Sandy's Art Space

My new Grand Daughter

2011-07-20T03:50:00.000-07:00

Imogen arrived on Saturday morning ... she is so precious. Mum, Dad and baby are doing well and came home from the hospital today....

2011-06-07T22:41:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been a year since my last post - where did the time go?

I have had such a busy year, and I about to become a grandma in July so I thought I would share what I made for the baby shower we had last weekend.

The pram favour box was inspired by an image for a card I found on a blog. There is a template for the card on the Splitcoaststampers website, but I couldn't find it so I made my own in Make the Cut software. For the card I used a leftover pram cut which I had left over because of a boo boo I made when embossing the side of the prams.

Mothers Day Card

2010-05-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

This card I made for Mothers Day using "Make the cut" software. Patterned paper is from DCWV Citrus range. The lettering is AS Christmas Script.
You can download the file for the card here. (This is an .mtc file so you will need Make the Cut software to make this card)

Baby Shower Gifts...

2010-05-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

Apologies for my lack of posting lately. Since Christmas my MIL has had health issues so I have been busy tending to some of her needs, also family life has been hectic. I have managed to do some crafting though. I made this "Nappy Cake" for a friends DIL's baby shower. As we don't know the sex of the baby yet, I chose a jungle theme (kind of) and cut various animals on the Cricut Expression to fit the theme. Some are from Cricut cartridges, some files were created from files using Make the Cut software. I squeezed a rattle, some bibs and a smiley night light in between the nappies on the tiers. The animals have velcro dots on the back so they can be used to decorate walls or locations in the nursery.Here is the "cake"

and this is the bottle shape baby card I made - not in keeping with the theme, but I thought it was cute.

Ornament Gift Card Holders

2009-12-21T04:55:00.001-08:00

I was surfing the net the other day looking for ideas for gift card holders and found a Youtube video for these. I have varied the design somewhat but the principle is the same. They are basically circles cut at 4.5 inches. I used chipboard sandwiched in between two different coordinating designer papers or plain coloured cardstock. You need 3 circles for each ornament. I then cut one of the circles a little bit larger than half way for a pocket. I cut the initials with SCAL on the cricut using the Black Chancery font (see also the glittered monogram ornaments in a previous post). I then embellished the gift card holders for the boys with the words Ho Ho Ho (I used SCAL for this), cut the pine trees and punched out some snowflakes for the girls gift card holders. I then threaded some gold ribbon through a hole in the top for the hanger. I have them hanging on the tree but won't put the gift cards in them until Christmas eve.
Here is a link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbCU7ESmsqQ

More Christmas Cards

2009-12-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

This is the last of my Christmas cards for the year. They have been sent now and hopefully have been received just in time for Christmas. Once again I used a variety of Cricut Cartridges, designer papers, stickers, and a variety of techniques, SCAL software and Design Studio software. The snowman is from My Scrapchick.com from their "My Snowman Collection" (I love their files). The centre card with the santa from the "Christmas Cheer" Cartridge is an easel card.

Shopping Bag Exchange Present

2009-12-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

I guess this is OK to post now as my recipient has received her pressie and has told me she loves it. I painted this bag as part of a Christmas exchange for a painting list I am a member of. I have to tell you it is quite a while since I have taken up a paint brush and am a bit rusty. I decided to paint the bag with a non Chrismassy theme so the recipient could use it all year round, but included the handmade photoframe so my gift was in keeping with the Christmas theme.

The pattern for the butterfly is a colouring book image I found on the net, the photoframe has a magnetic backing and fits a 4" x 6" photo. The frame idea comes from TeriBeri's Creations (she was a guest designer for the Christmas with the Cricut Blog in November) Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the frame how to video. She has some great projects on her blog. The elements of the frame were all cut with the Cricut.

