Chipmunk Cheeks

I created this layout using this week’s freebie from Touched By A Butterfly.

This kit will only be available for free until December 15, 2013 so be sure to grab it while it’s free.

Christmas Card From the Recycle Bin

The first challenge for December over at Paper Wishes is to make a card that has something recycled on it.  So, off I went to dig through the recycle bin.  Thankfully, we forgot to put it out this week, so I was able to find some treasures.  I found some medium weight blue paper from some glossy flyers, a blue utility envelope and a discarded paper board insert from my latest cutting die purchase from Paper Wishes.  Next, I perused my collection of salvaged security envelopes, you know, the kind with the designs printed on the inside… I sometimes use them for iris folding so I keep an eye out for interesting patterns.  I dug through those and found one with a lovely gray cross-hatch pattern and another one with a matching black pattern.  Lastly, I found an envelope from a card I received last year that had a silver lining inside the flap (yes, I am a packrat, especially if it’s shiny!).

I threw all that together with some Paper Artist cutting dies (Snowflakes and Lacy Labels), Dazzles and Christmas greeting stamps and this is what I came up with.

 

Not bad for trash!

Welcome Baby Boy

I cut the onesies for this card using the Peek-a-boo SVG set from Lettering Delights.  I used the Baby Face alphabet dies for the lettering on the onesies.

I used the Peggy banner from the Layered Ribbon Banners template for the Welcome banner.  The stamp set I used was one of those dollar sets from Michael’s.

Made With:

• Peek-a-boo SVG set from Lettering Delights
• Layered Ribbon Banners template (Hot Off the Press)
• Baby Face Alphabet (Provo Craft)
• Tiny alphabet stamps
• Sparkle Gold Twine Cording (Maya Road)
• Patterned paper scraps
• Blue patterned paper
• Green patterned paper

Accentuate the Positive

The focal on this card was stamped twice, once with black ink on ivory paper and then on black paper with white ink. After coloring the flowers with Spectrum Noir pens, I cut the colored image in half diagonally and lined it up over the image stamped on black and cut it out using the Labels 4 cutting die.

Materials used:

• Yellow gingham scrapbook paper
• Ivory card stock
• Black card stock
• Orange card stock
• Black water based ink
• White ink
• Gold smooch ink
• Gold Jewel Border Dazzles
• Spectrum Noir markers
• Serendipity Flowers stamp set (Hot off the Press)
• Labels Four cutting die set (Spellbinders)

Happy Patterns Flower

Here’s a card I made with the Happy Patterns stamp set.  I received this stamp set in the March 2013 Personal Shopper kit and I’ll have to admit, it wasn’t love at first sight.  But then I started playing with it and I really like it.  There is a lot you can do with this set. 

To make the flower, I stamped four printed and four plain chevrons on the purple batik paper and cut out around the edges.  Then I stacked them alternating plan and printed chevrons to create the flower.  Once assembled, I glued the flower to purple card stock and cut around it leaving a 1/16th inch border.

Made with:

• Happy Patterns stamp set (Hot off the Press)
• Batik paper pack (Hot off the Press)
• Kaleidoscope paper pack (Hot off the Press)
• Anna Griffin Poppy embossing folder set (Provo Craft)
• Silver Jewel Border Dazzles (Hot off the Press)
• Mix ‘Ems Flower Stickers (Hot off the Press)
• Decorative Scissors
• Purple card stock
• Green Card stock
• Light blue card stock.

Vintage Photo Frame

I made the frame for this picture in just a few minutes using the Old Secret designer pack by ButterflyDsign.  The little girl in the picture is my grandma Ila.  She was an incredible lady.

The Old Secret designer pack is free until November 3, 2013, so be sure to grab it while you can.  If you like vintage, be sure to check out the other designer packs from ButterflyDsign as well.

Pyramid Santa Made With MMS4

One of the things you can make very easily with MyMemories Suite 4 is pyramid cards.  A pyramid card is made by layering an image so that each successive layer is smaller.  Here’s one I made yesterday evening.

The Santa image I used is from an old PcCrafter set.  Here’s a video tutorial I made showing how to make pyramid cards using MyMemories Suite 4.

