It's my life

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- New Box Cards

Today I am showing you this adorable new card from Lori Whitlock.  Yes, it is a card, or rather a box, well actually, it's a box card.  Super cute, either way you look at it!!  Lori is so clever at creating 3D objects that are special and do different things.  This standalone box card can be folded down to fit into a regular A2 envelope.  

There are a bunch of different ones in the store.  You'll just have to check them all out and the way that they are designed, the parts can be mixed and matched.  Very cool, I think!

At first, I was a little confused on how to put it together, but a quick trip to Lori's channel on YouTube, and I was all set for assembly. Be sure to subscribe to her channel.  Most everything that needs assembly, has a video that she made to show you how it's done.

 

This is the Box Card Flower Pot and I have paired it with this cute envelope from the Card Base & Envelope Set 2.  I cut the envelope from plain cardstock and then altered the envelope with my knife so that I could cut out the flaps in different paper.

 

The paper and brads I used were from Lori's newest collection, Summer Bliss.  I just loved using the brads for the center of the flowers.

 

 

So, I hope you will give these boxes a try and Wow your friends with these stylish new kinds of cards.

 

 

Supplies used:

 

Box Card Flower Pot SVG file

Card Base & Envelope Set 2

Summer Bliss Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- February Valentine Blog Hop

 

There is a lot going on in this blog post today so please read all the way down so that you don't miss a thing.  As a special thank you gift for stopping by all of the Design Team Member blogs, we are each giving away  a $10 gift certificate to Lori Whitlock store.  To be entered in my giveaway, just answer the question that you find below, in the comment section.

 So you need a little something for your sweetheart?  Well my card and candy box will be just the right thing to make them smile.

 

The card is beautiful with multiple layers.  I used some white glitter paper as the second layer so you see some sparkle on the card.

 The heart box was really easy to put together but if you need some help, Lori has a great little video showing just how to do it.

 

The heart box comes with a plain top so I duplicated the heart layers, switching it up just a little and placed with on the top as a decorative layer.

 

To be entered in the $10 gift certificate giveaway to Lori Whitlock's shop on my blog, just complete this sentence.

I use my digital cutter to ....  

Is it scrapbooking, card making, 3D crafts, home decor... I would love to hear if you do one or even more of these things.  Giveaway ends next Monday night at midnight, February 17,2014.

For those of you who don't yet have the Silhouette Designer Edition you will want to check out this great special. Pick up the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition for $29.99 while you can!! This is THE BEST price I've seen (reg. price $49.99)!!

Use promo code: LORI

 www.silhouetteamerica.com/designer

Be sure to visit Lori's blog to receive this FREE digital cutting file.  Here is the list of designers who are participating in the hop.  Be sure to visit everyone!

Lori Whitlock 
Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley (you are here)
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker 
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers

And last but not least, use code word LOVE to receive 30% off your Lori Whitlock and Kolette Hall SVG & Font Files until February 16, 2014

Lori Whitlock Supplies used:

•  Layered Heart Card
• Heart Candy Box

Other Supplies used:

• Love and Marriage paper collection by Bella Blvd

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Making Your Own Embossing Plates

Today I am going to share a neat little trick that will quickly expand your current embossing folder inventory.  I love the look of embossed paper and there is so much you can do to with them.  But what if you could make your own? Wouldn't that be fun!  Well with your die cut machine and your Lori Whitlock files, you can do just that.

 

As you can see in my card and envelope set, I embossed both with a quatrefoil pattern.  That pattern can be found here, 3 Pattern Backgrounds

In the following tutorial, I'll give you step by step instructions on how you can make your own embossing plate out of plain cardstock.  Of course you can also use chipboard but if you don't have any on hand then it's just as easy to make it out of cardstock.

First pick your background shape.  Lori has so many beautiful ones in her store to choose from.  Here is the link to 3 Pattern Backgrounds and these 3 Doily Circles would be a lot of fun too!

 

Open up your Silhouette program and place your file in the top left corner of your mat.  You will need to cut out multiples of the background shape.  I cut out and used 6, but depending on the thickness of your cardstock, you may need to cut out more or less.  I used Stampin Up! cardstock and it's fairly thick.

