Welcome!

Welcome to my New Blog. This blog is for sharing my crafting ideas and my cutting files that I create primarily using the Make the Cut Software and my electronic cutters which include my 18" Black Cat Cougar, a Silhouette SD, and an original Expression.

All files and information shared here is for your personal use only. Please contact me if you wish to use any items commercially, for blog contests, or to submit for magazine publication. Thank you.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Happy Birthday Book or Card from Royal Inspirations SVG

Hello again!  Two posts in two days!  A new record for me!  LOL  Well, at least for the past little while.  I'm going to try and get better, I promise.  I do have some things to share with you, just no time to sit down it seems to get it all written up, photos taken, and posted! Summer time seems to make it even more difficult.  We'll see if I can improve once school starts back next month!

Yesterday I shared with you a new site, Royal Inspirations SVG started by my friend Retta. On her site she has lots of wonderful files that you can obtain in 3 formats so she should have almost all of you covered.  Not only does she provide the files in SVG format, but she also provides them in Make the Cut (MTC) and SCAL formats as well so that should mean that she probably has a format that works easily for you!  She has files in a variety of categories and price ranges and even has free files for you to download and try so be sure to stop by and find some that will inspire you!

When I saw this Birthday "Book or Card" that Retta designed I just knew that I had to have it!  I wasn't sure when I was going to actually use it, or who the lucky recipient was going to be but I knew I had to get it and create it!  It's wonderful!  The one thing I learned however is that with something like this, you want to make sure that you have a really good sticky mat to ensure those beautiful letters stay put on the mat while you are cutting them!  I have a bad habit of trying to reuse mats over and over and over again even when I should stop and fix them!  I thought I could squeeze a few more cuts out on this one with a little help from my painter's tape but no go.  However, once I broke out a new mat, it was easy breazy and I was wondering why I had wasted my time and paper to start with!

Instead of using chipboard for my "book" backing, I choose to use some neon green styrene that KarenP had first shared about finding on the MTC forum.  It matched great with my green letters and added just enough backing to my pages.  It gives the book that little extra "pop"!  Best of all, it and Retta's files cut great on my Black Cat Cougar that I have been neglecting! 

Speaking of my Cougar, I Love my Cougar, but that doesn't mean that I'm not green with envy about those who are getting the newest cutter, The Silver Bullet,  from Sherri at That's Scrap, Inc. in the USA, Dawn at Thyme Graphics in the UK  and Jo at Cutting Edge Craft in Austrailia too! They look wonderful and I am hearing great things about how well they are cutting too!  Wish I could justify getting one too (I do love new gadgets and toys) but I will stick with my Cougar for now as it does everything I need and more.  I just need to use it more (then maybe I can justify a Silver Bullet too! : ) )  However, if YOU are in the market for a new cutter that will work with MTC and SCAL be sure to swing by and check out the Silver Bullet!  They may just have one with your name on it! But even better than the cutters themselves, is the customer service and support that each of these 3 ladies give, before, during and after the sale! To help justify that new purchase, be sure to check out all of Retta's designs at Royal Inspirations SVG and see what she has waiting for you to create.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I will be sharing more creations made from some of Retta's files with you as I have other things from her shop that I thought were just too cute!  Plus, I have some of my own files to share with you soon too as soon as I can find more time!  That's the great thing about working with someone else's files, it takes a whole lot less time to actually "create" the end project!  See you soon (I hope!!)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Frog Card created with file from Royal Inspirations SVG site


Hello everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.  No files of my own to share today but I wanted to show you this card that I made with a file from my friend Retta's new site, Royal Inspirations SVG. I have obtained several of her new files recently and wanted to share a few of them with you here.  I have two things made already, this card and something else I will share with you tomorrow.  Retta's files are amazing and contain a lot of detail work but yet still cut so easily with my Make the Cut software and my Black Cat Cougar. So don't be fooled by the name of her site, she not only has SVG files, but she also provides her files ready to go for Make the Cut (MTC) and Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) users.  With those three options, she is sure to have a file type that will work for almost everyone!

This jumping frog is Retta's file.  I added a quick crown and lily pad of my own.  The corners of the mat were punched using a Martha Stewart punch.  I thought it looked like "bubbles" of water!  Notice all the detail to the frog!  Didn't Retta do a great job with all the detail to make him so adorable!  I thought he would make a cute card to send to my niece who recently broke up with her boyfriend.  I decided not to add any wording to the front of the card and simply added it to the inside.  Inside I put, "Look at it this way . . . another frog has been eliminated so you are that much closer to finding your handsome prince!"  I think she will appreciate it!  (She broke up with him so all is good there!) I pop dotted the frog and the crown up for dimension after adding some inking and glitter pen work.  I embossed and inked the lily pad as well.  It was a quick and simple card that I hope will make my niece laugh and it was so simple using Retta's handsome frog!  Be sure to stop by Retta's new shop and see all the other wonderful files she has to offer. You can find her site, Royal Inspirations, SVG here: http://www.mainstreetartsandcrafts.com/rettas/.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I have another file of Retta's to share with you tomorrow.  It is even more adorable and great for a special birthday!  Then, I have some other things that I have been working on in the past few months but haven't found the time to sit down and share with you yet so be sure and stop back by soon and I will do my best to get those added too!