Spring Is Here and So Are Bunnies!

Oh Yeah, Spring is here! I was outside with no jacket, no gloves, no scarf and was wearing a short sleeve shirt. Can this be true or a mere treat for the weekend? But one thing for sure is, it was time to have a look at those Lindt bunnies. Ok so I was so overtaken by the warm weather and I had to put up some Easter decorations and then there was the cleaning of the house and last nights dinner and laundry too. (ok let's just blow of the laundry) so I finally get into the craftspace and I have 30 Lindt bunnies looking at me and I'm thinking Geeee what am I going to do with you guys. So thanks to a total lack of basket - box inspiration, I thought to myself - "self, this looks like cheat'en time!" So I took said adorable Lindt bunnies out of their happy, lovely package, scanned in said package and created the .... are you still with me ... the same package, only a house for one happy little Lindt bunny. I LOVE IT! I have to do this more often. Sure, no more brain stress. I will simply take the package that the big company designed and copy it with my own spin. OK I'm just kidding. I was just pressed for time and needed 30 of these, so every now and again we all have to draw some inspiration from something that is right in front of us. I like the way these favors came out and I might just add a little something to the space in the lower left corner. Hope you like them too! Thanks for visiting, Lysa

This Picture Is All Me!

I have been looking through pictures to post, and I came across this photo. I have to tell you that this picture describes me perfectly. I could not stop laughing. I did feel the need to edit out the (oh so hideous ashtray) but I really think that is shows my true calling to the crafting world. 2 VAIOs ... 2 Wisblades! oh (ah ha moment enters into my crafty brain) so this is where all the money is going. Oh please just wait till I show you the Brother Flashstamp machine! I really do need to get a grip. But I gotta say MACHINES seem to float my boat! If I can plug it in to an outlet I am on Cloud 9! This picture comes from the wedding bubble project for Heather and Anthony. and to be honest while all of this was cutting there was an HP Desktop bouncing CD's for the Music CD place cards. So funny, but ya know this is the stuff that I choose to make my memories out of.
Thanks for visiting, Lysa

Old Records = Crafty Goodness

Well yet again I have to dig into the past. A craft project, any craft project is good. but when the person who is making a craft has a thought process it sort of transfers to a bit more. Now others might not see this but the person I made it for did. My friend Kathy (Hi Kathy) had a lovely cat name Dolly. Dolly left this world after a happy life and wonderful care by her family. If I don't tell you anymore can you figure it out. I think you can. On a lighter note did you know scroll saws cut old vinyl records. Yep those blades just eat through vinyl. I love cutting up old records. The next time you are at a garage sale, pick one up, break it, crack it, cut it, or even melt it (a 250 degree oven for like 1 minute works) and make something fun. Ya know what you can take a fav album go to the craft store and buy a clock movement and make a clock (the hole is already drilled). Whatever you do with it you will enjoy what you have made. Have a great night and thanks for visiting!
Lysa

An Armchair Trip To Deadwood

A travel'n friend of mine name Donna (Hi Donna!)took a road trip this past September. First I have to say she is an avid reader and great supporter of our local library. Donna loves to read so a bookmark is always a sure bet for her. When she returned from the trip she had many stories and treasures to share with all of us. But my favorite thing was that she had visited Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota. Along the way she picked up some clover and grass from Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane's grave site. Now ... one might wonder why someone would think to do that. It didn't strike me as unusual at all. My mother picked clover on her trip to Ireland. I myself have little jars of sand from favorite beaches I visited. I know someone who has volcanic ash from Hawaii. We all have a reason for what we do. Face it people if I ever get to the rose bowl parade ... I am nailing me a rose petal. Well anyway Donna asked could I somehow preserve the clover and being a book lover a bookmark was the way to go. Now I know I am being long winded but here is the point. Wild Bill Hickok was a name I knew, I mean I heard over the years. I knew he was some dude from somewhere west. OK so I knew absolutely nothing about the man. Or that Jane woman either. But now after making this bookmark I'm here to tell you all that I can hold my own any day, anytime, in a Wild Bill trivia contest. It was great. From the internet getting all the pictures to make the graphic I visited the current Municipal website, along with the cemetery's website and the local Adams Museum website. I had a blast even before I started the project. My point in all of this is crafting is more than just the act of art and assembly. It can take you to a place where you might not otherwise go. And my thanks to Donna for this project. I learned so much about America in the 1870's and about the Gold Rush too. I am looking forward to making the Calamity Jane bookmark next. Thanks for visiting.
Lysa
ps - Did I mention she picked wildflowers from the feet of the Jolly Green Giant!!! Literally!

