The Last Invitation Post . . . I Promise

Yeah! Brought the Invites to Donna today.  I think she loved 'em. Wish I could have gotten a better picture but it was late last night and I knew I was facing  a bit of a day at work.  All I can say is I did my best and I really liked how they came out but .... I do now know that I will not be going into the invitation business anytime soon.  I did enjoy making them but I didn't get the same kick I usually get when I make a "little somethin' somethin' candy favor.  This project was a bit more mechanical than artsy to me.  It was all about the templates for the card and the layout.  Which was cool but ... I guess I just missed the candy.  I have always known it is all about the candy with me.  With that said I am moving on to the favors and I do love them.  They have cookies. Ummmmmmmm COOKIES!  Can't wait to give you a peek. Thanks for stopping by,
Lysa 

The Parts of the Whole .... lot of MICKEY!

Hi Everyone,
So to continue on with the Kristen & Adam wedding. . . I am up to the Shower invites.  Now you need to know it is really about quantity with me.  I have mentioned this before.  I love when I have to create and produce a large quantity of something.  I call it Henry Ford syndrome.  Yes it is true.  I like to think that I have the actual ability to manufacture something.  Now keep in mind I did produce 200 of the buttons (picture to follow once the basket is done). Now my quest is 40 shower invites.  Which I will agree is not really a lot since there are people out there that make like 200 Wedding invites.  I think it is not so much the quantity as how do you organize your project. So with that said here is a picture of my worksheet (one that I use for just about all the favors and such that I do).

Silly? Maybe, but I know what I have done and what I still need to do.  For me it makes a huge difference when I sit down to assemble the finished product because all the parts are together and organized.
Here are a few more pictures of the parts. Just look at all those Mickey ears! Thanks to my ZING because there is a total of 160 (80 red - 80 black) because there are 2 die cuts on each invite.

 The black card base was also cut on the ZING, it did an amaZING job cutting all 40 with not one problem along the way.
And then there are the inserts and invite information cards along with a red shadow card and the belly band that is 7 X 40 pieces, 6 of which were prints and then hand cut on my Fiskers cutter. So thats is 280 cards cutting all 4 side of each card equaling 1120 slides of the blade.  WOW! that's CUTTING!
And it all adds up to this:

Don't count the envelopes because they are purchased. All the cardstock and envies were purchased from LCI paper online. This is the thickest cardstock I have ever used.  It is just beautiful.  Here is a picture from a few posts back of the inside of the invite.  I really do like how they came out. The belly band and the matching envelope really finished it off.

 I will finish these this weekend and move onto the favor.  The theme of this shower is Mickey's kitchen and cookies.  So with that said you know cookies and cookie cutters are involved.
Thanks for stopping by and as always I would be happy to provide any specific info if needed. Just leave me a comment and I will respond.

Rory Makes A Crafty Video

Rory has been asking to make a Youtube Video.  Well, on the fly last night while dying Easter eggs we decided to have some fun.  Sam (Rory's Mom) came home from work with a horrible cold and after dinner we sent her up stairs where she could wallow in a sick bed and get some well needed rest.  Now of course that leaves the three of us to have some (also, well needed) fun.  I had my camera out to take some still shots and before we knew we were making our on the fly little video.  As you can tell we took no time to prep.  Paul and I had a great time watching Rory and we all had fun dying the eggs.  Wishing all a very Happy Easter and thanks for stopping by.
 Lysa

Not Really A Card Maker ...

...But I just love how these invites came out ....

I was surprised how easy it was to create the template for the base of the card.  I used my KnK studio software to make the file and cut the base with my MTC software.  For the inside I used my DSA2 to make all of the insert cards on the right side and the invitation on the left.  I also used DSA2 for the belly band and cut all the mouse ears with my MTC.  I am all over the place with projects right now, you should see my craftspace. Better yet just have a look at the inside of the invite.

The invite is a 5X5 inch square and the only thing not pictured is the red envelope.  I like the way this invitation came out and it makes me think I should make more cards!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and let me know if you want any sizes or templates for this card.
Lysa
... And wait till you see the favors!  They are adorable!

My Favorite Sign Of Spring!

