Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail . . .

Just about the time I think they can't make it a better deal, they surprise me.

Yesterday I spent a little over an hour watching the first Make the Cut! Webinar with the program creator, Andy. Those of you who know me know I'm a bit of a geek. Computer software just makes sense to me. I learn easily and enjoy the learning. Well this is no exception. Every time MTC! releases a new version of the software, they blow me out of the water. There are new features, new capabilities and yes, new tutorials. Before I can even think, "What have they done here?" someone has a tutorial out showing me exactly what they've done.

With this last version release Andy added layers to our toolbox. With layers we can more easily break apart images and color code them for ease in cutting. He gave us a glimpse of what goes on in his head and ladies, I can't WAIT for the next release. This guy understands our scraping needs and wants to give us a easy to learn, user friendly tool. AND HE'S DOING IT!! He wants our suggestions. He listens. He cares how it works.

If you haven't got MTC! yet, now's the time. If you're curious, go download the trial version for free and play with it. You will NOT be disappointed. If you still aren't sure, go to the user forum and view some of the tutorials. Read the reviews of other users. Play with it.

Can you tell I've been bitten by the MTC! bug? Join me! It's fun!

Card Front Swap

What's that?  A Card Front Swap is a group of friends who sign up to make fronts for cards and swap them.  In this case, I'm in 7 groups with 4 people in each group.  So, for each group, I make 4 card fronts that are the same, package them, mail them to the swap hostess, she collects everyone's card fronts and swaps them.  I get an envelope back in the mail with 4 different fronts, one being my own.  This is a great way to create 1 card design and get back 4 individual ones.  Here's what I've been working on. Click on the Thumbnails for a larger picture.

Thinking of You


Thank You


Generic Female


Generic Male

New Software update! New features!

So, this morning, I get the email below from our software creator Andy.  A new updated version of MTC! is now available.  I opened MTC! on my desktop and yep, there's the message telling me there's a new version available.  Click on it, go to the website (close MTC! in the background), click on download, and the .exe file saves to my hard drive.  Close the website, click on the .exe file and within seconds, my new version is up and running.  WOW!  I can now print from MTC!  MTC! can also be used by owners of other cutting machines.  And layers!  How cool is that?!?  Oh!  Most importantly?  There are already tutorials available for all of the new features in the MTC! Forum.  

I'm tellin' you.  This Software just gets better and better and better.  Kinda like the Energizer Bunny.  If you haven't tried it yet, go download the fully functional trial version today and give it a test drive.  You're gonna want this.   OH!  And just because they are great guys, the 15% off sale has been extended until March 21st!

Greetings!
Hello and Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day! We have been very busy over at www.make-the-cut.com and have released a new version of the Make The Cut! software.
If you tried Make The Cut! but you weren't sure about it, how about giving it another shot. We completely revamped how the software works and we all believe this is the greatest software ever created for the Cricut!
Thank you for your interest in Make The Cut! Please read on!
Sincerely,
Andy
CEO - Make The Cut, LLC.

Version 2.2.1
Make The Cut! now brings:
FULL FEATURED PRINTING
You can now print your designs to your printer in full color. Make The Cut! also has a "wireframe" option which allows you to cut to:
Craft ROBO
Silhouette
Gazelle
Blue Wishblade
and more!

NEW SHAPE SELECTION TOOLS
You can now select shapes and resize, rotate, warp with ease!

LAYERS
You can now stay organized inside your projects with the use of layers!

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
It doesn't stop here, folks! For a full featured list of everything that has been added or updated, please visit our forums.
 
15% Off Sale!
Make The Cut is offering 15% off it's already low price until March 21st! If you haven't purchased Make The Cut, now is the time.

You can go directly to the discounted order page by clicking this link.

Don't ever forget.

I just finished an album for a customer and this one surprised me.  There are no embellishments, no colors, no pretty papers, no ribbons, buttons or other crafty things.  Just move the photos from an old unsafe album to a new archival quality one.  I figured I'd get this one done in a flash and get back to one of my other, more crafty projects.  Yeah, right.

The opening page is a birth certificate from 1950 complete with the little footprints there on top.  Some pages are really fragile and had yellowed badly with time.  As each page went by and I began carefully extracting these precious photos, I found myself wondering about the people in them.  Where they are now?  What do their families remember about them?  I also found myself pausing and wondering where I put all the old photos of my Grandparents, Parents and yes, even my Great-Grandparents.  They aren't in an old album but they aren't in a new one yet either.  I have never felt motivated to do a book about my history.  My family, my heritage.   

Today's thought:  Where are the photos of your family, your ancestors?  Are they in a safe location?  Will your children and grandchildren know who they are?  How about photos of you?  Will your grand-kids realize you were a feisty woman (or man) with a personality and a life?  If you don't put it down on paper, will your kids?  Will they tell your story the way you want it told?  How many generations before you are forgotten? 

Finally, I think I may be ready to start getting that one in order.  After all, I don't want them or my memory of them to be lost.

SALE!!

St. Patrick's Day Sale at Make the Cut! From now through March 17th, Make the Cut! is offering a 15% discount when you make a purchase. Now it's easier than ever to get this great tool and begin to really unleash your Cricut and your Creativity.

Fun Stuff

I'm trying to figure out this blogging thing and I'm sure I'll get better as I go along. For now, I'm posting a few photos of things I've done. I'll try to remember to post products used as well, but this is not always possible. Yes, I admit it. I have a stash. Some of it is old enough that I have no idea where it came from or who made it. SO, please be gentle with me.

This is the bottom of a fruit and veggie tray that I etched for a friend getting married. Squeals of delight ensured. Glass tray was from Target, etching done by me using Make the Cut!

Getting Started

I figure I'm just about the last holdout in getting my blog started. I guess I figured there's really no way my life or anything happening in it is exciting or interesting enough to make people want to come read. Mostly this will be a place for me to post photos of my hobby. Or as my son calls it, my craziness.

I'm a scrapbooker. A crafter. One of those people who just can't seem to sit still. I have to be doing something, all the time. If I just sit here, I'll fall asleep. Really. I will. Just ask my husband. When I'm not scrapping, I'm reading, playing Sudoku or messing around on the internet. I have a couple of scrapbooking sites I watch and one chat board that is a second home for me. I'm on Facebook and yes, I have a farm. Actually, I have a couple of them. More about that later.

For now, hello. Welcome to my site. Look around. Enjoy yourself. Leave me a comment. Or don't. Off to find something to do.