Snip Tuck

Valentine's Candy Wrapper

2012-01-31T21:16:00.000-08:00

I now have this cute little Valentine's Candy Wrapper file for sale on my site. It's available in the following formats: .AI, .SVG, .PDF, .WPC, .MTC, and SCUT. Click on the Shop tab to go to my Etsy Store to purchase it.

The unique thing about this box is that all you do to close the sides is twist the folds. There is no glue or tape required. Since this is especially for Valentine's day, I added scallops to the edges so they form hearts when closed.

CHA 2012 in Anaheim

2012-01-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled that I got to spend the day in Anaheim at the Craft and Hobby Show today. It is not open to the public, but I was able to get in as a "Professional Crafter". There was a lot of walking and tons of cool stuff to see. I also did my share of make-and-takes. The show goes on for three more days. I'm still not sure if I will be able to make it back.

2012-01-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have recently learned about Pinterest and have been having fun with it. I learned how to put Pin It buttons on my blog, next to my designs. If you see a design you like, just click Pin It and it will add it to your Bulletin Board on www.Pinterest.com. If you aren't familiar with it, go check it out.

Free Treat Box File

2012-01-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to have the opportunity to be designing for Paperthreads.com. Head on over there and check out my free treat box file. It will give you an idea of what you will get with all of my files.

I'd love to see what you make with it, so post a comment and share your creations.

PaperThreads Store

2012-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

While traveling for the holidays I have been putting in many hours in getting my files ready to be uploaded to my new Paperthreads store. I have finally done it. All six of the files that I've had available on my site are now up on Paperthreads.com. I spent a lot of time creating the tutorials for each design, including line drawings and step by step directions for each 3d design. Now that I have those initial designs uploaded, I will be adding new designs to my site and my Paperthreads store often. Check back for new designs.

Christmas Pop-up Gift Card Holder

2011-12-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it's just 2 days before Christmas and my last day of work until January 5th. We are traveling back east on Christmas day and will be gone for 10 days. I'm so excited to have the time away from reality to spend with family and work on crafts. I'm hoping to bring my new Zing but I'm not sure what the rules are with taking something like that on the plane. As it is my last day of work, I wanted to give my staff a little something. The most logical thing is to give them gift cards and let them buy something that they really want. I thought it would be fun to make a personalized gift card holder to put them in. There is a stocking for each member of my team.

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I used Adobe Illustrator to create graphics for this because it was the simplist way to make them, but it could also be done so nicely by cutting out all the different elements and paper piecing them. The stockings would look adorable if they were separate pieces hanging from the fireplace. This pop-up is so easy to make and folds flat.

I will be adding this template to my store shortly.

Happy Holidays!

Cathy

I'm Loving My New KNK Zing

2011-12-12T22:33:00.000-08:00

I am the proud new owner of a Klic-N-Kut Zing diecutting machine. This makes diecutter #4. I first bought the Pazzles Inspiration, then the Cricut Expression, Cricut Imagine, and lastly the KNK Zing. I've been paper crafting for about a year and a half now and have seen the need for different machines. My Pazzles is great for cutting the 3d designs that I create in Adobe Illustrator. My Cricuts are perfect for cutting out designs to decorate my 3d creations, and the Zing is going to be my go-to for print and cut. The Zing came with Make the Cuts software, so I will now have the ability to save any of my designs that are for sale on my blog as .mct.

Popup Ornament-template available

2011-12-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that the holidays are already approaching. It's time to start doing some cool holiday projects. This design is so much fun. It’s an ornament that can be mailed flat and as soon as you take it out of the envelope, it pops up in your hands.

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My good friend Maria at Scrapbooknut2002 made the beautiful sample above using this pop-up ornament template. Head over to her website and check out how she embellished it. www.scrapbooknut2002@blogspot.com.

Demo on how the ornament pops up.

You can now purchase this template from my blog. Click HERE or on the Shop tab above. Check back soon for a video on how to put it together.

School Supply Bus Video Tutorial

2011-11-28T22:45:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to share with you my very first video tutorial. For those of you that followed along during my Guest Designer week at Peachy Keen Stamps, you are familar with the School Supply Bus. I have a template available for this item so you can print it out or cut it on your die cutter. Go to the Shop section to purchase the template. The video can be found in the Video Tutorials section.

Santa Advent Calendar Files Available

2011-11-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I had a wonderful meal with my family and it's been a nice relaxing weekend.

I have just added the Santa Advent Calendar (tube holder) to my blog and the files are now available on my Etsy site.

Mood Box Files Available for Sale

2011-11-21T21:28:00.001-08:00

As promised, I have added the mood box files to my shop. Please click HERE or click on SHOP at the top of my blog to download yours today. A video on how to put it together will be coming soon.

Guest Designer at Peachy Keen Stamps–Winner!!!

2011-11-19T10:18:00.001-08:00

I have had such a great time being the Guest Designer here at PKS. It has motivated me to do things that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I added templates to my blog, started my own Etsy Store, and even did my first video. Granted it was just showing how the mood box turns, but it was a jump start to actually create videos to show you how to put together my designs. I had many questions about the Santa Advent Calendar and where I got the container. I created it. I do all my designs in a CAD program and then bring them into Adobe Illustrator to convert them to be cutting files to work with most of the die cutters that are out there. I am a Packaging Engineer by trade, so designing 3d items like that comes very natural to me. Here is a picture a what it looks like flat.

By the end of the weekend all of my designs that I did this week will be available to purchase from my blog (day 1 and day 3 are there now, but I’m still working on day 4 and day 5).

Now to what you’ve all been waiting for…let’s get to the winner.

The WINNER is…..

Jamie Larsen

Congratulations Jamie. I will be emailing you shortly.

