Hey Mr Big Shot!

The only requirements for this swap was using the Big Shot. I used the Big Shot on four different things, the Lattice Die, an Impressionz Folder, Beautiful Butterflies Die, and Beautiful Wing Embosslit. Colors are Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Kraft, and Very Vanilla. The image on the large butterfly is from Elements of Style.

Thank you! And don't forget that tomorrow is Sketch Frenzy Friday!

Rag Bags

So the new craze is using the big shot with fabric to create the rag bags. Here are a couple that I made for a fabric swap that I participated in. I used the scallop square die to cut the fabric. I used to do a lot of quilting when I was younger and I do have to say, this does cut down on the cutting time for sure! There are plenty of blogs with directions of how to make these bags, so I will spare the details here, but if you need directions, please let me know. The first picture shows two bags I made, one with the seams out, showing the scalloped edge, and the other with the seams in, for a cleaner front. I used Certaintly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon for the handles.

Here is another one I made with different fabric and using Basic Black ribbon for the handles.

Let It Snow!

Today's post I'm taking a break from SAB and the Occassions Mini (for the most part). Sometimes I forget that I have other stamps and supplies to play with too :o) Anyways, I'm part of a group where every month we sent 1 card to someone based on the monthly theme. January's theme is snow. This is the card that I made. I used the Big Shot and Snowflake die and cut two snowflakes out of pop cans. The other colors are Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, and Whisper White. I also used Kaleidoscope DSP. I did use one stamp from the new Occassions Mini, Dot, Dot, Dot, and Teeny Tiny Wishes from the big catalog.

Stay tuned for an announcement about a new club I'm offering!

Magnetic Build-A-Bear

I spent the majority of yesterday playing with my Big Shot and Build-A-Bear dies. At covention this year they showed magnetic Build-A-Bears (so I was told, I was unable to attend this year) and I thought I would do a Build-A-Bear workshop, where the mom and kid would make a bear and the clothes to go with it and all would be magnetic so it would kind be like magnetic paper dolls. I bought magnetic sheets that have one side with adhesive and started to play. I ran into a few bumps (okay a lot of bumps) along the way, but finally came up with a finished product. I created this one and stuck it to a tin can that I purchased at Micheal's. I was having fun and made my bear a cross-dresser with white tights and pink skirt.


I was working with my friend, and fellow demostrator Laurie and she came up with the idea of using the magnetic bear and clip board sold by Stampin' Up! to make a calendar board, where you could change the outfit on the bear to fit the season. Again, here she ran into a few bumps, but did have a final project to share. Laurie actually dressed her bear up more appropriately.



Finally, one last picture to share. I was using a lot of scraps cutting out the 4 bears and accessories and Laurie's cat (Oscar) decided that right then and there it was a good place to take a nap.



Things I Learned:
1. It took me almost 6 hours to cut and mount the four bears.
2. If the magnet it thin enough, the sizzlet will actually cut through it.
3. The more layers of clothing, the less chance of them staying on the bear with movement.
4. The magnets do sometimes "fight" with each other and so the layers won't exactly lay where you want them to. (The magnetic fields oppose each other).
5. To get the bear to hang vertically and have a chance of keeping clothes on them, it's best to stick magnets on the back to the bear that will also stick to the clothing. Laurie did this using little closure magnets and it kind of looked like the bear was in the hospital with electrodes on him all over.
6. It's best to run the whole sheet of magnet through the big shot and then cut the accessories separately and adhere to the magnet (at least to save magnet and ensure each accessory is the desired color).
7. A spin off number 3, consider gluing a couple of layers of clothing before adhering to the magnet. For example, I glued the jacket to the T-shirt and then made the combination one magnet to eliminate a layer.

I'm sure there are many more things that I forgot, but before I make this a class, I think I really need to simplify it, so any suggestions would be great.

Glass Etching

So after I attended Minneapolis Regionals and saw the glass etching using the raw vinyl and Big Shot, I got to thinking and wondered if the raw vinyl was really neccessary. Could I just use paper and run it through a xyron to stick it to the glass? So I tried it. The first time instead of using the negative, I used the actual cut-out and then I was wondering how one controls where to stop putting the etching cream on. A few days later, it dawned on me that I was supposed to use the negative space so there would be no confusion where to end the etching cream. I didn't think to use transfer tape or anything of the sort to get the middle pieces of the flower, but all in all my experiment worked. You don't need raw vinyl to make your own designs, paper and the xyron work just fine. The jar is from Ikea and I used the flower from the Blooms and Basket die. For the picture, I just placed the jar over some cardstock so it was easier to see the etching part.