Monogram Ornaments

2009-12-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

I made these glass ornaments (sorry about the photo - a photographer I am not LOL) for my family for Christmas. Each one has their initial on them and 2009 on the back. The inspiration for the glittered glass ornaments came from the Christmas with the Cricut Blog. (The equivalent in Australia for Pledge Future floor polish is Pledge One Go) I then cut the letters with SCAL software using the Black Chancery Font and A4 JAC paper (it has an adhesive sheet sandwiched in between two paper sheets). The paper cut great on the Cricut. Settings I used were Blade Depth: 6, Pressure: High and Speed: Medium. The cut didn't go right through to the bottom but it made the design easier top peel off then it was simple to just stick straight on to the ornament. I had to snip the design in a few places in order for it to hug the surface of the ornament better. I then sprinkled fine glitter over the design and brushed the excess off.

I decided to do some more ornaments to give as a small gift to the staff at work. I used bought ones and decorated them the same way as the glass ornaments. The snowflake design I used is from SVG Cuts "Santa's North Pole Workshop".

Some of this years Christmas Cards....

2009-11-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

These are some of the cards I have made to send away this year. Some inspiration I got from the "Christmas with the Cricut " blog, some inspiration came from magazines and some from the stickers themselves that I've used. I found the snowflake stickers at Big W in their Christmas section.

Life gets in the way....

2009-11-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while as my DH has been home with a pinched sciatic nerve in his back. He has been mainly lying down, but thankfully it is better and he is now back at work. this all means that I can get back to card making and I need to get a move on with my Christmas cards or they won't be finished in time. I am also taking part in a painted Christmas shopping bag swap which I haven't started to paint yet.
I visited my local scrapbooking store yesterday and came home with a few goodies for cards so we will see what I can come up with! I must admit my main source for inspiration lately has been the "Christmas with the Cricut" Blog, and I look forward to seeing every day what the talented designers have come up with.

Simple Christmas Cards

2009-09-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

I made these cards using some stickers I found at Spotlight the other day. I used a cuttlebug folder to emboss the backing. The stickers are just stuck on to cardstock and cut around the outside. The stars and ornaments are stuck on with pop dots (3D foam tape).

Christmas Pudding Shape Card

2009-09-16T17:17:00.001-07:00

This is a shape card I made. I'm not too happy with the wording but I don't have time at the moment to make another one.
You can download the scut file for SCAL2 here. (it's a zip file that will need extracting on your computer).
I decorated the icing and berries with stickles and sanded the edges of the holly leaves. I would love to see what you make with this file. Email me pics of your card and I will add them to this blog.

A simple Christmas Card

2009-09-14T02:32:00.001-07:00

I cut the heading too big to fit the card I had in mind, but decided to use it to make this card from some leftover patterned paper and cardstock.
Paper: Basic Grey Dasher
Heading: Cricut Cartridge - Christmas Cheer
Green Border: Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch
Kindy Glitz (equivalent to Ranger Stickles) on the heading.
The ribbon is a leftover length so I don't know the brand.

Favourite Cardmaking/Scrapbooking Blogs/Sites

2009-09-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to do this for a long time. Update my blog with my favourite sites/blogs that I use for inspiration time and time again. Just lately I have been visiting "Christmas with the Cricut" blog every day. The designers there have some fantastic ideas - plenty of inspiration. In fact I'm about to make a few of their christmas cards. I hope they keep this blog going after Christmas cause I love it!!!!

Another favourite is "The Pink Stamper" - Lots of how to videos.

My all time favourite place for SVG files is SVG Cuts (link is on the right). Sign up for their newsletter and you get a free file.

See the links on the right for some more of my favourites.

A couple of cards....

2009-09-08T23:11:00.000-07:00

I have been in a real creative slump lately as well as spending some time in hospital, but all is now well with my health.. I've just got to fix the creative slump LOL.

Here are two cards I have made lately, the first a baby girl card.
I used Cricut cartridge New Arrival for the pram, paper is from Die Cuts With a View Sweet stack. I used Kaiser Craft stick on pearls on the pram. The scalloped oval and oval shape I cut with SCAL.

This is a closeup of the card. I used magic mount on the sentiment and pram to make them pop off the cover.

The second card is a Christmas one. Basic Grey Dasher paper and Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge for the heading. The snowflake I cut with SCAL. I don't remember where I got the snowflake graphic from. Apologies for the bad photo. It really is a nicer blue than the photo shows.

