Puffy Box~so cute for gifts!!!

I was surfing the web last night and came across the site SplitcoastStampers. This site is new to me and I really enjoyed looking through all their projects. One in particular caught my eye~you guess it...the Puffy Box project. The designer (Brandy) on SCS used a CD to make her project. I was looking at it and thought how nice it would be to have the Cricut cut this out for me instead.

So, this project is NOT my original idea~but it will make your life easier if you want to cut quite a few of these out!

Here is the link to the original post on their site where I first saw this: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/puffybox/


This project was designed on a 12x24 mat~but you can always cut it on a 12x12 as long as you move the image onto the left side of the 12x24 mat.

Overall dimensions: 1.5"Hx3.5"Wx3.5"L(approx.). I think you would be able to get one of those Ring boxes inside this pretty box! It's pretty deep :)



I used Accent Essentials-but you could any circle from any cart for this one. I also used Gypsy font in there too :)



To help me score the box I used a CD to keep my lines nice and smooth, there were some I had to free hand but this was definitely not hard :) (and you all know how score mark challenged I am LOL!)



Here is the box all scored and folded.




Now just find a pretty ribbon to tie around and you're done! This box just opens up completely once the ribbon is off~I didn't glue and flaps down (I don't think it's supposed to be glued actually).

Cupcake Wrapper anyone??

Hi Everyone!! I had heard some rumblings on the message board for cupcake wrappers. For those of you who don't have design Studio and would just prefer to have a Gypsy file~this file is for you!

INSTRUCTIONS ARE FIRST~PICS OF WRAPPER AT END OF POST :)

oh okay, just one pic so you know what the heck I'm talking about :)


Once again I wanted to make a file that EVERYONE would be able to use no matter what cartridges you have loaded on your Gypsy. That's right~I did it again....this file uses only Gypsy Font and Wanderings :)

Okay~onto the details of this project:

This project was designed originally on a 12x24 mat~but you don't need to use one at all!

I selected this size while I was designing, as I liked having more room to move around on the mat. To be honest when I cut it I just used a 12x12 mat and didn't bother changing the mat size on the Gypsy (trust me the Expression didn't know the difference LOL!).

Also THERE ARE 2 PAGES for this file. You may also end up making a 3rd page~depending on where you want the 2 pieces placed on your mat. I used 2 pages for a very good reason~I promise!

On the FIRST page you have the outer wrapper and the base of the wrapper. If you touch one of those items you will see it's not linked to the other.

I did this specifically to allow you to BE ABLE TO MOVE THEM AROUND YOUR MAT. When you go to PAGE 2 you will understand why I did this. Here is a pic of page 1 for you. *Note: what is in red is what is on page 1. To get to page 2 just touch on the #1 on your top right hand corner. Click on any picture in this post to make it larger (easier on the eyes).



PAGE 2 shows quite a bit here~don't get worried it all makes sense in the end!

First thing right off the bat is now BOTH THE WRAPPER AND BASE are GROUPED together. This will allow you to enlarge or decrease your wrapper TOGETHER. Why did I do this? The answer is (and I found this out the hard way) if you decide after enlarging you want to move it around on the mat~but wait, they are grouped together and you just wanted the one piece. So you decide to push ungroup. Uh oh..... EVERYTHING is ungrouped....all those little pieces....a nightmare to weld!! So this is why I grouped them~easy enlarging or shrinking.

One more thing~How do I know what size I have and what should I use?

Measure the bottom of a muffin cup, the diameter across the circle should tell you what the height for your circle needs to be. In this one it is 2.16"H. After you've enlarged your wrapper and you want to see just how large it will be: Just touch 1x on your base wrapper (this will highlight to blue), then TAP ONE MORE TIME on the middle circle (turning it PURPLE) and voila! You will see the dimensions of your base diameter. I've highlighted these important details in the aqua circles.





So, if you're like me and you want to move stuff around to save paper.....