MyMemories, It’ Not Just For Scrapbooking!

Wow, do I have a deal for you!  The folks at MyMemories are letting me give away FREE copies of MyMemories Suite 4 for one week.  No strings attached!  Just copy this code: FreeTreatAL87 and paste it into the Promo Code field when you check out.  It’s that easy!  This offer is only good from October 12 – 18, 2013 so be sure to get yours before it’s too late.

But you say you’re not in to scrapbooking?  That’s OK. You can do a lot more than just scrapbooking with MyMemories Suite 4.  Here’s a card I made recently using the Soft Nostalgia digital paper pack, Bodacious Bloossoms cutting file and Fairy Wishes digital stamps from PaperWishes.  The rick-rack on the inside is one of many included embellishments in MyMemories Suite.

 

Some of the elements are printed on the background and others were printed separately and layered on top.  I really love that I can size everything to fit the card.  No more struggling to find a frame to fit a stamped sentiment or vise versa.

You can see other projects I have created with MyMemories by clicking on the MyMemories category on the left side-bar.

Alcohol Ink Pens

A few months ago, I got a set of 72 Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens.  I didn’t use them much, because I didn’t have a good way to store them so I left them in their original packaging.  And there they sat.  Not wanting to shell out a bunch more money for one of those nifty pen organizers, I decided to make my own.  It’s not pretty, but it works and now my pens are all easily accessible (yes, those are Copics on the top rows.) Except for the paper I decorated it with, my pen organizer is made completely from recycled materials.

Now that my pens are always within reach, I decided I’d better figure out how to use them.  So, I watched a video or two and decided to give it a go.  Here’s a flower I drew on a piece of heavyweight vellum.

Since I was working on vellum, I got the idea to stamp something on a piece of plain paper, put the vellum over the stamped image and then trace it onto the vellum with the alcohol ink pens.  The idea is to get a drawn look even if you’re a lousy artist.  I dug through my stamps and chose the Flower Silhouettes set from Hot Off The Press and set to work using my red (DR1, DR3, DR5, DR7) and green (DG2, DG3, DG4, JG6) pens.

Here’s the result.  Obviously, I need to work a bit more on shading, but all things considered, I think I did OK.

Oh, and my other goal for today was to use up scraps.  Everything on this card except for the border dazzles and the card blank is from my scrap stack.

Here’s the inside:

I put a little piece of foam tape behind the flower to make it stand out from the

card.

If you’d like to participate in a card making forum, come check out the Just Cards forum at http://forum.handcraftedgreetings.com.

Butterflies, Birthdays and Banners

I spent some time cleaning my craft room this afternoon and uncovered some projects I started but never finished.  When I got done cleaning, I decided that rather than start something new, I should finish something (what a novel concept!).

I had all the pieces cut out for a butterfly card, but had never assembled it, so that seemed pretty easy.  After I got done I added a banner and a greeting to it.

I cut the butterfly with my eCraft using the Butterflies and Blossoms cut-it set from letteringdelights.com.  I really like the way it turned out.  The banner is from the Build A Banner template by Hot Off The Press.  The stamps and papers are also from Hot Off The Press.

Here’s the inside of the card:

You can find the supplies list for this card on my website here:
http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/card.php?card_id=00273

Forever In My Heart

I have some more freebies for you; three sets of papers, two patterns and several quick pages for dimensional paper hearts.  These will only be available until July 28, 2013 so be sure to grab them right away.

Honeychurch

Made in the USA

Summer Sorbet

Here’s a card I made with one of the quick pages and the free digital papers that are included in the HoneyChurch set.

The quick page I chose makes a heart that gets thicker toward the center.  The patterns and quick pages, when printed full size (8.5” x 11”), make a fairly large heart.  Since I wanted something I could put on a card, I reduced my chosen quick page 1/4 size.  I designed the front of the card in MyMemories Suite 4.  It was very quick and easy to do.  First I added a 4.75” x 6.5” rectangle and filled it with the Aqua paper included in the kit, then I added the shapes I wanted and filled them with paper.  When I was done, printed it, cut it out and added it to the front of a card blank. 