 

 

Use the replicate tool to duplicate the shape.  Select the first shape, then click Duplicate Right.  Select that shape and click Duplicate Below.  The last step is to click the 3rd shape and click Duplicate Left.  That should place 4 shapes on your mat that are very close to one another.

 

 

 

Cut out your shapes and then adhere them together with adhesive. Make sure that they are lined up correctly.  You really don't need to use a lot of adhesive, just a little on the sides and top.  I wouldn't recommend liquid glue unless you made sure it was completely dry because it may ooze out of the sides and ruin your paper.   If you want to use 6 layers like I did, then just recut your file.

 

Here is what my quatrefoil pattern background looks like cut out and adhered together.  The sandwich for my Big Shot is bottom plate, embossing mat, paper, your embossing plate, then 2 cutting plates.  You may have to change your sandwich, depending on which machine you use, but as long as you have your paper between the embossing rubber mat and the plate you will get good results. 

 

 

 

If you start cranking your machine and the sandwich is very difficult to crank through, stop, and remove some of the layers or check to see if your sandwich is too thick.  Don't keep pushing it as you may break your machine or injure yourself.

 

 

 

I always practice on another piece of paper first to make sure that I have my sandwich right and that I get a good impression.  Looks pretty good to me!

 

 

 

And in my last picture, you can see the embossing on the patterned paper up close.  It gives the card such a beautiful look.  Sometimes its the details that count.

 

 

 

The last thing that I want to mention is how making your own embossing plates out of paper gives you a little more versatility than embossing folders.  If you have a special look in mind and let's say you want this quatrefoil pattern to only emboss into a circle, then all you have to do is use your Silhouette or manual die cut machine to cut a circle out of your cardstock paper stack and emboss it exactly where you want it.  You can't do that with the plastic embossing folder.  So now you can really tailor make your embossing plates to suit your needs.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have fun with this neat little trick.

 

Lori Whitlock supplies used:

• 3 Background Patterns
• 4 x 6 Envelope with Liner and Card
• Reflections paper and embellishment collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Lori Whitlock's Valentine Card and Gift Box

Valentines is one of my favorite holidays to make cards and little gifts for.  I love giving out a little treat of candy to all of my friends.  So today I am going to show you a card and a little treat box that is just plain, "Sweet"!

 

The card I made is a couple of digital files put together.  The card base is from a file, called A2 Card Base Set 3, one of many that Lori has in her store, but I love the fancy cutwork on this one and though it was perfect for a lovey dovey Valentine's card.  I cut the base out of red cardstock and then the background out of the black patterned paper.  The patterned paper is one of my all time favorite paper collection by Lori Whitlock, called Love Story.  Then using the same paper collection I cut out the lacey decorative mat.

 

The heart and arrow are from the file, Valentines Set 4   which is full of fun Valentine icons.  I resized them to fit on my card and then popped them up with foam adhesive.  Next I cut out the word Hugs, which you can find here in the 4 Valentine Titles file. 

 

 

The second piece is a quick and easy box made from the file, Conversation Heart Box.  It features a see through window, which was made by adhering a piece of acetate on the inside front of the box after cutting.  I actually changed out the heart shape that was on the front of the box for this scalloped heart shape, 2 Scalloped Hearts.  I liked how pretty the scalloped outline looked on the front of the box. 

 

 

Then I used a few more shapes from the Valentines Set 4, to create the little tags on the front.

 

 

I just loved how both pieces turned out and I had a lot of fun combining of the cut files.  What will you be making for your sweetheart this year?

 

Lori Whitlock Supplies used:

• Valentines Set 4
• 2 Scalloped Hearts
• Conversation Heart Box
• 4 Valentine Titles
• A2 Card Base Set 3
• Love Story paper collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

My Creative Life 2014 Blog_Project Life: Days of the Week Cards

 

 

Maybe you have seen that I am an instructor at My Creative Classroom, specializing in classes using a Silhouette Die Cut Machine.  If not, I'm going to tell you a little bit about it and the classes that I teach, right after this fun Silhouette tutorial that I am sharing with you today.