DO ALL YOUR ARRANGING ON PAGE 1. Once you have it arranged the way you want it, GROUP BOTH items. Keeping these 2 pieces highlighted in BLUE touch the + (plus) button on the top left of your screen. This will bring you to PAGE 3. Now just touch the COPY button located under the ADVANCED tab (top right hand of your screen). It is the 2 little purple squares that are beside the eye button. After you touch the copy button your image from PAGE 1 is copied to page 3 (all nicely arranged the way you want it to save paper!).

On page 3 feel free to enlarge or decrease the wrapper to your project's requirements.

When you are ready to cut just make sure you are on page 3 and you are all set!! Now, if during all of this you make a mistake~just exit out and DON'T save. Open it up and just try again :)

Any questions AT ALL please leave me a note~I read each and every single comment. Just be sure to leave me a way to contact you :)

I hope you all enjoy this one~I had a great time designing it!!









*This knocks another cartridge off my list that I was going to buy just for 1 cut LOL!*

AH HA!! Pillow Box Finished!! AND with Score Marks!!

Wow, this box was tough.

For this box you won't have to worry about having the cartridges I used to design this project. Why do you ask? HOW could that possibly be? Don't you have to own the carts used in order to cut?

Well, the answer to this is: I used ONLY Gypsy Font and Wanderings!!! That's right (I'm so excited about this!) all gypsy owners can download and use this file! Can you say WOO HOO?! One more time! Let me hear you say: WOO HOO!!

okay, on to the details: Overall dimensions of the box shown in picture~ 3.75"L(approx.)x2.75W"(approx.)x.75"H(height was measured with it laying flat on my desk).

NOTES:

Project designed on a 12x12 mat~woo hoo! don't have to go and buy a bigger mat :)

*Box and Score marks are grouped together* so when you enlarge EVERYTHING ENLARGES.

I did this for 2 reasons: the first being when I enlarged the pillow box I had one heck of a time lining up the score marks afterwards on their own.

Grouping it all together (after I welded the pillow box on it's own) allowed me to resize and keep the proportions correct.

The second reason I did this is for those of you who wish to have NO score marks. Just double tap on the pieces and delete. This will not affect the welding on the pillow box whatsoever. Don't forget you can always modify it to suit your taste.

So without further ado~A pic of my TEST cut....free of bugs and with wonderful score marks to show you where the flaps are supposed to be scored (okay, I'll admit it~those score marks are really for me because I kept messing up my scoring with the flaps LOL!!)

First pic I circled the score marks so you could all see them :) I did my best to make them as skinny and small as I could, using just the gypsy carts made it tough...

GABLE BOX Gypsy file IS READY!!!!

oh my, thank you so much for being so patient!!! I know some of you have been waiting for this all day.

I thought today: wouldn't it be nice if I put score marks on the box (like they do in TTBM) and add a few things....

Well I went and messed up all the welding I had painstakingly finished on the box! Talk about frustration.

So, thanks to that glitch I am offering you a WONDERFUL GABLE BOX sans score marks. Better than nothing right? LOL!!!!

LADIES AND GENTS~ this is a 2 page file I am including instructions throughout this post on how to cut a project using more than 1 page. So please read carefully and observe the pictures and you should have no problem cutting and assembling this BEAUTIFUL GABLE BOX!!! who else is doing the happy dance with me? Can't you just picture this black little beauty all dressed up in Christmas' Finest? Oh yes, she will be beautiful....I'm going to glam and bling her out tomorrow. An after picture will be coming soon! LOL! ok, as promised instructions and pics:

After downloading your Gable Box gypsy file:
open up your file. You will see that I have included the list of cartridges that were used in the design. If you do not want these to cut out as well please delete these before you select the cut button.


Once your box has been cut, your gypsy will ask you what you want to do. DO NOT UNLOAD THE MAT!!!! Instead select Return to Design.


Once you are back on page one, look in the top right hand corner of your screen and touch your stylus to the number 1. It will change to the number 2. You are now on page 2 of the design. This page is for the handle cutouts and holes to keep the box closed.
(these holes had to be on this page as they were welded and my gypsy went wonky with the welding when I had it on page 1 originally).