Hi Everyone,
For sure my favorite sign of spring is those little Lindt bunnies that appear for Easter.  I use them every year for my Easter treats.  They are the perfect size bunny for creating crafty yummy goodness.  This year is a tiny basket that I based on the Hot Off the Press basket template.  I saw the template online and it was easy to draw it out in my KnK studio software.  The bonus to creating the file is that now I can size it to suit the treat that will go inside.  I cut them with the ZING using MTC, which is so easy to do since I can copy and paste between the two software programs.  I love and use both programs.  I used Stamp'in crumb cake cardstock and punched the handle with my Stamp'in up ribbon punch.  I am still on a kraft color kick that hit me at Christmas, so no pastels this year.  I like natural tones here for the basket and I think the gold bunny looks cute along side the browns.  I only have a bit of brown bakery string so I not to much ribbon work on the basket.  I like the way they came out and I hope to get enough done so that I can take some to work as well as have some for our family's Easter dinner table.  Now I just have to get them made before I start eating the little guys.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.
Lysa

Saint Pat's 2012

Hi Everyone,
I finished these little goodies just in time to bring to work tomorrow.  I am off on Friday (yeah) and I have been so busy with other projects but I had to have a little something for work.  I took my pattern from the Stamp'in Up double pocket that is going around only I made it smaller.  Mine is a 4 1/2 inch square.  It holds a chocolate coin on each side.  So simple and just what I needed for this quick little treat! I hope everyone at work enjoys their little treat and I can't wait for my three day weekend to finish up the wedding buttons and catch up on a few things around the house.  Thanks for stopping by!
Lysa

200! WOW! I Can Do It!

Yes, Here is another post about the wedding buttons for Adam & Kristen.  I am getting excited as I see them slowly coming together.  I printed, cut and pressed all 200 buttons. So the next step was to package them. I made up a sample for Donna and she like it so we decided to go with it.  Now I love it too but all good things seem to have a bit of a catch.  Little things like we ordered the paper on line.  Sure it said the color was navy.  But when the paper came I didn't like the color.  It looked washed out. So of course, (with family shouting in the background "You're Nuts") I ran the paper through my printer to get the deep navy I needed. Here is picture, You can see the difference:

Now one might think this is an expensive waste of ink, but I buy my ink online and use an after market ink system so really the expense was worth the end result. Here is a picture of the final package.  I LIKE it!

The next time you see these buttons... will be all 200 in a white basket ready for handing out.  I owe this project to my ZING because I completed 200 PnC's  for the button graphic. I cut 200 of the blue button base holders and 200 of the Donald/Daisy toppers(PnC) with my ZING.  That darn machine is amaZING! I can't wait to finish the bow work on these.  I am having a blast just knowing that I can produce 200 of anything.  Thanks for visiting and I will post a picture of the basket as soon as it is done.  Have a great weekend,
Lysa

If I Could Be A Rag Doll!

Hi Everyone,
As you may know I am trying to finish old projects while working on current ones.  I was determined to make a large photo project using a vintage Rolodex address card holder.  My plan was to make mini digi scrapbook cards of my favorite pictures of Rory.  Instead of starting at the current point in time, I decided to start with her birth.  Wrong move!  As I poured through about 3000 digital photos I noticed that I spent more time saying "Oh my Lord! How cute is she!" OK, so it did not quite pan out as I had planned.  Meaning I started it and never went back to it.  So being inspired by Kris's "Finish it Friday"  I decided I would try to commit to at least 1 Rolodex photo card a week.  So this week I worked on Rory's Halloween 2011 photo cards.  I wanted to use 3 pictures that were taken Halloween 2011.  She looked great in her costume.  I originally used the Stamp'in up Sizzix die to cut the cards.  Now I am using the ZING and its Print N Cut feature and it worked great.  I am still making the photo cards in DSA2 and importing them as a texture into MTC.  Every time I use the ZING I am in awe of how dead on the PnC is!  Here are my pictures for this week.  I also made one 8X10 photo for my cube at work. Please can I say just one more time "Oh my Lord, How cute is she!"

Thanks for visiting and Have a great week end,
Lysa

100 Down - 100 To Go!

Hi Everyone,
And so the wedding stuff begins. Can you believe I have already made 100 buttons for Adam and Kristen!  Wow, I am moving fast thanks to my ZING.  Pressing them with my Badge a Minit has been easy peasy using the bench press and even though some think it is a tad hard on the hands I have not had a problem.  Working in groups of 25 and using the PnC feature on the ZING has made easy work of it.  So with that said - Once all 200 are made I will move onto how to package them for Donna.  I am thinking that they will be in a basket so she can hand them out to the guests as they begin their run into the park.  For those who didn't know it goes like this ... at Disney with the button on you may get a bit more personal attention from a character or theme park employee (like photo ops) as they know you are there for a celebration.  Donna had thoughts of t-shirts as well. I like the buttons and think they are a fun addition to a day in a Disney park.  When it is all said and done I think that they will look awesome packaged and in a basket for handing out.  I love that kind of favor, you know just a little something something that is there to add to the occasion. Here are my pics for this week and for sure when I figure out the packaging I will post that too.  Have a great President's weekend and get your craft on 'cause St. Pat's is just 'round the corner! Thanks for stopping by!
Lysa

My Valentine Favors For Work

Yeah, they are done.  And I even finished them before Friday!  I finished filling them late last night but I am still considering this my "Finish It Friday".  So here they are.....

