Handbag Cards

Having seen some of the templates on sale for handbag shaped cards, I thought I'd have a go at designing one that kind of suited my needs better.

Most of the cards available are hinged at the handle, and were, well, a wee bit small !!

Decorating the bags are great fun, you can really go to town, adding chains or beads for the handles. On the above bag, I added a diamante buckle and added a wee bit of ribbon thru it, pulling the ribbon to open.

The bags are really good if you are giving gift vouchers, money or even a light jewellery item as a gift, these items can be put inside the handbag.

If anyone is interested in the template, just drop me an email.

SVG Cuts - AMAZING !!

For the attention of all Cricut owners.

I found out that for the cost of one cartridge, that I could cut ANY font on my computer, including the thousands that are free from 1001 free fonts  ........ANY jpg image...... that's right , any font and any image !!

Just take a few minutes to look at the website http://svgcuts.com, I promise you'll be delighted. If you register, they send you 3 different cuts FREE, every week. Save them to a folder on your desktop, you can use or adapt them very easy with the Sure Cuts A Lot 2 software.

The possibilities using this software are endless, and oh so easy to use. Simply download the trial version of Sure Cuts A Lot 2, check that it works with your cricut, it will, honestly, you will need a cable to attach your Cricut to your computer, but NOT an expensive one, mine cost £1 from the poundshop, or if you have an Epson printer, that cable works as well.

With the trial version it will cut a line right through anything you want to produce, obviously you will have to buy the full version, £52.00, thats the cost of ONE Cricut Cartridge !! After that you can cut any font or any image you want. It downloads directly to your desktop, no need to wait on the disc arriving via the post, so you can get to work right away. The disc does arrive incidently .....  a few days later.

If like mine your cricut is an old original, you may need to update the software for it, but that's simple too, download the trial version of Cricut Design Studio from the Provocraft website, update your Cricut, then bin it.

On the SVG website there are hundreds of free downloadable cuts and endless amounts that you can buy at fairly reasonable prices. Another good point here is the videos, showing you how to use the software... if you even need that.

They are thousands of websites out there all offering free cuts, put 'free svg cuts' into your search browser and see.

I found a cartoon I wanted to use, using the 'snipping tool' on my computer .......... look ' all programs' under the 'Start' button

I dragged the snipping tool over the image I wanted to use, saved it to my desktop as a jpg file, opened my Sure Cuts A Lot software, then using the 'Trace Image' tool in here,  I traced the cartoon and cut it.

Art Deco Ladies

Seeing the cost of these cards in a shop recently, I was amazed ...... yes they are beautiful and some even had lights surrounding them ...... but £25.00, WOW !!!! ??



So I decided to make my own ..................

Trifold with a money wallet in the centre section
the message on the 3rd section is free moving
and attached only by the ribbon adhered over the top

decoupage front - close up of the above card

There are a few ranges around, I particularly like the Debbi Moore - Glitter & Glitz range, very stylish. Another is My Craft Studio on the Create & Craft website.

 I think this type of card can be used for quite a few different occasions, and can even cover a good age range, teenagers love them, as well as ladies who are slightly older.

Using the Cricut to create 'name' cards

I love making cards with the recipients name on it, I think it makes the card so special. When I make these cards, particulary for children, the parents are always so appreciative of the card and often overlooking the gift I have given with it.

Using the Cricut for this is so easy, simply cut your letters to 4 inches, the longer the name the more you may have to condense the lettering, place each letter on a separate bit of card, taking care to align the letters. I like to cover each layer with a coordinating paper, and add an embellishment that suits.

I score a fold line on every layer, put double sided tape in at the fold lines, finally punch holes at the edge and tie some ribbon of fancy fibres to dress up the edge.

Forever Friends, cutesy bears, dogs and little people !!

While I agree all of the above have their place in papercrafting, I for one am getting a bit fed up with them. Okay, perhaps on a baby card or even on an under 3 year old's card, but anything else ...... no way.

Baby card with a money wallet

When Forever Friends, Daisy & Dandelion and their ever growing menagarie first appeared it was different, cute and well, okay nce, but come on, can we please all grow up now.............. what's next.