Let's Do it Again Disney/Pixar Blog Hop

Are you having fun yet?  

If you’ve been hoping along on the Disney/ Pixar Hop then I’m sure you are.  If you are just jumping into the hop here, then please be sure and go around the entire rotation hitting all 12 stops.   If you prefer to start at the beginning then click here to start at Shawn’s.   

My card is for 3 yr. old Gunner, who just happens to be going to see MICKEY in a few weeks.   I watched Gunner’s mom, Randi grow up and our families have known each other a long, long time.  I should mention that Randi just happens to be the manager of The Disney Store where they live (this girl loves her Disney!)   I had planned to show my LO from yesterday's post for this hop but when I found out they were going to Disney I had this brainstorm of an idea to make Gunner (& his mom and dad too) a card to wish them a happy trip.  Unfortunately, I found out after I finished that Gunner is a ‘Tigger’ man!   Oh well………. 

I hope and think he will like it anyway since the car moves.

The card is 5x7 and obviously is a penny slider card.  I watched a couple of Youtube tutorials on how to make them and as most of you know, a penny slider usually has an image that rotates as it slides down the track.  I didn’t want the car to “twirl” so I added an extra little brace on the back to keep the car from spinning.

All the cuts are from the Mickey & Friends and the Mickey Font cartridges.

     -The car is on pg. 124 and is cut @ approx. 2 ¼ “ high. 

     -Mickey is from pg. 80 and is 2 ½” ( I only used the top half.)

     -The trees are on pg. 125 and are cut @ 1” and 2”.

     -The letters are approx. ¾ “.

OOOO sorry, I told a story, the clouds are cut from Create a Critter -- I don’t remember the sizes. 

One other project I made that kind of goes with Gunner’s card is a 3D circle mini- album/card for Gunner’s Mimi, who is a great friend & one of the sweetest people I know.   It isn’t finished because I’ve got to wait until Randi gets back with hopefully lots of pictures from the trip, but I had to show it so you can see the embossing I did on it with the folder I made.   Can you see them?  They’re Mickey Heads!   They were on a couple of cards I posted earlier this week, but you couldn’t see them.  

Thank you so much for sticking with me thru this.  (I swore I was gonna keep this post short.  Sorry!)  Now those of you have visited me on blog hops before know I like to play games so here’s today’s game for the chance to win my blog candy.  I would be honored if you chose to become a follower but it is not necessary to win, just please understand you will have to come back on Monday to see if your comment was picked.

Now answer these two questions:

1)      1-  If you were magically transported to Disney World (or Land) right now, what would be the first thing (attraction, ride, show, whatever…) that you would head for?

2)      2-  If Randy (random # generator) picks you, which of these would you rather have for your prize?

A)     a Disney surprise package, with an assortment of Disney themed crafting goodies

B)      a brand new set of Spellbinders dies (Large Octagons)- I just can’t get rid of these things.

This hop inspired me to make several projects, (some that I have posted already.)  Once I started cutting out these characters I just couldn’t stop.   Honestly, they are not nearly as hard as you might think.   There are a couple of hints I would suggest:

   -Don’t try to cut the characters too small (well, duh… that’s kind of a given.)

   -Cut the black base piece (the one with the details etched on it so you have a guide of what pieces go 

      where.)   Then cut all the smaller pieces out of white & just color them with your markers the  

      color you want/need.

   -Don’t remove the pieces from your cutting mat until you are ready to use that particular piece.

   -Keep your handbook where you can see it as a guide.  (Remember how you kept the jigsaw puzzle box  

     where you could see it when putting puzzles together?)   

   -Start with the bigger pieces and then fill in with the smaller ones.

Here’s the list for the rest of today’s magical journey, Your next stop is Kathy. 