We can only have one lucky person walk away with the fabulous Peachy Keen Stamps, but I would like to give a consolation prize to all the wonderful ladies that have been following along all week. The comments that you’ve written have meant so much to me, so in return I would like to give you the cutting files for one of my designs. If you don’t own a die cutter, you can use the pdf file to print and hand cut. All you have to do is email me and let me know which design you pick . Here are the designs again:

School Supply Bus

4-pack Valentine’s Day Carrier and Heart Box

Mood Box

Santa Advent Calendar

Thanks again to PKS and all the fabulous crafters that have followed along.

Cathy Martin

Guest Designer at Peachy Keen Stamps–Day 5 (final day)

2011-11-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s been such a fun week for me. I have to start out by thanking all the fabulous people at Peachy Keen Stamps. I actually got so busy with life that before this week, I hadn’t posted anything to my blog since February. It feels so great to be crafting again and even better to get such amazing comments from everyone. You have all be so generous with the kind things you’ve said.
I saved my Christmas project for last. I figured I should go big or go home.
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This is my version of an advent calendar. I created the container to hold 25 tubes, one for every day in December until Christmas. Each tube is filled with candy and has a tag on it for each day. The inside opens up and you can write anything you want inside. I had to find candy that was small enough to fit in each tube, so I used nerds, mini m&ms, and tic tacs.
I used tiny rubber bands that I found at the dollar store to hold the tags on to the caps.

I really had no idea how I was going to decorate this container and how I was going to incorporate PKS into it. I decided to cut it out in red. I knew that I had some white fuzzy trim that would look good with the red, so I added that to the bottom. At that point, the first thing that came to my mind was that it looked like Santa’s coat. The rest of the project quickly took form. I cut a Santa head on my Cricut and found the biggest face stamp that I had. It is the 1 3/8” face from PK-490 Everyday Character Face Assortment. I added the belt and all the fur to his face, and Santa was complete.

Here’s your last chance to win some blog candy? Peachy Keen has been so generous to let me give away a set of their stamps. For a chance to win the PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Faces Assortment ($25 value) please leave me a comment here and then head over to Peachy Keen Stamps and
comment on their blog too. I'd also love to have you as a follower, but it’s not required to win.
Check back tomorrow to see if you’ve won. Good luck!
PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Face Assortment

Guest Designer at Peachy Keen Stamps–Day 4

2011-11-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe it’s already day 4 of my guest week at PKS. Today I created a mood box. It can display 8 different moods. I decided to add some pictures of my kids on the sides and a calendar in the back. All the frames are open at the top so I can easily switch out the pictures and calendar. The face stamps that I used for the moods are PK-692 Monster Mash Face Assortment, PK-532 Simple Sallies, PK-570 Basic Paper Doll Face Assortment, and PK-490 Everyday Character Face Assortment.

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	The box that goes inside the outer box has eight sides. The face on one side matches the label on the opposite side. This allows you to see what mood you are displaying as the box sits on your desk. There is a dowel that is glued in the center of the box. I added a wood knob at the top so it could turn easily.

Here is a video to show the mood calendar in action.

My Mood Today

Here’s your chance again to win some blog candy? Peachy Keen has been so generous to let me give away a set of their stamps. For a chance to win the PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Faces Assortment ($25 value) please leave me a comment here and then head over to Peachy Keen Stamps and
comment on their blog too. I'd also love to have you as a follower, but it’s not required to win.
Check back tomorrow to see my last project and for another chance to win. One lucky winner will be announced on Saturday. Good luck!
PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Face Assortment

Guest Designer at Peachy Keen Stamps–Day 3

2011-11-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

It’s Cathy and I’m back with another 3d project. Although Christmas is my favorite holiday, I just love making little gifts for Valentine’s day. It’s the one holiday that I make something for every kid in my son and daughter’s classes. Last year I made 50 little mail boxes. This gift that I made for you this week is something I think anyone would love to receive. I designed a 4-pack container that is approximately 3.5” x 3.5” x 5.5” tall. I also made little plastic boxes to fit perfectly in each compartment. All of this was cut on my Pazzles diecutter. Each box is filled with candy and is topped with the cuties glitter faces ever. The face with the glasses is by far my favorite, from my newest stamp set, PK532-Simple Sallies 1 1/8”. The others are from PK-500-Snow Cutie Face Assortment, PK-490 Everyday Character Face Assortment, and PK-570 Basic Paper Doll Face Assortment.

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I was really pleased with how cute the faces turned out in glitter.
Here’s your chance again to win some blog candy? Peachy Keen has been so generous to let me give away a set of their stamps. For a chance to win the PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Faces Assortment ($25 value) please leave me a comment here and then head over to Peachy Keen Stamps and
comment on their blog too. I'd also love to have you as a follower, but it’s not required to win.
Check back every day this week to see another one of my projects and for another chance to win. One lucky winner will be announced on Saturday. Good luck!
PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Face Assortment

Guest Designer at Peachy Keen Stamps - Day 2

2011-11-15T08:00:00.001-08:00

Hi again. This is Cathy at Snip Tuck Design with my project for Day 2 of my guest week. Today is the Tuesday Challenge so I've made something based off the sketch below.

There is also a twist to this challenge, in that you can paper piece your stamped image to give it a bit of dimension and flair. This was a project of firsts for me. It was the first time that I've ever done a project following a sketch and the first time I paper pieced a stamped image. I am still very new to using image stamps.

I wanted to make something for Thanksgiving, and PKS has the perfect stamp set for just that. I used CB-03 Tanner Turkey for my card. It's not just a card though. The top folds back and it becomes a place setting name card for your Thanksgiving dinner. The sentiment included in this set, Gobble 'Til Ya Wobble! was quite appropriate for something that will be sitting on the table with all that yummy food.

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I love how the stamp turned out on suede paper. The turkey stamp was so great to paper piece. I stamped three images in order to get the dimension.
How about another chance to win some blog candy? Peachy Keen has been so generous to let me give away a set of their stamps. For a chance to win the PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Faces Assortment ($25 value) please leave me a comment here and then head over to Peachy Keen Stamps and comment on their blog too. I'd also love to have you as a follower, but it's not required to win.