The snowflake is two layers, the top layer being cut from acetate and glittered then mounted on magic mount to make it stand up.

The heading is mounted on magic mount as well.
I hope you enjoy looking at my cards. I am working on a few shape cards for Christmas . I hope to have them finalised soon so will make the patterns available for download.

Wedding

2009-07-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

My eldest daughter was married on the weekend (4/07/2009). What a wonderful day it was, the weather was perfect and everything went so smoothly and everyone had a terrific time.
Here are some photos....

The ceremony area...

The reception room...

The Wedding Cake...

A couple of cards .....

2009-04-23T06:01:00.000-07:00

I have had a chance to make some cards recently....

This card I made for my niece who got married recently. The heart shape is from the "Wedding Solutions" Cricut cartridge. I applied some red glitter to the top layer. The roses lace is a self adhesive border I found at a local shop. I embossed the Bazzill Bling black strip with the swiss dots folder. The wording has been stamped and embossed with black glitter embossing powder.

This card I made for a friend for her birthday. The layered flower I cut with SCAL. (I did not make the flower file). The leaf is from the "Home Accents" Cricut cartridge. The lime strip has been embossed in the cuttlebug with the swiss dots embossing folder. The wording is stamped.

The inside of the card.

Blog Facelift

2009-02-11T03:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time lately to post - but I decided it was time to give my blog a facelift, hope you like it.
I haven't been doing much crafting lately- I had a house full of guests for Christmas and once I went back to work my time has been limited. We have been inundated with rain here since Christmas - I wish we could send some down to Victoria where those horrendous bushfires have been burning. My heart goes out to all those who are affected. It's hard to know what to say really.

More Christmas Cards...

2008-11-12T22:56:00.000-08:00

Two different versions of the one similar design. These were made using a combination of Design Studio and Sure Cuts a Lot (SCAL) software. I used SCAL for the card bases. The ornaments are from the Cricut Joys of the Season cartridge (I didn't realise there were so many ornaments shapes on it) The merry wording I created in Inkscape. The small scalloped edges I cut with decorative scissors, the large scalloped border I made myself. I think the paper is Kaisercraft. Decorated with Kindy Glitz, Stickles and rhinestones.

Poinsettia Christmas Card

2008-11-06T01:52:00.000-08:00

The flower and scalloped square were cut with the Cricut machine using Sure Cuts a Lot software. The wording is from the Wild Card Cricut cartridge. Decorated with Stickles.

Christmas Card

2008-11-06T01:42:00.000-08:00

A Christmas card I have made recently using Sure Cuts a Lot and Design Studio software. The Peace wording is Harrington Font. Decorated with Stickles and Kaiser gems. Paper is double sided Kaiser craft .

Halloween Card

2008-09-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

We don't celebrate Halloween much here in Australia, but I couldn't wait to use Sure Cuts a Lot to try out these dingbat fonts I found on the net.
The card is approximately 6" x 6", the only element of the card that isn't a dingbat font is the dripping edge. The title and the spider are decorated with Stickles.

Below is the front of the card...

and the inside...

Snake tales......

2008-09-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

This snake has taken up residence on our front garden steps. I wasn't game enough to get up too close to take the photo. He can be found sunning himself there nearly every day. It is probably a black headed python, but I have two puppy's so I don't want to take any chances that the snake might eat them. Here in the Northern Tropics, pythons can grow very large - this one is probably a couple of metres long.

The snake man has been called in to relocate it...hope he comes soon.

Long time since last post.......

2008-09-04T01:12:00.000-07:00

A Baby Book and matching card that I have made recently.

If you use Sure Cuts A Lot with your Cricut Cutting machine you can download the SVG file for the baby book from here.

Cricut Teddy

2008-03-26T00:35:00.001-07:00

I created this Teddy with the Cricut Design Studio Software. A link for the cut file is below.

Click here for the Cut file

Hopefully in the near future I'll have a few more files to share, both for the Sure Cuts A Lot Software and the Design Studio Software.

Fancy Nancy Arrived.......

2007-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce you to "Fancy Nancy".