 

With the start of the new year, so many people are jumping into Project Life.  I did a little myself last year, but this year, it is my commitment to myself to complete a double page spread for each week of the year.  I've got a lot of supplies already but there were a few things that I just didn't have enough of so I decided to share how I made one of those things with you using my Silhouette.  I love my Silhouette and use it for all kinds of paper crafting projects and love sharing tips and tricks that I have learned along the way!

 

 

One of the supplies that I just don't seem to have enough of are the Days of the Week Cards.  I've used sticker letters to create some but then thought that making some using my Silhouette program would be a lot easier and more fun!

 

 

These are Project Life cards that I created in the Silhouette Studio program and then cut out with my Silhouette Cameo.  In the tutorial, I will give you step by step instructions on how to create these cards for yourself.  

 

The first thing that you need to do is draw a rounded rectangle.  Size it to 3 x4 inches.

 

 

 

Next type out the word Monday, using the Text tool.

 

 

 

Now change the text font to Capital.  If you don't have that font, you can use another one, or search for it on dafont.com.

 

 

 

Resize the name to a width of 2.5 and lock the aspect ratio.

 

 

 

Move the word over onto the card, centering on the card and in the place that you want it.  I wanted it on the bottom but you could also put it on top or along the side.  Group the two pieces together so you can move it around your mat.

 

 

 

Copy the card outline, and type out the words for each of the other days of the week and create a new card for each.

 

 

 

I organized all of my cards on a 12 x 12 inch mat and cut them out.

 

 

 

After my cards were cut out, I wanted to highlight the word with a different colored paper.

 

 

 

Cut a strip of paper the size of the word. 

 

 

 

 Put some dot adhesive on the back of the card and adhere the paper strip.

 

 

 

Here is what the cards look like from the front.

 

 

 

So I hope that you will make some of these cards for yourself.  Even if you don't do Project Life, you could use these on your regular scrapbook pages.

 

So, if you would like to learn more about using your Silhouette, come check out a couple of my classes that are running right now at My Creative Classroom.

 

Silhouette Studio Designer Edition 101

Well, there are number of different reasons you may have purchased or are looking to purchase the Designer Edition of the Silhouette Studio software. You might want to be able to open and use SVG files, maybe you want to do special things with the advanced editing tools, or maybe you are ready to make your own shape files. Whichever the reason, we will cover each of these topics, and make your purchase of the upgrade more than just a change of the title at the top of the screen!

• Let's find out what's included in the Designer Studio Software by comparing the original version to the upgrade.
• Uploading, using, and saving SVG files.
• Editing Tools, specifically the knife and eraser, and their functions in the Designer Studio Software.

Creative Silhouette Series: Wrap It Up

If you are like me, the little handmade touches that you put on your packaging of your gifts and cards are almost as important as the gift itself. In this class, we will use the Silhouette machine to spruce up your packaging, add a little something extra to your cards and envelopes and make some oh so cute gift tags all while learning some fun new techniques like print and cut, incorporating digital elements, using sketch pens, and more. 

 

Four Lessons available all at once.

• Lesson 1: Tags
• Lesson 2: Packaging
• Lesson 3: Cards and Envelopes
• Lesson 4: Labels

 

 

Lori Whitlock January Blog Hop

 

Welcome to my stop on Lori Whitlock's January blog hop!  I'm going to share with you a couple of Thank You cards that I made.  I've got some special people to send these to in thanks for Christmas gifts I received.  

All three of these cards were made with matching envelopes.  There are many different envelope files and they all come with matching shaped liners.  I love dressing up my envelopes as well as my cards so these particular envelope files are really fun to make. The card in the picture below was created using another one of Lori's files, called 

My second card and envelope set features a large scalloped edge on the envelope.  A little trick to the liners is to first assemble the envelope, making sure to bend forward the flap.  Then take the liner and bend it forward as well.  Put adhesive only on the upper half of the liner, above the score lines.  The bottom portion will not need any adhesive and this will also help the flaps to bend and close easily.  Slide the liner into the envelope, lining the score lines up and press the envelope flap close, sealing the liner to the envelope.