Check back every day this week to see another one of my projects and for another chance to win. One lucky winner will be announced on Saturday. Good luck!
PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Face Assortment

Guest Designer at Peachy Keen Stamps–Day 1

2011-11-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

I am beyond thrilled to be the featured Guest Designer this week at Peachy Keen Stamps. To give you a little background, I have been paper crafting for just a couple years and primarily create 3d projects. My goal when I started my blog in May 2010 was to create my own online store and design and sell my own templates. It took a year and a half, but with the gift of being showcased on Peachy Keen Stamps, I was motivated to make this goal a reality. All of my 3d projects that I will be sharing with you can be purchased from my blog on the day that they are posted.

This first project is a school supply bus that is transporting the Peachy Keen Kids to school at Peachy Keen Elementary. I am totally in love with all their face stamps. The ones that I used for this project are PK-570 Basic Paper Doll Face Assortment and PK-490 Everyday Character Face Assortment.

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The bus is made of chipboard and embellished with buttons and gems for the lights. Several elements were created on the computer, then hand cut and glued to the bus. The kids, windows, and pencil handle were cut from my Cricut. The top of the bus has separate compartments for pens/pencils, paperclips, and glue sticks.

The back of the bus folds down to access a post-it note pad. Lastly, the door of the bus opens to reveal a tape dispenser.

How about some blog candy? Peachy Keen has been so generous to let me give away a set of their stamps. For a chance to win the PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Faces Assortment ($25 value) please leave me a comment here on my blog and then head over to www.peachykeenstamps.blogspot.com and comment on their blog too. I'd also love to have you as a follower, but it’s not required to win. Check back every day this week to see another one of my projects and for another chance to win. One lucky winner will be announced on Saturday. Good luck!

PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids Face Assortment

Back to Crafting

2011-11-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe how this year has flown by. The last post that I had to by blog was back in February. Life just got busy and my paper crafting took a back seat for awhile. I needed a jump start to get back into it, and had just the perfect occasion. Next week I am going to be featured on Peachy Keen Stamps. It was something that I was selected for last December and have been looking forward to ever since. I will get to share a project each day, Monday through Friday. I have put a lot of thought and time into each project and can't wait to share them with you.

Embossing Challenge at FCCB

2011-02-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

This is my last post as a designer for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. It has been such a pleasure to be part of their design team. If you would like to play along, head over to FCCB and make a project that incorporates some type of embossing (i.e. wet, hand embossing, folder embossing etc.).

For my project I used the Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder to make another candle holder. I used my brand new Cricut Everyday cartridge that I received as being a Cricut Circle member. This cartridge is filled with cuts of all the Provocraft products. I thought it would be fun to add the Cricut logo and some ribbon to my candle holder. I used George and Basic Shapes and my Gypsy to make the actual holder.

Valentine's Gifts and Blog Hop Winner

2011-02-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone that stopped by during the blog hop and left such fabulous comments. I am so happy to have reached 200 followers. I have randomly selected the winner and it goes to...

Now, on to what I've been working on this past week. I love Valentine's Day and have traditionally created homemade gifts to give away to my children's classes.

I decided to make mailboxes and fill them with goodies. I created the file for the mailbox on my gypsy, using the George and Basic shapes cartridge. In order for the paper to curve nicely and not bend, I glued a piece of plastic on the inside. I cut the envelope from the Locker Talk cartridge. The card that goes in the envelope was created on my computer and cut with my paper trimmer.

The flag is attached with a heart brad. It was quite the assembly line putting all these together. There is a total of 50 of them.

Share the Love Blog Hop at FCCB

2011-02-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Snip Tuck Design and the fourth Fantabulous Cricut Crawl...Fantabulous Cricut's version of a blog hop!

Valentine's Day is in a week and everyone at Fantabulous Cricut has decided to Share the Love! Each Design Team member will be featuring an original Valentine-themed project that includes the word LOVE somewhere on it.

If you've come from visiting Candace at Paper Crafts By Candace, you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our Fantabulous Cricut Crawl, start HERE.

Make sure to check out each DT member's blog for some awesome inspiration! There will be PRIZES along the way at some of our DT members' blogs, AND there will be a Grand Prize up for grabs at FCCB for one participant that submits a "Share the Love" project at FCCB! I have listed all the participants below.

For my project I created a candle holder. I used Kelly Panacci Valentine's paper, red card stock, and vellum. I embossed the vellum with the Sizzix Valentine Set. This was the first time that I had embossed anything on vellum. It is really quite amazing how well it works. I used the Create A Critter cartridge for the word LOVE and George and Basic Shapes for the heart and the card itself. I added holes on both sides of the word LOVE, tied ribbon through them, and wrapped it around the heart brads. I added a heart trim that was cut with the Martha Stewart edge punch. The hindges at the top were the final touch. And of course, adding the battery operated tea lights.

To show my appreciation to everyone that visits my blog, I am giving away a Sizzix Valentine Set. I love mine so much that I just had to go buy another one to give away. Just leave me a comment and I'll pick a winner at the end of the Blog Hop. I'd also love it if you would become a follower.

Now it's your turn! Let's see your Share the Love projects! Make sure to include a Cricut cut somewhere on your project and the word Love!

Next stop...Elsa's blog, cricutlvr.blogspot.com. Go see what she has in store for you today... And when you're done, make sure to link up your project to FCCB's Fantabulous Cricut Crawl post to be entered into the contest!

Happy Crawling!

