Creative Teacher Gift!

Lori here from ScrappinMyStressAway with my project for the challenge ~ 3 or more cartridges.

I wanted to make something special for Tanner's kindergarten teacher.  Mrs. Stock is an awesome teacher! I wanted to personalize something for her and kept coming back to a tile.

I started with gold vinyl, but the gold seemed thin and I had some issues with it bubbling and tearing.  I was ready to scrap the whole project and started removing the gold words and decided to leave the apple.  I kept thinking that a golden apple is kind of like an academy award for teachers.....so I kept going.

Here is my screen shot.  I used several words and icons from 15 cartridges:  Cheerful Seasons, Cindy Loo, George, Graphically Speaking, Gypsy Wandering, Hannah Montana, Home Accents, Home Decor, Locker Talk, Lovely Floral, Lyrical Letters, Makin' the Grade, Elegant Cake Art, Nursery Rhyme and Plantin' Schoolbook.

I opened a 12x24 mat and put all of the words and icons on my mat.  I started with Mrs. Stock (used a heart instead of a period) in the center.  I like subway art and wanted to make this look like some.  The words I chose are: discover, create, patience, inspire, transform, direction, explore, #1 Teacher, guide, adventure, learn details energy and 2011-2012.

It took some time to move words around and size them to get my final piece.

I erased the apple from my screen and cut out the rest in black vinyl.  

When you cut vinyl, set your Cricut to 3-3-3 (speed, pressure and blade depth) for a kiss cut.  I use my Cricut pokey tool (dental tool) to weed out the extra vinyl pieces.

I usually use clear contact paper with vinyl, but I was having trouble with the amount of stick and my pieces were tearing and not clinging to the tile.  I was getting frustrated not knowing if it was the gold vinyl or the contact paper or a combination of both.  I bought the ProvoCraft transfer tape and had much better luck!

I use my scraper to burnish the vinyl to the transfer tape.

I used my E2 and set it to cut on Vinyl.  You can see here that the blade did cut through the paper backing in a couple of places.  I honestly have better luck with my E cutting vinyl, but it is a pain to dig it out for one project!!

I bought my 12x12 tile at Home Depot.

  Here is my tile with the gold apple still on it.  I set the transfer tape right over it, burnished the vinyl into the tile and peeled the tape off.

Here is my tile all finished up!  I just need to get an easel so she can display it in her room.

Thanks for having me over today Bobbi Jo!!

What a Year!

 This week at SweetSassyDiva, we are celebrating What A Year!  Lori Apgar from ScrappinMyStressAway with a layout celebrating the year 2011.  I found inspiration from this sketch from Frosted Designs.

We had our family photos taken for the first time in 4 years.  I loved how they turned out!  I chose the colors of papers to match our shirts.

 I used silver cardstock to mat my photos.

 I used my Gypsy to size the numbers from Opposites Attract to 1.76 inches.  I grabbed Family from Home Accents at 1.71 inches and this border from Paper Trimmings at .90 inches (which made it 10 inches wide to fit my purple 10x10 paper).  I see a lot of future projects with Paper Trimmings!!!!

 I added some crinkle ribbon and flowers.  I lost the dot to the "i" (as usual) and used a blue crystal instead.

 I hand wrote highlights from 2011 around the edge of the background paper for each of us in the family as well as our vacations.

I hope your 2011 was a great year!  Best wishes in 2012!!

For more of my favorite projects in 2011, click here!

Not your typical Shall We Dance Vignette!

aMerry Christmas!  It's Nadia from With Glittering Eyes!  I would love to share a two-part Christmas project I have created using Shall We Dance (along with a few other cartridges) and Post-It Full Adhesive Craft Paper.  The first vignette...

To begin, I started with the figure on page 28, cut at 5-1/2" twice.

On one cut, I cut away her bottom half; on the other, I cut away her head, arms, and skirt to use as a pattern.  I hand-cut a new dress, adding folds for the full skirt, long sleeves with cuffs, and a ribbon belt.  I did add a bit more hair too!  Stones created quick jewelry.  I drew in her face instead of using the layer cuts so that I could get a little more detail.

The fainting couch is from the Heritage cart (page 49).

I cut it at 2-3/4", adding ink to create the wood detail and shading.  The cart cuts a space between back and seat on the furniture, so I added a piece of black cardstock behind it.  My Zig Millenium 01 fine pen allowed me to add details to the wood.  I used a 5/8" punch to cut a circle from red velvet flock paper to make a bolster pillow.  The Zig pen and a paper tassel I cut finish it off.

The wreath is from Joys of the Season (page 66), cut at 2".  I cut the base from Post-It Craft Paper, color Evergreen (found in the Jewel Tones package).  The layers are cut from regular paper.  Unlike some specialty papers, the Post-It papers are easy to glue on to.  This is important if you are like me and enjoy a mix of 2D and 3D effects on your projects!  Additionally, this paper can be cut without cutting the liner.  To do a kiss cut on this product, your machine should have the following settings:  blade depth 4, speed medium (3), and pressure medium (3). 

The background is a beautifully muddled printed paper.  To it, I added cuts from Home Accents (cut at 1-1/4") to create a wall paper effect.  I used more of the Post-It Paper to do this, saving the negative space for the next vignette.  This was cut using color 'Lucky' from the Brights pack.

 I popped up the figure to pull her farther off the surface with those great Ranger 1/4" pop dots, stacked to equal 1/2".  Using the ATG, I glued the vignette to a mat.  This finishes at 6-1/2" x 6-1/2". 

The next vignette started in much the same way.

I cut two figures at 5-1/2".  This figure is from page 32.  Cutting away the head and limbs on one, I was able to create a pattern for a new outfit.

 
The figure's right arm was cut and replaced to be slightly behind her and downward.  Her feet were flocked to create slippers.  I drew her face on using the Zig Millenium, Sakura Jelly Roll pen, and colored pencils.

The cat is cut from Four Legged Friends at 1", flipped and without layers.  I colored in the face, limbs, and tail for detail.  Embroidery floss creates the ball of yarn.

The background is the negative space left over from the wall accents cut for the first vignette.  I used an ink pad to give a bit of texture to the plain paper and to coordinate with the first background.  I peeled the backing and placed directly onto the 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" mat cut to match the first as well.  Easy and smooth adhesion is the key advantage of the Post-It paper!

I cut the desk from Sentimentals at 2", inking for detail and adhered it to the Post-It paper.  I hand-cut a pet gift box.  The snow globe is a couple of strips of wood veneer paper, layered and inked to make a stand and an image from Google of a nativity scene, punched in a circle and 'glittered' with Stickles.

The figure and cat were popped up with Ranger pop dots to pull them off the surface.

And here they are together.

If you would like to try out the new Post-It Full Adhesive Craft Papers, you can find 24 colors in assorted packs at larger JoAnn stores, JoAnn.com, and Amazon.com.  You will love the way you can ink and stamp them!  They perform perfectly with all your other decorative papers on projects, making them a must-have in your paper stash!

You are invited to check out my blog, With Glittering Eyes, to see my other projects, source guides, project gallery, and Cricut material settings guide!

Merry Christmas!
Nadia