 

http://craftychicsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/disney-pixar-blog-hop-day-one.html

http://www.scrapntoteblog.com/2011/04/disney-pixar-blog-hop-2-lets-do-it.html

http://amychomas.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-time-for-disneypixar-blog-hop.html

http://jennyplace26.blogspot.com/2011/04/lets-do-it-again-disney-pixar-blog-hop.html

http://funkycards.blogspot.com/2011/04/disney-pixar-blog-hop_30.html

http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/2011/04/test-post-disney-hop-no-peeking.html

http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/2011/04/disney-pixar-blog-hop-2.html

http://www.creationswithchristina.com/2011/04/disney-pixar-blog-hop.html

http://snoflaks.blogspot.com/2011/04/disney-pixar-blog-hop-ii.html

http://tamiscraftconnection.blogspot.com/2011/04/lets-do-it-again-disneypixar-blog-hop.html

http://kathyscozies.blogspot.com/2011/04/second-disney-pixar-blog-hop.html

http://disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/04/disneypixar-blog-hop-take-2.html

Thank you Shawn and Melissa for letting me be a part of this fun hop, and don’t forget to come back to Shawn & Melissa’s tomorrow to see the line up for the projects for day 2.

Make it a great day for as many people as you can today.  It WILL come back to you!

A reject for tomorrow's hop post.

  

I've really had a lot of fun cutting out these Disney characters.  My post for tomorrow's hop already has 2 projects in it so I didn't want to add a third, but I did want to show this L/O I made using Mickey & Friends.

"See" you all tomorrow I hope!

It's Friday,make it a good day for as many people as you can.  It WILL come back to you!

Your opinion is requested

I'm still in shock over all the devastation from the storms.  I couldn't help but wonder today if any of my blog friends were some of the ones affected.  I hope not.  I hate that anyone was affected at all.  At this point all I can do is pray.


The reason I'm posting this is that I kinda went crazy getting ready for the Disney/Pixar Hop coming up this weekend and I kept coming up with ideas for projects that won't be in the hop, but I figure they will make good cards for Operation Write Home (even tho' --like this one, they are not A2 size.) 
This particular card is the one I want your opinion on.  (Keep in mind it is for a soldier to send home to their sweetie.)  This card caused a small debate in my family, so I just wanted to get some other opinions.  It really is a "6 of one, half a dozen of another" kind of issue, but I just wanted to see what the majority would say...........so which would you pick?
     Option A- Leave the "&" off so that it reads -"You...Me" on the front, and on the inside reads "Some things                         are meant to be"
     Option B- Add the "&" so that it reads "You & Me" on the front and "were meant to be" on the inside
     Option C- ?- you choose

Those of you who reply will get an extra entry for my blog hop candy (sorry, not the grand prize.)  For those who are planning to watch, enjoy the wedding tomorrow, and for everyone, I hope you'll be back for the Hop this weekend. 

Do you know where I can find.....

Hey y'all,

First of all, this is not the post I talked about yesterday that I need your opinion on.  That one will come later today.  But it is something else I need help with.  (Boy, I'm a needy little crafter, aren't I?!)   I am really crunched for time and I need to find a couple of good sources for pre-colored digi stamps similar (colorwise,-- meaning soft pastels) to the one in this card.  I don't have time to sit and search the hundreds of sites out there so if you have a good source that you are familiar with PLEASE let me know.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

* I live in a bubble.  I did not know until after posting this, about the horrible devastation caused by yesterday's storms.  My heart and prayers go out to all affected by this tragedy.

An invitation for you!

 

Just a reminder about the Let's Do It Again Disney / Pixar Blog Hop this Saturday and Sunday.  10 stops each day so very easy & manageable.  

Marlo from ContainYa Crafts, the maker of Scrap N Tote & Scrap N Easel has generously donated a Gyspy for the Grand Prize and she MAY even have one of her wonderful products offered as well ( not sure about that one.)  The hop will start with Shawn M. from Crafty Chics who is co-hosting the hop with Melissa from Disney Dreamer Designs.  You should be over all the Royal Wedding festivities by then so plan to come hop with us. 

Now if you have a minute I've got to tell you about this card.  It ended up being used for this post because it was/is destined for the dis-assembly line.  It started out destined to be a birthday card.  This was one of those light bulb moments (ideas) that "blew the bulb".  

