Eclips Heart Challenge. January 2021

We have a new Eclips/Ecal challenge going on...anything Heart  themed. I love our group of Sizzix Eclips Ecal Makers on Facebook. We all contribute and learn/share new techniques to this cutting machine that we love, but that unfortunately is no longer being sold.

I attempted to design a project altering a layered geometric heart, but it was a total failure, so I went a totally different direction. I guess my altering nodes technique needs a bit of work. So, here is what I finally came up with:

I ended up with a heart box made from two different SVG Cuts kits. The box itself comes from the Love Me Do SVG Kit. I chose to make the smallest heart shaped box.

Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that. I decided to add to the top and incorporate the raised heart from the "HUGS" bag from the All My Love SVG Kit. I reduced the size of this heart to about 2-3/4" tall, so that it would fit on the top of the small heart-shaped box.

I used digital paper from Creative Fabrica, called Watercolor Hearts. I think it's so pretty. 

I did a print2cut on the flower of the raised heart. After the heart was inserted into the top of the heart box, I took another copy of the raised edge portion, removed all of the nodes from all of the tabs, which left me with just the band. I filled that with the pattern of another digi paper, again from the Watercolor Hearts paper collection, and reduced the size to give it a look that popped a bit more. I used print-2-cut, inked it, and then placed it over the original edge. It really set it off nicely.

And, there you have it. I may still add something to the raised heart, but that's to be seen.

Ya Gotta Have Heart!

12 Days of Christmas Tags 2020

Another year of the Eclips Challenge Christmas Tags. Last year I was able to get only 5 done, but this year I managed to make all 12. Seriously, this is about my favorite challenge of the year, and I'm already thinking of what I want to do for 2021. Beginning on December 1, and continuing each day until December 12, we all make and post a tag of our choice. The challenges on our Facebook page (Eclips and eCal Users) encourage us to try new techniques using our Ecal software and cut using our Sizzix Eclips cutting machines.

The first tag has a retro feel, with digi paper from Carte Bella (A Very Merry Christmas). It has two layers, one popped out with foam squares. The candy jar is printed on the back panel, and the front panel has a cut-out so that it shows through. Used print-2-cut for this one.

Tag #2 is one where I designed the 2-layer background shape using circles from the shapes library. The snowman is a cut-2-print, and I freehand cut the hat and added some shimmer.

Tag #3 is made from a free cut file from Simply Crafty SVGs. It holds 6 Hershey kisses, and is so cute! You can click on the link and check it out!

Tag #4 is a simple one. I saw it on Pinterest, and recreated it. They were so simple that I whipped up six of them, and actually used them on gifts this year. You can see that the trunk of the trees is made up of the wording MERRY.

Tag #5 is one I made up myself. The snow globe and tree are made from basic shapes, and the houses and snowman are print-2-cut. Used glitter cardstock around the edge, and my shimmer brush on all of the snowflakes in the background.

Tag #6 is a fun one. I made some outlined snowflakes and an additional snowflake for dimension, then added a bit of bling. It's simple, but one of my favorites. Again, I think I got the idea for this one on Pinterest.

The base for Tag #7 came from SVG Cuts, and then I altered it to style it like Santa, and sized it down (it was originally a card). All glitter cardstock was used.

Tag #8 comes from a free pattern that I got when I first started out with my cutting machine in 2011. There was also a Christmas Tree (Tag #10). They were designed by Penny Duncan, and offered on a blog that doesn't even exist anymore that I am aware of. This one has gold metallic cardstock in the background, and some little gold bling accents. This was the first time I've made this one.

Tag #9 was another Pinterest-inspired one. The scalloped circle was made with basic shapes in Ecal3 (I cut using a Sizzix Eclips2). The deer is a print-2-cut from a digital element pack.

Tag #10 is another pattern from Penny Duncan Designs. It holds a special place in my heart, because it was one of the very first things I cut with my Eclips back in 2011. It was fun to make it again for this challenge. Also, Penny has always been so generous and kind when I have had exchanges with her.

Tag #11 is a cutie. I took these gnomes and the tree from Simply Crafty SVGs' Gnome Family Slimline Card, and grouped them for the tag. Love the way it turned out.

And, finally, Tag #12. This darling rocking horse came from a card by SVG Cuts. It's in the Home for Christmas Box Cards set. Mary's beautiful design is just lovely.