She keeps me company while I'm at the computer. Nancy was handmade by Ro (a wonderful Canadian lady) who makes some fantastic dolls. I won her as a prize for creating this Blog and making regular posts.
Visit her blog to see some more incredible creations.

ATC's

2007-10-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

A Couple of ATC's I have made for swaps lately.
The First ATC was a "Fantasy Creatures" theme, second "Fantasy Wedding" and the third "Circus" theme.

Thank You Card

2007-10-16T03:17:00.000-07:00

Just playing with some card layouts yesterday and came up with this one - loosely based on one in a magazine. The wording and flower were cut on my Cricut machine. Floral paper is DCWV from the Glitter Stack. I used stickles on the lettering and flower. You can't really tell from the pic but card is three fold with the narrow mauve panel at the front, then the floral paper in the middle, then the mauve cardstock for the back panel. I haven't decided what to put on the inside yet.

New Card Creation

2007-09-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

I've been busy with visitors and various other activities but finally found time to make some cards. Lounge room renovation is complete (except for me putting back all my things in the wall units) and the garden is starting to look great - we're gearing up for a hot summer here.

My most recent card creation - made for a swap.

Baby Card

2007-07-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

A baby card I created for a Card Swap recently.

Bromeliad Garden

2007-07-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

At last - the final stage in our garden renovation has nearly been completed (it's taken 3 years). I planted a bromeliad garden at the bottom of the large Poinciana tree in the back garden. The plants are only babies yet - can't wait to see them fully grown.

Kitchen/Dining room/Lounge Renovations

2007-07-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted - been really busy. We've just completed painting and semi renovating our living area in the house. Unfortunately it's not finished yet, have to order the carpet (getting laid in a week), order the lights (should be here next week) and order the new handles for the kitchen cupboards (should be here next week). Grrrr.... does nobody carry any stock any more? It's very frustrating. I must say so far it is looking great - it's amazing what a coat of paint will do. I will post some pics when it is finished.

Other than that I have made a few cards (can't show them yet as they are for a swap). My ATC Swap group is in full swing and have also committed myself to a Tag swap - Yikes, I'll have to find the time to create them all. I have also been assisting my daughter scrapbook her pages from her 2 year trip to London and Europe. Big job seeing that she bought home about 15 CD's of photos - but seriously we are only scrapbooking a select few, condensing the project to 3 pages per country, that still makes at least 45 pages!!!

Mothers Day & pots

2007-05-18T03:02:00.000-07:00

Boy, half way through May already - where has the time gone this year? I had a lovely Mothers Day, went to brunch with the family and received some Bunnings Gift Vouchers to buy some new ceramic pots for the garden to replace the ones that were broken when they fell over in a strong gust of wind. I have to wait for new stock to arrive as there is not a lot of variety available at the moment. Will post pics when I get them set up and in position.

Potted petunias from last season.

2007-04-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Not too much happening lately - my XP computer was playing up badly and a reformat was on the cards, so I decided to upgrade to Windows Vista, but problems occurred and I had to do a clean install. It has taken me a while to get everything back up and running how I like it. My sound card isn't compatible though, even with the new drivers installed - have to wait for an answer from support. My wireless adapter wasn't working either so I had to go back to using an ethernet cable, until such time as there is an upgraded driver (if ever). At least I have internet and it is probably faster than wireless - but, it's all good and I do like all the bells and whistles on Vista. What can I say - I'm a visual person LOL.

At Last....some creativity

2007-04-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

Today I have finally created something and made some ATC's. this one had a lace theme. These are fun to create, just a little fiddly at times.

I need some inspiration.........

2007-04-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter in Townsville and went to the Cowboys vs West Tigers football game. Great game in the end - Cowboys winning by 1 point.

I need some inspiration................. I have ATC's to do, scrapbooking and haven't painted in ages. I did make some easter cards though which I gave to my family.

Taipans Presentation Dinner - Starry, Starry Night

2007-03-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we attended the annual Taipans NBL Basketball Teams Presentation Dinner. A great night was had by all.

2007-03-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Below is one of the recent pages I have completed for my Grandmother's scrapbook album. Most of the photos are very old and unfortuneately I have little information about them to add to the pages.