Now all you have to do is select CUT, your mat is STILL loaded into the cricut at this point and the gypsy will only cut what is on page 2.


Now as I said previously, my score marks were a bust~I am going to try them again tomorrow and see where I get. For now I have shown a picture demonstrating where the scormarks should be. You will make 2 long horizontal marks using a long ruler. Then you will make 4 smaller score marks vertically. Use the photo as a guide.



Now that everything has been scored and folded/creased your box is ready for assembly. Start with it laying flat and lift up the right side of the box. Slide the right side of the box towards the bottom and have that side slip in behind the tab~as shown in photo.




Next fold the top piece down and tuck behind that tab as shown in the photo.


Lastly take your left side and slide it into the middle, use the photo as your guide :)



Don't forget to add ahesive to your box after you've tried DRY FITTING IT a couple times....practice putting the bottom together before you get the glue out ok??




And finally~the long awaited GABLE BOX!!!
Overall Dimensions: 5.25"Lx7"H(including the handles in this measurement)x5.25"D.

Don't forget I haven't dressed this box yet, but already you can see it has good bones and will turn into something wonderful!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Gypsy Files for Sharing!!

I've decided to leave my files for sharing at the top of my blog. I will add to them as I design. Please leave me a comment if you decide to pick up a file or two....I love comments and they encourage me to keep designing and sharing!

This is so exciting! Thanks for stopping by :)

Fancy Custom Gift Box using Gypsy

Well folks, this is it~my first gift box made entirely from scratch! I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Sometimes my projects fail miserably in the execution stage. Fortunately this one was a success!
I started with my design on my gypsy:



Then onto the cutting stage, SEI paper CUTS LIKE A DREAM ON THE CRICUT!! LOVE, LOVE LOVE THAT PAPER!






Add a little glue, a little bling, a handmade flower on top and here you go: A gift box you would be proud to give to anyone :)









I've included the step by step in the post below after having several gypsy users ask for the details. Enjoy!

Instructions for Fancy Gift Box using Gypsy

My gosh this was a lot of work! I sure hope we can just share files soon LOL!!

This project was designed using a 12x24 Mat.

I've decided to do the steps for the box base first, then the lid second.

Pic 1: Photo of Box base and overall dimensions of 10.91wx10.85H



Pic 2: So I've spaced everything out so you can see how I put it together before welding.
Photo of centre of box (used Plantin Schoolbook for square).
Dimensions are 3.75Wx3.61H. I copied the square 4 times and placed them around my center.
*Make a note of your X and Y co-ordinates OF THE CENTRE SQUARE and write them on a scrap paper* after you have placed it in middle of your mat (off to the right like mine). (when you line up your outside squares you will be making sure they match the x and y co-ordinates of the centre square).



Pic 3: In Gypsy Wanderings select the tag that we are going to use as a tab to hold our box together. Dimensions should be:3.71wx1.16H. **When you make a tab for the opposite side you will have to ROTATE 180 degrees-not flip or it will not weld.





After you have everything laid out as I did make sure all of your items are UNGROUPED. Now you can start nudging things closer and closer so they overlap ever so slightly. Check your X and Y co-ordinates from square to square to make sure they are lined up with the centre square. Zoom in very close when you are lining them up, you want a smooth line when they cut.
Once you have everything looking correct, go ahed and group all images together.
I started from the centre square out (much easier this way for me).
After your box is grouped then go to your advance tab and weld. Preview and zoom in to make sure you welded correctly and moved everything close enough.

That's it for the box. Now for the lid....

I've taken a photo of the lid, again it's all broken apart so you can see what I've done.



I used a storybook shape for the fancy edging around my lid. The image on the left below I used as fancy corners to dress up the box. I only cut two of those. I took the image and using a ruler and sharp blade cut it in half horizontally.
The image on the right (in the pic below) are what I used for my flaps. Dimensions for the flaps are 3.09Wx3.68H.



