Saturday, April 30, 2011

First E2 Project and Some Notes

Woohoo!  My E2 arrived a week earlier than expected.  I used CricutSync to update it and made this card while my Gypsy was updating.  I used the preloaded Cricut American Alphabet - I think I'm going to LOVE this cartridge.  I cut Doily9 at 3".  I figured out how to move the cuts around the virtual mat so that I could place all four papers on the sticky mat to cut the images at the same time (you can't drag and drop).  It will be fun learning how to use the machine to its fullest advantage.


While I was updating the Gypsy, I got a "missing fonts" message.  Although my G showed that the latest updates were installed, when I clicked on the newest carts, my Gypsy returned to the start-up screen.  After reading the message boards, I discovered quite a few gals had this problem.  It's solved by reopening Cricut Sync, reconnecting the G to the computer and turning it on.  Click, "don't update now" so you can get to the Help menu.  Click "yes" to the next three questions and Sync will reinstall all Gypsy content.  It took a little over an hour.  When I clicked out of Sync, disconnected the G, turned it off and then back on, it all worked.  All new carts (from the E2 and Hello Thursday) were listed and could be brought up on the screen. Yay!!!

I made a practice cut with the Gypsy connected to the E2.  I used Mini Monograms and it cut just fine.  I've read that the pre-installed carts, although they show up on the Gyspy, can't be cut from the G yet.  There's no way to show your G that you own those carts so they're listed in red.  A future Gypsy update will solve this problem.  I'm sure it has something to do with having your E2 registered, so be sure to do that right away.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Thursday, April 28, 2011

For the Birds!

Do you find that sometimes you use the same idea over and over?  As I was making this card, I realized that I have been using blue, yellow and birds again and again.  I guess that proves that our Cricut carts have some terrific birdies to choose from, right?  Or, my creativity bogs down then gets stuck - hmmmm?
Anyway, we had a Card Fairy request for a gal who loves retro.  I got out my Nifty Fifties cart with all the terrific retro cuts and what did I choose?  A BIRD - oh well, I think it's really cute and I hope she'll like it.


Sorry it's taken so long to post.  My internet went down for two days.  Wow, I was lost!!

How many of you ordered the Anniversary Edition E2?  I waffled for the first two presentations and finally made the call.  The free shipping, extra carts, and flex pay sold me.  I received notice that it's been shipped - woohoo.
Happy Mother's Day to me. 
Now I have to update my Gyspy, which always scares me, but I want to be ready for the new cartridges.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Monday, April 25, 2011

Challenge Me Monday #57


It's time for



In honor of Mother's Day, Challenge #57 is "Mom's the Word".

Mother's Day is May 8 this year (very early, but it is the 2nd Sunday).
For this week's challenge we're asking you to include the word "mom", "mother",  or any other way you might say it, and a Cricut cut.

I just love the adorable cuts on Nate's ABC's.  Each image is almost a stand-alone.  I welded "mom" using the font from Kate's ABC's (just as cute as Nate, btw), and used Elegant Edges for the frames (shadow feature).  The patterned paper was glittered so I added Stickles to the eggs and momma bird.  I embellished with Pearl Pens and my white Signo Pen.

Why don't you play along with us at FCCB.  Just link your "Mom's the Word" project below the Design Teams' examples.  And, don't forget that there is a new post each day sharing wonderful tips and ideas.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter!

I hope your day will be filled with sunshine and happiness and that you can be with those your love.

Be sure to come back on Monday to see the next
 Fantabulous Cricut's
Challenge Me Monday post.


Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Shall We Dance

This is the first time I've used this Cricut Circle Exclusive cartridge.  We had a Card Fairy request for a dear lady who is a former dance teacher and loves pink and purple.  I think this simple card is perfect.  I used the Medallion feature for the dancer and then enlarged it by one fourth and used hide countour on the Gyspy to create the shadow. 

 
Thanks for stopping by. 

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Easter Treats

I love putting together packages to send to my daughters for special holidays.  Since Easter baskets are not feasible for me to mail, I found other ways to package their Easter goodies.
Here are some of things I put in the packages:
I bought this plastic tube at my LSS - just perfect for Jelly Belly's.

My daughters love these candies!  I just decided to place a wrapper around the stack.

I made boxes and placed some smaller gifts inside.  The box and lid are each made from 12 x 12 cardstock.

Finally, a gift card holder and a carrot treat box  - the carrot was totally scraplifted!!!

The packages are on their way.  I wish I could share the holiday with one or both of my girls, but that's not to be this year - sigh!

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Yappy Easter

After finishing all the Easter goodies to place in my daughters' packages to be mailed, I was looking through my Cricut sample views to find an idea for my hubby.  When I came to the Paper Pups page, I found the perfect card for my dog-training, hunting hubby.


The only extras I added were the baker's twine (one of my new favorite things) and some hand-cut grass.

