Sizzix Eclips Emerald Cup Layout

Still loving the Sizzix Eclips machine.  Here I used three cartridges:  Starter & Rockin' Janie for the title; All Occasions for the trophy; Holiday for the shamrock vines.  The black ric-rack was cut with the Sizzix Hello Kitty Ribbons Decorative Strip die.  I really love how this page came together.

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The patterned papers are by October Afternoon (Thrift Shop and Road Trip lines), and the green paper is from the DCWV Shimmer stack.  You can't tell too well in the scan, but it has a subtle shimmer/gleen to it and it is lovely IRL.  That shimmer paper also cuts like buttah in the Eclips!!  Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Crafting!!

Quick Eclips Baseball Layout

The Sizzix Eclips machine makes cutting embellishments so quick and easy.  Here is a simple baseball layout using some Scenic Route papers from my stash (and a blue star paper that I have no idea where it came from..haha).  All of the cuts are from the Sizzix Eclips School & Sports cartridge, available at www.Scrap-Mart.com of course!

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My scanner is not a full 12", so the border is a bit cut off at the bottom - it is even IRL!! Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Scrapping!!

Navy Pier Layout

Wow - two posts in one day - how about that?!?! I spent some time in my Nook this weekend - mainly organizing but also managed to create a few things.

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The Seagull element and title are from the Cricut Life's A Beach cartridge, and I welded the title using my Gypsy.  I cut the Seagull element entirely out of white cardstock and used my Copic markers to color in the beak, stump and grass.  A wiggly eye and some stickles for the wing topped it off:

The Carousel is from the Cricut Lite Carousel cartridge and was a bit of a nightmare to clean up, but in the end it turned out lovely. I'm not sure what I would do without my Basic Grey paper file set!!

The blue patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye Twinkle Twinkle Little Boy, and I found the Wood-Boardwalk patterned paper at Archiver's but I don't remember the brand (it has sharks swimming in water on the back if that helps anyone locate it).  Have a crafty day!!

Block Matting

Block matting is an easy way to get several photos onto one page.  Here I simply added larger mats to frame the page, offsetting the photo mat just slightly for interest and to balance out the weight of the page (due to the large end of the bat).  I cut the bat on my Sizzix Eclips machine from the School and Sports Cartridge and had my son sign it. 

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The patterned kraft paper is from the Basic Grey basics collection and the tiny black letter stickers are made by Making Memories. 

Here is a quick non-scrap project.  My sons attend Catholic School and my oldest's teacher wanted them to put book covers on their Religion books.  He said "Mom, that's your department" so I promised to keep it simple and boyish, but I couldn't help but add a touch of glitter!!  I used the Sizzix Bigz Ornate Cross and cut the font on my Cricut with the Blackletter Cartridge.  The Glitter paper is made my American Crafts - I used a color called "Charcoal" - it is nice and thick and sparkly. 

Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Crafting!!

Sizzix Eclips Layout: 1st Day of School

Ok, are you ready for another Sizzix Eclips video??  Here is a quick scrapbook page I put together using the Eclips this afternoon. 

And for the final page, I added a border strip at the bottom and a journaling strip to mark the year at the top.

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Here is a closeup of the book:

And a closeup of the title:

The papers and border sticker are from an old Becky Higgins School collection I had in my stash.  I just love the happy colors!  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!!

Water Balloon Blast!!

I love these action shots of my boys engaged in a water balloon battle - I wanted to keep the page simple so as not to take away from the photos. 

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The title was cut with the Sizzix Hello Kitty Fluffy font decorative strip, and 'Summer Fun' was cut with the Sizzix decorative strip called Forcast: Hot Summer Fun.  I added some white gel pen stiching to both for effect.  I also used the Quickutz Water Flourish die and added Stickles for some sparkle.  The paper is Creative Memories.  Here are a couple of close-ups:

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Thanks for stopping by today and Happy Crafting!!

Back to School Layout

I figured since the new school year is almost upon us that I better get last year's photos scrapped!!  Here is my little guy, all ready for 1st grade.  I can't believe he'll be starting 2nd grade this year.  Where has the time gone??