Diaper Cakes Revisited

Diaper cakes always are a winner. No matter how they are made. No matter if they are a gift for the new Mom or a centerpiece for the tables. I just love them. I know the cost of making them is through the roof. But people they make a hit!! I love when they are themed to the new baby's nursery and in the color scheme of Mom's choice. This pink and chocolate cake matched the nursery it was going to and because the diapers are a larger size there is no need to dismantle the cake right away. Here is a quick shout out to the you tube watchers who saw the video and were so nice to comment. I really wish I had the time to get into making instructional videos but time for me seems to be a premium these days. If you need any tips on making a diaper cake or any other project you see here, leave a comment and I will help anyway I can. Enjoy and thanks for visiting!
Lysa

Another Miche

Ok so here is the thing, I tell the hubby, Dude I should just stay home and sew for a living, then I go to work and I tell the Bosslady, You should fire me so that I can stay home and sew for a living. Well both of them think I am just crazy. Ok so I really don't want to stay home and sew for a living but if I did....I would make things like this Miche cover. Here is how I did it. I took my all time fav Dead album and scanned the front and then the back of the covers. I fit it into a template that I made from measuring my Miche bag pattern (which I made from a brown supermarket bag). Then I went to A C Moore and bought a roll of printable cotton fabric. (oh so coooooool!!!)printed it and then sewed the bad boy up. It's my favorite Miche cover EVER!. The pictures don't do it justice. Ya know its got my signature skull on it so you know I think its a winner. But really get yourself some of this printable cotton, it is color fast and only needs heat setting with an iron. I have printed photos on it and they look great. I think I paid about $14.99 for 8.5 inches by 3 yds. I probably had a coupon. Hope you grab some when you can. Thanks for visiting.
Lysa

It's All About The Favors

Yeah, That's the thing with me. I love the favors. If I have to make 10 of something I am thrilled. If I have to make 75, well then it's even better! I have to say quantity gets me going. One thing I really love is when I am making favors and I can incorporate a persons handwriting into the favors. Here are 2 examples of that. I feel like it makes the favor more personal, almost like the person had their hands on the project. My grand-daughter was moving from preschool to kindergarten and the favor for the teachers had a photo of when they met her as well as when they waved her off to "big girl shcool" in addition to her words of thanks. Max was leaving home for new adventures at college and even though a formal "Thank-You" needed to be sent, these favors were an instant thank you on the dessert table in his own hand. So easy to do, just have the person or people (in a couple event) write on white paper in black ink, scan, and import into your project. I just love this added touch. I hope you will consider this the next time you are faced with making the tag for your favor project. It truly brings a new level of personality and homemade goodness to your craft project. Thanks for visiting!
Lysa

And There's Those Bunnies

Hey All,
Oh those Lindt Bunnies, Ya gotta love 'em. And please notice the lambs and chicks too. These sliceform eggs were a file I purchased from Paperthreads a few years back. I loved it so much that I bought the apple too. I cut them with my KnK and the paper is Bazzil I studied this file over and over and finally came up with a Christmas tree. I mean these sliceforms are all about math. yeah math. like uh no ... I don't do math. Nope it was a struggle to say the least. but when it was all said and done I broke down and talked to the Hubby and of course he got it going and I had success with the tree. But I gotta say this file and the apple file were so worth the money. For non designers I highly recommend getting some sliceform files. People love how they fold flat. You can mail them or work them into cards. They are so cool. Notice these are from my pre inking days.(oh the shame of no ink!)and need I mention that they are not embossed either! Well those days are so O-V-E-R!! Hope this gets you going for making some Easter goodies. I know I better get going as the Bunny is on his way. Have a great day, Thanks for visiting!
Lysa

The Little Black Cat That Started It All

So addiction has to start somewhere. For me it was this little black cat. When I got the blue wishblade in 2006, this was the first die cut I made. I think back to the software and laugh to myself because everything I did was hand traced. This cat was a Broderbund Print Shop software clipart graphic that I imported as a .JPEG and traced. I can't tell you how many of him I made. Facing left, Facing right, With a name, No name, Sprayed with glitter and some left plain, On a sign, and hanging on the Halloween tree. He was everywhere. I still love the little guy. and he was my very first file share on the Paperthreads forum. I was so proud when I uploaded that file. I really felt like I had a handle on the software when I made him. Always remember we all need a starting point, you know that jumping off point we all have been at and then when you least expect it you begin to answer more questions then you are asking. I love making something out of paper. Almost all of us have been handed a sheet of paper when we were small. By a Parent or a Teacher. We write thoughts, we doodle, we cut it, fold it. Come on people we folded it into paper airplanes, fortune tellers, and footballs in school when we were young. Its only rival is possibly a cats cradle string. Paper has my heart and always will. I never see it as flat or of no color. I see it with dimension and flair. Keep in mind a simple poem on a page can add all the depth needed. Have a great evening and grab some paper, a pencil, and someone close by, draw a tic tac toe board and play a game, you will be glad you did. Thanks for visiting!
Lysa

