDU cartridge, (welded it into the sleigh) - all in black to give the 'silhouette against the moon' look.  I added some feature to the clouds using Pebbles chalks, and used a some Kindyglitz in Crystalina to highlight the sleigh.  Hope you guys like it!

This layout is inspired by one of my happiest (and possibly earliest) Christmas memories - when I was about 6, I got out of bed on Christmas Eve and looked at the moon, and to this day I still believe I saw the silhouette of Santa's sleigh and reindeer pass by.  It's such a lovely thought, and I wanted to share it!

Deb. xoxo

Then there's the Grade 6 Graduation...

... Bearing in mind my School-aged children are in Grade 2 and Prep next near (respectively), it is only natural that I should work on the Grade 6 Graduation (?!?!!).  Once again, my son's teacher 'volunteered' my services to the lovely Grade 6 teachers - perhaps Deb could help out with the invitations, etc.?

Well, I had just come into possession of the Wild Cards cartridge, and there is the delightful Graduation Hat card and envelope - match made in heaven!  So, with the colour scheme of Magenta Pink, Grape Purple and Silver to work with, and my trusty Left Arm Extension (aka Gypsy), I set about making the graduation invitations.

I set up a production line of willing parents for the construction of the cards, which involved the sticking together of the liner inside the envelope, scoring the envelope fold lines and sticking it together, sticking the information on the inside of the hat and attaching the tassels with mini-brads.  I made the tassels from Anchor stranded cotton. All of the lettering had been pre-prepared and pre-adhered to make it easier - I didn't want the dots of the 'i's to go missing!

The invitations were a huge hit with the students (not to mention their parents and teachers alike!), and it appears that I have been roped in for Grade 6 Graduation committee duties for the next 7 years that my children are associated with the school!!  Happy to do it - this Gypsy and paper crafting stuff is way too much fun!!

Deb.

Roped in to helping the Fundraising Committee...

OK, so I eluded in an earlier post that the Fundraising Committee may be able to use my services, and that of my Gypsy...  how you may ask??  Well, to really reach out to our small school community, and get them amped up for a fantabulous Fundraising BBQ, we need some great signage, right?  Enter the Gypsy, with some A3 paper on my 24x12 Expression Cutting mat, and some Cricut Markers and Cri-Kits gel pens - voila!  (Too many different font cartridges used to name them all!)

We then photocopied this, double-sided, and had the students colour it in to take home and put on their fridges.  We also used additional coloured-in copies to put around the local area in shops, etc, to drum up more interest.

Also occurring around the school at the same time was the annual Disco night, and so an additional poster was required... (using the Hannah Montana cartridge)

My Gypsy and markers were kept very busy in the lead-up to the Fundraising BBQ, as laminated signs for each stall were required.  Here are just a few...

 

 
There were many parents up many nights colouring these ones in, prior to laminating.  There's even a bit of Kindyglitz (similar to Stickles) on each of them for a bit of pizazz!
It was a fantastic night (apart from a thunderstorm that forced the whole event indoors!)

We were only just scratching the surface of what we could now achieve with this little marvel called a Gypsy...
Deb.

Trip Around the World!

Hey guys, just adding my photo, taken by a friend of mine last Thursday evening (thanks Al!) - the rainbow is sitting on the top of my house (with the brown roof)!!  How freaky is that - havent' been able to find the pot of gold...!  

Our weather here in Melbourne?  Stormy, steamy, 30degC+ each day - ewww (not sure how that equates in F - around the 85-ish I think)!  I'd much rather have the snow (not that I've ever seen snow - but I certainly do prefer the cold to the heat!)
This is for the "Trip Around the World" post on Made by Momo's page http://madebymomo.blogspot.com/2010/12/img00343-20101205-1040jpg.html

Have a great day!

Deb.

Flaunt It Friday - Challenge

OK, this is the first time I've ever taken part in a challenge, so here goes!

I don't have the Winter Frolic cartridge, so I used my Gypsy to create my own version of this adorable little snowman from Page 29.  I used images from the Wild Cards cartridge, George and Basic Shapes, and even used a bumper fender from the Cars cartridge (for the top of the ear muffs!), then hid the parts of the images I didn't want, welded it all together and took a scarf from the Every Day Paper Dolls cartridge.  I finished off with PKS Everyday Character Face Parts for the face and the buttons down the front, and added some KindyGlitz in Crystalina (similar to Stickles, I'm assuming!) for some bling on the scarf and on the ear muffs.  I cut my snowman out 3 times on Bazzill Weave and stuck them together to give some dimension (using my Xyron 5").  The backing paper on the card is Making Memories Glitter Diagonal Stripe, and I cut the sentiment "Greetings" out of the Christmas cartridge on plain black cardstock.

Hope you like him!

Cheers!

D.

First blog hop!

WOW, I've just gone on my first 'blog hop' along the Flaunt It Friday's design team - some very talented ladies there, that's for sure!

I think I might go and get creative for the next hour and a half, and then pile into bed.  I may be able to post something, but then again, I might not!

D.

Word spread very quickly...

My son's teacher "volunteered" me to help with the decorations for the opening of our new building (courtesy of the Federal Government grants).  Our local member of both federal and state parliament were to attend, as well as other dignitaries, and with my evolving talents courtesy of my Gypsy, I was asked if I would prepare some decorations.  For sure!!!  Anything involving paper, my (new at the time) Gypsy and Expression was right up my alley!!

