Giveaway #3--Sentimental Winner

Thank you all for your interest and for sharing some wonderful songs and vivid memories. By random draw, the winner of a new ProvoCraft Cricut 'Sentimentals' cartridge is:

nikki said...
What song makes me Sentimental - Can't help falling in love with you. U2's version. :) First dance at my wedding in 1991 to my high school sweetheart. We were 18 at the time :)

Thanks for the giveaway!

Congratulations NIKKI! I've sent you an e-mail and your cartridge will be on its way shortly. Thank you again to everyone who participated. Your sharing is truly appreciated--as is your readership.

Of course, this means it is now time to announce Giveaway #4! I'll give you three hints: 1) The giveaway will be officially unveiled on Wednesday, March 10, 2010; 2) There will be more than one prize up for grabs; and 3) It's an all Stampin' Up! giveaway.

So check back on Wednesday....and every day (hopefully). A special "Thank You" to those of you who have taken the time follow my blog and leave comments. I read them all and try to respond where possible. If you ever have questions or comments you'd rather not leave in a public forum, my e-mail address is available on the sidebar. Your input is invaluable.

Have a SUPER Monday!

Giveaway #3--Let's Get Sentimental

Yes, Kids! It's time for Giveaway #3. Up for grabs is a brand new Cricut cartridge from ProvoCraft entitled "Sentimentals". I've had this cartridge for a bit now and I have to say I've grown fond of many of the images contained therein. This cartridge has the following creative features: Layer, Phrase, Tag, Card, Envelope, and Shadow.

To enter for a chance to win this cartridge, just leave a comment in this post answering the following question: "What song makes you sentimental?" You don't have to explain your answer (though you can if you'd like to share). The deadline for entering is Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. MST. The winner will be chosen via random draw and announced on the following Monday. If you haven't already become a follower of my blog, I'd love for you to consider it (but it is certainly NOT required).

{Finally, just as a point of information (and because I have had an inquiry on the subject), all prizes given away on my blog are purchased with my own funds. I do not have any corporate or vendor sponsorships. It's good to give...}

It's A Bird...

Today simple and easy card features a die cut from the new licensed ProvoCraft Cricut cartridge 'Superman'.

For this card project, I chose a base cardstock from Die Cuts With A View (DCWV) 'Modern Loft' paper stack. As this was obviously going to be a masculine-inspired card, I thought the brick pattern was reminiscent of a background panel one might see in an actual comic strip. I used a Chai Tea stain to ink the edge of my cardstock, which was cut to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4" to form an A2 sized card. The corners were clipped using my Stampin' Up! tag corner punch.

The diecut was cut on my Cricut Expression at 4 1/2". I did shadow cut with Bazzill corduroy textured cardstock in Raven. For the layering pieces, I cut them out of Bazzill corduroy textured cardstock in Snow. The reason I cut the layering pieces out of white cardstock is that I wanted to use my Copic Sketch markers to "color" in the face and hair details. I think the handcoloring gives the diecut a bit more "pop" and comic book realism (than if I had just used corresponding colored cardstock). I used a blend of E00 (Skin White), E11 (Barely Beige), E13 (Light Suntan) and E15 (Dark Suntan) for the facial features and shading. I used B29 (Ultramarine) for the hair highlight. I also went back in with a Copic Atyou Spica Glitter pen in Sky Blue to add a little oomph to Superman's locks. (He is a SUPER hero after all, lol.) Finally, to achieve those come-hither baby blues, I used Clearsnap Smooch metallic ink in Azure for intensity and sparkle. (Am I the only one fanning myself!? Wait, don't answer that.) The sentiment stamp is from Unity Stamp Co. and seemed appropriate. It was stamped using Tsukineko Memento ink in Tuxedo Black.






'Superman' is a terrific addition to your Cricut cartridge library if you have men in your life--big or little. It's also a terrific resource for themed parties and decorations--as it includes three-dimensional character boxes, banners, party favors, Clark Kent spectacles, treat bags and much more. Of course, it features several variations on that fabulous Superman logo and a complete font set.

Now, I must be off. (I have to go figure out what size I need to cut my Clark Kent glasses at. Don't judge. Or at least, don't tell me.)

Trust me. I know.

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!