Favors I Love Party Favors

Wow, Look at me ... 2 posts in one night. I have been taking pictures of things that I make for years so I have a bit of catching up to do. Party Favors have always been a thing I loved. They just seem to add something to the table. A friend of mine had a butterfly theme as the background of their wedding. These were the bubbles. I really enjoyed when these were passed out at the outdoor ceremony. I made these with my Xyron Wishblade using the print and cut feature. Don't ask me what the paper was as these are from 2007. All I can say is that I constantly watch the cutting industry for a printer/cutter system that does not require registration marks. I so wish that the industry would produce a home version of a printer/cutter system that can print then cut without the paper being moved from one machine to the next. We home crafters just can't afford to play with the machines that are out there now for the professionals. The Wishblade is cool and I still use mine now and again but it just does not have the pressure settings I need for the media I cut. Thanks for visiting.
Lysa

A Paper Project

See I really do play with paper. I had the pleasure of attending a baby shower for a relative back in February and I made these for the table. I got the file from lkc over at the SCAL forum Her blog is http://thealliancetrader.blogspot.com/ How generous is she to share this great box file. I gave her a shout out on the SCAL forum. She does great files. Need I say they cut like BUTTA. Check her out if you can. I used the cricut and SCAL to cut these. The paper is from the Martha Stewart pink stack, which I got at Walmart. The candles that went inside were scented "clean linen" and here is a little tip. I got them all packed into boxes and put "clean linen" scented wax melts into the box along side of the favors. After being in the boxes over time the paper absorbs the scent and they smell really pretty. I do have to say that making large quantities of a favor is something I really enjoy. Wish I could get a handle on taking better pics but hopefully that will come in time. Have a great night and thanks for visiting!
Lysa

Some White Vinyl and A Cricut with SCAL ... Now Thats Crafty-licious!

Wow this weekend is flying by .. but as always there is time to get CRAFTY! Our local ACE Hardware was closing out these bar stools for $19.99. Pauly had a need for them in the music area. (there is a reason why I say area instead of room) So we nailed four of them. So here are pics of the first two. I used cricut vinyl (way to pricey, but I was out of white) and it was all I could get my hands on at a moments notice. The graphics were pulled from .PDF catalogs from the internet. Not bad for a quick craft and spruce up for cheap bar stools. Next up is one honoring the Mesa Boogie Amps that he loves so much. Sorry for the quality of the pictures but the stool tops are so reflective that I couldn't a good shot. Have a great day and thanks for visiting.
Lysa

The 2009 Bunny Box

Here is last years Lindt Bunny Box. I had so much fun making these last year. I loved the chocolate ribbon. Hopefully this week I will look into file sharing so that I can post the cut file for this box. I cut all of these boxes with the cricut expression through Sure Cuts A Lot. The paper is K&Company (My Favorite Paper!)And the ink is Stazon Timber Brown. I am not great with my camera yet and I was looking at cool homemade light boxes. So hopefully that will also be coming down the pike shortly as well. Wishing you a great weekend and thanks for visiting!
Lysa

The Bunnies are Here

Ohh, I am so excited, I stopped on the way into work today to pick up my most favorite chocolate bunny ever! This tiny Lindt Gold Bunny is the best favor bunny ever. He is the perfect little bunny for the big kids we all know. I will post pics from the past this weekend and I hope to come up with a something bunny-licious for this year. Now how are all these bunnies going to live in my craftspace without me eating them? Thanks for visiting.
Lysa

