Not 1 but 2 Crafty Good Things!

Hi Everyone,
I have interrupted my Halloween stars, but for good reason.  First, my friend Donna is having a Birthday! Yup, and it is a biggie( I just won't say which birthday) but she sure deserved a special card this year.  Now, Donna is heading off to Disney for a big celebration to mark the special day so I thought a Disney card was in order.  I have been lovin' making the cards in a box so I set out to make a Disney themed card in a box. Here is what I came up with:

I really had a blast making this card. I got all those images from cricut manuals because back in the day (meaning like '06 or '08) silly Provocraft published all the manuals as .pdf for download.  I still have them all and use them all the time.  I use CAP2 to make all the graphics, right down to the hat with Donna's name.  I mirrored all the images so that the card looks as good from the back as it does from the front.  Here is a picture of the back.

After printing, all the die cuts were cut with my Brother Scan N Cut.  Which does a really nice job as long as you are making cuts with the white border.  Cutting on the line in "Direct Cut" mode is short of perfect (because there is no negative offset) so I chose to use the white border. I left some space on the back to write a small birthday wish to Donna. I gave her the card and she loved it!! All her fav Disney friends can't wait till she hits the road for Florida.  Her Son and DIL work for Disney so it is always a special time when she visits!  Happy Birthday Donna!! Thanks for all you do for so many!  We all love you lots!!!!
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!
So, while I am on the computer visiting forums, pinterest and the like I stumble upon a Tear Bear.  Really, How the heck did I miss these cute little guys.  Well, that is easy to answer.  I was never really a scrapbooker.  I took one look at these little cuties and said to myself . . . "Self, you gotta make one of those"  So I did. I placed a small order for Mulberry paper with The Mulberry Bear.  You can find her on her ebay shop or at www.mulberrybear.com. What a pleasure it was buying from her. I was so excited how my first bear came out I just has to show you all.  Here is a picture:

I am told few crafty peeps are making these now a days, but I can tell you I will be making more.  I fell in L-O-V-E!  I made my pattern in CAP2 and exported the page to a pdf file.  I then used that file with my ZING to cut an acetate report cover.  At first I was tracing around the cut plastic and then I realized to use the negative as a stencil. I can see I need some practice on the face and the shading but for a first try I was a happy crafty girl. The mulberry paper is an awesome medium and I was happy to add it to my crafty stash. As usual I have to go from 0 to 60 so my next plan is a black cat with a witch hat! Take a peek on Pinterest to see some awesome Tear Bears and consider trying to make one. There are many cute critter patterns available for purchase online. With that said it is back to Halloween!  Thanks for visiting,
Lysa

Halloween Mojo 2014!

Hi Everyone,
Oh yeah, Back to School items have taken over all the store shelves and TV along with print ads are ramming back to school down my throat.  Now as a Grandma and crafty Nonna all it means to me is that the pool will be closing soon and it will be time to drag the 20 or so Halloween boxes down from the attic and get the decorating mojo going.  So seeking inspiration while I was floating in the pool, I started to feel a tad sad about putting away all the patriotic decorating goodies.  All my stars will be boxed up and put away until next May.  I just love my barn stars (some call them nautical stars).  So I thought why do I have to live without stars until May.  I thought lets make me up some Halloween Stars.  So I did.  Now I am hooked and will most likely make one for everyone I know.  I found these to be quick and easy using my CAP2 software along with my digital Stampin' Up papers.  My Brother Scan N Cut made easy work for cutting out the stars.  Here is a picture of the prints as they came out of the printer:

 I know it just looks like a page of flat stars, but they get better.  I wanted the assembled stars to look good from the back too so after the SnC cut them without ejecting the mat I slapped down a piece of black paper on to the mat and hit the cut button again.  This way a solid black star in the exact same shape was cut.

Just a note about the SnC:  I find while it has its place in the world of digital die cutters. it is not perfect.  I don't use it for anything other than fussy cutting print outs and stamped images.  I often have issues with that as well.  There are a lot of work arounds as I have mentioned in the past but until Brother adds a negative offset in direct cut mode this cutter will not meet the need in which I bought it for.  Wow, was that ever a boring statement! I don't recommend this cutter for peeps who only have one cutter.  But if you are like me and have an arsenal of cutters you would enjoy having this one as well.  You can clearly see by the picture the condition of my mat shows that I use it all the time. OK,enough venting! Here is a picture of the star after it has been cut, inked and assembled.  I will for sure have these bad boys hanging everywhere come October. (who am I kidding, I start decorating for Halloween the second week of September):
TA DA..... Here it is:

 What you can't see in the picture is that the star is completely covered in gold Tsukneko ink that was mixed with rubbing alcohol and sprayed on .  It really does look amazing in person.  I hope you like it too! I am off to get my chores done so I can get a bit of pool time in as our summer days are numbered.  Have a great day and thanks for checking in.
Lysa