CHA Weekend

2011-01-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I wasn't able to get into the show this weekend because it's just for the trade but I did get to meet some incredible people. I attended the Cricut Circle Crop all day on Friday and had a blast. It was my first ever crop, so I was just having fun taking everything in. I learned so much from people that have been doing this for years. We were asked to bring 75-3x3 cards with our information on them to trade with the other ladies. Thursday night I had to do the newsletter for my kids' school, so I wasn't able to start the cards until 10pm the night. I think I was up until 1:30am and was only able to get all the pieces cut. I didn't even have one completely put together. I ended up using most of the day at the crop to make them, but I got such a positive response from them that it was all worth it. I used the character head from the Every Day Paper Dolls cartridge and Peachy Keen Stamps for the face. For the Cricut machine, I took a picture of my machine and brought it into Photoshop and colored it. I added some fingers wrapping around the top of the Cricut so it looks like she is peeking over it. I was able to print 15 on a sheet and hand cut them. For the mat, I pulled a picture from the internet and brought it into Photoshop. I added my contact info and printed a bunch out. I cut a slit into the machine and stuck part of the mat through it. The finished card looks as if the paper is coming out of the machine. If I would have had more time and didn't have to make so many, I would have made the mat move in and out of the machine by pulling it.

At the crop I was able to meet Jinger, the Spokewoman for Provocraft and Robyn, from My Pink Stamper. Jinger is fabulous on tv, but even more amazing in person. What a sweetheart. That night I went out to dinner with a group of the ladies from the crop. On Friday I was able to meet Emma from My Creative Time and Sarah from Pink Cricut, as well as another great group of women. It's really so fun to put a face to people that you have followed online. Here are some fun pictures. (Jinger and me, Sarah and me, Emma and me, the 2 ladies I sat with at the crop with Jinger, group shot from the Saturday meet-up, group shot from dinner on Friday night)

CHA and Cricut Circle Crop in Los Angeles this Weekend

2011-01-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

CHA is at the LA Convention Center this weekend, but is not open to the public. Although I was really bummed that I can't attend, it turns out that I will still get to meet some fellow crafters. Provocraft is holding a Cricut Circle Crop on Friday and Emma from My Creative Time and Sarah from Pink Cricut just posted that they are having a Meet and Greet on Saturday from 10am-12pm. Head on over to their blogs to get more details.

My Creative Time
Pink Cricut

Are any of you going to the Cricut Circle Crop? Just leave a comment letting me know if you'll be there.

Hope to meet some of you this weekend.

FCCB #44 - Neglected Cartridge Challenge

2011-01-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

This week at Fantabulous Cricut we are having a challenge where you make a project using a Cricut cartridge you haven't used in over 6 months! Head on over there to join in the fun.

For my project, I created a swing card. It features a hot air balloon that I made by stacking 6 different colored balloon diecuts together and folding them in half. I then stapled them in the middle and fanned out the pieces to make the 3d balloon. I created a tray for the basket and placed some little people in it. The basket is held on by strings that are tied to the basket and the balloon. Everything is designed so it could lay flat in an envelope but come to life when opened. I added white stitching to the edges of the balloon and blue stitching to the clouds.

The balloon is attached to the card by another piece of string. There is a bottom to the card that lays flat when opened, to make an easel and allow the card to stand. The elements on the front of the card were cut from the ZooBalloo cartridge, which is the first time I have ever used that cartridge, even though I've had it for over 6 months. I tend to buy cartridges when they are on huge discounts, so I still have a bunch that I haven't used yet.

Winter Warmies Challenge at FCCB

2011-01-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow crafters. This week we are having #42 Challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. The requirements are to incorporate some type of winter clothing/accessory on your project (i.e. mittens, sweater, hat, jacket, scarf, etc.) and of course use your Cricut. Head over to FCCB to join along.

For my project, I created a penguin with a chubby belly filled with mints. The penguin is cut at 5" from the Jolly Holidays cart. I also used the hat and mittens from that cart as well. I created it all in my gypsy, so I was able to cut the circle perfectly on the black and white layers. I added some Martha Stewart tinsel glitter to the white on the mittens and hat. The belly is a clear plastic globe that I bought at Michael's. It is two halves that snap together. I folded the feet at a 90 degree angle, because I wanted the penguin to stand. For more support I glued the feet to a piece of plastic that I used as a base. In the picture on the right, you can see the globe goes in front and behind the penguin.

Baby Train for the MPS DT Call

2011-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to post my project for the My Pink Stamper Challenge. Robyn is choosing 2 new people to serve on her design team for a 6 month term. The challenge is to create a new project using Robyn's favorite colors: pink, green, and brown and another color of my choice. To find out more about it, click here.

This challenge is really fun because it was about 6 months ago when I first created something for the chance to be on Robyn's design team. I had just gotten my first Cricut (I have 2 now) and started my blog. I was so fortunate to be recognized for my creation of Travel Town by being given Honorable Mention. Thanks to that, I got my first bunch of followers and have been having a blast ever since.

For this project I decided to create something a little more practical. It is a 3d train that is filled with real baby supplies. It's the perfect give for any new mother. The train was cut from the New Arrival cartridge at 5". I cut one for the front and one for the back. I made the train three dimensional by cutting strips of paper (the height of each car) and scoring them to make three sleeves. I then cut rectangles and glued them to the bottom of the sleeves to make the base of each car. Lastly, I glued each train car cut out to the front and back of each completed train car. I used textured cardstock from Colorbok for all the cars.

I drew white stitching on the wheels and added a brad in the middle of each wheel. The train cars are attached by chains that are held in place by brads under the cars. The engine is embellished with pink gingham and green ribbon just above the windows and a pink bow on the front. The monkey hanging from the window is also from the New Arrival cartridge and is cut at 1.5". The engine car is carrying a baby bottle.

The yellow car has pink flocked feet, cut at .75" and 'It's a Girl', cut at 1", both from the New Arrival cartridge. A bit of glitter was added to the feet and a pink gem was placed inside the flower, to dot the 'i'. This car is filled with a pair of purple socks, a pacifier, and a rattle. I didn't want a plain white rattle, so I added the cute little pink lamb from the Imagine Nursery Rhymes cartridge.

