Samantha Walker's Imaginary World

New This Week! March 12, 2012

2012-03-12T03:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday!

We are starting something new this week at the Jessicasprague.com digital kit store and we are thrilled to share it with you today in the "New This Week" feature!

Digital Die Cut Kits!

Each kit contains 4 file formats to cover compatibility with most digital cutter machines!

8 Egg Boxes

In this kit, you will receive eight egg cuts in four different formats (SVG, DXF, AIv8, and PNG). These die cuts can be used with digital cutters as well as be scaled to use on digital projects!

Floralicious!

In this kit, you will receive eight decorative cuts in four different formats (SVG, DXF, AIv8, and PNG). These die cuts can be used with digital cutters as well as be scaled to use on digital projects!

Both of these kits are 25% off TODAY ONLY (3/12/12), so hurry to get yours!

New this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

These die cuts will make great vinyl wall art or heat transfer pieces if you use just the outline part! They are delicate detailed files and are cut best at larger sizes.

Please note, designs may not be up in the store at the beginning of the week, but they have been uploaded to the queue. Watch for them as the queue rolls out the new designs!

Silhouette Tutorial - Print and Cut by Jamie

2012-03-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's Jamie back with you today sharing a tutorial for creating a print and cut with your Silhouette dies! I am using one of my favorite cuts, the Blooming Woodland Daisy from Samantha Walker.

Step #1: Open the Silhouette die within your Silhouette Studio Software and resize the item.

Step #2: Ungroup the items by going to 'Object' and selecting the 'Ungroup' option.

Step #3: You will see separate boxes around each of the items.

Step #4: Select the grass and stem area then click on the 'Open the Fill Color Window' shown in the red circle to open the fill colors.

Step #5: Select a fill color of your choice.

Step #6: Click on the petals section and select a fill color of your choice.

Step #7: Click on the center section of the flower and select a fill color of your choice.

Step #8: Click on 'Edit' and 'Select All'

Step #9: Group the items back together by selecting 'Object' then 'Group'.

Step #10: Click on the 'Open the Registration Mark Settings Window' and click the Show Reg Marks box. This will show the registration marks on your page.

Step #11: Click on the 'Open the Cut Style Window' and select 'Cut Edge'.

Step #12: Click on 'File' then 'Page Setup'.

Step #13: Change your page to 8-1/2" x 11" (unless you have a large format printer that will handle 12x12). Click 'OK'.

Step #14: Click on the printer icon to send the print to the printer.

Step #15: Select your printer and click 'Print'.

Step #16: Once your page prints, click on the 'Send to Silhouette' icon.

Step #17: Follow the instructions on the screen and then click on 'Continue'

Step #18: Place your print on your mat as shown on your screen.

Step #19: Load your paper then click on 'Detect Automatically' and your Silhouette machine will scan your page for your marks.

Step #20: Set you cutting setting to match your paper then click 'Cut'.

Step #21: Remove your pieces from your mat and create!

Samantha Walker Supplies:

Silhouette Dies: Blooming Woodland Daisy by Samantha Walker (Silhouette America)

Pattern Paper: Heidi Collection by Samantha Walker (Creative Imaginations) and

A to Z Collection by Samantha Walker (Creative Imaginations)

Stamps: Sweet Life by Samantha Walker (Unity Stamp Co)

Metal Dies: Ornate Artisan Tags and Accents by Samantha Walker (Spellbinders)

Wonderful Wednesday! March 07, 2012!

2012-03-06T23:30:00.001-07:00

Welcome to another Wonderful Wednesday at Jessicasprague.com

Today only,

you can get the following digital kits
50% off:

Honey Golden Sunlight Paper Pack

and
Cuckoo 4 U Solid Textured Paper Pack

Honey Golden Sunlight Paper Pack contains 12 deliciously sweet digital papers in high res j-peg format. In this pack you will find floral themed papers with gorgeous flowing designs in large and small scale. There are several accent patterns to compliment the main print, and easy to use subtle tone on tones for the foundation of your projects. It's perfect for baby themed projects, and so much more!

Project by JessicaSprague.com Creative Team Member Shirlee

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Team Member Cristal Hobbs

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Team Member Guiseppa Gubler

Cuckoo 4 U Solid Textured Paper pack is a super pack of grungy solids with just enough texture to add interest. This paper pack is the perfect coordinate for any of the three cuckoo 4 U paper packs also in the Samantha Walker store. This pack also serves as a basic foundation to any of your scrapbook pages or craft projects.