 

My last card uses another new digital die cut file by Lori for the title.  In this SVG file, there are two different Thank You sayings.  I cut the word out twice, once in yellow, and the second time in black. When I adhered them to each other, I offsetted the black just a bit so it looked like a shadow.  It's a fun technique to try and it really makes your title stand out better.  The envelope is another from the group that I used.  This one has a small scalloped edge.  Won't they be surprised to see the beautiful patterned paper liner in this one?

 Supplies used:

• 4 x 6 Envelope with Liner and Card
• Thank You Snowflake Card SVG file
• Thanks/Thank You SVG file
• Here and Now Paper Collection By Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Thanks for stopping by.  It's now time to hop on to Corri's blog to see what wonderful things she has created with Lori's files. At the end make sure you go to Lori's shop and use the coupon below to ge 30% off your entire purchase of Lori Whitlock and Kolette Hall's SVG & Font Files through January 19, 2014.

Use code WINTER for 30% off.

If you happen to lose your way along the hop, here are all of the participants blog links.

Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley 
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker 
Mary Moseley 
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers 

 

Lori Whitlock December Blog Hop

Welcome to my part in the Lori Whitlock's December Blog Hop where you will find all kinds of Christmas inspiration along the way.  For my project I used the 12 Day Countdown  file and had so much fun with the different papers and embellishments in Lori Whitlock's Reflections Christmas collection for Echo Park.

 

This cute little countdown calendar is really easy to put together.  Each piece needed is included so basically you just have to ungroup the shapes and cut.

 

I used cream cardstock for each of the pocket bases and then cut out different patterned papers for the accents pieces. 

 

The numbers are included in the file but because of the way that I embellished the pockets, I sized each number a little differently.

Each pocket holds a tag.  There is a hole in each for a ribbon or string but I decided that I had enough going on in my project with all of the different papers and embellishments to include it.   In hind sight, I should have probably taken the holes out of the tags.  Next time!  :)

 

Don't forget to take advantage of the fantastic sale that is going on over at the Lori Whitlock shop!  All shapes are 30% off with the discount code: CHRISTMAS

There are so many fun things to chose from so take advantage of the sale now.

Don't forget to stop by all of these talented design team member's blogs.  I'm sure you will be amazed!

Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley    You Are Here
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker 
Mary Moseley 
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers

Lori Whitlock products used:

• 12 Day Countdown
• Christmas Santa Subway Art

Tags, Tags, and More Tags_Free Class Offer

Would you like to learn how to make and mass produce this tag and more than a two dozen more for free?  To say thank you to all of our students at My Creative Classroom, some of the instructors there are teaching a free with purchase, tags class, called Tag It!.  Just purchase any class that starts in November and you will get the Tag It! class for free.  Click the link for more details.  The class starts November 22nd so be sure to check it out soon!

 

Here is my class starting in November offered at My Creative Classroom that you could enroll in to get the free Tag It! thank you class.

Wrap It Up!

 

And here are more of my classes that I offer at My Creative Classroom.  All of my classes will show you how to use your Silhouette machine and have more fun with the special things you can do with it!  Click the pictures to be taken to the class at MCC!

 

Creative Silhouette Series: Christmas Cards

Silhouette Software: Beyond the Basics

Silhouette Studio Designer Edition 101

 Silhouette Creative Series: Creative Ways to Use Your Silhouette

Time for Remembering What We are Thankful For

I have a blog post up on the Lori Whitlock blog today.  I created a cute little mini album for Thanksgiving and would love to share it with you.

Since we live away from most of our immediate family, it is not often that we get to spend Thanksgiving with them.  This year, though, everyone is coming to our house for Thanksgiving and staying a few days to visit.  So, I am busy preparing for all of the company and decided I wanted to take the opportunity to document what everyone has been doing this year and what they are thankful for.

To do this, I created a little mini book, using Lori's mini book file,  Pocket Ring Mini Album  .  It's just perfect for this project.  First of all it is assembled using ring binding clips so you can basically add as many pages as you need, one for each person.  The pages are pockets that have a tag inside of them.  The tags are all different shapes and I can see myself using these shapes for Christmas tags as well.  Don't you love it when you can use files for more than one purpose!  I do!  The tags will be a spot where each family member can write what they want to.  You could pull them out of the pockets and place them at their place at the dinner table or just take the whole mini book apart and place the pocket page with the tag inside at their spot.