These little cuts I used as my 'tabs' to hold my box together~but you could use the same tab as we used on the box. I just wanted something pretty on the inside of the lid. Dimensions are 1.80wx0.81H. Below is how I place them.



A pic of where to find these little things on your gypsy



You will have to rotate your images around the square with this lid as well, no flipping or it won't weld.
Below is a shot of how I've placed mine-Remember that all images should be UNGROUPED at this time. Grouping is the last stage before welding and cutting.



This photo below is fairly important as to how you place your flaps on your box. You want to make sure you have the corners open and your other flaps are not touching each other on the sides. Just wanted to add a pic to make sure :)



I hope that is clear as mud. I'm a visual person so pictures are much more easy for me to grasp a concept with. Sorry about the rambling.

**Just a note: These pictures were taken AFTER I had cut mine out so it was still welded and that is why it is red.

When you are designing your images will be in BLACK (as they should not be grouped).
Once you have added your images and placed them accordingly go ahead and group~then they will be BLUE.
After they are grouped go ahead and weld them~then your images will be in RED.

So don't panic if you are following along with the images and the colours don't match. I just wanted to warn you guys! LOL!


I've also included a screen shot of the flower i used for the top of my box. I cut 6 out each one smaller than the last. I didn't save the flower~sorry it was an add on after I made the box~the top just looked so naked! I threaded my fibres through the holes all the way to the top. Tied them in a knot and added fibres throughout for more volume and prettiness.

Thanks for reading my book~long winded but hopefully helpful to those who want to give it a try!

Wow! Another Free Jessica Sprague Class!!

Right before the holidays too! For those of you who have been visiting me a long time~you know I love Jessica Sprague classes!! She offered a free 2 week class all about brushes this summer~AMAZING is all I can say about that!

I just wanted to share this FREE opportunity with all of you~her classes are really quite impressive :)

Below is an excerpt from her WEBSITE:



We'll be making a great project to help you tell your holiday stories both past and present, and I'd like to extend a personal invitation to EVERYONE. You don't have to be a digital scrapbooker, you don't have to know Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

Registration is easy and free!
Log in to your account at JessicaSprague.com. If you don't have an account you can create one here.
Copy this code by highlighting it and typing Ctrl-C (Cmd-c on your Mac): HIHFREE2009
Click the image above, or click right here, then paste (Ctrl-v or Cmd-v) the code.
You're registered! Click on your My Classes link to view the introduction to the class! (I'll be posting the supply list on Wednesday)
I know we're going to have an amazing time together in class, and I would LOVE to share this information and experience with everyone! Please tell your friends and family, spread the word, share the love!

Welcome to Holidays in Hand!

Quick FAQs
You don't need to KNOW Photoshop or Elements, but it's a good idea to HAVE it, since you can use it to add to your project.
You don't need to be on at a specific time - all the content for the class will be available to you FOREVER (just like all our classes).
If you need help creating a new account or are having trouble logging into your account, send an email to accounts@jessicasprague.com
Yes. I really DO think you're awesome.

Blog Button anyone?

I FINALLY made a button to match my blog. You wouldn't believe how many people have asked me about this LOL!! I finally got off my keester and made a cute button to match my blog.

All you need to do is copy the html code in the box below the image. Go into your layout tab, then add a gadget, select the HTML/Java widget. Paste the code into the widget, save and your done~EASY PEASY!


<br /><a href="http://cricutinspiration.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i540.photobucket.com/albums/gg357/alfagetti1/blogbutton.gif"/><br /></a>

Just copy the html code in the box above, then paste into a html gadget in your layout tab and voila!

Hope you like it! Have a great day :)

More awards!! HOLY COW!

Thank you Snowmanlover and aScrapaddict for this award. You both always stop by and leave such sweet and encouraging comments for me.


The rules are this: I need to pass this award on to five people, post on their blog to let them know I left this award, and then I need to answer a list of questions in ONE word.