You will receive 8 colors in high res j-peg format.

Project by JessicaSprague.com Creative Team Member Jenn McCabe

Project by JessicaSprague.com Creative Team Member Mindy Pitcher

Hurry, the sale is only good on Wednesday 3/7!

New This Week! March 05, 2012

2012-03-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday Everyone!

New this week at the Jessicasprague.com digital kit store...

two new kits...

Day by Day Alphabet and Numbers Collection

Day by Day Tags and Tabs Collection

and...

New this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

Borders!

Also new this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

Easter Baskets!

Please note, designs may not be up in the store at the beginning of the week, but they have been uploaded to the queue. Watch for them as the queue rolls out the new designs!

Spotlight Artist: Brenda Pinnick!

2012-03-03T00:30:00.002-07:00

As an artist who licenses her designs in many industries, I have had the privilege to get to know many other licensing artists. I have enjoyed meeting other creative people, and am privileged to say that I have made many creative friends. I'd love to introduce you to some of my friends in the art and design industry that you might enjoy getting to know too. So once in a while, I'm going to share what some of my friends are up to.

Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to Brenda Pinnick! She is one heck of a creative artist--especially with her use of color. She has a way of combining color in such a way that makes you feel happy. Her drawing style is "decorative whimsy". You may be familiar with some of her designs already as her designs can be found on many products throughout the craft market. I encourage you to get to know Brenda even more by visiting her at her blog: http://brendapinnick.com/colorcafe Enjoy!
--Samantha Walker

It’s not often the stars align like they have for Brenda Pinnick’s new collection of London inspired crafting products

This coming Tuesday, March 6, 2012, Brenda Pinnick’s newest art debuts on HSN as a beautiful scrap-booking kit plus a stamp kit to coordinate!

And if that’s not enough, the same collection is debuting at Spring Quilt Market as fabrics with Henry Glass & Co.

If you are wondering…yes, there will soon be dies to coordinate! Isn’t this a crafter’s dream - to have a completely coordinated collection available in four different genres, all at the same time! The crafting possibilities are endless!

“We have shipped in a limited quantity of kits to HSN and when they’re gone, they’re GONE” says Brenda. So, she encourages you to shop HSN this coming Tuesday in order to ensure you get both of these kits at the wonderful HSN pricing.

Brenda has been licensing her work for Sizzix dies since 2008 and will have new dies coming soon, including dies for fabric crafting and sewing.

Brenda Pinnick is a life long artist whose work bridges the gap between art and design with beautiful color, sophisticated whimsical styling and trend conscious patterning. She has worked in-house for Hallmark Cards as an artist/designer and for Plaid Enterprises as the in-house product design team lead for paper-crafting. She now licenses her work for a number of different products including Sizzix, homegoods, gift, stationery and fabric. Brenda promotes her love of color through on-line classes and her new blog, BrendaPinnickColorCafe.

Be sure to stop by and have a look!

Kokeshi "5-step" Card Tutorial by Karen Maldonado

2012-03-02T05:09:00.000-07:00

Hi there!! It's me...Karen, and today I am going to share how to make a quick & simple "5 step card" featuring Kokeshi designer papers & stickers, and Spellbinder Blossom Tags & Accents...all of which are designed by Samantha Walker!!

So, let's get started...

Directions -

a. For the card base, cut red cardstock 5"W x 10"L. Fold in 1/2.

b. Cut Kokeshi Bamboo DP (beige side) 4.5"W x 4.5"L.

c. Cut Kokeshi Bamboo DP (black black) 4.5"W x 2"L.

d. Die cut the Blossom die using the Kokeshi Stripe DP (green side).

e. Assemble/cluster your Kokeshi stickers as shown in above photo.

Adhere all elements to your card. I added some machine stitching,

distress inking, hemp cord, rhinestones, and pop dots.

Supplies (all designed by Samantha Walker) -

Kokeshi Bamboo DP

Kokeshi Stripe DP

Kokeshi 12x12 Sticker Sheet

Spellbinder Blossom Tags & Accents

I'd love to see what you might create with this adorable line of products!!

Leave a link in the comment section, and I will be sure to check it out!

Here's a close up of this little cutie-patootie...

Have a fabulous Friday!!

Hugs & Smiles,

Karen

Wonderful Wednesday! February 29, 2012!