And, there you have it! Feeling accomplished during a time when I've been feeling overwhelmed with life and wonderful grandchildren that I spend a lot of time with. My daughter and fam lived out of state for five years, so during that time I had lots of free time to craft whenever I wanted. Now, they take much of my time, and I'm not sad at all about that! But, I do sometimes miss the freedom of having my crafty time.

Here are all of my tags together. If you're a tag addict, I have postings each year for the past four years, I believe, that we have been doing this challenge.

I hope your holidays were a blessing to you, and that you were able to have at least some snippets of time with family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Christmas Gift Treat Bag

These treat bags were made for some sugar-free almond brittle I made for some family/friends. The cut file for the treat bags is very simple. It is from SVG Cuts' Tied Surprise Gift Boxes SVG Collection.  I used the trellis gift bag design, but I didn't use the trellis, and I altered it to add about 2-1/2" to the height. 

The flap at the top is done with print-2-cut, as was the Merry Christmas card/label on the front.
The digital paper is one of my faves, from Adrienne Looman's Mistletoe Kisses paper pack.

Notice the bag on the right, how the pattern goes vertically. Yeah, that was a mistake, but I had to get them out in the mail so that's the way it goes. ha! 

Christmas Treats for the Sweets!

Gift Card Slider Holders

I designed these present gift card holders for the great nieces and nephews for Christmas. I made 18 of them. Took awhile, as I'm not an experienced designer, so even though it's a simple one by most standards, I had to make a couple of prototypes before I was satisfied with it.

.Here are some singles so you can see how it works.

I also made the small gift tags using print-2-cut for each of the holders.

Thanks for taking a look!

TIME TO SHOP, KIDS!

Santa's Got a Beard Advent Calendar

Santa really needs a beard! This darling Santa advent calendar is a fun way for the little ones to count down the days until the jolly man in the red suit arrives. I did not come up with this idea. It was posted by numerous people in numerous places (and I can't remember exactly where, but I bet you could find it on Pinterest).

I redesigned it using the Santa cut file from SVG Cuts. I used the poem that was on the posting, and put it on a scroll in Affinity Photo. I printed the numbers on 12x12" cardstock, then put some laminate on there, so that after Christmas the cotton balls could be removed, and it could be used another year. The entire poster is glued onto some foam board to keep its shape.

I put double-sided tape on each cotton balls, so they could pull the backing off and stick it right onto the number.

This is a fun one for the little ones! Give it a try!

SANTA'S GOT A BRAND NEW BEARD!

HALLOWEEN 2020 - Social Distance Candy Delivery

Here we are in the most unique Halloween we've all experienced in our lives, right? I made a couple of décor items for my grandsons, and think they really liked them.

The first one is the Winnie the Witch Treat Box. So cute! The kids got a kick out of her. The hat comes off and you can insert whatever inside.

The cut file for Winnie comes from Dreaming Tree's Halloween Spirit SVG Bundle. My daughter's favorite part is the solar system on her hat.

I love the back, with the collar of her cape. Fun project to make!

The second project was the Bat Candle Holder, which comes from the same bundle as Winnie (see link above).

Last but not least, I had seen a tube to distribute Halloween candy on Pinterest, so thought I'd do my own version for my daughter's house. They have the perfect front porch that is set up a stair case. I got 10 ft of pvc pipe. I then cut out spiders, witches hats and spider webs from vinyl using my Sizzix Eclips. We attached the pipe to the railing, and it worked perfectly! I sat at the top of the stairs, and the kids put their bags underneath the pipe at the bottom, and the candy went straight into their bags. Worked like a charm. And, it's something they can use for years to come.

 

Others in the neighborhood had similar set-ups for handing out candy. One house had a rain gutter painted orange on the outside, and they slid the candy down that. Then others had pvc or other tubing. And, I was pleased because the trick-or-treaters were all very considerate and exercising social distancing. When someone was at our place, the next family would stand and wait down the walkway at least 10'.

Happy Halloween!

Father's Day, 2020

Grandson #1 was so thrilled to give this #1 Dad trophy to his dad. This is the Father's Day Loving Cup SVG from Dreaming Tree.  A really fun one to make! And, it turns out so well and large!

The only changes I made were to add panels to the inside of the cup so that all of the tabs were hidden, as well as a little hexagon piece at the inside bottom of the cup to close the hole that goes into the base.

The writing on the ribbon (#1 Dad), as well as the Best Dad writing on the placard were done using the WRMK foil quill. It was done in a metallic royal blue.