1. Where is your cell phone? Stolen
2. Your hair? short
3. Your mother? far away
4. Your father? passed on
5. Your favorite food? caesar salad
6. Your dream last night? none
7. Your favorite drink? milk
8. Your dream/goal? Marathon
9. What room are you in? craft room
10. Your hobby? Design
11. Your fear? regret
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Paris
13. Where were you last night? Halloween Party
14. Something that you aren't? Cynical
15. Muffins? no
16. Wish list item? nothing :)
17. Where did you grow up?
18. Last thing you did? tidy my craft room
19. What are you wearing? workout clothes
20. Your TV? off
21. Your Pets? fish
22. Friends? thoughtful
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? positive
25. Missing Someone? mom
26. vehicle? jeep
27. Something your not wearing? earrings
28. Your favorite store? Pier 1
29. Your favorite color? white
30. When was the last time you laughed? 10 minutes ago
31. Last time you cried?
32. Your best friend? hubby
33. One place that I go to over and over? work
34. Facebook? no
35. Favorite place to eat? home

Here are the five people I"m passing the award to:

I WILL HAVE TO DO THIS PART TOMORROW, OFF TO BED NOW~NOT FEELING WELL.

My custom award!

Thank you Lorrie, this is so sweet!! It certainly made me smile, you are such a thoughtful lady.....thank you :)

Thank you everyone for voting.....

but I didn't win. The lady who won the grand prize had over 5000 votes!!

I simply just don't know that many people. I also lost out to a turkey, SERIOUSLY! LOL!! My category was in home decor and the turkey won :) (I'm talking about the project guys! LOL!)

You can view the winning projects here: Winners

Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart who voted for me, we gave it a good try!!!

I'M DONE!! I'M DONE!! COME AND LOOK!! The Gypsy 24-hour Design Challenge

Click on a picture for a large view :)


I'M DONE!!! I'M DONE!!!! I stayed up till 4am last night designing it. I spent all day cutting it out and putting it together!

BIG THANK YOU TO HUBBY WHO MADE SUPPER TONIGHT :)

I have attached a link that will take you to where you need to vote for me....but not until the entry submission is closed tonight at midnight!

Voting begins at midnight and closes MIDNIGHT OCTOBER 29TH. If you REALLY like my project could you please get your friends, neighbours, co-workers.....that strange fellow down the street that talks to himself to vote for my submission?

I put a lot of hard work into this. I don't know why I always decide to do such a detailed and intricate project for challenges or contests....I just stress myself out LOL!

Here is the link~ the name of my project is WINTER GLITZ be sure to look for that one!:

I'M GOING TO DO IT.....

Oh my word, I'm going to enter the Gypsy Challenge.

Posting my work for everyone to vote on?
Oooooh boy.....talk about stage fright! It's one thing to share it with you guys...but to have it voted on? Kinda like a popularity contest? yikes.....but the carrot dangling at the end of the stick is just too good ;)

I will give it my best try~that's all I can do.....(gee I think I've told my little one that a time or two LOL!)

Wish me luck everyone....I AM REALLY NERVOUS!

Not much posting this week....

My little one is going in for a tonsillectomy and adnoidectomy bright and early at 8am Monday morning. I don't have anything on the go except taking care of my new 'patient'.....talk to you all soon.

IT'S FINISHED!!!

I finally got my Halloween Door finished!! I used my GYPSY for everything!! I just LOVE, LOVE LOVE IT!!! I'm using images on carts I didn't know I had!

Vinyl Halloween Door Design~a la Gypsy!!

Well, it took my little Gypsy quite some time for it to process my cut, then cut it....but she did it. Didn't this turn out great!?


Right now I'm having trouble with gremlins....they have stolen my transfer tape and until I find it I can't stick it to my door.

I have some really neat 'goo' that is cut in green vinyl and will go below this cut....SO AWESOME.