My Cricut Sample View sheets had to be moved into a 3" binder!!!!  I'm thinking that when it comes selecting cuts, I have a LOT of choices - LOL.  Thank goodness I began early on placing the sample sheets from Cricut.com in binder sleeves and keeping them organized.  I'd never remember which cartridges I have, let alone the cuts.  This is a great solution for those of us who don't have Iphones or Ipads to store such info.

Tomorrw I'll begin sharing some of the Easter things I made to send to my girls.  They may be young adults, but they still want their Easter surprises.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Monday, April 18, 2011

I'm a Stamper With Heart and 3 Winners!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Wow - I have so much to share that I'd better get started.


First, I want to thank Leah of Heart Song Designs.  She has honored me as her first
Stamper With Heart.  I have been using her wonderful digital images with my Copic markers to create some really sweet cards. 
You can visit her blog, Heartsong Inpirations, to pick up a free digital image and then scroll down to see my cards.  Here's my latest:



Woohoo, Woohoo!! 

I have three winners to announce this week.

First,  you helped me surpass my goal of 175 followers so a gift certificate to My Sheri Crafts will go to follower # 163, JennN

Next, the winner of my blog candy for the Fantabulous Cricut Crawl is
comment #25, Jennifer-My Creative Crafting

And, finally, my blog candy winner for the Cricut Card Fairy Birthday Blog Hop is
comment #11, Scrapper69

Please contact me by Friday, April 22 so that I can get your prizes in the mail.

Thank you all, again, for visiting, commenting, following, and sharing in my creative journey.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Happy Birthday Cricut Card Fairies

If you're following the Fantabulous Cricut Crawl, click HERE.
So glad you stopped by because it's a special day!

Welcome to the Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop.   We are celebrating because the Card Fairies turned three years old yesterday.  The Card Fairies are a group of crafting volunteers who love to send cards to those who need them.  To date, we have sent over 750 missions.  That's over 750 smiles and hugs via cards.  It's quite amazing, don't you think?
I joined the Card Fairies because I love crafting and felt it was a wonderful way to use my craft to offer support  and caring thoughts to those that need a little lift.  If you are interested in becoming a card fairy, you can email Crystal at cricutcardfairyarmy@gmail.com

This is the second stop along the hop.  You should have arrived from Crystal's blog.  If you get lost along the way, you can always return there for the complete list.

Of course I made a birthday card to celebrate the occasion.

The patterned paper is from Reminisce.  I cut extra flowers, inked and pop dotted them to add dimension.  I also added Liquid Pearls and Signo Pen doodling here and there.

If you leave a comment, your name will go into a drawing for BLOG CANDY - you heard right, how fun is that?  I have some Basic Grey chip stickers and brads, and some Bo Bunny stickers to give away.  Be sure you leave a way for me to contact you.  The random drawing will be Monday morning and I'll post the winner on my blog.  Woohoo!!

Also, I'm trying to reach 175 followers by Sunday night (it's OK if I go over - lol).  If you become a follower, there will be a second drawing for followers only.  The prize is a $15 gift certificate to My Sheri Crafts. 

Now it's time to get hopping.  Your next stop is Rachelle.
Hugs and Happy Crafting
Larelyn

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Love This Digi Image!

The Fantabulous Cricut Crawl continues until Sunday night, so it's not too late to enter to win blog candy or the Grand Prize at FCCB.  Just scroll below this post for all the details or click HERE.


Leah, at Heartsong Designs, sent me this adorable digital image called Ana and Flower.  Although I love, love, love my Cricut, I've been having so much fun learning to color digital images with my Copic Markers.  This is a very simple layout - I wanted the image to be the focal point.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out.  I'll be entering it in Heartsong Inpirations challenge #5.


I'm trying to reach 175 followers this week.  If I do, all of my followers will be entered to win a $15 gift certificate from My Sheri Crafts.  So, what are you waiting for?

.  Don't forget to join in the Fantabulous Cricut Crawl.  There are prizes on almost every blog and some really terrific projects to inspire you.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Monday, April 11, 2011

Fantabulous Cricut Crawl

Woohoo!  It's here!  Welcome to the the fifth Fantabulous Cricut Crawl. . . Fantabulous Cricut's version of a blog hop.  The Design Team members decided to have a Spring Fling.  We'll each feature an original Spring project that includes Pink, Green, and Yellow, and at least one Cricut cut.

If you've come from Kate's Small Bits of Paper, you're in the right place.  If you were just visiting my blog and want to join in the Fantabulous Cricut Crawl, start HERE.  Make sure to check each DT member's blog for some great spring inspiration.  There will be PRIZES along the way (including here) and there will be a GRAND PRIZE  for one participant who submits a "Spring Fling" project at FCCB.  Can it get any better than that?