2012-02-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another Wonderful Wednesday at Jessicasprague.com

Today only,

you can get the following digital kits
50% off:

Party Critters Backgrounds Paper Pack

and
Party Critters Multi Paper Pack

Party Critters Backgrounds Paper Pack includes 4 fun colorful backgrounds with lots of space for adding your photos and party memorabilia!

Project by JessicaSprague.com Creative Team Member Debra

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Team Member Guiseppa Gubler

Party Critters Multi Paper pack includes 11 party themed papers in a delicious multi colored party pack.

Project by JessicaSprague.com Creative Team Member Jennifer Papadimitriou

Hurry, the sale is only good on Wednesday 2/29!

New This Week! February 27, 2012

2012-02-27T15:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday Everyone!

New this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

Decorative Eggs!

Also new this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

Nested Shapes!

Layered Flower

Lace Borders

and Lace Square!

Please note, designs may not be up in the store at the beginning of the week, but they have been uploaded to the queue. Watch for them as the queue rolls out the new designs!

Introducing Projects by YOU!

2012-02-25T16:09:00.001-07:00

We would like to invite YOU to submit YOUR projects using Samantha Walker products! Simply upload your project to our "Projects by You" Facebook album and tell us a little about it. If selected, your project may be used for a feature right here on the Samantha Walker Blog!

Do you have projects you want to have considered for our "Projects by You" feature but do not have access to Facebook? No worries! Simply email your photo to social.samanthawalker@gmail.com instead. Don't forget to share a little something about it!

We just can’t wait to see what YOU create!

Spiral Flower Tutorial with New Silhouette Designs!

2012-02-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's Jamie here with you today and I am going to show you how to make these beautiful flowers using Samantha Walker's Spiral Flower Silhouette dies cuts!

Samantha has several Spiral Flowers in her Silhouette Digital Die Store. I am going to be working with the Spiral Marigold die cuts, but all of the Spiral Flowers will work the same!

The Spiral Flower die cuts make these flowers so easy and they are beautifully designed!

Supplies:

Pattern Paper: Samantha Walker's Orchard Harvest Collection, Creative Imaginations

Die Cuts: Samantha Walker's Spiral Flower Marigold, Silhouette America

Stamps: Samantha Walker's Sweet Life, Unity

Cardstock: Kraft, The Paper Studio

Ink: Chestnut Roan, Cat's Eye Chalk Ink

Gems: Creative Charms

Marker: Brown Dual-Tip, Creative Memories

Wonderful Wednesday! February 22, 2012!

2012-02-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another Wonderful Wednesday at Jessicasprague.com

Today only,

you can get the following digital kits
50% off:

Christmas in the Kitchen Artisan pack

and
Honey Sunset Blush Paper Pack

Christmas in the Kitchen Artisan pack

Project by Jessica Sprague team member Margje

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Crafters team member Cristal Hobbs

Honey Sunset Blush Paper Pack

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Crafters team member Cristal Hobbs

Project by Jessica Sprague team member Erin Ummel

Hurry, the sale is only good on Wednesday 2/22!

New This Week! February 20, 2012

2012-02-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday Everyone!

We have some exciting new die cuts that you won't want to miss!

New this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

Spiral Flowers!

Flower Spiral Gardenia cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Flower Spiral Peoney Bud cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Flower Spiral Green cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Spiral Flower Green2 cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Spiral Flower Navy cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Spiral Marigold cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Flower Spiral Spiral Star Flower cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Spiral Flower Red cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Also new this week at Samantha Walker's Silhouette die cut store!

Pop-Out Cards!

3 Butterfly Card cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

3 Butterfly Card Vertical cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Peacock Feather Card cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America

Please note, designs may not be up in the store at the beginning of the week, but they have been uploaded to the queue. Watch for them as the queue rolls out the new designs!

Wonderful Wednesday! February 15th!

2012-02-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

This year, each Wednesday at JessicaSprague.com digital kit store, there is a "Wonderful" sale.

We call it "Wonderful Wednesday."

On this day, there is a limited selection of fabulous digi kits at 50% off!

This is a sale you MUST hit...

The 50% off sale only happens once a week.

It's not the same products from week to week.

It is often the ONLY time you will have a chance to get those products for that great price.

This week you have the opportunity to snatch up both my

Orchard Harvest Word Tags Pack

and my

Party Critters Warm Paper Pack

at 50% off!

But this is only on Wednesday, February 15th, so hurry on over.