The pink car is embellished with the giraffe from the New Arrival cartridge, cut at 3". The t-shirt is cut and printed from the Imagine Nursery Rhymes cartridge. I added faux stitching around the edges and a pink gem to the center of the flower. It is held in place by two baby close pins. The car is stuffed with a onesie that has a fabric applique of the lamb surrounded by pink flowers from the Imagine Nursery Rhymes cartridge.

Deck The Halls Crawl Winner

2010-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well our wonderful crawl has come to an end and we have a winner. Random.org picked...

Scrapaholicaef

That is just amazing you must win with that creation!!!! LOVE it! Hugs Alesia

Congratulations Alesia.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Peachy Keen Stamps Guest Designer

2010-12-20T18:40:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled to announce that I have been selected to be one of the 2011 Guest Designers for Peachy Keen Stamps. My projects will be featured every day the week of November 14 - 19. It's almost a year away, so I'll have plenty of time to come up with some great projects for you.

Rosie's Craft Contest Results

2010-12-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

Take a listen to Rosie announcing the winner on air today. I couldn't think of a better way to finish off this awesome blog hop. I've been blown away by all the amazing comments. It has been such an exciting week and reaching almost 140 followers was just the icing on the cake. Thank you and Happy Holidays.

Deck The Halls Crawl at FCCB

2010-12-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Snip Tuck Designs and the third Fantabulous Cricut Crawl...Fantabulous Cricut's version of a blog hop! I am so excited to be participating in my first blog hop.

In honor of the approaching Christmas holiday, we're having a "Deck The Halls" Crawl...each Design Team member will be featuring an original Christmas/Holiday-themed project that could be used to decorate and spruce up their homes for the Holiday Season!

If you've come from visiting Candace at http://www.scrapadoodledee.blogspot.com/, you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our Fantabulous Cricut Crawl, start HERE.

Make sure to check out each DT member's blog for some awesome inspiration! (I've listed them all below) There will be PRIZES along the way at our DT members' blogs, AND there will be a Grand Prize up for grabs at FCCB for one participant that submits a "Deck The Halls" project at FCCB!

For my project I created Santa in his sleigh. It may look small in the picture, but it's about 18" long by 11" high. This project is extra special because I not only created it for our blog hop, but I also entered it into Rosie O'Donnell's first ever Holiday Craft Contest. There are many things on this project that I wouldn't typically use, but the rules of the contest said that you must include all of these items:

Red and green pipe cleaners

Popsicle sticks

Mini wooden threat spools

A cork

Red and green gems

Red and green thread

Mixture of glitter pom-poms

Red and green felt

Red, green and blue feathers

Red, green, red stripe, and green stripe paper

Red gold and green jingle bells

Red, white and blue stick on-stars

White, Blue and Green stick-on foam sheets

Red, green and blue ribbon

Blue and white foam stars

Blue and white gem stars

Holly and berry gems

Rosie will be voting for her most craftiest listener (she hosts Rosie Radio on Sirius) on Dec. 16. Wish me luck.

Santa is made of all paper, using a template that I got from Canon's Creative Park website. I covered his coat with red feathers.

Santa's sack is made from red felt. I sewed the sack and stuffed it with tissue paper. The presents popping out are cut from the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cart. The toy soldier was made from a cork and wrapped with red ribbon. The blue teddy bear was cut from the Doodle Charms cart and was covered with blue feathers.

Santa is holding the list of all the good girls and boys. I created the list on the computer and wrapped it around a wooden spool that I colored green. The sleigh was cut at 11" from the Paper Doll Dress Up cart (I had to use the 12x24 mat). I cut two of them and glued illustration board between them to create the 3-dimensional sleigh.

I will be offering a prize to some lucky winner. All you have to do is follow my blog and leave me a comment on this post, I will randomly select one winner to receive two packages of Cuttlebug embossing folders and a Fiskars 3-in-1 heart corner punch. The winner will be announced at the end of the blog hop.

Now it's your turn! Let's see your Christmas/Holiday-Themed Decor projects! Make sure to include a Cricut cut somewhere on your project!

Next stop...Elsa's blog at http://cricutlvr.blogspot.com/. Go see what she has in store for you today... And when you're done, make sure to link up your project to FCCB's Fantabulous Cricut Crawl post to be entered into the contest!

Happy Crawling!

Here is a list of all the ladies that are participating in the crawl:

1. Andrea: http://divinedomestic.blogspot.com/

2. Angela: http://simplecreationspapercrafts.blogspot.com/

3. Angji: http://sweetpineapplescrapping.blogspot.com/

4. Brenda: http://brendasscrappyblog.blogspot.com/

5. Candace: http://www.scrapadoodledee.blogspot.com/

6. Cathy: http://sniptuck.blogspot.com/

7. Elsa: http://cricutlvr.blogspot.com/

8. Erin: http://spantastikreations.blogspot.com/

9. Helen: http://craftingcricutmom.blogspot.com/

10. Jamie: http://cutecardsandcraftsbyjamie.blogspot.com/

11. Jean: http://jeanscraftycorner.blogspot.com/

12. Jennifer: http://ascrappinaggie.blogspot.com/

13. Jill: http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
14. Jordan: http://cutecuteworld.blogspot.com/

15. Joyce: http://1ashjoy.blogspot.com/

16. Kate: http://smallbitsofpaper.blogspot.com/

17. Leigh: http://www.myscrappyjourney.com/

18. Leinad: http://scrapsticklepop.blogspot.com/

19. Lori: http://livingorganizedchaos.blogspot.com/

20. Melin: http://cookingwithcricut.blogspot.com/

21. Michelle: http://scrappinwithmybug-scrappinwithmybug.blogspot.com/

22. Penny: http://lightwhimsy.blogspot.com/

23. Robin: http://robinscreativecottage.blogspot.com/

24. Saundra: http://luvscrappingtogether.blogspot.com/

25. Sharon: http://ladybug820.blogspot.com/

26. Sherri: http://sherrisllc.blogspot.com/

27. Valerie: http://craftygolucky.blogspot.com/

Snowman Gift Box

2010-12-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

This is a project that I created for the FCCB Weekly Challenge and the Cricut Circle Magazine Contest. The box is actually the 3d pumpkin from the Happy Hauntings cartridge. I welded the two circles on top of the pumpkin in my gypsy in order to get the shape I wanted. I cut the hat, scarf, mittens, and buttons from the Jolly Holidays cart and embellished them with Martha Stewart white tinsel glitter and red flocking powder.