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The papers are from an old Becky Higgins School collection - if you look closely you will see 'First Grade' appearing above the bottom border.  I love the colors in these papers.  The title was cut from the Cricut Lite Celebrate with Flourish cartridge - I truly just can't get enough of these layered titles!!!  I've used a few of them in my upcoming Club Ruby projects too.  Here is a close-up:

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!!

Ok, so I'm not a big card-marker...

I know, gasp!  I do make cards but simple ones.  If I have a lot of time to spend on a crafting project, it is usually a scrapbook page!  But I've been putting together a few cards lately to showcase some of the products Scrap-Mart.com carries, so I thought I would share them with you.  For this card, the die cut Happy Birthday sentiment was done with a Sizzix sizzlit die and I mounted it on cuts from Spellbinders Nesting Lables Three.  The polka dot paper is from American Crafts Heat Wave line (love that paper!).  I added a few primas and jewels and voila instant birthday card.  Oh, the base of the card is a Bazzil die cut paper folded in half that I had in my stash.  [click any photo to enlarge]

The base of this next card was cut with the Sizzix Bigz XL Card fronts die - love, love, love this die.  The paper is from October Afternoon as is the piggy sticker which I mounted again on Spellbinders Labels Three.  The Thanks sentiment was die cut with an old Quickutz phrase cookie cutter set.

Finally, I used the Tim Holtz for Sizzix Woodgrain embossing folder as a background for this card, rubbing it with some chalk for effect.  The stamp is from the Unity Stamps Sports Squares collection and I colored it with my Copic markers.  Super simple, but this will make a great thank you card for my son to send to his Baseball Coach now that the season has ended.

Thanks so much for checking in today and Happy Crafting!!

Eclips News!!! Have you heard???

Version 2.0 of the software is soon to be released, as a FREE download, and it contains the following updates (excerpt from News item today found on Sizzix.com):
"Leading off, the eclips Electronic Shape-Cutting Machine undergoes its first exciting update thanks to a FREE software download for existing users this fall at Sizzix.com. Some of the more notable enhancements include:*Scoring: Allows eclips designs to be cut with easy scoring lines for simple folds when using the Albums, Bags & Boxes and Cards & Envelopes cartridges.*Drawing with any pen: With the additional purchase of the eclips Pen Holder, crafters can use virtually any felt tip or ballpoint pen in their eclips Machine to draw a shape. The Pen Holder also accommodates glue pens for drawing shapes in glue, allowing crafters to sprinkle on glitter for a truly dazzling look.*Rotate Designs: Rotates shapes for optimal placement on the material to be cut. Changes in orientation can be made in increments of 1 degree all the way to 360 degrees. This feature dramatically saves paper.*Double Cut: In case the shape wasn’t cut all the way through, the eclips will pass the blade over the cut lines again and re-cut the area to ensure easy removal of the shape.*Adjust Height or Width: Customizes the height or width of a design. Especially useful for cutting phrases or images that demand proportionate precision.*Print2Cut: With the purchase of additional software, crafters can use their home computer and printer to design and print any eclips shape and then load it into the eclips Machine for easy laser locating, positioning and cutting.*In addition, ten more cartridges (sold separately) for the eclips Machine will start shipping to retailers this fall. With new cartridges designed by such prominent industry names as Scrappy Cat, Dena Designs and BasicGrey, crafters will be treated to a diverse offering of cutting-edge choices sure to fire up their creative arsenal."
I am so excited to see these updates in action!!

Catch A Wave!

Ok, this is one of those layouts that didn't come together as I had envisioned, but I'm happy with it nonetheless.  It is bright and cheerful, just as I remember that day...

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I cut the title in a retired Quickutz font (Venus) in white and used my Copic markers to mimic the colors in the actual ride sign (behind my boys in the photo on the right).  The rollercoaster was cut on my Silhouette.

