3D Sleigh die cut comparisons

3D Sleigh comparisons

About a week and a half ago at the LSS, I received a free kit for a 3D sleigh.  It came complete with side panels.  It was cut with a Sizzix die designed by Brenda Walton as part of a Christmas collection.  I promptly ordered the die, even though I recently bought a Silhouette electronic cutter on Black Friday. I had also downloaded the 3D sleigh shown on the right from the Silhouette store.  The Sizzix sleigh is on the left.

The Sizzix sleigh includes panels for both inside and outside, which dresses it up a little.  The Silhouette sleigh doesn't have panels, although I am sure I could easily create panels for it.  The Silhouette sleigh was cut in the size that the file opened in the software.  It is a size that could hold cookies, but even cut from cardstock, those sleigh runners could not hold the weight of cookies without being reinforced.  Obviously I will need to either reinforce it or make it smaller.  And it definitely needs dressing up a bit.

The Sizzix sleigh was an easy assemble.  The Silhouette sleigh was a bit of a pain.  I think I will need to pick up some Zip Dry glue if I plan to make any more of these.  The Zig glue pen worked, but was not ideal.  The way that it went together, though, Scor-Tape did not seem a good choice.  I used Scor-Tape to put together the Sizzix sleigh.  They are both nice, but I have to admit, I like the Sizzix version better.

There are two other 3D sleigh cutting files in the Silhouette store.  I didn't think they were as cute.

As much as I love my new Silhouette, there will still be times I reach for a good old steel rule die.

A fall card and a Halloween treat topper...

I made this fall card last night with papers from Tuesday Morning (meaning they're older) and scraps from other projects.  The pinwheel die that I used was an exclusive, but only temporarily available Sizzlits die from Stampin' Up.  The pinwheels are a little hard to put together because they are very small, but I love pinwheels!

Below is a Halloween treat bag that I made.  I bought the stamp sets awhile back but am not sure who makes them.  Possibly Reflections (Michaels brand) -- they were from last year or two years ago.  Another possibility is Hampton Arts.  If anyone really is dying to know, let me know and I will go look it up.

No, I don't make these for all the kids who come to the door.  It was just a visiting teaching goodie bag for one of the gals that I visit.

A few cards I've made.....

 I made the above card for my son, who is having a rough time.

The arrow stamp is part of a set by MME, and the toddler stamp is by Stamping Bella.

Inside the card, the sentiment (also Stamping Bella) says, "Things can only get better."

 The silhouette image is a sticker that was on sale at the LSS.  I couldn't resist.

The tickets are Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.

It made for an easy card.  No sentiment on the inside at this point.  I may keep it a note card.

I did stamp spider webs in two of the corners on the inside.

The above image shows both the front and the inside of the card.

The witch and broom are from a Close to My Heart stamp of the month set of the past. 

The door is a Stampers Anonymous stamp.  Happy Halloween is from an old set, 

but I can't remember who it is by.  The stamp "Yes, I can drive a stick." is a new

stamp by Northwoods that I found at the local stamp store and couldn't resist.

The bling that I used was from Recollections that was discontinued.

Stamped Layout: Heaven is a Little Closer in a Cabin by a Stream

This layout is definitely "old school."  My very first layout 17 years ago was stamped.  I stamped the background of this layout because I couldn't find any paper that I felt fit my photos.  To create my background paper I used two Stampendous stamp sets:  Jumbo Pinecone Boughs and Jumbo Cardinals.  I also used two Close to My Heart (CTMH) stamp sets:  Autumn Splendor for part of the background, and Pure Adventure for the "Limited Edition" stamp.  The title stamp was by Impression Obsession.  The wood frame around the title stamp is a Cuttlebug die and matching embossing folder.  I used Copics to add a little additional color to specific stamped images and to add detail to the embossed title frame. I matted the journaling and the photos.  Yup, definitely "old school" scrapbooking by today's standards.

Cards made with Secret Garden papers by Graphic 45

I am not a huge fan of Graphic 45, but it depends on the papers and the theme.  I loved their Secret Garden collection!  These were easy cards that I put together and just embellished slightly with other supplies that I had on hand.  The top cards look like they have metallic dots, but that is a flaw of the scan.  They are actually pearls.

Life Is Good Layout

This layout was created for a challenge on Two Peas in a Bucket, for their 2013 CHA Summer Event, Six Layer challenge.  The collection that I used was Kate & Co. by My Mind's Eye. The tabs were punched out of papers from the collection.  I also added some embellishments using a Close to My Heart stamp set called "It's Your Day" Constant Campaign.  The "Happy Day" arrow, "Life is Good," and "OK Smile" were all stamped, along with the green Washi style tapes at the top of the page, and all were from that stamp set.