How cute are these?  I love them, they hold 2 york peppermint patties that are heart shaped.  I followed a video from Angie Kennedy Here is the link:
http://www.chicnscratchlive.com/2012/01/scallop-valentine-box.html
I don't have the scallop square die from Stamp'in Up so I made one on my Zing. I needed my square a bit smaller so it is only a 4 inch square. I used my Echo Park download of their "Yours Truly" papers for the belly band.  I made the tag in my Serif DS2 and imported it to MTC and did a Print and Cut.  WOW, Huey and me did some crafty goodness for sure!!!  Here are a few more pics:

I can't wait to bring these into work on Valentine's Day.  I posted the file on the MTC boards so if you try to make them and need any help just give me a shout out and I will try to explain the best I can.  Have a great week end and make a Valentine for someone!
Lysa

Hello Kitty! This Year's Valentine's Treat

Hi Everyone,
Rory and I used Kris's "Finish it Friday" inspiration to complete Rory's school Valentine's.  As soon as I got home from work (and while Poppy was making awesome dinner magic)  Rory and I set our sight on finishing up her favor treats for school.  I have to say that Rory did a fantastic job gluing kitty to the background.  She did them all herself.  I gave her a ZIG 2 way glue pen instead of a glue stick.  I was amazed how much easier it was for her to use.  I think the blue color of the glue is what helped.  She seemed to really have control over the glue and no mess at all.  If I remember Elmers made a blue glue stick at one time, but I have no idea if it is still available.  I always have ZIG on hand and now I will gladly share it with Rory.

Now for a few basics ... The print and cut of kitty was of course done with the new ZING.  I have so much success with PnCs now!  I am amazed by how quick and easy they are to do.  I used MTC to make a shadow layer, a quick copy and paste made 2 shadows. I flipped and mirrored one and them welded them to make a base to sandwich the plastic bag into.  I made the tag for the front in MTC and did a PnC as well.  Rory used pop dots to attach them.  We had a great time assembling these.

I did cut all the parts prior so that they were ready to go.  We think the kids are going to like the treats inside, but more importantly Rory and I had a great time sitting together at the craft table.  She told me when she grows up she is going to own a craft store.  I 'bout fell off my chair when she said "and Nonna I'll make you the manager"!  Yup... Just what I need another JOB! Thanks again Kris for the goal setting inspiration.  I already know whats on deck for next Friday!  Have a great weekend everyone.  SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!  GO GIANTS!!!

A Shout Out of Thanks!

Hi Everyone,
I am so excited to say I won a bloggie prize from She's Crafty!  Here is her bloggie address:
http://whatabunchofcraft.blogspot.com/
Now, first off let me just give Kris a huge SHOUT OUT of THANKS!  Here it is:

THANKS KRIS!!!!!!!!!

WOW! wish that was a bit bigger and with a drum roll and cymbal. But Kris knows I am thankful.  I just want to say that I admire people who have blogs that inspire and Kris's is for sure one.  The prize win came from her blog post "Finish it Friday"  Why I loved this concept so much is because I sit in a room that is filled (and I mean filled!) with half finished and not even started projects (PLEASE do not ask me discuss the air eraser etching tool or the vinyl glass block projects)(ummm.... I not going to mention my BOSSES grandmothers 7 needlepoints that are here waiting to be cleaned and remounted after floating in a basement flood from hurricane Irene which was back in August!)  OK so my plate is a bit full.  It's OK because Kris has the solution.  See I made the list and I am going to "Finish It Friday".  So to my Boss, I say "you will see your Grandmother's needlepoint prior to June.  To my Granddaughter I say "We will have the Valentine's ready for school by Feb. 14. To my friend Donna I say "the 200 pin back buttons will be ready before you leave for Florida for the wedding and don't worry we will get those library volunteer gifts done too!" To my dear Hubs I say "I will use the air eraser and aluminum oxide you bought me, so no you did not throw $100.00 down the crapper.  and most of all to Kris I say Thanks bloggie do gooder, your inspiration is worth more than you know.
I am signing off because it is Friday and that means it is time to:

FINISH IT!

Have a great week end and thanks again Kris!