For those of you who don't read my posts and haven't heard me say this before... I LOVE to make unusual cards like fun folds and interactive cards, so I had the idea to make another pop-up card, but this time I wanted to make it big-  (like a #10 size) and since it was to be a pop-up it had to open vertically rather than horizontally.  No problem I thought.  I"ll just use my 12 x 24 cardstock and reinforce it with matting.  Well, even with the extra layer of cardstock for mats on the front and back of the cover and designer paper on top of that, it still wasn't stiff enough for this size.  I have figured out tho' that using a good stiff poster board will work, so I"m starting all over.  I'm pretty sure the poster board will solve my problem.  I'm also going to change the wire I used to hold up the balloons.  I used some scrap wire that I removed from some ribbon and it really could stand to be a little heavier gauge, so I'm going to use some beading wire in the remake.  Anyway, I saw the problem early on but before I tore it apart I had the idea to use what I had done already & just make a quick little invitation for my blog friends.  (Don't look too close or you'll see that I didn't even glue the pieces down.) 

I am the world's worst about remembering to take pictures and post a lot of my cards before I send them off, but I will try to photograph the remake & let you see how it turns out.

I have a project I need your help with tomorrow so I hope you'll drop back by and weigh in with your opinion.  For those who do, you'll get an extra entry for my own personal blog hop candy (sorry not for the Gypsy.)

Wishing you sunshine & smiles, love & laughter!

A Special Guest for today's Tuesday Tips

Thanks to those of you who left tips on my last Tuesday Tips post All About DIGIS.  I got some really good suggestions on storing, printing and using them.  What I didn’t get was anything on coloring them, so that will be next week’s topic.  I’m especially interested in what everyone has to say about Copics.   (That’s become my latest obsession.)   For today’s tips though I have a special guest,

Shawn M. from Cricut Search 
and her personal blog Crafty Chics.

Shawn & her dear sweet family are the angels who have given us the Cricut Search website.  I cannot imagine how many, many hours they have poured into developing and updating this site, and I cannot tell you how much I have come to rely on this site either.  If you use Design Studio or even the Gypsy to search for a particular image you want to cut, you may get some suggestions and you may not (the results are very limited and can be rather slow and incomplete.)  Cricut Search is so much more in depth, complete and just all around easier to use in my opinion. 

I’m very curious about how many of you take advantage of this wonderful resource.  Do you use Cricut Search?  If not, what do you use the most when searching for something in particular?  If you’ve never used Cricut Search I highly recommend you give it a try, in fact here’s a simple little homework assignment.  Search for an image of a leaf.   Search on Cricut Search and then search using whatever alternate method you normally use, then tell me what you think.

One more thing before I turn this over to Shawn.  She & Melissa from Disney Dreamer Designs will be hosting their 2^nd Disney /Pixar Blog Hop this weekend, Saturday, April 30^th and Sunday, May 1^st and just wait till you see who’s in this hop and the amazing prizes being offered!  (I’ve already spilled the beans about a Gypsy being just one of the prizes. )  There will be 10 stops on Saturday and 10 on Sunday which makes it a very easy hop.  The big “Wedding Day” will be over, so plan to come join in the fun 
and now Heeeerrrrrreeee'sss Shawn.......................

As many of you know, my family created the website CricutSearch.com which allows you to search for images that are on the Cricut Cartridges and preview those images so that you can easily find the perfect cut for your project.

I have gotten a couple of emails over the past few weeks with people asking questions about using CricutSearch, so I am going to try to answer questions as well as give you tips on ways to use the site that you might not have even known about.

Question:  I like to make boxes and tags with my Cricut . . . can you tell me which cartridges have cuts for boxes or tags?  I tried typing boxes and tags into Cricut Search but did not get the results that I thought I would.

Answer:  Yes, you can search for cuts of boxes and tags on Cricut Search, but you need to remember that everything is tagged for the singular version of a word.  So, to find the cartridges that have cuts for boxes and tags, you would need to type the word box or tag into the search bar.

If you have a question about Cricut Search or ways you can use it, let us know and maybe we will use your question in one of our Search Tips posts.