I made a free-hanging sign to put against a black blinds backdrop "GRAND OPENING 2010!" in our school colours of bottle green and gold, using Plantin Schoolbook capitals and shadows at 11.5" - looked pretty effective behind the lecturn!

Then I made a "Welcome to our School" sign for the entry way, using the Calligraphy Collection font (welded!!), and I made the corner features using rectangles from George & Basic Shapes, and curlicues from the Celebrations cartridge.  The "Welcome to our School" sign is still up today - the kids in the new building, "The Palace" love it!!

So, word was spreading very quickly about this new talent in the school community, and this talent (due predominantly to the Gypsy, IMO) was about to be harnessed for the greater good in the form of the Fundraising Committee...!  Whoa-boy, back up the choo-choo and LOOK OUT!!

D.

Excited - I actually won something!

Just really quickly, I'm so excited that I actually won something over the weekend.  I purchased some new Peachy Keen Stamps this weekend just gone, and as a result, went into the draw to win a $20 gift voucher as it was their Thanksgiving Sale.  How stoked was I to get an email this morning confirming that I had won a voucher!!  WOW!  

Thanks to Mandy at Scrappy-Go-Lucky for putting me on to the PKS stamps in the first place - you rock Mandy!! The PKS stamps are so very awesome, and can be purchased online from their webpage: www.peachykeenstamps.com

D.

As promised - paperdolls at school

As I mentioned in my "I LOVE Paperdolls" post, I have been making 'occupation' paperdolls with my son's Grade 1/2 class at school.  The kids got so much out of it!  We used my Peachy Keen face stamps, chalks and gel pens to highlight all of the different dolls.  A few samples below:

The general idea was to use all the creative features behind each particular key on the Everyday Paper Doll cartridge (with a few specialised ones thrown in - the Cricut cartridges don't seem to have many AFL players and/or football ovals with goal posts - I did have to improvise!)  Then, each child could build a scene relevant to their paperdoll (having drawn an 'occupation' out of the hat).  As you can see, the doctor and nurse were combined, with the hospital in the background, air and ground ambulances arriving, etc.

Tye's Geelong Footballer

Jesse's Clown

My Gypsy made the whole process so much easier, as I was able to pre-cut my cardstock to suit the virtual mat on which the designs were prepared, and my Expression did the rest.

The Peachy Keen stamps were a huge hit, and my old set of chalks got a great workout too (time for some new ones...)

Next stop in the classroom will be Christmas-themed projects starting this Friday - however, I have also been busy with other  projects and there will be more posts to follow this evening, so stay (or become!) tuned!!

[I think I'm starting to get the hang of this blogging stuff!!]

D.

My FAVOURITE website!

I just wanted to share really quickly, my favourite website:

www.scrappy-go-lucky.com.au

for all things Cricut in Australia.

Mandy is simply awesome, and the prices and service cannot be beaten!!

D.

I LOVE Paperdolls!

My favourite cartridges at the moment are definitely the Paperdolls!  I have been using them for Friday afternoon craft sessions at my son's school - Grade 1/2s.  The first set of paperdolls we made were from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge, and we made Knights, Mermaids, Princesses, Sailor Boys, Cowboys and Cowgirls (all at 9").  Recently, I have made "Occupation" paperdolls, from the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge.  I will upload the photos from the classroom shortly, but below are two samples I made to show the kids what they would look like.  We made a total of 27 paperdolls with backgrounds, all at either 5.5" or 6".  I have also introduced my Peachy Keen Stamps to this recent endeavour, with my face stamps - LOVE THEM TOO!! :)

I have really gotten alot out of my Friday afternoon craft sessions with the kids, and I truly believe they have valued it too.  There is no 'right' or 'wrong' with our craft work, but there is listening and taking pride in our work, and each child in the class, regardless of their abilities, has truly blossomed.  They are all amazing, and their work is amazing too!  Can't wait to post a photo of it all!
D.

Cards for Nan's Birthday

Today was Nan's 94th birthday, and I decided to make some cards for her.  I'm a scrapbooker generally, rather than cardmaking, but my Gypsy makes the transition so easy!  So, I used some card bases from the Smiley Cards cartridge, and welded in the shadow of a heart from the Stamping Cartridge, a butterfly from the Hannah Montana cartridge and a heart from the Indie Art cartridge.  I then cut out the non-shadow image of each of them in contrasting colours and used my Zig 2-way glue pen to adhere.  I stamped the back of each card with "AUTHENTIC Scrapping Creation".  I reckon they turned out pretty well... for a non-cardmaker (and non-stamper)!

So here I am...

OK, this is my first blog, like EVER!  Bit scary really!!  I plan to use this blogspot for displaying my scrapping/creativity projects only, at this stage.  We'll see how we go.

I love my Expression and couldn't live without my Gypsy.  I am now considering looking at an Imagine - not sure if I can justify the expense, and the ongoing costs with ink cartridges, and new Imagine cartridges - however, Christmas is just around the corner, and I have been a very good girl this year.....

Here are my four fave things - my ExprObsession, decorated with signwriter's vinyl, my Gypsy, my Coffee and the colour Green - all necessary in my day-to-day life!

Hi to anyone who may be interested in stopping by!  I promise it will get more interesting as I learn how this blogging stuff actually works....!!!

Good thing I can type! LOL!

Bye for now!

D.