Emmett also made a Father's Day card that we put into the cup (as well as a gift card). He was so excited. On the way home he kept asking if they were being careful with the trophy. He was so proud of it.

 

Happy Father's Day to all of the Dads!

Graduation Cards 2020

This years graduates are experiencing something that no other graduates have dealt with in the past. Graduation ceremonies have either been cancelled entirely, or alternate graduations activities are in place, such as drive through graduations which can be watched live virtually by extended family and friends.

I have three great nephews graduating from high school and an almost niece who graduated from college. The card I chose to make for is the Graduation Gown Card from Simply Crafty SVGs. It's a fun one to make, and is easily customized to whatever school color you wish. I used either a metallic foil or glitter card stock for these cards, and it really made them pop.

By the way, you have the choice of a standard insert for the inside or to make it a gift card holder, and I chose the latter.

As I was walking with my grandsons in their small community I noticed a few lawn signs congratulating high school seniors at their homes. I felt a bit bad for these kids not being able to engage in all of the senior activities that others before them had been able to. I thought it would be a small fun gesture to acknowledge them, so decided to make them a small card and clip it to their sign.

I chose another smaller graduation hat card from Simply Crafty SVGs for a few seniors (who I don't know at all, even their names). This is a free pattern, so click the link and check it out!

I designed the insert in Photoshop.

Happy Graduation to all the 2020 Seniors!

Mother's Day, 2020

This is the card my grandson (age 5) and I made for his mommy.  This is a card made from a die set by Karen Burniston (Photo Collage Pop Up). I'm not one to use die sets like this, but I knew when I saw this one that I had to have it, as it pushed all of my photo collage buttons!

It's such a fun one to look at too.

My grandson drew a photo of he and his mom, and also signed the card, "Love Emmett and Sunny" (little brother) with a little sun drawn there. I used glossy accents on the push pins, so they look pretty real. I also loved the little frog clips, as they look so authentic. I used silver metallic cardstock for them.

And, I had Emmett design the entire front of the card.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms!

Face Masks by Deb's Crafty Side

This was a stretch for me. I haven't sewn anything since I was still making my now adult daughter's Halloween costumes when she was a little girl. But, I pulled my neglected sewing machine out of the closet, took it to get cleaned and lubed, pulled out some probably 20 to 25-year-old quilting fabric scraps and got busy.

The pattern I used came from Craft Passion on YouTube. I loved this tutorial, because it was concise and there was no talking! Too much chitter chatter makes for a way too long video, and this one is just what the crafter ordered. This YouTube video also contains the link to the free pattern, which comes as an SVG file as well in case you want to cut a template out on your cutting machine.

I inserted a pipe cleaner in the casing on the inside top to form across your nose and cheeks.

I used a really fun idea on these. I do a lot of paper crafting, and for the past eight years I have been printing my own patterned card stock. I also do lots of HTV and transfers with images applied to fabric (t-shirts, onesies, etc.) with my heat press. I decided to use white lining fabric and heat press patterned paper onto it, then use it for the masks. So, the top one is a Carta Bella patterned cardstock (Cowboy Country) which was made for my husband. It reminded him of his childhood in the 50s. The second one was designed by me for my daughter using linguistics letters (if that's what they're called?). The third for my niece, a flight attendant, and the fourth a fern pattern for my brother. This was such a fun way to personalize the masks. I believe the rest I made were just old scraps from my quilting days many years ago.

This is a really well thought out pattern, with an opening in the back to insert a filter. It's a free pattern that comes in many sizes.  The link for the pattern is in the tutorial, as mentioned above. The following link gives good information about how to make the most efficient face mask and what materials you might want to use when making a mask. The Fabric Patch.

Best wishes! Stay safe!

Spring Challenge - Eclips/Ecal FB page

This is our spring tag challenge for the Eclips/Ecal FB page. It was a fun one!

Springtime scene. Elements from SVG Cuts' Bunny Hop SVG Kit and My Happy  Garden Hideaway SVG Collection.

I made the background myself in Photoshop, and added various flowers and the bunny.

Love this one with images from a Digital Scrap World - Lisa -Lotte Sunesen (Cute Spring). Did a lot of print-2-cut with this one, and used Glossy Accents for the enamel dot look.

Happy Springtime flowers and butterflies. All of the butterflies are added on and the wings are dimensional, and popping out like they're going to fly away.

This one was made with basic shapes, with a shaker element in the center.

Happy Spring!