Shrinky Dink Heart Checkers

http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/

       Welcome all my new followers! For Imagination Monday the design team must use either an Imagine, CCR or the Expression 2. I love to use my Imagine to choose my background papers as well as the Imagine More cart. Last week I showed you how to make a card for a guy using the Vintage Papers cart and to make chess pieces. This week I went a step further and used the same cart but chose the checker board paper and shrinky dink material!

     First I started with a basic shape from Imagine More cart and then edited to add the checker board background cut @ 3.75". I also cut a solid piece of charcoal card stock @ 4". I inked all the edges with Black soot distress ink and adhered to a 4.25" base for my easel card.

     Now for the hearts. You can use any heart shape that you have on your carts. I measured the square to see what size I needed to end up with. When using shrinky Dink material you need to cut it 3x bigger than you need since it shrinks down 2/3 of what you need. I cut my hearts @ .75" so I ended up about .25". They fit perfect! This is the settings I used however depending on which machine you use, you may have to make some adjustments: Deep cut blade @ 6, speed 3, pressure 5 and multicut x 2. I did use my E2 and was very pleased with how smooth it cut.

     The black hearts are cut from black material and the "white" were cut from cream color and then inked with Festive Berries distress ink. All I had left to do was add a sentiment with a Hero Arts stamp.

     I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day. Now by sure to pop back over to Erica's @

http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/ to see what the rest of the team has to show you.

Merry Christmas, Tag #11

     I only wish this season I had more time to try out these awesome techniques Tim Holtz showed for the 12 Tags of Christmas...2011. Although I only had time to complete 4 I know I will continue to try some of the other tags and the great projects he shared.
     This tag by far is my favorite. I always loved this angel image yet for some reason I just hadn't found the right project. I started with Art Philosophy cartridge by ProvoCraft and cut the tag @ 6.25". The background is so easy to make. I used cream glossy card stock and some alcohol inks. The Salt Boat Blue and Stream alcohol inks go together perfectly.
     Next I used a piece of craft plastic and stamped this beautiful sentiment: The most precious Gift of Christmas arrived in a very small bundle with no bow." You have to use Stazon ink or one that can be used on slick surfaces.

     The stars are really cool to make. Unfortunately I only had Shrinky Dink material in white. Tim had used the clear one and the effects are so stunning. Don't worry, I will be getting some to try the other techniques.Any way I like how these stars turned out. First, when working with shrinky dink material you need to cut your images 3x the size you want the shrunken article to be. I cut my stars from "Tis The Season" cartridge @ 2.25", 2.50", 2.75" and 3". this yields finished stars at 1" or less. Here's the fun part. You need to heat UTEE, Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel in a melting pot. Ranger sells these and they are great. All you do is heat the utee, drop your shrinky dink material in the pot and watch it shrivel and squirm! Once it flattens out (in seconds really) gently remove from pot with tweezers and place on a craft mat or another non stick surface to cool. It really is that easy. I finished it off with some Creative Charms rhinestones and also used a gold detail heat embossing to the horn and halo. Add a bow and you are done. Whew, I can't wait to try some more tags.

Shrinky Dinks Meets Cricut!

    
   Remember making Shrinky Dinks? I do! Thanks to Shirley at Okieladybugs Scrap N More she peaked my lost interest in this fun craft. I was able to find packs of shrinky dink material @ my local Michaels and just HAD to try it with my cricut. I used a variety of carts including Indie Art and Everyday Paper Dolls.
     I knew you could use colored pencils but this was a variety pack and the material I used allowed you to use Copic markers or any permanent marker. The pack also included black material which made making the spider web real easy.

   Since I have sooooo many craft items, I decided to turn these into charms using some crystals and beads I had hanging around. They are actually so light they would make awesome earrings or even necklaces.
    I decided to make a Halloween mini book while I was at it. (Guess I have my mojo working, lol). Anyways the following pics really don"t need much explanation except maybe the one with the tag. I really got my moneys worth out of the Alcohol ink class. You can make anything to match your project I love it. This album is for sale in my etsy store if anyone is interested. Oh and the black and silver paper? That was another goodie in the mystery box I bought from My Favorite Things back in March!!!