What is a Psycho Mom?

New Products from Provo Craft
Provo Craft has introduced TONS of new products for the CriCut this season. Three of my favorites are: Deep Cutting Blade & Housing Unit, Embossing folder kits, and Acrylic Stamp kits.

Deep Cutting Blade and Houseing Unit - This will replace the housing unit that is green on both the Expressions and the original CriCut (baby bug). This housing unit has a shorter shaft and longer blade, making room for thicker materials such as chipboard, wood veneers, magnet sheets, vinyl, and thick plastics. It retails for about $29.99 and will ship to stores in October. You will also need to buy the longer blades which retail for $14.99 for 2.

Embossing Folder Kit - Most of you have seen the embossing jackets for the die cutting systems by Cuttlebug. Provo Craft has introduced a kit that contains a blank embossing jacket, and plastic sheets that can be customized using your CriCut. Its simple, just cut the design from the plastic sheet, adhere design inside the blank folder, then run in through the cuttlebug die cutter and embosser. The kit retails for $8.99 and the refills run about $9.99. Will ship to stores in October.

Acrylic Stamps kit - Use the stamp material to create custom stamps with any CriCut design! The kit retails for $19.99 and includes stamp material and acrylic blocks and the refills are about $9.99 and will become available in October.

Shrinky Dinks are HOT again
Remember playing with shrinky dinks as kids? When baked this plastic art piece would shrink to 1/3 of its original size. It was pure magic! Well it is making a come back. The company that makes Shrinky Dinks has introduced a new line that can be run through an inkjet printer, and it is thin enough you can even cut it with your CriCut. You can also stamp designs onto the plastic using your Staz-on Ink, then cut, and heat. Keep in mind that this product shrinks quite a bit when heated, so if you want to yield a 1 inch design element you must cut it 3 inches.

Finding the Perfect Shade of Ribbon
Sometimes no mater how hard you look, it is very difficult to find the perfect shade of ribbon. Problem solved! Now all you need is an Ink pad or Acid Free Marker that coordinates to your project and white ribbon. Using the marker or ink pad, color the ribbon to the desired color. This works great on sheer ribbon, grosgrain, and wired ribbon.

Alphabet Sticker Over Run
Do you have a collection of left over alphabet stickers where only one or two letters are left, or maybe there aren't enough vowels left for you to use them. Here is a fun way to get rid of them. Different fonts are great for this project.

1. Create a border out of the stickers, rotating them and using different font sets will create an interesting design element.
   
   
2. Place them onto a piece of wax paper, and ink over them to create a uniformed color.
   
   
3. Mix and match alpha stickers to create words. You will be surprised at just how cool this looks when finished.

Cool Techniques

Computer Graphic Design Tips

WordArt Tricks
Ideally you would want to use a vector program to generate these cute icons, but that isn't always an option. MS Word offers you an economical alternative, but with limited options.The medallion at the right was created using MS Office 2003 Word Art. Once you master the concept, you can do this in all kinds of shapes. Think arrows, curly brackets, etc. Here is a tutorial I put together so you can practice. Circle Tutorial in MS WORD

* TIP * Instead of text, try using symbols from your font library to create objects. In the flower icon below I use a period in Times New Roman font made it bold and 72pts. When the circle was drawn it elongated the period to form a petal. Keep the circle the same dimension as a circle punch that you currently own, and it will be easy to trim and use on your scrapbook pages. You may also want to print this on a clear label so that it becomes transparent.

Stamping Techniques

Home made epoxy stickers
Punch a piece of Chipboard into an interesting shape. Ink the chipboard to give it a background color. Use the mismatched letters to cover the chipboard. Trim the edges. press an embossing ink pad over the top of the letters. Sprinkle with UTE or HIGH GLOSS embossing powder. Heat Emboss. You now have an epoxy element that can be used as a buckle over ribbon, a medallion, or any other decorative element. This would be cute on pre-school and elementary school pages. This would also be good for Monograms.

Acrylic Stamps don't cling to the blocks
If you notice your acrylic stamps not clinging to the blocks, it may be time for a good cleaning. They adhere from static cling, and sometimes the blocks and stamps become dirty with ink, dust, and oils from your fingers. Gently wash both with a mild dishwashing soap, and they will both be as good as new.

>>More Tips

CriCut Tricks

Cutting Photos with your CriCut

Do you have photos that offer something to your layouts, but not necessarially a center stage photo? Like perhaps the water from a swimming pool, or photo of the sand on a beach, a group of flowers. Use these photos for cool titles on your scrapbook pages.

Use a fairly bold or wide font for best results (Base Camp is my favorite). Settings should be: blade pressure to 5, Speed to 2, Pressure dial to 6. Simple one word titles are the best for this project. Line your photo up with your cutting mat, type the word, and press cut. Instead of your design being cut onto paper, it will now be cut from your photographs. Although the software is not necessary, it does make it easier when trying to line up your word with the subject in the photo.

Here are some samples of what I mean. Remember that if it is a digital photo it isn't your only copy.

>>More Tips

CriCut Class Rescheduled Due to FAY
Have you been bitten by the BUG? I HAVE! The CriCut bug that is? at Sassy Scrapbooks in Palatka as we Demo the CriCut, CriCut Software, and review new releases for the CriCut. You will learn a few cool tricks, win awesome CriCut Prizes, and you can take advantage of great discounts on CriCut merchandise.

Don't have a CriCut yet?
This is a great time to play, and decided if you want Santa to bring you one.

We will have a blast and create a really cool gift box. Class price is $20. All you need to bring is adhesive, and your CriCut and Cartridges if you have them. To register, e-mail Sassy Scrapbooks or Psycho Moms.
"Make Time Everyday to do something Silly!"

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" ~ Erma Bombeck

"Land of the FREE because of the BRAVE." ~ Author Unknown

"Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. " ~Virgil A. Kraft

" Good Friends are like Angels, you don't have to see them to know they are there."

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."
Psalm 33:12 KJV

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" Matthew 5:4

"Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the Children of God." Matthew 5:9

"We Love because he first Loved us." ~ 1 John 4:19

"So you my child be strong in the grace that is Christ Jesus." ~ 2 Timothy 2:1
You may have seen me at the baseball/softball field taking pictures. To order more photos, please e-mail me.

If you would like a private photo session, please email me.

Click here to view some of my latest photo projects.

Ahhh Florida Sunshine. I added this photo to my gallery for JPG magazine, a publication for amateur photographers to share their work. This little bird looks like she is really enjoying the sun. Click on the photo to view it larger.

I took this photo in St. Augustine during a recent visit. The sun was perfectly masked behind the tree creating this amazing silhouette. I have always had a thing for trees, and I think this one is going to get printed.
Express PhotoShop
Adobe Systems has introduced a cool new product line of on-line tools. One of my favorites is Express PhotoShop. This program is currently in the beta stage, and at the moment, Adobe is offering it free. It's easy to perform basic photo editing procedures like color correction, resizing, cropping, and red-eye removal. The interface is clean and gives a great environment for building on-line galleries to organize your art/photos, and then share them with your peers. View my Gallery.

CriCut Tips
Photo Tips
Stamping Techniques
Projects
Layout Ideas