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Search by Handbook (video)

Here is another one of the videos that we did for CricutSearch.com that show a search tip on how to search by the name of a Cricut Cartridge.



CricutSearch.com - The crafting tool that gives you time to craft.

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I can't see the images in the handbook

Here is a quick Cricut Search Tip for you.  For those of you that don't know, my family created the website Cricut Search to help people find images that are on Cricut cartridges.  People have compared it to a search engine for Cricut images.


If you are looking for an image of a kite, you can type in the word kite to the search bar and hit search, and Cricut Search will show you a preview of all of the Cricut cartridge handbook pages that have a kite image on them.

Now, if you cannot see the images when they are this small, you can click on any one of the images to get a larger preview, like this . . . 

Still need it larger?  Click on the LARGE preview, and you will see that one page even larger.

Now on to the tip . . . what if you type in your search item, like we did for kite, and when you click on the preview it brings you to a totally different page of a cartridge that was not on the original  search results?  What is wrong?  This is most likely an internet cookies issue, and you need to delete internet cookies.  Sometimes the cookies will hold on to a past search for some odd reason, so by clearing the cookies you are wiping the slate clean so that you can do your new search.  We have this and other tips on our Troubleshooting page.

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Phrases with apostrophes in them

Our English teachers taught us that punctuation is important, but I found out over the weekend that SOMETIMES punctuation can be a bad thing.  Let me explain what I mean.

In the world of data and programming, some punctuation marks serve a function OTHER that what it was intended for in the English language.  Sometimes the difference between a program working correctly is the difference between a comma and a semi-colon.  Changing that one little punctuation mark changes that function and the outcome of the entire program.

What does this have to do with a crafting blog?  Well, over the weekend I found out that if you are searching for a phrase on Cricut Search and there is an apostrophe in that phrase, it will not allow the search function of the site to work as it was intended.  How do I know this?  If you search It's a girl on Cricut Search you will get no matches in your search.  But, if you search a girl . . . just dropping the word It's you will find all of the cartridges that have the phrase It's a girl on them.

I am trying to decide if I want to go back through the cartridges and remove all apostrophes from phrases.  Maybe this is a project I can assign to one of the kids over the summer.  For now, just remember to drop any word that contains an apostrophe from your search.


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Searching for Fonts with a Shadow Cut

Grab a cup of coffee and get ready for something that I would like to become a regular feature on this blog . . . the Cricut Search Tips.  I am going to share some tips on features and searches you might not even know that you can do with Cricut Search.


If you have ever been working on a project where you KNEW you wanted to use two colors on your lettering to give it that layered effect, like this.

To do this, you would need to use a font that includes a shadow cut feature.  Well, if you are like me, before Cricut Search came along you would flip through all of your font handbooks to find the PERFECT font for your project, only to be disappointed when you saw that there was no shadow cut feature for that font.  Well not anymore!  What if you could JUST preview the fonts that HAVE a shadow cut?  Let me show you how you can do this.

Let's use the image in the layout above for an example of how to search for images with shadow cuts.

First, go to Cricut Search, and on the left hand side you will see Advanced Cricut Search.  It is the third item down on the list.  Click on that.

That will take you to a screen that looks like this.

Next, 

Make sure the keywords box is un-checked

Check the font box and check the character-number-symbol box

In the search bar, type in 

s shadow

The image below shows the boxes you should have checked, and along with the search parameter information.

Click on search

Now you will see only the pages with a letter S that also has a shadow cut!

Remember, you can always click on any of these images to get a larger preview, which would look like this.

And if that is still not big enough for you, you can click on the single preview image to enlarge that one more time.

I hope that this helped you to learn something new about Cricut Search, and how you can use it for your papercrafting needs.  Please feel free to re-post this information on your blog to share this tip with others who might use Cricut Search.

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How would you like to win a Gypsy?