The nose is a piece of orange paper rolled into a cone shape and stuck through the face. I attached arms that I cut by hand to the edge of the flaps of the box, so when you open and close the box, the arms move up and down. I filled this cute little snowman with Christmas Hershey's Kisses and peppermint sticks.

Ribbon Challenge at FCCB

2010-11-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

This week at Fantabulous Cricut we were asked to create a project using ribbon. I am in full Christmas mode now that Thanksgiving is over, so I wanted to make my first Christmas project of the year. I decided to use the ribbon to create the Christmas tree. I also used it to create the garland, to wrap around the presents, and to cover the edge of the base (made of foam core). I used spray adhesive on the foam core and sprinkled it with Martha Stewart white tinsel glitter. I used a 12" long dowel and wood base for the center of the tree. I cut a 6" chipboard circle and glued the wood base of the tree to it. The tree skirt is red felt with white fluffy pipe cleaners as the trim. I cut a hole in the middle of the tree skirt and placed it over the dowel.

I took 20 pieces of ribbon (about 14" long) and taped one end to the top of the dowel and wrapped the other end around to the bottom of the 6" chipboard circle. I put slits in the tree skirt to feed the ribbon through. Once the tree was formed, I then decorated it with garland and ornaments. The garland is sparkly ribbon and the ornaments were cut from the Joys of the Season cartridge. The tree is topped with a star cut from the Simply Charmed cart. I attached the ornaments with a dennison gun (like how tags are attached on clothes). The two 3d snowmen at the back are cut from the Winter Woodland cart. I used blue glitter paper for their hats and added orange pipe cleaners for their noses.

The presents were cut from a variety of Christmas papers, using three different boxes from the Tags, Bags and Boxes cart. I added ribbon and bows to the packages and tissue to the gift bags. Each year we set up a Lionel Train underneath our Christmas tree, so it was just the final touch that this project needed. I cut the train from the Joys of the Season cart. I used 4 tracks to make the circle. The ends of each piece needed a little trimming in order to make the circle. Lastly, I added Merry Christmas ribbon around the edge of the foam core.

Achoo Submission for FCCB DT

2010-11-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

I am excited to be submitting my first project as part of the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog Design Team. This week the project was to create an Achoo project. I created a 'Get Well Soon' tissue holder robot that is carrying at hand sanitizer spray. I cut the 3d robot from the Robotz cartridge. I inserted a travel tissue pack on the inside of the robot and cut a hole in the front for it to come out. I stamped the sentiment 'Get Well Soon' on the front and created a little holder for the hand sanitizer.

Cricut Circle Blog Monthly Challenge

2010-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist creating something for this challenge. The theme for this month’s challenge is all about celebrating the reasons why you love to create! The prize for this challenge is the amazing Scrapbook Workshop. Oh what I would give to get one of those.

I used the Pagoda cartridge for the chinese symbols. The borders are done by scoring black paper every .5" and folding it into a tube. There are 12 tubes in all. I cut areas in each tube so they fit into each other. Vellum lines the inside and a different chinese symbol is placed on each side. Love - Learn - Dream - Celebrate. With a battery operated candle placed inside, you can hardly tell that the entire thing is made of paper.

Cricut Circle Blog Weekly Challenge

2010-10-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

The challenge this week over at the Cricut Circle Blog was to create a halloween project that incorporates some kind of transparent element. I used the Happy Haunting cartridge for most of the elements in this projects. This project was probably my favorite one yet. I love seeing how many elements I can use from a single cartridge. The base of the yard is actually a piece of cardboard taken from the box that my Cricut Imagine came in. I covered it with pattern paper and began to build my scene. My use of vellum is all in the house. The battery operated light on the inside of the house allows light to glow through the windows. Elements that are flying and hanging are done so with invisible thread. The fence around the house is cut from a Martha Stewart punch.

I added some fun touches by getting mini halloween lights from Michael's. It was hard to capture in a decent photo, but I love how spooky it looks.

Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge

2010-10-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm giving it another go at a PKS Let's Face It Friday Challenge. This time I think I've actually followed the directions correctly (the lantern I created was supposed to be a treat container).

This week we were asked to create a home decor harvest/fall project and incorporate the adorable Peachy Keen Faces. The first thing that came to mind was a hayride. I created a 3-d tractor and trailer that is taking kids on a hayride. I used the Everyday Character Faces and the Basic Paper Doll Faces. I just love adding these fun faces to paper dolls.

Cricut Chirp

2010-10-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to share that I am being spotlighted in the Cricut Chirp this week for my halloween lantern. I had so much fun making it and I'm happy to be able to share it with all the Chirp viewers.

Let's Face It Challenge

2010-09-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Peachy Keen Stamps have kicked off a new challenge on Fridays that showcase their adorable face stamps. I am very new to stamps. Actually, this is the first project that I've used stamps. As soon as I saw the PK face stamps on other blogs, I had to have them. In this project I used the Basic Paper Doll Faces, Monster Mash Faces, and Everyday Character Faces.