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Crafters team member Guiseppa Gubler

Hybrid Card by Samantha Walker Creative Crafters team member Jamie Cripps

By Jessica Sprague creative team member Julie L.

New this Week! February 13th, 2012

2012-02-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

New this week!

Look for cards and dimensional cuts in my Silhouette digital die store!

And, if you missed the window of my SVG freebie (it was the card below,)

in the giveaway in my February blog hop,

you can now purchase it in the Silhouette store.

Look for another free SVG on the second Wednesday next month during my creative team blog hop...but you have to act quick, because the window to snatch a free SVG is only 5 days.

SVG's can be used on many electronic cutting devices, and now with your Silhouette with the new Designer edition of the Silhouette studio software.

February Creative Team Blog Hop and Giveaway!

2012-02-07T23:30:00.001-07:00

The Spellbinders giveaway and FREE SVG for this hop is now closed. Thank You!

Find out how you can get this cutting file FREE!
see details in step 4 in the giveaway instructions

Love is in the Air...I'm seeing all kinds of Valentine projects being posted on the internet...in the form of cookies, love notes, doodles, cards and more! I love the whimsy behind Valentine's day and all the creativity that seems to spawn off of such a fun holiday.

This month, I've been busy creating flowers, hearts, cards and more for digital die cuts for the Silhouette Machine. Here's a few things new this week in my Silhouette store:

Buckles!

Flowers with options!

Lacey Envelope!

Another Card Wrap!

Geometric doilies!

Snowflake Tag or background!

Ornate Tags...

and so much more!

Also...it's Wednesday!

That Means a Wonderful Wednesday sale

in the Jessica Sprague digi store!

In celebration of Valentine's Day...

I put some love-themed digi kits on a sale.

Both of these kits are only $2.50 (each) on Wednesday February 8th only!

We also have an awesome giveaway this month!

I'm giving away a fabulous Spellbinder's die set to one lucky winner!

Blossom Tags and Accents

Whooo Hooo!

To enter:

Simply leave a comment on my blog

between 12:00am February 8th and 11:59 pm February 12th, 2012.

Winner will be announced on my Facebook design update page on Monday February 13th.

Keep Reading...it gets better...

There's also lots of chances for additional entries!

1. receive an additional entry for commenting on each of the other blogs in the blog hop.

2. receive an additional entry when you follow my blog (be sure to mention it in your comment...you qualify for this step if you are a new blog follower or if you already follow this blog.)

3. receive an additional entry when you follow us on Facebook. This fun page is updated often with creative team projects and community projects from the pages readership. (be sure to mention that you are following us on Facebook in your comment...both new followers, and current followers qualify for this step.)

WOW, that is 13 chances to win!

...plus a special bonus if you complete step 4 below.

Close Up of Flower Card SVG file that you can receive if you complete step 4.

Here's a special prize...

that I will give to EVERYONE

who completes step 4 between 2/8/12 through 2/12/12:

Step 4. sign up for an e-mail subscription to my blog (see column to the right) and you will automatically receive a link to a free SVG cutting file that you can download and use on your personal electronic cutter. Please be sure to mention in your comment (on my blog), that you entered your e-mail in the subscribe box, so that I can retrieve your e-mail from the subscription list. The link to the flower card SVG cutting file will be e-mailed early next week.
Card directions:
For this card, I cut card stock in various shades of pink and red with the flower card SVG file that you can receive FREE. I inked then curled the edges of the flower layers, and secured the center of the flower with a brad. I attached a polka dot ribbon to the red strip on the front of the card. I added a contrasting scalloped edge to the inside of the card. I then inked the edges of the card with three various shades of brown ink, then added faux stitching with a black gel pen.

Now for the hop!

This month, my creative team has been busy concocting an array of inspiration

to help get you out of the Winter doldrums and looking toward Spring, love, and cheer-y color.

You are in for a treat!

Here's the list of participants:

Make a cute Valentines banner using new Silhouette Designs!

2012-01-27T00:01:00.003-07:00

Guest post by creative team member Guiseppa Gubler.

Have you checked out the Silhouette store recently? If you have...chances are you have seen some of Samantha's new die cuts. If you haven't, well you are missing out. I suggest you check out Samantha's Portfolio.

Today, I Guiseppa, have a fun project to share with you I made using Samantha's Ooh La La Collection from Creative Imaginations and several of her new die cuts and some Maya Road envelopes. This Ooh La La Collection is so gorgeous and perfect for Valentines Day and in combination with her new Valentine die cuts, makes for a super cute project. These are the die cuts I used.