Well, come to the Let's Do it Again Disney/ Pixar Blog Hop, Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1st and you will have a chance to win not only a Gypsy but many other wonderful prizes, and you will see some fantastic creations as well.  Be sure and tell your Blog Buddies about it so they can have a chance too. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Tuesday Tips for Tami- your advice is needed

Last week I started my Tuesday Tips post in hopes of gathering and sharing crafty tips from all my crafty friends.  There are several "areas" I have a lot of questions about so I decided to break it down and highlight one or two topics each week.   I have just discovered and started using digis about a month ago so today is All About Digis.

Any advice or suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated.  One thing I am really curious about is how do YOU organize and store yours on your computer?  I'm pretty computer illiterate so I think I've started out all wrong with how I've put my digis on my computer (no organization to it at all, just drop them in a folder,  sometimes several on a page.)  How do you color yours?  Do you go ahead and print them out when you get them or wait till you have a need or idea for using the image?   What do you use to download yours (I'm currently using a trial version of WinZip, but it will expire soon, so I've got to get something permanent.)  Anything you can share would be great!  Thanks everyone.

Wishing you sunshine & smiles, love & laughter.

Spring Break's over for us

This was the most boring Spring Break we've had in such a long, long time.  We usually go home to Florida or up to the mountains but didn't go anywhere or do anything this year.  (I didn't mind staying home so much but the fact that it is already hot here does not make me a happy camper.  We've gone straight from Winter to Summer!)   I did get quite a few cards made for Operation Write Home.  I'm posting this one because it is so funny & weird to me that a camera captures and displays colors so differently from what the naked eye sees. 
I will be back tomorrow with Tuesday Tips, and I hope someone will have a tip or two to share with me.   (I've just about decided if your post doesn't have the words giveaway, candy or winner in it, it probably will get bypassed.  I guess that could count as a tip in a way couldn't it.  JK!..... well sorta.) 
I should also note that although this is an OWH card it is done with pre-glittered paper & some stickles.   I rubbed everything real well to make sure none of  the little sparkles come off.

Make it a good day for someone else and it'll be a good day for you.

Tuesday Tips

Show & Tell time.   What do you have to share with the rest of us?

A couple of events have happened to me in the past week or so that led me to want to try this post and see if I can get any response.   I was going to call it “Unexpected Uses” but I want it to cover so much more than that.

Do you have a little tidbit you can share?  Maybe it’s a discovery of a technique or something frugal you do to save time, money, or paper & supplies.  It could be something you have learned or developed out of necessity.   Is there something “you know now that you wish you had known then” when you were first starting out with your crafting?  Don’t assume that just because it seems so logical or basic to you that others have heard of or thought of it themselves.  Share the wealth.

My first tip for today came about because of a conversation I had with a cashier at the craft store.   I was purchasing some of those little tiny clothespins and she wanted to know what I was going to make with them.   Well, I’m not going to make anything WITH them but I will use them to make lots of things.  I use them as “paper clamps”.  Why not just use paper clips you ask?  Sometimes I do, but these can be a lot quicker & easier at times.

My second tip has developed out of necessity.   For 2 weeks now I have been trying to find some Un-Do, but being from a small town I have struck out locally, so until I can “go to town” (meaning go to the big city,) I will just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing for a long time whenever I stick something where I don’t want or like it & want to move it.   NOTE: this works great but is dangerous because of the sharpness of the tool, so if you do this, be very careful! 

Use your cricut spatula to separate (slice is actually a better word) the 2 pieces apart.  Gently slide the blade in between and wiggle it back and forth (side to side not up and down) as it slices thru the adhesive bond.  Do not pull on the paper other than to help lift & separate the pieces.  You should get a very clean and uncrinkled removal.

Ellen over at Cardmonkey shared a wonderful tip on how to make your own glue dots and several have posted tutorials on making homemade Wobbles (which is great when the real Wobbles are way too big for your project.) 

So how ‘bout it?  Do you have something you can show & tell.  I would really love to hear your tips and tricks.  Crafters are clever people, so share with me one of your “ta-da” moments or discoveries.  I hope to do this “Tuesday Tips” post for the next few Tuesdays so if you can’t think of anything today be thinking for next week.  I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Wishing you sunshine and smiles, love and laughter!