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The Sun is a combination of a retired Sizzix die layered on top of a Spellbinders Pinking Circle with some dimensional adhesive.  I added stickles to the Sun and Ride for effect as well.

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The colorful patterned paper is from the American Crafts Heat Wave line (love that collection) and the water paper was old Imaginesce from my stash.  I used my Creative Memories wavy trimmer to cut the edge of the water paper and also for the journaling strips on the lower right.  Thanks so much for checking in today and have a crafty week!!

Crabulous! Layout

Wow - I can't believe it has been several weeks since I have posted anything here!  Life has been busy and I've been working on some projects for Club Ruby that I can't post here (I will be able to post teaser pics once the Club is up and running so watch for those).  Anyhow, I just completed a quick and cute and uh, crabulous, layout...

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I love the bright colors and glittery patterns in the American Crafts Heat Wave paper line - they were perfect for my photo.  The oh so cute crab is from the Sizzix Sizzlit Sea Animals set and the font is from the Quickutz Relax Gift Set released last spring.  You can't really tell in the photo, but I use DCWV glitter paper for the title.  Thanks for checking in today and Happy Crafting!!

Christmas in July

Well, Christmas scrapbooking in July, that is.  Catching up on some layouts and just finished this one, but now that I am looking at the photo, I think I am going to add a couple of rooftop reindeer to the upper right hand side.  Here's the layout (sorry about the flash):

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The patterned paper is by Basic Grey.  The journal block was cut from my Tim Holtz Sizzix Edge die (love that die - so many uses for it!).  I used my Cricut Christmas Cheer Cartridge for the "Christmas" title and added "Eve" from the Storybook cartridge font.  A few dabs of Stickles Glitter Glue finished it off.

I thought this house matched the Basic Grey patterned paper perfectly.  It was cut from the Winter Wonderland Cartridge and I embossed the rooftops with a Cuttlebug Embossing folder.   More stickles for snow, and I was done.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a crafty week!

Croquet Anyone??

At home scrapping on a Friday.  My little guy James is home sick today with Strep Throat so I am taking care of him and catching up on some scrapping and blogging.....Here is a simple layout I put together with a variety of supplies

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and a close up of the title (I just love the BossKut Whoa Nelly font):

I used Jillibean Soup paper for the striped background and layered a Making Memories die cut flower shape from the Flutter collection on top.  I inked the outside of the flower with Quick Quotes Mango Mai Tai chalking ink first.  The label stickers came from various October Afternoon collections.  The title was cut with Bosskut Whoa Nelly font (available at Scrap-Mart of course) and I added a bit of white gel pen for effect.  Thanks for stopping by today and happy scrapping!

ETA Sketch for those who like to work from sketches:

Thanks for stopping by and have a crafty day!!

Sizzix Eclips Video #8 Easter Layout

Ok, here is the last video I was able to make using the Sizzix Eclips demo machine before I had to send it back to Scrap-Mart. I hope to have my own machine next week!

Here are some photos of the almost completed page (still need to add journaling or another element to the lower right corner):

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I love the Jillibean Soup paper - too cute.  Thanks for stopping by today.  Happy Scrapping,

The Eclips is near!!! Sizzix Eclips Update!