Tuesday I should be able to hit M"s and get some tape~I will post the finished project then! Thanks for stopping by and looking~please leave a comment and tell me what you think! I really do want to know what you all think of my work....I see so many people come to visit my blog....I'd love to know who you are :) :) :) Then I can come and visit you too :)

Halloween Scene with my Gypsy!!

K I should be in bed, I'm getting up at 5:30 (it's 11:23pm). Because it's so late for me I'm only posting a pic of my design DRAWN with cricut markers. I will post a pic for sure when I cut it in vinyl!!!!! I PROMISE

I just had to share! I even woke my hubby up to show him! LOL!
I played around all night with this.....I wanted to design something I could cut out in vinyl to adhere to the glass on my door for Halloween....I know the cobweb didn't turn out....but I'm moving it anyway. I'm hoping the welding for flipped images comes soon, I REALLY could have used that tonight....there are A LOT of things i didn't add because we don't have that yet....but we will

A few notes:
*11 objects on a 12x24mat
*all items were UNGROUPED to start
*I started right to left, bottom to top finishing with the frame for welding ALL 11
IMAGES together
*Preview button (eye) was EXTREMELY SLOW but IT DID WORK. I just had to be
patient for it to load (were talking close to 3 minutes)
*After checking to see if the welding was ok (I missed the cobweb oops!) I pushed
cut.
*The cutting stage took the longest, I wanted to panic, but I didn't touch my G or
my E. Instead I pulled out a magazine and looked at all the pretty x-mas cards
I was going to scraplift!
*after about 5 minutes it started to draw (cut) my vinyl design

It was a lengthly process but it did happen~I'm hoping future updates WILL increase load and preview times but for the most part my design did work

My First card made with the GYPSY!!!

Now that I'm finally up and running I made a card with my Gypsy!!! All the cuts were made using my new G.
I didn't go very fancy or elaborate with this card. I only tried welding a whole bunch of circles I stretched to be narrow to make a strip behind the cute little birds. This post is really just to tell you about my experience using this to design cards.

WHERE HAS THIS LITTLE GADGET BEEN ALL MY LIFE?? LOL!!!





I love that I could scroll through images at the drop of a hat. When I found images I liked, all I had to do was select them and put them on my Gypsy mat. I can't believe how easy it was. The whole design process is my most favourite part of making a card and this gadget just makes it so easy and SO FUN!!

I'm very slow at making cards, usually I'm taking forever looking through the booklets, then I have to put a sticky on the pages I want to use, so I can refer to those when I'm ready to cut.

I was able to find the cute images I wanted in just a few minutes. The easiest part was when I thought I wanted to add more to it, instead of looking through the booklets again...I just scanned the images on my Gypsy!

It took me less than half an hour to design this card, and maybe a half an hour cutting and gluing and inking it together.

If you are considering buying a gypsy I say: GET ONE! It's a whole new way to design, you really have better control over the images and can manipulate them in so many ways to truly customize your card :) Ok, enough already, I love my G.

HTML code for GYPSY BUTTON to put on your blog!

PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT IF YOU UPLOAD THIS BUTTON TO YOUR BLOG~

I would love to know where these end up....... and so I can come and visit your blog too!!!

Ok ladies, for those of you who requested this HERE YOU GO!!! :) :)

Just copy and paste the HTML code you see in the little box below the image.

Here are some instructions to get it on your blog if you haven't done this before:

Go to your LAYOUT tab and select ADD A GADGET. Select the HTML/JAVASCRIPT one. Paste the HTML code and SAVE. There you go, a pretty little button for your blog :) I edited the code so it will not link back to my blog. Enjoy!


THIS CODE IS FOR YOUR BLOG BUTTON~THIS IS NOT FOR YOUR MESSAGE BOARD SIGNATURE, THAT POST IS BELOW :)

<br /><img src="http://i540.photobucket.com/albums/gg357/alfagetti1/gypsybutton.gif"/><br />

**SEPARATE POST BELOW FOR HTML CODE FOR IMAGE TO USE IN MB SIGGY**