Border Hearts

Card Fancy Occasion Hearts
Doily Heart Lace Edge

Card Circle Valentine

Here is my banner!

Do you want to make a Valentines Love Banner like this? So simple and easy, especially when you can cut most of it out!

First off, I picked the die cuts I wanted to use, sized them and then cut them. Again, the ones I used for this banner are above and can be found in Samantha's Portfolio.

For the first part of the banner I used an envelope. I cut the Border Hearts from my Silhouette and adhered lace to the the border and onto the envelope. I also adhered lace to the underside of the envelope flap. I embellished it by adding pearls, hearts, a little key trinket and twine. The patterned paper I used is from the Ooh La La Collection. You can really make this your own and embellish it any way you would like.

For second part of this banner I used Samantha's Card Fancy Occasion Hearts die cut. I then cut the label out (one of Samantha's found here) and used the Love sticker label from her Ooh La La Collection. I added some more hearts and pearls as well.

For the third part, I used another envelope from Maya Road. Behind the envelope flap I added paper from the Ooh La La Collection. Then over the top of the flap I added the Doily Heart Lace Edge die cut. Once again, I embellished with pearls, hearts and twine.

For the fourth part I used one of Samantha's card die cuts, the Card Circle Valentine. I made a rolled rose, adhered lace around the rose and put it in the center of the card. The Romance word is a rub on and paper used to make the rose are from the Ooh La La Collection. I added some more pearls too.

I wanted to use the card as an added touch to the banner, well...as a card too! I label sticker is from the Ooh La La Collection and the title is Samantha's. You can find it here.

For the last part of of this banner, I used another envelope. I added more lace under the envelope flap. I cut the tag out, one of Samantha's found here. I added paper and epoxy stickers from the Ooh La La Collection. I embellished the tag with a lock and key trinket as well as more twine. Then I connected the whole banner by punching small circle holes in all the corners and tying it together with ribbon! Viola... a super cute Valentines Banner!

We would love to see your creations with Samantha's die cuts from Silhouette! You can upload them on Samantha's Facebook Page. Now, to give this banner to someone special!

Thanks for stopping by!
Guiseppa
guiseppagubler.blogspot.com

Blog Spotlights of New Creative Team Members!

2012-01-25T00:00:00.003-07:00

This year in addition to the wonderful ladies that are staying on my creative team, I am thrilled to have added three new members (Joscelyne Cutchens, Jennifer Evans, and Angi Barrs) and one other member who is also fairly ne, she was added in October (Jamie Cripps). I am so excited to introduce my whole team to you this year...we will start with our newest members in a quadruple Spotlight this month, then I'll feature one of my team members during each of the consecutive months.

Get to Know Jamie Cripps!

When talking about creating, Jamie says,

"If I had to choose a favorite technique, "I would have to go with "inking". I love the look it gives to all my projects!"
In reference to her design background, Jamie quips,

"No professional training here...! :) I guess I would say I learned to design by finding inspiration through others (from their websites and blogs)!"

When asked how she makes her design choices, Jamie says,

"I use the products I am working with to find inspiration within the colors, patterns, and embellishments!"

Here's what Jamie has to say about her design inspirations,

"Ohh, there are so many! Danielle Flanders (http://www.danielleflanders.blogspot.com/), Laurie Wilson (http://soapboxcreations.blogspot.com/), Amy Heller (http://www.amyheller.typepad.com/) and of course, my sister J.M. Rush (http://jm-rush.blogspot.com/)"

Besides crafting, Jamie says,

"I love hanging out with my kiddos, going on road trips, going to book stores, getting lost (yes, I love getting lost and finding new places), bike riding, blogging, pinning, and face booking!"

Something you might not know about Jamie,

"I use to have a career managing a Healthcare Operations Outsourcing department in multiple States for a very large company. I left that career (and salary!) a couple years ago to follow my dreams of crafting and I couldn't be happier!"

Here are some incredibly beautiful projects by Jamie:

Jamie used paper and elements from my Orchard Harvest collection available in tangible paper through Creative Imaginations and digitally through Jessica Sprague.

Jamie used paper from my digital basics collection called Foundations Grey Baby...available through the Jessica Sprague digital store.

Get to know Joscelyne Cutchens!
Here's what she has to say about her love of crafting:
"I love to add machine or handstitching to my projects, it just offers a little extra detail that makes me happy."