This was a halloween theme, so I decided to create a lantern. I designed the actual lantern in my Gypsy, using shapes from the George cartridge. All the elements on the lantern are from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge. I used ribbon around the top and bottom and brads between each section. I added a brad to the lid as well so I could keep the lid closed by placing a rubber band around two brads. I placed a battery operated light inside with a piece of velcro on the bottom to hold it in place. Vellum is used to cover the cut-outs, so the light shines through. I used my Gypsy to create all the elements of each monster. It saves so much time to group items by color when you are cutting so many different pieces. For the handle I welded a 5 bats together and glued them to a piece of plastic. I later added the orange paper on the inside of the plastic in order to make the bats stand out more.
I really had a lot of fun making this project. The only downfall is that my children will be fighting over who gets to carry it on Halloween. I might just have to make another one. :-)

Ice Cream Cone Tag

2010-09-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I participated in a tag swap at Paper Phenomenon. It was the first swap that I've ever done. We had to make 5 identical tags and in return we would get 5 tags from different people. I haven't received my tags yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the others have done and getting to know the ladies in my group. The theme was "Summer Time" and we were asked to create an unconventional tag (something other than the typical rectangle).

I decided to do an ice cream cone from the Once Upon A Princess cartridge. Since I like to add interactivity to my projects, I made this single scoop cone turn into a triple scoop just by pulling the ribbon attached to the cherry. I added they saying "What's the Scoop" to the back of the tag by switching out my blade on my Cricut with a brown marker. The photo above shows the different ways the tag looks at each stage (i.e. single scoop, double, triple, and the back of the tag). I added a little texture to the strawberry ice cream scoop and the cone with my Cuddlebug.

It's a Winner

2010-09-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! My swing card was one of the winners for the FCCB Challenge this week. I'm rewarded with a big smile and a Cricut cartridge. It's a good day. :-)

Tropical Card for FCCB Challenge

2010-08-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a month since I've posted anything but I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine once school starts. It's been a very hectic month with kid activities and it hasn't left much time for crafting. There are a couple fun challenges this week that I was excited about. The one I'm posting today is for Robin's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut. The project needed to be a tropical theme and have some element cut from the Cricut.

I have been wanting to make a swing card using my Cricut, and this was the perfect opportunity. I used the Doodle Charms cart for the palm trees and sand castle, the Designer's Calendar cart for the sailboat and Summer Vacation lettering, and Paper Doll Dress Up for the girl. I created the trifold card on my Gypsy and cut the hammock by hand.

The card is designed to fold flat to put into an envelope, but then it opens up and folds in such a way that allows the elements in the middle (in this case the girl on the hammock) to swing. The sides of the card create the background ocean scenery with the sailboat off in the distance.

The idea of these swing cards comes from a London based company that I found on the internet. I love the concept and had a great time designing my own with Cricut cartridges.

Exciting News!!! I'm this week's Cricut Chirp SPOTLIGHT winner.

2010-07-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

After receiving such great feedback from my followers on the Travel Town Playset, I decided to submit it to the Cricut Chirp. As many of you probably already know, you can submit your projects to them in hopes of getting them featured in their newsletter. Well, I submitted mine and ended up receiving their Customer Spotlight. What an honor to be selected. The free cartridge they are sending is just the icing on the cake. Since I have only had my Cricut for a couple months, there were so many fun cartridges that I don't have. I chose Forever Young and already have big plans for what I can create with it.

Yeah!!!! 50 Followers

2010-07-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited. I now have 50 followers. It's been about 6 weeks since the start of my blog and I couldn't be more thrilled to share my projects with such talented women. I am just getting my feet wet, but hope to one day upload video tutorials and challenges.

I'm off to Palm Springs tomorrow for a week vacation with my family. We are leaving 100 degree heat to be in 115 degree heat. Eek!

Holiday Card - Throwback Thursday Challenge Project

2010-07-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

I am really starting to navigate my way around all the wonderful blogs. It is actually a little overwhelming. I find myself torn between spending time in front of my computer getting more involved in the paper crafting community and actually making projects. I think the best way in is to start doing more challenges.

My Creative Time has a challenge this week for a 'holiday' themed card. I didn't have the cartridge she suggested to use but the theme is one of my favorites. This is actually the first card that I've made, as I tend to do more 3d items. It was fun and simple. I used the Winter Woodland cart.

Travel Town Playset Instructions

2010-07-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have completed the instructions for the little village that I created for the Designer's Call at My Pink Stamper. I tried to clearly explain all steps that I took. I've included a size chart that lists all the pieces that are cut from Cricut cartridges and the size that they were cut. I have also included some templates that can be printed out and used for items that are not created from a Cricut cartridge. If there are any sections in the instructions that are not clear or you just need assistance along the way, please don't hesitate to email me with any questions. The file is in pdf format and is approximately 2.5mb. You can download the file by clicking on the link on the right side of my blog. Have fun with this and let me know how it goes.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I've been working hard on getting the instructions done for Travel Town (village playset), that some of you are anxiously awaiting. I am almost done and will post them soon. Before I do that, I need some assistance. Can someone tell me how to post a file on blogspot for downloading? It will be in pdf format. I am still really new to blogging and haven't run across how to do that yet. I would like to be able to track how many times it is downloaded, if that's possible. If you can help me out please just post a reply or send me an email.

Valentine's Day Project

2010-07-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

This was a Valentine's Day project that I did two years ago. I made one for all of the children in my son's kindergarten class and my daughter's preschool class (48 total). Each one was personalized with their name on it. The purses (shown here) were given to the girls and little paper backpacks were for the boys. The names were diecut out of the purse/backpack and a silver paper was glued to the inside to give the look of silver lettering. A heart was also diecut out of the front and a heart brad was added to the top flap. Holes were diecut on each side so I could insert the ribbon handle. Each purse/backpack had a little notepad and pen in it. I created the template for this purse in a CAD program, exported it as a DXF file, then imported it into my Pazzles Inspiration software.

Birthday Fun

2010-07-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Before I talk about this project I have to thank all the wonderful people that have left such positive comments on my blog. I am so touched.

This post contains many projects that I did for my daugther’s 5th birthday. The theme was Butterflies. The first project was a set of butterfly wings and head bands for the girls to all wear at the party. We had some boys there too, so they were bats that wore bat wings and masks.