This was definitely a bit out of my comfort zone, and I was trying for a more trendy, up-to-date look.  Normally I don't care if my layouts are trendy, but since it was for a challenge, I figured I should make some effort.  It is a single page, single photo layout, which I almost never do, and which also seems to be the norm at Two Peas. It is the first layout that I have hand journaled in literally years.  I hate my handwriting.  But if I was going to use the journal spot that was part of the collection, I had to hand write my journaling.  I have plenty of samples of my handwriting preserved for posterity in my older albums, and I prefer to computer journal now.

Last of the Baby Album

These are the pages for her first birthday, the last pages of the baby album.  The papers are older, from my stash, and were bought at least two or three years ago, probably longer ago than that.  The manufacturer was Sassafras.  The pinwheels were handcut by me, then inked & stamped.  Most of the stamps are by Close to My Heart, although I also used a Cosmo Cricket stamp set for the banner.  The little sun stamp is a Studio G.  I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the inside circle of the larger sun (CTMH stamp). The stamped phrase "You are my sunshine" was a MME stamp.

The scalloped circle (around the circle photo) was handcut with decorative scissors.  If you look closely, you can see small imperfections in the scalloped circle, but all in all, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  It's the way I used to scrap in the early years, before I had any electronic cutters or fancy dies.  I did the layout while at the LSS with a friend, and I really wanted to finish it before coming home.  I just didn't have anything available there that was the right size to make the scalloped circle mat for the photo, so I used a pair of decorative scissors they had.  I used to be called the "Duchess of Decorative Scissors" because I could use the fancy scissors well and had a very steady hand.  It's nice to know that I haven't lost my touch completely.

11 Month Baby Layout

I think these were papers from my stash.  I used a Cuttlebug die for the butterfly and embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder.  The flower is a punch.  I used a really wide/thick stylus to shape it.  The tickets were a generic ticket stamp that I stamped my short words into, and those were from an alphabet stamp set.  The corners were punched.  The title was probably done with the Cricut, but it also might have been cut with alphabet dies.

Next posting will be the 1st Birthday pages, a 4 page layout.  The baby album is done.  But I will post them another day.

This is the first of two layouts for when she was 10 months old.  The bracket shape was done with one of the mini Lucky 8 punches that the LSS had.  I cut butterflies from the paper and popped them, and added a couple of die-cut flourishes.  They were a different brand of thin dies that I found at GASC awhile back.  I think the name is Marianne or something similar.  Sorry, I don't have time to look it up right now.

This is the second of the ten month layouts.  These two are among my favorites from the baby album I did.  I should list the paper manufacturers, but all of the scraps and papers are buried right now, and since new releases are about to show up on the shelves, I doubt anyone can find these anymore, anyway.  I really can't remember off the top of my head, so I hope it's not too important.

Baby Album Layouts continued......

This layout was made almost exclusively from just the background paper itself.  I found the paper last summer at the LSS, so I am pretty sure it is no longer available.  I think I got the last couple of sheets the store had, which means it was likely an older line.  The letters for the title were cut with the Cricut, and I used some Baker's Twine.  Other than cardstock, the embellishments were cut from leftovers of the paper and popped.

The LSS still carries this paper line, so it's relatively recent.  Again, the embellishment is pretty much just done with the papers, and the letters were cut with the Cricut.  I can't remember which cartridge I used for the font.  I will try to look that up and update later if anyone really wants to know.

The funny thing about these pictures is that this baby girl loves shoes.  She really, really loves shoes.  If she finds a pair, she wants them on, whether they are hers, her brother's, her mommy's, whatever.  I noticed, though, she seems to be barefoot more often than not.

Bee Card

A dear friend moved away.  We sometimes scrapbooked together and other times went shopping together for scrapbooking and stamping supplies.  One of those shopping trips was relatively recent, and I bought some bee themed stamp sets.  I also bought a honeycomb embossing folder.  We had gone to Hobby Lobby first where I bought a bunch of paper packs and some canvas ribbon for stamping on.  I already had some canvas bought from JoAnn Fabrics, so instead of the canvas ribbon, I cut and frayed a piece from my fabric piece.  Then I stamped on it with a stamp by Hero Arts (Art of the Card set).  The bee stamps I used are from two of Darcie's clear stamp sets (Day Is Sweet and BEEutiful).  The filigree brad in the center of the flower on the canvas is from Close to My Heart.  I used Copics to color the canvas.