"I have always loved art and photography. In High School I took classes in video production and was on the school newspaper staff. I learned how to frame my subjects in my photos and some basics of graphic design. I've read many books and taken classes to learn how to do what I want with the tools I have."

"I love color, especially happy color. I love aqua, orange, yellow. I love monochromatic and two color palettes. I love regular patterns. I also consider the photographs and the story I want to tell or feeling I want to convey."

When talking about her artsy inspirations she says,

"I find that many people have something inspirational about their art. In scrapbooking I have always loved Ali Edwards sense of style and real life storytelling. I love children's books and illustration. I love movies animated and real. I love photographers like Marina Miller, Tara Whitney and Candice Stringham. I love the work of my fellow scrapbookers."

In addition to crafting, Joscie says,
"I love to bake desserts, drink coffee, read books, watch movies, go on adventures. I love antique stores, museums and bakeries. I love to ride my bicycle."

Here is a fun story about Joscie's crafty past:
"in august 2008, I entered the Memory Makers Masters 2009 contest. It was on a whim and I didn't tell too many people about it, just in case I didn't hear the news I wanted... On the day of the big announcement, I was thrilled to hear I was named one of the 10 runner ups. Shortly after the announcement I read something online that made me think I may have made a mistake on my entry. I didn't know that I was supposed to only use pictures that had never appeared online. It was my first year of a picture a day project and I had been taking my pictures and posting them to my blog. I also used some of these photos in my entry. I contacted Memory Makers and it was determined I would be removed from the list of runner ups. I was sad, but knew I had done the right thing. On that very day, while getting ready to take my boys to school, we had an accident that required a cleanup in the bathroom. As I stood in the doorway to the bathroom, I glanced at the floor and spotted my gold chain and diamond cross necklace that I had misplaced about a year earlier. I was so thrilled to have found it and right after having made a tough choice, I was overjoyed. I felt it was a reward for making a good choice."

Here are some of Joscie's newest creations...which I think are simply gorgeous!

Joscelyne's first spotlight project uses my foundations baby gray digital papers, printed on textured white cardstock and the twisted metal and blossom spellbinder dies.

Joscie's second project uses my Decadence fabrics for Riley Blake
along with some white muslin to make this two tiered ruffled apron.

Get to know Angi Barrs!
Here's what Angi has to say about her designs,
"I really don't have a fave technique, but I do love to layer paper and embellishements to add depth to the design. I also love altered and hybrid projects. It's fun to mix digital with traditional elements."

"A friend introduced me to scrapbooking 10 years ago and I have gone to crafty classes & watched many Youtube videos to learn new skills. I am also obsessed with digital lately and am taking classes online with Jessica Sprague this year."

"Color and texture influence my design choices. I love to add bright and whimsical elements to things that I make. I also like to use material such as fabric, canvas, burlap, and other natural elements."

"HGTV gives me loads of inspiration. I am addicted to all of their shows. A lot of interior design elements spark plenty of crafty ideas in my head. A pillow, a vase, a window treatment, and even a rug have prompted me to make certain crafty projects."
In addition to crafting, Angi says,
"My daughters and I are addicted to movies. I've seen every movie there is to see. We even have a "dinner & a movie" club with our friends. This is our fave time of year because it's the Academy Awards season. One day we hope to attend the Sundance Film Festival. I'd love to meet George Clooney and Julia Roberts."

Here's something fun that you probably didn't know about Angi...
"I proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps. I was a journalist/photographer and got to meet many brave men and women from all over the country. I love to show support to our troops!"

Here are a few fantastic projects by Angi!

Angi used paper and stickers from my Orchard Harvest collection for Creative Imaginations.

Get to know Jennifer Evans!

"As an artist for the last eighteen years, I believe that if my hands aren’t stained from paint then I wasn’t having fun enough! I share my artistic passion with my husband and five year old son. We make our home in Oregon where we love the outdoors (when it isn't raining!), photography, cooking a good meal, then eating it, and reading beside a warm fire."

"My twin sister, Rebecca, introduced me into scrapbooking and stamping twelve years ago. I kept my feet grounded and refused to take the plunge that she had. I held tight onto my canvas, paint brushes, and acrylics and watched as she continued to write and tell me about her new passion."

"She even went as far as to send me an instructional video of her using eyelets to entice me. You know, when they first came out and you had to use a hammer? When I played the VHS (remember those?), all I saw was the top of her head and loud banging. I couldn't even hear what she was saying over the noise. (She hates when I tell that story, but, man, it's so funny!)"