I just got word that the Sizzix Eclips machine will be shipping to Scrap-Mart this week!!  I am so excited to get my hands on the Eclips - I have been missing it ever since I had to send the store demo machine back a few weeks ago.
There are a lot of questions out on the web about this machine, so I am reposting some of my original thoughts on the Eclips for those who missed that post (I updated a few of them as well).  I've got several videos showing the Eclips in action under the VIDEO tab on this blog.
Ok, so here are my top 10 thoughts on the Sizzix Eclips machine:
(1)  The Eclips machine is extremely user friendly. I was up and cutting within minutes of unpacking the box. The remote control is very intuitive and easily became second nature to use. I was worried it may take a while to get used to but that was not the case at all. It is amazing to me that the machine has so much capability but is so easy to use - typically a machine with this many features would have a steep learning curve, but Sizzix has done a great job in making it very user-friendly. 
(2)  The screen resolution on the remote is great - very clear images but easy on the eyes.  Very fast navigation as well - no long delay after you hit a button.  No guesswork whatsoever and that saves time. I'm all for crafting efficiency!
(3)  The images on the cartridge samples are not an exhaustive list of shapes on each cart - they are just the base images, but each one has various creative features, many of which include other shapes.  I love that many of the images offer a traditional steel-rule die cut design with dotted lines for detail, but also offer layers ('pieces') so you can choose to make a layered design or a traditional looking cut.  You can get multiple looks with one image.  Fabulous!!  And more cartridges are coming!!
(4)  When a shape offers embellishment pieces you can choose whether to cut one piece or all of the pieces - so no need to cut three times if you want three different colors of paper. I did not expect that option and it is so convenient to have!! Cricut users will especially appreciate this feature as there is no need to modify the image with software to 'hide contour' for the pieces you don't want to cut.  Rock on!
(5)  Almost every shape has a shadow feature which is fantastic in my book!  I'm a shadow girl - this is a big bonus for me.
(6)  The creative features are applied on a shape by shape basis, not on a cartridge by cartridge basis. In other words, on any given cartridge you may have one shape that has a border feature, while another shape has an embellishment feature. Sizzix looked at each image to determine which creative features were appropriate for that shape. Awesome!!
(7)  Because the remote allows you to navigate through your images quickly and store them in the cutting que, you are not tied to your handbook.  I didn't even have handbooks for the demo cartridges and I was able to scroll through the designs quickly and with ease to determine what I wanted to cut.  No more forgetting what images are on the cartridges!
(8)  The laser preview feature is a great way to see exactly where you are cutting.   If you are trying to use up a paper scrap, or center a cut over a pattern in your paper or on a photo, this feature is awesome!  No guesswork or approximations!
(9)  The designs can cut to a full 12 inches.  Borders also have a 24 inch option if you have the larger mat (sold seperately).
and last but certainly not least....
(10)  The cutting capability of the Eclips machine is by far the best I have used - and I have used many different brands of cutting machines.  Ultra clean cuts each time - even through chipboard!  No wasted paper due to tears and snags.  No rough edges to sand down or uncut pieces to snip.   Seriously accurate and clean cuts.   The feel of the machine and the cutting mechanism is very solid and sturdy. It definitely has a high-end feel to it and it even sounds cool (according to my 7 year old!).
So there you have it - my first-hand personal opinion of this machine!  If you are a machine collector like I am, make room in your crafting area for an Eclips - you won't be sorry. 

Father's Day Is Almost Here!

When the Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations dies were released, the Regal Crest caught my eye.  Here I paired it with the Sizzix Argyle Embossing folder to make a great card for that Number 1 Dad.

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I colored the die cuts with my Copic markers and added some chalk to the embossed background to bring out the detail.  The #1 was cut with two retired Sizzix/Ellison fonts (Script and Circus) and "Dad" was cut with Quickutz Moonlight font.  The paper is old, old Basic Grey from my stash.  TFL!!

Cricut Lite Cartridges!!

Ok here is a video showing the inserts for 5 of the new Cricut Lite Cartridges that I was fortunate enought to get my hands on yesterday. I hope to do some projects with these soon!

Spring Layout

My Cricut has been feeling neglected ever since the Eclips moved in so I thought I would work with it tonight.  But I'm thinking I should have photographed this LO instead of scanning, because it is much prettier IRL, but you get the idea...haha.  If I get a chance to take a pic in the daylight I will replace this photo.  In the mean time, here it is (dark shadows are caused by the scanner):

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ETA: Ok, and here is the photo - I'm not sure which is better...

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And a few close-ups...

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I just love these pictures of my parents with my boys (and me in the one with my Mom). I used the Cricut Easter Cartridge for all of the cuts on this layout (Spring title, Zig Zag borders and Flower element).  The paper is by Making Memories from the Flutter collection.  The lower left space is where I will add journaling.  Thanks so much for stopping by tonight!
Happy Scrapping,