For the inside, I stamped a few bees and wrote a corny little verse on the computer to go with the theme.

The card meant more to her because she recognized the stamps used as ones I had bought on our recent shopping trip.

More baby girl album layouts

Every year their family gets a picture taken among the Texas Bluebonnets.

I made the pink "flower" in the upper left corner.  The butterflies were originally white glitter.

I used pink Stickles to give color to the butterflies and added pink rhinestones.

The deeper blue papers are by Bo Bunny.  The lighter floral print is old paper from my stash.

She was the littlest flower girl for her auntie's wedding.

I think the papers were Anna Griffin.  Not sure.

The flowers were cut from the paper, and rubbed with ink.  They were embossed with

something that resisted the ink.  The blue flourishes were cut with the Cricut.

More Baby Girl Layouts

The paper is years old, from my stash.  The stamps I used were Close to My Heart stamps.

I used micro beads glued on with Glossy Accents to give the texture and dimension to the sun and title.

The background paper is at least a year old.  I don't remember who makes it, and I'm too tired to check.

Sizzix Butterflies and label were cut with Tim Holtz dies.  The Flourishes were also cut w/Sizzix dies.

I think these papers were also from my stash and were probably older.

Baby Girl album 5 month layout

This will be the last scanned image for awhile, although I will be posting more pages from the album.  I gave the album to the mother, and didn't have time to scan everything before I gave it to her.  I did take photos, but they probably won't be as good as the scans.

This is one of my favorite pages in the baby album I did for her.  The papers were in the Disney section at the LSS, but I  may have bought them awhile back.  The paper flowers were also in the Disney section.  It's been so long since I scrapped this one that it would take awhile to figure out the paper manufacturers.  If anyone is dying to know, you can ask.  Otherwise, I probably won't take the time to hunt the info down.

Valentine's Day Gift for my Husband

I made this "Subway Art" for my husband for Valentine's Day.  The background paper was from my stash and is at least a few years old.  It was by Me and My Big Ideas.  I used Cricut cartridges and my Gypsy to do a little welding, although most of the designs were taken right from the various cartridges I used, namely:

Botanicals (font), Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Art (font), Quarter Note (musical notes and font), Sophisticated, Sweethearts, Tie the Knot, and Wild Card.

Sometimes it's surprising what you can find on a cartridge.  Even so, it was not as quick a project as I had hoped and expected it to be.  My husband seemed to like it.  I put it on the wall in the area where he uses his computer when at home, so he can have a reminder of my love for him.  We've been happily married for 37 years.

More of my Baby Girl Album

Most of my scrapbooking has been focused on the Baby Girl Album that I have been making for a gift.  I have actually gotten up to 8 months done, but haven't scanned all the pages yet.  Here are the next few layouts from the baby album.

The papers for the above layout are from the 2011 Little Yellow Bicycle Wonder Wishes line of papers.  I used decorative chipboard elements by K & Company.  The Christmas light garland is a very, very old Jolee's  product that I had in my stash.  The title was probably done using a Cricut cartridge and my Gypsy, but I honestly am not sure.  I did this layout months ago.  All of these layouts were done quite awhile ago.  I'm just slow getting them scanned and posted.

The Blessing Day layout was created with papers, flowers, and glittered dots I found at Archiver's in July 2012.  One of the papers is embossed, but it doesn't show up well.  The border was a Cricut cartridge, probably from one of their Paper Lace carts.  The font is also probably a Cricut font.  I have done most of the baby pages while scrapping with friends at the LSS, and I usually use the Cricut when I scrap away from home.  I'm sorry I can't be more specific.

The border on the 3 Month layout was another Cricut border.  It was either a Paper Lace cart or from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  I can't find the paper scraps to identify who manufactured the paper.  Obviously I should have scanned and posted right after doing the layout, so I could have been more specific.

This will be the last layout for today's post.  I used a die that I bought at Great American Scrapbook Convention a couple of years ago.  It is the scalloped circle die and the flourishes.  I think the name of the company that makes it is called Marianne or something like that.  It is similar to Spellbinder dies, in that they are wafer thin dies that allow you to cut and then emboss.  Unfortunately, they are sometimes hard to get out of the die intact.  The hearts and the borders were probably from Cricut cartridges.  The plaid I used for the scalloped border was a paper by Three Bugs in a Rug, but it's an older line.  I am not sure about the polka dot.  I think it was from my stash, so it may have come from a paper stack of long ago.  Hopefully once I get to layouts I've done more recently, I can give better details regarding manufacturers than I have with these layouts that I did months ago.