"A year later I walked into a scrapbook store, fell in love with paper, and I dropped my art supplies thinking that I was to never to look at them again. It wasn’t until altered books and mixed media came into the Northwest that I began to realize that my first love for paint and canvas could be used with scrapbooking! Scrapbooking then became more of an artistic way for me to tell my story than just photos on a page to document an event."

"As a free-spirited Craft-Media artist, I have a passion for color; reduce, reusing, and recycling items to make them new again; and ultimately having fun and making a mess doing it! I am right brained and love using untraditional items to create meaningful pieces of art, while also trying to balance myself occasionally with a surprisingly clean and organized layout."

"I get my color inspiration from God’s beautiful creation, online like at Pinterest, or in home decor and fashion magazines. I always create a sketch before beginning unless I am working in my journal and then I just go with it!. I don’t always follow the sketch perfectly but it helps me get going creatively."

"Once my little one is down for the night, I unpack my things in my art space. I create such a mess that I have at one time realized that I was working out into the hallway! I continue the piece until it is finished even if it is well past midnight. If there is chocolate in the house, I have already eaten it before the project is done. When I have the piece finished, I sigh with delight, look at the mess, and shake my head. How did it get that bad? I clean it up before crawling into bed exhaustively happy. If I have an itch to get the paint out but don’t want to clean the mess, I get on the laptop and do a digital layout to make up for it."

"I love photography. My husband and I also have a photography business where we are able to capture memories for others. I love to garden and will spend several hours in boots playing in my perennial garden, even if it is raining. Before I stayed at home with my son, I was a preschool teacher. So, I have a soft spot in my heart for children's literature. My home is filled with bookshelves and I love to snuggle with picture books and my little man reading."

Something you might not know about Jennifer,
"I have a sweet addiction to chocolate, my favorite being Britain’s Cadbury Crunchie. Since I am unable to get the chocolate covered honeycomb locally anymore, any chocolate is its substitute. I also love Jane Austen, a warm blanket, and a hot cup of coffee."

Here's a couple lovely projects from Jennifer:

Jennifer used papers from my Orchard Harvest collection in Digital format available through Jessicasprague.com

Jennifer used papers from my Orchard Harvest collection available through Creative Imaginations.

I feel very fortunate to have all the members who are on my team...every one of them offers something unique to our team, and I hope you will join us each month as we share projects and ideas to inspire your crafty projects.

One more thing...

It's Wonderful Wednesday at Jessicasprague.com

Today only,

you can get the following digital kits

at 50% off:

Foundations Gray Baby Papers

Orchard Harvest Autumn Leaves paper

You may notice that several of the projects featured above are created with this digi kits. So if you were thinking that you wanted to try out some of the things featured above...now is a great time to get these kits.

Projects by YOU!

2012-01-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I get a special e-mail or post on my FB page from someone who wants to show me what they did with my products...and I always love seeing what you do! So from time to time, I'd like to share these projects with you.

Here is a beautiful quitting project designed and created by Thearica Burroughs. She created it as a project for a challenge delivered by her quilt guild.

She said, "Our guilds challenge this year was for us to make our own challenge. So I chose to do paper piecing and to incorporate orange fabrics.. A color I normally do not use."

She used fabric from my Decadence collection for Riley Blake Designs.

Way to go, Thearica! This is gorgeous!

Thanks so much for sharing!

Please visit Thearica's blog...she has lots more to share there!

New this Week! January 23rd, 2012

2012-01-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

New this week at my Silhouette die cut store!

More cards!

(designs may not be up in the store at the beginning of the week, but they have been uploaded to the queue. Watch for them as the queue rolls out the new designs.)

Also New this week

at the Jessicasprague.com digital kit store...

two new kits...

that are about as different as they can be.

And...

Today only (January 23rd)...you can get these NEW kits at 25% off!

The first kit is a kit of digital inking stamps

which is part of a new series of stamp products I'm releasing in digi format.

Welcome to the Inky-ness series...

a fun collection of digital stamps for all your beautiful messes!

Inking rubber to paper is fun, it can be oodles of fun in digi too! This collection allows you to get a varied inky look without real rubber. Each stamp in the Perfume Labels 1 set includes two versions...regular and inkier. The inkier stamps have a more intense image, while the regular are a little more transparent and subtle. There are 8 designs, with two options for a total of 16 stamps. Each stamp is intentionally large so that they can make a huge impact, or be resized smaller for understated elegance. All images come in black for easy recoloring. Each image comes as a high res png on a transparent background.