Well if we are talking purses - Let's talk Miche

OK so I go to Atlantic City for the Antique Road Show ... NO I didn't get on the show! Oh well, But while hanging in the hotel room at the Borgata I see this infomercial for this this purse called a Miche Bag. It's like the coolest thing. It is this simple purse that you change the covers of the purse to match your outfit. I fell in love with it the minute I saw it. They sell these magnetic covers so you just change the outside of the bag and leave all your inside stuff. Ahhhh, This is one of those ...GEEE I should have thought of that moments. So when I got home I told the ole BFF Nadine about it and sure enough we were hooked. Alright let's get real .. I am by no means a fashion statement but on the other hand, Nay is. You had to see us with this bag. If there was yellow in the outfit, there was yellow in the bag. The set up of this Utah based company was like Tupperware. They have home parties. Their product line is beautiful. And of course they have the heart warming story of how a career woman blah blah doesn't have time to change her purse from day to night blah, blah so she invents this cool system to save time, stay in fashion, you know how it goes ... and now she is a multi million $ company. Well OK she deserves it. I admit shame, on us crafty people for not coming up with the idea. But I saw this purse ... spent 100.00 on my first order, fell in love with the magnets. I had to try to make a cover. I had to! like people I had to ... It's ok that I called the state of California to order the credit card safe neo magnets! It's ok that I called Pennsylvania to get the purse feet for the bottom of the purse cover. I was on a mission. Money for supplies became second to creating 1 simple Miche cover for my bag. It did not matter my simple $3.59 worth of cheap cotton fabric would become a Miche cover if it was the last thing I ever was to do. Ahh the obsession, the driving force behind the true crafter. But the effort was worth it. Here are just 3 pictures of my covers and I have made so many others. The best part of the whole Miche story was that I took out my sewing machine that had been gather dust in the corner for probably 10 years. I just love when I make something! Thanks for visiting and as always if your looking for tips on how I did the covers just give me a shout out.
Lysa

Let's Talk Purses

Hey All,
I know I wanted to focus this blog on papercrafts but I am just not there yet. A few years back I got caught up in this reuse, reduce, recycle, & repurpose mode. I was down in LBI (favorite Jersey beach area) and I came across a purse made from an old record album. Gotta tell you it was love at first sight and after a quick study and a large $$$ purchase I knew I could make these with a bit of effort. So true to form and true to Lysa, instead of a slow approach the first thing I tried was to tape a record to one of my cutting mats and run it through my KnK cutter. yeah like I put 150 lines into the software and thought it would cut through a circa 1972 vinyl record album. OK OK so it didn't work. But admit it you would try it too. Need I say I tried with my cricut expression as well. So I went back to the drawing board and used my fisker paper timer to cut the record. All it needed was a bit of elbow grease and masking tape to keep it steady. I punched the holes and set the eyelets with my crop-a-dile. I stopped using regular old records and started buying new picture disc records to make them as gifts. Here are some pictures of my favorites and if anyone wants instructions or wants to make one, feel free to post a comment and I will help any way I can. Bare with me as I try to learn to post pictures in a orderly fashion. Thanks again for visiting and enjoy the day!
Lysa

OK! This Works

People please .....
I upload one video and now I am addicted. Yeah just like that, this blogging thing is GOOOOOOD. I like it. I'm feel'n all crafty and artsy and techno granny like. Now I know I should have started sooner. So here is the hubby's response. Ya ready ... Here it is ... "Did ya need the skull... ya know it doesn't scream Welcome" Well his heart is always in the right place. People don't come better than him. but here is the thing if I have one holiday to craft for and I mean 1, it would have to be Halloween. It's my favorite. OK here's is the deal. I view it as fun, plain and simple fun. No gift buying pressure, no large menu to feed 25, just plain ole fun. so stay tuned and watch for some crafty Halloween fun. Of course you'll get to see Easter first. Thanks again for visiting,
Lysa
ps Hey Nadine

The Diaper Cake Video

I had to make this my first video post. This video is on you tube without the music. I get requests for sound so I thought this would be a great starting point for the blog. I have been making these cakes since 1987 and I still make them to this day. I have done so many but this classic pooh was always one of my favs. And notice the tag, to me it is the best part. I have other diaper cake pics and hope to upload them soon. Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for visiting.

Lysa

The First Post

Here we go,
I am a newbie just in the early stages of blogging. I get requests all the time for pictures of my crafts and was hoping this would be the venue in which to share. I am a bit green around the gills so please help me along as I am open to any suggestions. I will try my best to share what I can and hope to learn along the way. For my first post a bit of history is needed. I started digital die cutting back in 2006 when I purchased my Xyron Wishblade. The little blue guy got a big workout but I needed more. I mostly make party favors so I wanted a larger width for cutting. Enter my KnK. So cool and powerful and the software was a dream. Of course I need to say up front that if not for the Paperthreads Forum and Sandy McCauley over at Ilovemyknk.com I would have never been able to use this cutters to the max. As I sit here typing this I can see my blog bookmarks and there are just so many people who don't even know me yet they have taught me everything that I know today. These are true crafters who wish to share and teach. The fact is that after 2 or so years of learning from all these talented people I now feel like a true papercrafter. I don't just look at things anymore and think "I can make that" now I daydream designs and can't wait to run home from work to try and make them. I have loved and played with paper since kindergarten and now as a grandmother I still find the fun and joy in one simple piece of paper. Thank you all so much and please visit and watch me grow.
Lysa