Let Me Count The Ways

     The wonderful people @ Copics Creations have a great challenge #42 going on. It's to use something new, a technique, tool or product, that's it. I REALLY am trying to get more skillful @ using my copics but it's hard because I have a limited number of them.     I stamped my image with tuxedo black Momento inks and then embossed the key with detail gold embossing powders. The image was a stamp by Inkadinkado and colored with the following copic markers: E50, E53, YR00 and E04. Since I don't have a black and coordinating shades I just used my spica copics to add highlights for the hair. I also used the gold spica pen for some of the dots around "Love". The dots around the girl are done with Creative Inspiration paints in burgundy. The background card stock is dry embossed with the cuttlebug folder. My "new" thing was using this paper from DCVW and new gradient gems from creative charms. More importantly was the chance to use my copics. I guess practice makes perfect! This is only the 3rd project I've tried with them. I really hope to get better.

Return To Bermuda

     Another challenge, yeah! The Cricut Circle Blog has both weekly and monthly challenges. The monthly challenge is the one where I submitted the "I Love Candy" shirt. The weekly challenge required you to use Baby ( Brads, Aqua, Butterfly and You). They were right with this challenge to require you to use a picture of yourself. We are the ones who take the pics but rarely do a layout of our self. I chose a picture of our trip to Bermuda back in 1999. We had gone there for our honeymoon so returned 25yrs. later with our youngest who was 11 years old at the time.
     I started with this beautiful paper by K&Company, Que Sera fera stack. This is such a beautiful aqua color and goes well with my pic.I also love this paper from Recollections I got @ M's. It's a colored core and is sand able! All my flowers were cut from Tim Holtz floral die but embossed with various cuttlebug folders and inked with distressed inks by Ranger. The centers have either rhinestone brads or mini picture type brads. If you look close the bottom center flower has a butterfly on it!
     You also needed to use cuts from your cricut so I went back to my library and pulled out one of my favorite carts Base Camp. I cut all the letters @ 1" and used the blackout, shadow and regular features. The frame was cut using Lacy Labels @ 4". I used some natural raffia so I could hang the words Bermuda on it.
     My journal ling tag is cut from Spellbinders Labels but the journal ling tag was stamped with Donna Salazar" new tag. Can I just say how awesome her stamps are? They are lightweight and stamp beautifully.

     I finished this off by adding glossy accents on the red flower for dimension and painted some petal areas with Creative Inspirations Garnet paint. The butterfly is also K&Company. I was going to make my own but the colors in this were perfect. The above picture is shot at an angle to give you an idea of the details on this LO. I really have to start doing more layouts.

Yudu Tips And Tricks Part 2

      Welcome back! Some day I'll learn how to do this right, lol. Okay so this was my first screen. What a mess!!!! This is what happens when you use wayyy too much water. The emulsion stuck alright but, when I squeegeed it to remove the water it was so wet it had the emulsion dripping off!! At first I was going to chuck the whole thing but since I had my design set and knew I only needed a small area to burn I decided to salvage it. I'm so glad I did. All the white areas you see on the left of my swirl is where I lost the emulsion from too wet of a screen. You can see why I showed you my second screen with the candy on it first. I am still learning the ins and outs of this great machine. If I was just doing a single color, and, this was my only screen I would not have been able to use it. I am just saying to use caution as to the amount of water you use!

Yudu Tricks And Tips

       First off watch the video. Watch it again and again, lol. The more you watch it the better you understand it. Then when you are ready have you booklet handy. The directions in the booklet can be intimidating by them self but it becomes clearer if you can picture the parts of the video. I hope that makes sense.
      I am no expert but I have taken the plunge and thought I'd share a few of my mistakes and insights. Before you even start there are a few things you need to know. If you plan on using more than one color you need to have more than one screen ( one for each color). You are able to use M's coupons on the planten, inks and screens. So with 40% off coupons it's a great way to start. You should be able to use these on emulsion and registration film as well. You just can't use it on the machine. 

      

       Since I am a long time sewer I need to have things match up perfectly, lol. So what I did was to mark my screens (on the shiny part not on the screen itself!) at the half points on top, bottom and sides with a permanent marker. I also did this on the registration film as well. It is important that this is done out of your design area because when you "burn" your screen these marks on the registration film would also burn into the screen!  In the above area you can see the small marks I made. I created my own design out of Bazzill card stock using my Cricut and glued them to the film.
      Next lay your second film over the first while on your Yudu with the light on. Match up your marks and then glue your second design in place. If you match your film to the marks you made on the screen then when you burn your images everything should line up perfectly!
      I have just a few thoughts on the emulsion film . I have used a spray bottle to wet the screen however it seems too wet. You need the screen just wet enough to have the emulsion stick. Think of it like a stamp, too wet and it won't stick or the emulsion runs off! ( not good! It will stain surfaces so make sure you cover your work area. I won't even tell you what happened. Let's just say lesson learned!!!) I found it much easier to just use a damp sponge and run it over screen front and back. The emulsion sticks just fine and takes less time to dry.

     Let's talk about burning the image. This was the second screen I burned I'll show you wahat happened to the 1st screen in a minute. Once your image is burned the emulsion film turns blue except for the design area which remains green. It is the design area that you what to make sure you clean Not the blue area! You can see at the top of screen (particularly the "v" in love) this is where my screen was too wet and I actually washed off some of the emulsion prior to burning. This is ok since you will tape these areas prior to inking.

Card Winner And Update

   This is just a quick update on my recent entry in the Provo Craft Card Makers Contest. The card I sent in "Congrats Your Engaged" is a winner! HSN was debuting the newest cool machine from Provo Craft called the Yudu Card Maker. This is so cool! It's a silk screen machine for making cards. You can also use it for wood, glass, fabric (think baby onesies!!!). I also receive the new release from Anna Griffin. She has the most elegant papers and coordinating embellishments. Looks like I will be making even more cards! There were 150 enties and my card was one of 12 that have won this incredible machine. Too bad I have to wait 4-6weeks to play, lol.

   I thought I'd share a few projects I made with my Cricut Imagine for my neices baby shower a few weeks ago. Rachel and Kenny know they are expecting a little boy and his name will be Cohen. Since they love the woodland theme I used the images from my Cricut Imagine and it had a cute little raccoon (their favorite!) a deer and of course, a skunk (his caption is Little Stinker, soo cute!). I just selected the image then print and cut. So easy! Below you will find the adorable banner I did for Cohen. I think it will make a nice wall decoration!