The instructions for the heart, posted on the MyMemories site say to print two copies, but if you want the paper to show on both sides, you will need to print four copies.  After cutting the strips out, arrange them in pairs, back to back so the color will show on both sides. 

After making the heart, I glued it to the front of the card, then I added a layered heart dazzle to the center and border dazzles along the edges.

As always, you do not need MyMemories Suite 4 to use the papers and templates, but it does make it easier.

If you’d like to purchase MyMemories Suite 4, be sure to use coupon code STMMMS97442 to receive $10 off the purchase price plus a $10 gift certificate to use in the My Memories online store.

Pretty Painted Piggies

Here’s a layout I created in MyMemories Suite 4 using pictures of my sweet little granddaughter and the new Serendipity digital paper pack from Hot Off The Press. 

Isn’t she adorable?

I used the basic circle and scalloped circle shapes for the flowers and I used the photo shape tool to make round photos for the flower centers.   The font for the title is called Robot Teacher and the font for the journaling is CK Carefree from Creating Keepsakes.  Everything else except for the ribbons is from the Serendipity digital paper pack.

Attaching Text to a Shape in MyMemories Suite 4

The May challenge over at the MyMemories forum was to use the Attach to Shape feature on a layout.  I was almost too late to join in the fun, but I managed to find some time yesterday afternoon and put this page together:

I attached the journaling to a tree shape from the Treedle Dee svg collection from Lettering Delights.  The combo pack I used for the papers and embellishments is Outdoor Adventure by Albums2Remember.

After I posted the layout, someone asked a question about attaching text to shapes, so I wrote up this quick tutorial.  Of course, I wrote it in MyMemories Suite 4!

If you’d like to purchase MyMemories Suite 4, be sure to use coupon code STMMMS97442 to receive $10 off the purchase price plus a $10 gift certificate to use in the My Memories online store.

Memorial Day Wreath

Today, my ESL kids made these wreaths for Memorial Day. I got the idea for the wreath from Enchanted Learning and I found the poem at Apples4TheTeacher.com.  I used the Attach to Shape feature in MyMemories Suite 4 to make the poem star shaped.  It’s really easy to do, you just add a text box with your text, add a shape, select them both, right click and select Attach to Shape from the context menu. 

The wreath is very simple to make, especially if you have an electronic cutter.  I used my eCraft.  The shapes are basic shapes that most machines come with.

Obviously, you could make this just about any size, but I started with a 7” circle with a 5.5” cut-out for the base.  I sized the stars to 2.5”, 2” and 1.5” and cut them from red, blue and white card stock.  I randomly glued the stars around the circle and then when I was done, I added the poem to the front and a hanger to the back.

Gift Card Envelopes

I have a new MyMemories freebie for you today.  Create one of these gift card envelopes for each of the graduates on your list.  They are quick and simple to make and completely customizable.  I used papers from the free Outdoor Fun paper pack for the gift card holder on the left and embellishments from the Bumble Flowers quick page for the one on the right.

You can download the templates for free until June 3.  Each set includes a blank template, two patterned backgrounds and a finished project.  Click an image below to download the corresponding template.

   

You do not need MyMemories Suite 4 to use the papers and templates, but it does make it easier.

If you’d like to purchase MyMemories Suite 4, be sure to use coupon code STMMMS97442 to receive $10 off the purchase price plus a $10 gift certificate to use in the My Memories online store.

Friends Forever

Here’s a card I made for the challenge I’m hosting over at Just cards.  The challenge is to make a card out of black and white paper with just a splash of one color.  I chose this challenge because I recently bought a pack of black and white papers and needed an excuse to use them.

I have also accumulated quite the collection of .svg files to use with my eCraft, so of course, I used some of those too.  The flower, lace and the label inside the card were all cut with my eCraft.  The sentiment is from the Heart to Heart stamp set from Hot Off the Press.

Here’s what the inside looks like.

