Thursday, January 21, 2010

Picturesque



After an internal battle with my will and common sense ended in gory defeat, I finally succumbed to this itch that has been plaguing me for nearly two months and begrudgingly (with a slice of giddiness) gave in an purchased the illusive Cricut cartridge 'Picturesque' on the secondary market. It goes without saying that this has become my most expensive cartridge yet (replacing 'Potpourri Basket').

Finally, it came down to a simple matter of supply. It does appear (via information from a well-placed source) that ProvoCraft will NOT be making 'Picturesque' available for individual sale any time in the near future. Originally, paired with a champagne-colored Expression, 'Picturesque' was to be an exclusively bundled cartridge to Home Depot. However, a contractual problem occurred and the deal fell threw. It is my understanding that the rumored 300-500 bundles were sold to a warehouse club--and were quickly broken up to sell on the secondary market by some savvy consumers. My source says that the cartridge will reappear in a new set of exclusive machine bundles that will be exclusive to a major retailer in approximately the same quantity. The retailer has been chosen, but has not been officially announced. Meanwhile, there are no plans through 2010 to offer 'Picturesque' as a solo cartridge.

In my opinion, that really is a great shame as this is a bursting-at-the-seams chock-full content cartridge. The artwork by Noralee Peterson is intricately detailed and filled with decorative flourishes and embellished elements. The cartridge features the following creative features: tags, corners, frameworks, cards and seals, shadow and blackout on over 99 individual pieces of artwork. Among the images included are: florals, dragonflies, butterflies, birds, nests, swans, vines, scallops, celtic knot elements, greek key elements, and iron work elements.

Here are a few photographs of some of the elements from the enclosed handbook:







My first project using 'Picturesque' was a quick greeting card. The three lighter blue cardstock pieces (card base, mat, and die cut) are all Bazzill cardstock from a Fourz pack with a grasscloth texture. The mat cardstock was punched with an EK Success border punch called "Swiss Cheese". The backing paper on the diecut tag is an SEI glitter cardstock. The "love" sentiment was cut on the Making Memories Slice (from the 'Think Pink' card) out of silver foiled SEI cardstock. The actual diecut tag I chose to cut on my Cricut Expression is called "cotton blossom" and was cut at 4" (Shift + Tag). The polka-dot ribbon is from Papertrey Ink's "Enchanted Evening" collection and the mabe pearl accent is from the Stampin' Up! Pretties kit. I used my ATG 714 adhesive to assemble the card. The inner sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration stamp set entitled 'Whimsical Words' (#119119). Finally, I used a Martha Stewart corner rounder punch to shape the final card.









With the addition of 'Picturesque' to my cartridge library (and Gypsy), I am now only down three cartridges of all that have been released thus far: 'Keystone International', 'Don Juan International', and 'Pink Journey'. As always, the search continues...

Well, I was rather wordy today. I hope you enjoyed the peek at 'Picturesque'. If you have a way to add it to your collection, I highly recommend it. It really is a beautiful set of images.

As always, have a terrific Friday ahead...and keep crafting!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Let The Games Begin!

In a shameless effort to promote myself and my crafting blog, this month I'm going to start what hopefully will be a monthly tradition of giving back to my loyal readers and fellow enthusiasts.

First up this week, your opportunity to win either a new Stampin' Up! Sale-a-Bration stamp set or a new Cricut cartridge.



The stamp set is entitled 'Good Neighbors'. Not only is this set not available for individual purchase, but it's one of the new clear-mount rubber stamp sets introduced exclusively for Sale-a-Bration. It consists of ten individual rubber stamps with a new cling-mount foam system packaged in a new DVD style storage case. All you need is a clear acrylic mounting block and you're ready to stamp away.




The Cricut cartridge is 'Plantin Schoolbook'. This cartridge is usually bundled with the Cricut Expression and is a great basic shapes and font cartridge. It is brand-new, never registered nor linked to a Gypsy. (I received a new Green Expression for Christmas and already own this cart. So I hope someone out there can use it).

To win either prize (winners determined by random draw), you only need to do one thing: Leave a comment on this post. However, I'd really love it if you would consider "following" this blog by signing up on the right sidebar. This will keep you informed of updates to the blog and other giveaways coming down the pipeline. The deadline for this giveaway is Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. MST. Winners will be posted on Monday and they can contact me with their mailing information.

As always, thanks for reading and helping get the word out that men can craft too! Be on the lookout for some really great giveaways right around the corner.

Butterflies Are Free



I know it's not proper etiquette to rave about your own work, BUT...I LOVE this card. It started out as something entirely different and morphed into what you see below. It features a new Stampin' Up! exclusive Sizzix Embosslits die that was just introduced in the new 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog.

The die is called 'Beautiful Wings' (#118138, $ 11.95) and it cuts and embosses four different delicate butterfly diecuts. Measuring a scant 2 1/4" x 2 1/2", this must have die will fit into anyone's collection (lol). The A2 sized card below was made from a sheet of DCWV 'Latte' cardstock. The mat is from the gorgeous SEI collection entitled 'Jolie Chocolate'. Throw in a little tea staining, glitter, a corner rounder and you have a card with implied motion, dimension and joyful charm.

Now, pardon my overindulgence in the photography department. (Oh, and just a friendly reminder: If you are ever looking for any Stampin' Up! products, feel free to check out my on-line boutique.









Wherever the day takes you, flutter your wings...and create! Keep crafting!