A Button Project and Mr. Plot -Tair Makes It Easy!

So back in the 1980's (the early 1980's)  I bought a "Badge a Minit" button maker.  I used it a lot back then.  I made all kinds of buttons and magnets with the kids pictures. All kinds of crafty good stuff.  I paid about $25.00 or so for the start up kit.  I haven't used it much in recent years so it is sitting all boxed up on the bottom of a very big pile of forgotten craft tools.  Well, my friend Donna asked if buttons could be made for her son Adam's Disney wedding.  I thought for sure that it could be done.  What the bonus was is that with my new ZING (Mr. Plot-Tair) it was awesome easy crafty goodness!!!!  And not just that, it breathed new life into a tool I already owned.  I made the graphic in my DS2 software and imported it as a texture into MTC.  MTC would have worked as well but I move much faster in DS2.  The ZING has an awesome print and cut feature and it made quick work of making the buttons.  I remember hand cutting the circles and never getting a perfect circle.  Now I can cut a whole page.  If Donna decides she wants these I will have to make about 100.  I will format them on 12X12 paper and should be able to get 12 buttons to a sheet.  How cool is that!  I can't wait for Donna to see the buttons.  I think she is going to love them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by,
Lysa

The Zing Has A Name!

Hi Everyone,
Please pardon my silly post, but around this homestead we have a habit of naming things.  You know the cars, the toys, the music equipment and the like.  So when the ZING came to play at our house we knew it needed a name.  Well after so many names (need I mention "Harry Plotter")  I finally settled on the name.  Are you
ready ... wait for it! Here it is,
Mr. Plot-tair!
Yes, that's right! named for the beloved sitcom "Welcome back Kotter" staring Gabe Kaplan (a fond memory for the hubs and myself) Every time Boom Boom Washington said his name I cracked up! That is how he said Mr. Kotter's name(Mr. Kot-tair). So I have named this awesome plotter ... MR. PLOT-TAIR! and I love it.  Why you may ask because just like any teacher this guy is going to take me on adventures and to places I have never dreamed about. I just love him!  He has been cutting up a storm and I can't wait to post the crafty goodness he has produced.  Have a great night and Thanks for stopping by!
Lysa

Back To Work . . .

Hi All,
Yup, It was back to work today.  Truth is I just wanted to stay home and play with my awesome new plotter!  So as soon as I got home from work I hit the ole' craftspace to play around and see if I could whip up some crafty goodness.  So back in March of 2010 I had dressed up some of Hubby stools in his music area with logos of his favorite toys.  He loved them and if you want to see them just hit the vinyl link on the side bar.  But his absolute favorite amp is his Messa Boogie and he wanted a vinyl sticker of the logo for his last stool.  So I had at it and to be honest it only took about ten minutes to make, print and apply.  He loved it and I got lots of hugs, kisses and kudos for it.  Here are the pics.

  

I really love this cutter, the print and cut went smoother than any other cutter I own.  This is as close to a professional cutter you can get that is under $500.00.  I have only had it for 2 days and I feel like I have owned it for months. Thanks for stopping by and please check back to see what else I can create with this amaZING new machine.

Lysa

I Have Been Zinged!!

Hi Everyone,
I hope all had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Here at our house was awesome!  The friends, family and food, I sure feel blessed.  And it's not over yet because New Year's Eve is here as well!!  I can't wait! I am so excited about my (extreme) Christmas gift that Paul, Sam & Rory got me.  Now mind you I don't want to sound like a greedy gus, but this was awesome good craftyness!! Just look at the picture (Can you believe I am willing to post a picture of myself with no make up and hair not brushed on the web for all to see!)

OK, you can stop screaming "MY EYES, MY EYES" now (Are those my tonsils?).  Look at the shear joy on my face. Anyone can tell this was the right gift for me.  So what is it? It's my new cutting plotter!! I was so surprised and I could not get the smile off of my face for the whole day. In fact I am still smiling.  Paul and the Kids were so happy that they surprised me.  I have been up and cutting all day.  I just have to say if you are in the market for a new cutter this is the one check out.  If your an experienced cutter there is no learning curve at all and if your not, there are great forums out there ready to help. Here is my list of FAVS.