Items used:

• White card stock
• Pink card stock
• Recollections black and white paper pad
• Heart to Heart stamp set (Hot Off the Press)
• Anna Griffin Poppy embossing folder
• 15 Lovely Labels template (Hot Off the Press)
• Butterflies and Blossoms .svg set (Lettering Delights)
• Scalloped Borders .svg set (Lettering Delights)
• Dimensional Flowers Cut it set (Lettering Delights)
• Double-sided foam tape

Deco Dragon Egg Freebie

I just love this week’s freebies and I think you will too. They are called Deco Dragon Eggs.  They are fun to design and easy to put together.  I cheated on the first two by converting one of the templates to a .svg file so I could cut the shapes with my eCraft.  I cut the first one from purple and lavendar card stock and then made a smaller one from patterned card stock. It takes 12 pieces to make each ball and there is no gluing or taping involved.

After I discovered how easy they were to put together, I decided to design one with photos of my granddaughters.  This time I had to do the cutting by hand, but it was pretty easy.

I printed the pieces on HP Everyday Photo paper.  I was afraid it would be too flimsy, but It holds its shape very well.  I think these would make really cute Mother’s day gifts.  You can also use them as boxes as they are about 4.5 inches in diameter if you print them full size on 8.5” x 11” paper.

If you would like to make some of your own dragon eggs, you can get the templates as well as several digital papers for free at the links below.  They will only be free for a limited time, so be sure to grab them before May 20, 2013. 

• Deco Dragon Egg 1
• Deco Dragon Egg 2
• Deco Dragon Egg 3
• Assembly Instructions

You do not need MyMemories Suite 4 to use the papers and templates, but it does make it easier.

If you’d like to purchase MyMemories Suite 4, be sure to use coupon code STMMMS97442 to receive $10 off the purchase price plus a $10 gift certificate to use in the My Memories online store.

Another Page Done!

I was late joining in on the fun, but I did manage to win a $10 gift certificate for any of the packages by Jusme Digital, so of course, I had to spend it today while things were on sale.  I made this page with the Whenever You Remember kit.

The page layout is from another Speed Scrap challenge on the My Memories forum.

Cute as a Button

As a beginning digital scrapper, I find things like the speed scrap challenges very helpful.  I’m far from speedy, but having a recipe for a page is very useful.  Since yesterday was National Scrapbooking day, there were plenty of challenges to choose from.  I chose this one from the MyMemories forum, and here’s what I came up with.

The papers and embellishments all came stock with MyMemories Suite. The font for the page title is Accent Dot Writer.

My eCraft Electronic Cutting Machine

I’ve been eyeing electronic cutting machines for quite a while and finally settled on the Craftwell eCraft.  I chose it because I wanted a reasonably priced machine that I could cut my own designs on. I did a little research before buying it, so I was aware that there would be a bit of a learning curve and I was also aware that some people outright hated it.  However, it made #2 on Top 10 Reviews for electronic cutters, so I figured it couldn’t be all that bad.  I was right.  It does have its quirks, but overall I am very happy with it.

Here’s a card I made with it last weekend.

Everything on the front of the card was cut with the eCraft.  The design behind the flower is one of my cut and fold patterns.  I drew it in Open Office Draw and saved it as a .svg so I could import it into the eCraftShop Pro software that comes with the eCraft.  The flower is from the Cut Flower Easter Cut-it set from Lettering Delights.  The frame is from the Delilah Tags set and the font is Taiga.  I cut all the white pieces from linen textured vellum and the turquois pieces are cut from card stock.

The eCraftShop Pro software that comes with the eCraft is extremely limited.  If you want to separate the layers of a layered .svg, and you most likely will, then you will definitely need some third party software to do that. I asked the folks at eCraft if the ability to separate layers of .svg files was going to be built into the software in the future and was informed in no uncertain terms that there were NO plans to make ANY modifications eCraftShop Pro.

After fighting with the software for about a week, I went in search of an alternative and found Make the Cut (MTC). MTC has a plug-in  for the eCraft so that you can send files directly from it to the machine, but be warned, it is extremely slow!  If I’m going to be cutting a lot of shapes, I typically manipulate the shape in MTC, save each layer as a separate .svg and then import it into eCraftShop Pro to send it to the eCraft from there.