I created a layout for my Spring Fling project - you expected a card, huh?.  I found the pink, green, yellow (and blue) bunny paper and the project just grew from there.  I love it when I find that one special piece of paper that allows the creating to begin.




I used Easter 2010, A Child's Year, April Showers, Walk in My Garden, and Songbird for the cuts on this layout. The entire layout was designed on my Gypsy.  The bunny, cloud, butterfly, and grass were all embossed using the Cuttlebug.  I added some ribbon, inking, doodling, pop dots, and pearls using my Pearl Pen.  The  mats are cut for 3.5 x 5 pictures.

Now for the fun stuff - blog candy.  All you have to do is leave a comment - that's it.  I'll randomly select one name from all those who leave a comment,  so be sure to include a way for me to contact you.

One more thing,  if I get to 175 followers during the Crawl, I'll be giving a $15 gift certificate from My Sheri Crafts to one of my followers. This will be a separate drawing just for the followers.  So, if you want a chance to win, please become a follower.

OKAY, now it's time for you to join in the fun.  Your next stop is Lisa C. 's My Lil' Bits.  If you get lost along the way,  just return to FCCB.  Don't forget to post your Spring Fling project at Fantabulous Cricut.  Make sure to include a Cricut cut somewhere and show us some pink, green, and yellow.

Happy Crawling!!!

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Challenge Card and Blog Candy

Here's a card I'm submitting to two challenges: Heartsong Inspirations #4 and Celebrate the Occasion #8.  The image is a digi from Heartsong Designs.  After coloring with Copic markers, I added diamond Stickles and then used the bronze Pearl Pen to accent the background along with some inking.



Now, the blog candy I'll be offering during the Fantabulous Cricut Crawl which starts next Monday.  You'll have all week to visit each design team member's blog.  I will be selecting one winner from those of you who visit here and leave a comment.  Be sure to include a way for me to contact you.

Finally, when I get to 175 followers, I'll be giving a  $15 gift certificate to My Sheri Crafts.  I will use Random.Org to select a winner from my list of followers. 

I hope you'll share this information with your blogging friends. 
See you soon.
Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Happy 29th Birthday

My youngest daughter turned 29 today!!!  Since I can't be with her to celebrate - she's in Illinois, I'm in California - here are few things I sent her.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANNA!  I love you and am so proud of you.

Background frames - Sentimentals, dress form and 29 - Nifty Fifties, fabulous - Paisley

Flowers - Mother's Day Bouquet, basket - Sweet Treats, numbers and frame - Songbird

Shopping Bag - TBBM, high heels - Forever Young

Purse - Forever Young


Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the blog candy I'm offering during the Fantabulous Cricut Crawl which begins April 11.  I'm going to add something extra if I can reach 175 followers.  So, if you haven't become a follower, I would love to have you.  Every follower's name will be in the special drawing.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Monday, April 4, 2011

It's April Showers at Fantabulous Cricut

This week's Challenge Me Monday theme is April Showers.  I hope you'll drop by and see the wonderful designs being shared by the team.  Please join in the fun and link your creation to the Challenge Me Monday post.  Just be sure your design includes a cricut cut and either an umbrella or a hat (or both). 

I used 3 Birds on Parade to create my card.  The paper is DCWV Nana's Kids and the ribbon is Bazzill Basics.  The raindrops were in my embellishment stash.  As always, my card fits an A2 envelope.


                     I'm also entering this card in the April Showers challenge at My Sheri Crafts

Next week, the entire design team will be participating in the Fantabulous Cricut Blog Crawl.  You'll have the entire week to visit each blog, get lots of wonderful spring inspiration, and have a chance to win blog candy along the way.  I'll be posting more details and a picture of my blog candy later in the week.

I hope your week is off to a delightful start.
Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Happy Birthday, Daddy

My oldest daughter, who was just named Associate Head Coach of softball at Texas Tech University, asked me to make a birthday card for her dad.  He has always been her greatest fan - through her playing days and her coaching career.  She wanted Tech colors, but with the "daddy / little girl" theme.  I think this cut from A Child's Year is perfect.  "Daddy" was cut from Heritage.  I'm going to submit this card to the Birthday Sundaes "anything goes" challenge.



Don't forget to check back tomorrow for  Fantabulous Cricut's Challenge Me Monday.
Have a wonderful Sunday.  See you tomorrow.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

Friday, April 1, 2011

Rock Princess Butterfly

The butterfly on the Indie Art cartridge has always been my favorite, but I think it just got replaced.  This butterfly is from Rock Princess and I think it's pretty darn fabulous!!  The tag is from Gypsy Wanderings with a computer generated sentiment. The card is an A2 - my go-to size.  Okie Ladybug shared that Staple's had A2 envelopes on sale so I stocked up - woohoo!


I've received several blog awards this past week.  My blogging friends are so special and I truly appreciate the kind thoughts.  I feel badly that I haven't passed them forward yet, but I will definitely share the love in the next day or two.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn
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