The Make the Cut forum can be found here:

http://forum.make-the-cut.com/
The yahoo group can be found here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KNK_Zing/messages
The KNK website is here:
http://knkusa.com/
Sandy McCauly's Blog and tutorials are here:
http://www.iloveknk.com/
and the Paperthreads forum is here:
http://www.paperthreads.com/forum/

Now I have been a member of all these sites for a long time and pretty much all I know I learned from all these great folks. New members are always welcome and if you are into or want to learn all there is about digital die cutting these are the peeps that can teach you.  A shout out of thanks to all these great crafters.
I love the new ZING.  I can't wait to start my Valentine's Day favors. The print and cut feature is amaZING. I have been printing and cutting all day.  I hope everyone had a Christmas like mine.  Thanks for stopping by and good wishes to all for a Happy, Healthy, and Crafty New Year!
Lysa

Reindeer Food 2011!

Hi Everyone,
I am so excited to say that Rory and I are finished with this years batch of Reindeer Food.  We had a fantastic time this year with our new recipe.  I think they came out fantastic and the Little Miss can't wait to hand them out to her friends.  I just want to point out that as always our reindeer food is non toxic.  There is no glitter in it.  Please if you make it DO NOT ADD GLITTER!!!!  Our animal friends just can't handle it.  Sure, Sure the magic flying reindeer can handle it, but Mr. Rabbit, Lady Bird and Sir Squirrel will just get sick!  So please leave the glitter out and use only decorating sugar for the sparkle.  Here is our recipe.
Rolled Oats, Red & White Sugar, a bit of Cinnamon, Pumpkin Pie Spice, a touch if Ginger, Cinnamon Dots (Rudolph Spares) and Crushed Candy Canes.  Yummmmmy!!!  We even put a ingredient label and the phrase "Do Not Eat - For Reindeer Only" on the bottom of the tin.  I figure this way all the Mom's & Dad's will know it is non toxic just in case it gets eaten. Here are our pics ... Well just a couple.  Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by.
Lysa 

Holiday 2011 Favors

Hi Everyone,
Wow, I am sure on a roll! All needed Thanksgiving food items are in the HOUSE! So that of course means that I can get a bit crafty.  I have my annual Board Holiday Dinner in early December so I wanted to get a jump on the table favors and since craft paper and snowmen is my theme for this year I made a nugget holder based on the 2 tag Stampin Up die.  I don't own this die but making a .svg file for this was easy peasy!  All I did was take a basic tag shape. Used my MTC to copy, paste and weld the 2 shapes together.  Easily made a shadow layer with MTC. Filled my page with the shapes and cut with my Cricut Expression.  I stamped and colored the image with plain ole' Sharpie markers.  Hand scored to suit the width of the nuggets.  The best part is the quick spray with my homemade glimmer mist.  I bought spools of rayon raffia ribbon for my gift wrap this year so I used that for the bows.  I made 16 of these for the table at the restaurant. They went so quick I think I will make more.  I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday prep before the season gets ahead of us all.  Thanks for stopping by,
Lysa

Tags For The Season

Hi Everyone,
What a nice weekend it has been.  The homestead is clean from top to bottom.  Lists are made and I am ahead of schedule.  I even went to Joann's yesterday and got all my wrapping supplies for Christmas.  I decided to go kraft paper and snowmen this year.  They had an awesome collection of bags and such.  I thought I would get a jump on the tags today while the laundry is going.  As always I have to say the tags look better than the photo shows because the camera did not pick up the glimmer mist gold spray.  I had so much fun filling my gift wrap caddy with all my new paper, ribbon and tags.  Now all I have to do is get out there and start shopping! Have a great Sunday.  Thanks for visiting.
Lysa

The Holiday's Are Upon Us!

Oh my, Oh my!
It is November 8th. I just finished the Thanksgiving Day Menu and shopping list so that I could get a jump start on things.  I have always been the type that is strong out of the gate and then I fall behind.  Really behind, if you know what I mean.  I was off from work today and tried my best to get things done.  I also spent the day making lists and cleaning.  I figure if I could just get myself a bit of holiday spirit I would be able to fly through chores.  So I started to dig through the Christmas buckets for some inspiration and the first bucket I opened had this tic tac toe board that I made years ago.  So I pulled it out and put it on the coffee table in the living room.  I think I made this back in 1995 or some where there about.  Even though the outside temperature was about 68 degrees today the little snowmen did give me some inspiration.  I was able to start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the holiday hoopla. Here is a picture of the tic tac toe board. I used rubber stamps on a wood plaque and then used my wood burning tool to go over the lines.  I still have (and use) those snowmen stamps!  I can't wait till everyone is home for dinner.  They will laugh when they see it out on the table.  I bet they will play a few games too!

I hope everyone out there is beginning to feel the holiday magic and trying to find that one something or someone that kicks off their holiday mojo.  In the meantime, I am hoping this little game keeps me going as I have to work a double tomorrow!
Thanks for stopping by,
Lysa