One of the features of the eCraft that is slightly misleading is that it does not require a cutting mat.  While that is technically true, you DO need to use a carrier sheet with most papers.  When I say carrier sheet, I mean you will need to place a piece of cardstock under the paper you are cutting.  If  you set the blade depth properly, you will be able to use the same carrier sheet multiple times before you have to replace it.  To keep it from slipping, I use a repositionable glue stick to adhere the paper I’m cutting to the carrier sheet.  Be warned though, you do NOT want to put that adhesive anywhere where it will get on the rollers!  They are a pain to clean.  Also, you don’t need to use very much adhesive at all.  The instructions on the glue stick I have say to use two coats.  You don’t need that much.  One very light coat is plenty.

So, after all that, am I happy with my eCraft? Yes. 

If I could turn back time, would I buy it again?  Most likely, given the same budget.  If I could double my budget, I think I’d probably go with a Zing instead.

Pinwheel Bouquet

I have some more freebies for you today from My Memories, three cute sets of pinwheels.  Just download and print them as-is or use the template to design your own.  You do not have to have My Memories Suite to use the templates, but it does make it easier.  These freebies will only be available until April 21st, 2013, so be sure to grab yours today.

Here’s an encouragement card I made with three of the pinwheels.  Instead of printing them full size, I resized mine to 2.5 inches.  I found some background paper in my stash that matches the colors perfectly.

This project needs to be printed on both sides of the paper, so play with the placement and sizing on some scrap paper with your printer in draft mode first.

Here are links to the downloads:

• Beach Bum Pinwheel
• Seize the Daisy Pinwheel
• One in a Melon Pinwheel

If you would like to purchase your own copy of My Memories Suite 4, be sure to use coupon code STMMMS97442 to receive $10 off the software plus a $10 gift certificate to spend in the My Memories store.

Making Photo and Page Masks For My Memories

Today, I learned how to make masks to use in My Memories Suite.  It all started with a post on the Facebook group.  One of the members posted a page that had been created in another program using a page mask and wanted to know if she could do the same thing in My Memories and apply paper from a specific kit to the mask. I had been playing with creating .svg files to use in MM so, I thought I’d see if I could make a mask as well.

So, I broke out the crayons and scribbled a quick frame on a piece of white paper.

Then I scanned it and imported it into Make the Cut using the pixel trace tool.  I had to fiddle with the settings quite a bit, but I finally settled on using the luminescence setting with a threshold of about 225.  I then exported the mask as a .svg file and saved it into: C:\Program Files\My Memories Suite\Components\Shapes\Users.

I opened a new page in My Memories 4, added a photo, then used the shape tool to add the .svg mask over the top of the photo.  I filled the shape with blue paper and here’s the result:

Papers for this page and the next page are from My Kid bundle.

Next, I got to thinking about layering multiple masks, so I ran the frame through make the cut again, this time setting the threshold to about 190 (I can’t remember the exact number) and the resulting frame had a lot more transparency.  I layered that over the first frame, filled it in with a darker paper and ended up with this:

If you’re going to try a frame this complex, be aware that it takes a LOT of memory and your system will bog down.  So far, the only way I’ve been able to free up the memory again is to exit My Memories and start it back up.

Next, I thought I would try torn paper, so I tore The middle out of a piece of scrap paper and ran it through MTC’s pixel trace utility. Here’s how it turned out:

And another:

And finally, I decided to make a complete page mask.  One thing that’s really nice about using .svg files in My Memories is that you can shrink or stretch them to fit any page or picture and as long as you do the resizing before you add the digital paper, there’s no stretching or skewing of the paper.  Here’s a rectangular page I made from my square page mask.

The papers and embellishments on this page are from the Spring Fling designer pack.

I did not have the memory problems with this page that I had with the layered masks, which confirms my theory that the more nodes and vectors (jagged edges and holes) you have in a frame, the more memory it’s going to take up when you use it.

If you don’t want to shell out the money for Make the Cut, I found a free online svg conversion tool here:  http://image.online-convert.com/convert-to-svg.  It’s not as flexible as Make the Cut, but hey, it’s free and it worked very well on the images I tested.