The second project were the give-a-ways. All the girls got these little paper purses filled with goodies such as butterfly stickers, lip gloss, jewelry, and their own personalized bracelets with their name on them.

The last project that I did for the party was to create a butterfly display. We released real butterflies at the party so we needed some way to display them before letting them go. The kids really had a great time and loved their costumes, purses, and the chance to have butterflies land on them.

Contest Results

2010-07-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been quite a day. I had trouble sleeping last night so around 3am I checked to see if the results were posted for the next MPS Designers. They were. I kept scrolling down, hoping to see my name. I came to the seventh and final winner, but no luck. I then scrolled a little further and saw that I was given Honorable Mention and my project was right there posted on the site. I was still half asleep but was a little disappointed that I wasn't chosen. When I woke up to go to boot camp at 5am, I checked the website and noticed that some people were posting comments and mentioning that they really liked my project. I was feeling a little better about not being chosen. Before I left for work I checked one more time. This time I saw a comment where someone talked about checking out all the new designers blogs. I didn't realize that each person's name was actually the link to their blog. I click on my name and found myself at my blog. I then noticed that I had 7 followers. The first 3 were my friends, but there were 4 additional people that I didn't know. It was so exciting to see that people were coming to my blog and checking out my projects. Throughout the day I found myself constantly checking the comments on MPS and also my blog status. I realized how addicting this could be. It's now 10pm and I have 24 followers and 435 hits. That may not seem like a lot, but for one day, I couldn't be happier. My head is spinning with all the stuff I want to post. It was also a great lesson that I was able to teach my 5yr old daughter. She has been my little shadow while creating this project so she really wanted me to win. This morning when I told her that I didn't get picked, she started to cry. I surely wasn't expecting that reaction, but had to tell her that it was ok and I was happy with getting Honorable Mention. At that point I didn't know what a huge deal that was but I needed my daughter to know that winning isn't everything. Although I didn't get picked to be on the designer team, I feel like I walked away with the trophy. It has really been one of the most exciting days I've had in a long time.

I can't thank Robyn at MPS enough. The visibility from this is incredible. Thank you to all that commented about my project. I was so honored that I captured all the great things people said and posted them below.

Travel Town

2010-07-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is something that I submitted to My Pink Stamper to compete for a spot on her next Design Team. This project took me about 25 hours of work, spread out over about 10 days. I used the following Cricut cartridges: My Community, Walk in My Garden, Makin' the Grade, and George and Basic Shapes. The carrying case was cut and scored by hand. This was a perfect opportunity for me to learn how to use my new Cricut and Gypsy. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get good use out of the Gypsy, but after this project I am totally hooked. I was able to combine all pieces that needed to be the same color into a file on the Gypsy. The best part was that I could use the new feature of hiding contours. This drastically minimized paper used by taking the layered element and hiding all the pieces that wouldn't use the specific color I was working on. I had so much fun with this and was keeping my fingers crossed that I would be selected to be a Pink Designer.

I will be posting instructions to this project later this week.

RESULTS ARE IN.........I'll fill you in on my next post.

School Explosion Boxes

2010-06-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

These explosion boxes were made for both my kids class projects. Each class has to submit a project for the silent auction held at Open House. Parents could then buy raffle tickets to try to win the project for their child’s class. These turned out to be a big hit so I decided to make some more to give to both their teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day. Inside these boxes I included a couple pockets that each hold a bunch of cards. I created a card for each child in the class. On the card was their picture, birthday, grade, and teacher. It also included some questions like, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, “Where do you want to live?”, and “Who is your hero?” The cards were each laminated. This is a great way to remember a child's school year.

Mother's Day Explosion Box

2010-06-06T12:17:00.001-07:00

Back in January of this year I went to my first Craft Trade Show. It was the CHA Show in Anaheim. I was amazed at how much fun I had seeing all the different products and doing the many make & takes. I was only able to go for one day but I felt like I could have spent an entire week there. That was the day that I decided that I needed to get more involved in the craft community. Since then I have started checking out the many craft blogs and websites and even participated in my first online challenge (as you saw in the last post). I am also realizing that many of my friends enjoy scrapbooking and have already given me some great tips. The project that I posted today was an idea I got from Pinecone Press (www.pineconepressdesign.com) while I was at the show. I purchased a kit to make an explosion box. This was the first time that I had ever seen one of these, but have later learned that they are pretty popular in the scrapbooking world. I used the same basic idea of the explosion box, but changed it a bit from the kit that I bought. I made this box for my mom for Mother’s Day. She lives across the country from me so she doesn’t get to see her grandkids very often. The box is filled with pictures of them. I had so many pictures that I had to create some pull out panels to accommodate all of them. Although you could easily cut the box out by hand, I created a template for it and used my Pazzles Inspiration to cut it out. I cut the Mom lettering out on my machine as well, but all the other embellishments were pre-made and bought at Michael's. The more free time I have, the more I will start to make the embellishments myself.

MPS Father's Day Challenge

2010-05-30T23:20:00.001-07:00

I have officially entered the online crafting community. This is my first challenge. I had so much fun making it. I just got my new Cricut this week and don't have many cartridges yet so all but the lettering was cut on my Pazzles Inspiration.

Although the picture appears to be flat, this design is actually very 3d. The putting green is about 8"wide x 5" deep and the flag stands 7" tall. The bag was made by taking a rectangular sheet of paper, making it into a cylinder and adding a base, handle, and pockets. The golf clubs were made by using clipart to create a cutting path, saving as a dxf file, and importing it into the Pazzles software. The lettering was done on the Cricut using the Alphalicious cartridge. The flag pole is a thin piece of wire. Thanks My Pink Stamper for inspiring me to create something fun today.

My First Post

2010-05-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

We'll I took the plunge. I have been wanting to start a crafting blog and I have now done it. I have to thank My Pink Stamper in part because they are having a Father's Day challenge in which I decided to participate. Most people that submit designs have blogs, so that was the push I needed to set this up. I hope this will be the first of many posts to come.