The pockets look really cute decorated and because they are on a ring binder, you can go big and chunky with the embellishments. My book was cut out using Lori's Reflections Fall paper collection that you created for Echo Park.  It's a gorgeous collection and has a lot of stickers and embellishments that were perfect for this project.

On each pocket, I used the scalloped border piece from Simple Borders, sized down to decorate it a bit.

All of the stickers and 3d embellishments are part of the Fall Reflections collection.

  

On the back side of each pocket, which is the left side of the next page, I may put some pictures of our time together, or I could put a picture of the person who's tag it belongs too.  I've also thought about putting the person's picture in the pocket page so that when you pull out the tag you will see who it belongs too.  So many different ways to dress up this fun little mini.

 And before I go, I must mention a little bit about the cover.  I found this vinyl saying in Lori's store and thought that it captured the purpose of this mini book perfectly.  To make it easy to transfer all those small letters to the front of the mini, I decided to use vinyl instead of paper.  That way, the transfer paper could help me keep it all together.  I can't imagine trying to glue and line up all of those little letters if I had used paper.  I think it turned out fabulous.  So don't forget that your vinyl looks really great on paper as well as on walls.

 

Lori Whitlock supplies used:

• Pocket Ring Mini Album
• Simple Borders
• True Honest Just Good
• Fall Reflections Paper Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

 

Lori Whitlock Christmas Card Blog Hop

 

Thanks for stopping by today for Lori Whitlock's November Blog Hop.  Each of the team members have created Christmas cards to share with you in hopes that it will inspire you to get started on yours.  Enjoy the hop!

My first card was altered to be a pot of poinsettias.  The original file is a regular flower pot but I decided that poinsettias were a better substitute for my card.

These beautiful layered poinsettias dies cuts are available in Lori's SVG store.  I cut out 4 sets, inked them with some Brick Red Tim Holtz Distress Ink and then assembled them with a brad from the Echo Park Reflections Christmas collection created by Lori Whitlock.  The flowers were cut out from one of the solid papers in that collection as well.

The flower pot card is actually two pieces.  The pot and then the card that slips into the pot which is a pocket.  I cut the card from white cardstock and then cut a second one using some green solid cardstock in the Reflections collection.  I cut off the green card right below where the leaves ended so that I would have a space for a message.

I decorated the card bottom a bit and had a lot of fun with the embellishments on the front of the pot.

My second card is something that I have never made before, the never ending card.  Lori has created a file that will make creating these cards a breeze.  If you are not sure where to begin, go to YouTube and search for Lori Whitlock never ending card and you will see a video of her assembling one using her file.  They are surprisingly simple, yet are so extraordinary and fun to play with.

It was kind of hard to show all of the different sides of the card and capture the fun it is to move it and change it in your hands but if you watch Lori's video, you will get a better idea.

These two pictures are actually the right and left sides of one position of the card.

Here is another position that the card can go into.

And another...

You'll have a lot of fun embellishing this card with different papers and stickers.  I also thought that it would be a great way to share a family photo or two as well.  Just replace one of the larger squared patterened pieces with a photo.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my cards and will be inspired to try something new this year.  The order of the blog hop is below.  Make sure to stop at each blog along the way.  

Lori Whitlock

Brigit Mann 

Christine Ousley 

Corri Garza 

Mendi Yoshikawa 

Natalie Graham 

Traci Penrod 

There are a couple of fun surprises as well for all of our blog hop participants.  Take 30% off your entire purchase at the Lori Whitlock shop from November 4-10 using code CARDS.

Lori is also giving away three $10 Gift Cards to a lucky participant.  Make sure in your Rafflecopter entry that you answer the question about which gift card you would want, Paper (SVG) or Digital if you were the winner.  You can find the link to the rafflecopter giveaway at the end of my blog post.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lori Whitlock supplies used:

• 5x5 Neverending Card
• Flower Pot Card Kit
• Reflections Christmas by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park scrapbook collection