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of My Memories Suite 4, be sure to use coupon code STMMMS97442 to receive $10 off the purchase price plus a $10 gift certificate to use in the My Memories online store.

Drumroll Please…

The winner of the MyMemories 4 Suite give away is YouGoGirl!  I believe you have my Facebook details, so please contact me there.  Congratulations!!!

Mini Gift Bags for Easter

I have freebies for you today!  Three downloadable kits with an Easter party bag template, some digital papers and lots of embellishments, too.  You don’t have to have MyMemories Suite 4 to use them, but it will make it easier.

Here are three bags I made with the kits.  I didn’t make any changes to the bag on the right. I printed it straight from the download.  I started with a blank template for the bag on the left and used only elements from the three digital kits.

I made the bag in the center using the Hoppy Easter set that came with MyMemories Suite 4 .  I printed the eggs separate from the bag and then used foam squares to mount them on the front.

Grab these downloads while you can.  They will only be available for free until April 7, 2013.  Here are the links (there are 3):
Freebie 1
Freebie 2
Freebie 3

If you need help constructing them, here is a link to the instructions: http://www.mymemories.com/craftables/partybag

There’s still time to enter to win a FREE copy of MyMemories Suite 4, check out the Scrapbooking kits at MyMemories.com, then come back here and add a comment with a link to your favorite pack and include a sentence or two stating why you like that pack. Only one entry per person, please. Comments must be posted by Midnight PDT, March 31, 2013 to be eligible. I will announce the winner by the end of the day on April 1. The winner must be willing to provide me with their e-mail address so I can send them the code for the free download (do not include your e-mail address in your comment!).

Easter Chick

MyMemories 4 isn’t just for scrapbooking.  You can make other things with it too.  See the end of this post to find out how to enter to win a free copy of MyMemories Suite 4.

This week, I decided to make an Easter card using the Easter pack that came with the MyMemories software.  Since there isn’t an egg in the provided shapes, I loaded a circle into the shape editor and made my own egg shape.  It was really pretty easy to do.

I created the apertures for the iris folding by layering two egg shapes for each egg, one slightly smaller than the other.  I colored the larger bottom layers pink and purple and left the top layers white.  After printing the card, I cut out the white egg apertures and added the iris folding.  The papers for the iris folding are also from the Easter paper pack.  After completing the iris folding, I added pink and purple glitter paper behind the openings.

I printed two copies of the chick and layered them using foam tape.  The bottom layer of the chick is the complete image and the top layer is just the top and bottom shell and the bow.

If you would like a chance to win a FREE copy of MyMemories Suite 4, check out the Scrapbooking kits at MyMemories.com, then come back here and add a comment with a link to your favorite pack and include a sentence or two stating why you like that pack. Only one entry per person, please. Comments must be posted by Midnight PDT, March 31, 2013 to be eligible. I will announce the winner by the end of the day on April 1. The winner must be willing to provide me with their e-mail address so I can send them the code for the free download (do not include your e-mail address in your comment!).

Come Run With Me Beside The Sea…

Here’s another page I made with MM4.  This one is for this week’s challenge on the MyMemories blog.  The challenge is to use papers and embellishments from the Hello February Add-on which is a free download.

Cute couple, don’t you think?

MyMemories Suite 4: Ripped Photos Feature

One of the new features in MyMemories Suite 4 is the ability to simulate a torn edge on photos and digital papers.  It’s super easy to do and I love the look!    There’s a great Tutorial on the MyMemories blog describing how to tear photos and pages.  After watching it, I was able to put together page 2 of my beach trip album in no time at all.

If you would like a chance to win a FREE copy of MyMemories Suite 4, check out the Scrapbooking kits at MyMemories.com, then come back here and add a comment with a link to your favorite pack and include a sentence or two stating why you like that pack. Only one entry per person, please. Comments must be posted by Midnight PDT, March 31, 2013 to be eligible. I will announce the winner by the end of the day on April 1. The winner must be willing to provide me with their e-mail address so I can send them the code for the free download (do NOT include your e-mail address in your comment!).