Friday, July 30, 2010

Two of my favorites! Butterflies and hearts

A butterfly reminds us all of new life and what gives us life, but love from the heart.  This file was made with just those thoughts in mind.  The file took a while to create, but it turned out so well.  I wanted to be sure to share it with everyone so that if you love butterflies - and if you are loved, this may just inspire you to do something creative today! 

The file contains a base for the butterflies and hearts, the butterflies - of course, hearts, and then leaves just to give it more definition.  I wasn't concerned so much about the colors in the file for this first cut, but it does give us an idea of what the file will look like when it is complete. 

After you have selected the base paper, you can cut the file using the bottom layer.  The base paper does show quite a bit when the project is done, so you may want to choose a prettier type of paper than I did on this one.

The butterflies turned out better than I could have imagined.  I am still learning how to use Inkscape so this was a challenge, but once I had the left side done it was just a snap to copy, flip and join the two halves to get the perfect butterfly.  Then, when it was time to cut; it was absolutely perfect.  I am still quite amazed that it turned out as well as it did. 

I hope that this file inspires you to treasure life and those around you.  Love is scarce these days and so are butterflies during these hot summer months.  Here's some just for you!


You can get the file here and if you use it in a project, I would love to see how it turns out for you

Friday, July 16, 2010

Do Something Creative - Everyday

I found that I have a lot of ideas that never come to life because, well, life just gets in the way.  So, to help make those ideas have hope for a reality, I decided I needed a bulletin board to post them so I would not forget about them.  Not only were they forgotten due to the old adage; out of sight, out of mind.  They also were forgotten, because I'm not as young as I used to be. 

And, for my project, I really didn't want to spend any money on it, just because if I decide I don't like it, then it will be easier for me to take it down without guilt.  I had some 12" and 6" corkboard squares I had gotten on clearance forever ago, used some fabric and ribbon I had on-hand, staple gun, and voila.  The bulletin boards looked good, but it needed something. 


So, using  my Cricut Expression and some vinyl I had, I cut vinyl wall words, "Do Something Creative Everyday" to give it a finished look.  The vinyl letters for Do Something Everyday are brown with a little glitter/metallic finish and the word Creative is in a deep plum.  The photo doesn't show how well the plum looks with the brown, but trust me -- looks really great. 


So the bulletin board and the vinyl wall words accomplished two tasks in one.  It gave me a place to start putting all those notes and picture ideas for future projects and it allowed me to do something creative for today. 
That's all there is today from the lil cabin, I hope you have a wonderful evening.  Blessings to you all!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Has it really been that long?

Surely it is a sign of growing old when you don't post to your blog for this long - and it seems like it was just last week!  It's been a busy few months and I've not spent much time here.  Too bad there isn't an award for the most neglected blog.  To get back into the swing of things, I'l try to get caught up on some of the creative things that have been happening around the cabin.

My mom's birthday as well as Mother's day are both in May.  She's one of those moms that has everything and it is impossible to get her something that she either doesn't already have or that won't add to the endless items already sitting around her house.  So, the girls in the family got together and planned an outing for all of us.  We made a date for May 29th and met at her home.  The only bad thing was that we had a few that got sick (they don't even live together) and a couple that we knew couldn't go beforehand.  But we ended up with a group that turned out to be just the right size and we had a blast.

The way we invited Mom to the gathering was with an explosion box.  When she opened it on Mother's Day, it only contained the invitation rolled up and secured in the center of the box.  After we had our outing, we collected pictures from everyone (we all seemed to have taken the same pictures) and I put it all together for her.  We gave it to her just a few weeks ago.  It turned out pretty well and now mom can remember the fun we all had together.

Thanks for stopping by, and no, the big bad wolf didn't stop by the cabin.  All is still well in the lil cabin in the woods.  Blessings to you all!