This layout was created by Debra from the Jessicasprague.com creative team. She used Inky-ness Perfume Labels 1 stamps and Party Critters Cool pack.

And for all you aspiring Chefs and Bakers...

The second collection I'm releasing is a photo element pack called Sam's Kitchen. These are high res photos on transparent backgrounds. The paper towel holder, pepper mill, measuring spoon set, and other kitchen tools are from my kitchen...the food has all since been consumed so wipe the drool.

I will tell you...the key lime tart was my favorite though.

Layout by Sarah from the Jessicasprague.com digital creative team. Sarah used photo elements from my Sam's Kitchen element pack.

Wonderful Wednesday! January 18th!

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001-07:00

This year, each Wednesday at JessicaSprague.com digital kit store, there is a "Wonderful" sale.

We call it "Wonderful Wednesday."

On this day, there is a limited selection of fabulous digi kits at 50% off!

This is a sale you MUST hit...

The 50% off sale only happens once a week.

It's not the same products from week to week.

It is often the ONLY time you will have a chance to get those products for that great price.

This week you have the opportunity to snatch up both my

Orchard Harvest Green Apple Paper Pack

and my

Cuckoo 4U Chocolate Patterned Paper

at 50% off!

But this is only on Wednesday, January 18th, so hurry on over.

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Crafters team member Cristal Hobbs.

By Jessica Sprague creative team member Jenn McCabe

By Jesssica Sprague creative team member Heather Landry

Project by Samantha Walker Creative Crafters team member Cristal Hobbs "Pinky"

New this Week! January 17th, 2012

2012-01-17T00:00:00.005-07:00

New this week in my digital scrapbooking store at jessicasprague.com:

New this week in my Silhouette machine digital download store:

Samantha Walker doily heart lace edge design for Silhouette.

Valentine tool box digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Tent top chevron box digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Chevron card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Hearts card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Insert for hearts card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Fancy card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Insert for card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Fancy Flower card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Fancy card wrap flowers insert for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Leaves card wrap for special occasion invitations or cards by Samantha Walker for Silhouette.

Fancy Leaves insert for card wrap for special occasion cards digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

A little about the card wrap concept, while these are not meant to serve as envelopes, you could adapt them to be used that way. However, the edges will not overlap, and weren't intended to either. They are merely a decorative wrap that you can use to wrap a special occasion card, then slip both into a square envelope.

Some ideas with these would be to put a photo behind the lacey card wrap, so that it peeks through. This would make a perfect wedding invitation. You could also insert a piece of vellum, tissue paper, fabric, or cellophane behind the lace to give it a different feel. These files are here to help you customize a fancy invitation to special event, or to create a special note or Thank You, or for use with any extra special occasion.

Creative Imaginations Nautical Sneak Peek! & Spellbinders Blog Frenzy Follow Up!

2012-01-16T00:00:00.043-07:00

If you are coming back for Day two of my Spellbinders two-part blog frenzy post...Thank You for stopping by again! I want to show you how I did my Nautical frame project from yesterdays Spellbinders post...

AND as a bonus for coming back, give you a sneak peek

of my new Nautical collection for Creative Imaginations. Make sure to check out the Creative Imaginations blog for some gorgeous projects using this line.

(more pictures after tutorial.)

S5-082 Nautical Frame and Accents

MSRP: $29.99

PRODUCT SIZES:

Border: 9 x 5/8"

Frame: 3 ½ x 2 ½" inside opening: 3 x 2"

Swirls: 2 ¼ x 1 3/8"

Ribbon: 3 ¼ x 1 /2"

Starfish: 1"

Sand Dollar: 7/8"

Shell: 1 ¼ x ½"

Anchor: 1 1/8 x 1 ¼"

Lighthouse: 1 ¼ x 2 ½"

First I selected a pretty glitter paper that glistened like sand. Then I ran my dies through my Spellbinders Grand Calibur machine, with the dies face down to the non glitter side of the paper, to cut the shapes I wanted.

Then while the dies were still "loaded" with my paper, I ran them through my Grand Calibur machine to emboss them.

I direct inked the edges of my sand castle frame with some dark mustard ink to give it a little pop.

I then selected a piece of contrasting card-stock to create a double mat. I traced my castle shape onto the card-stock.

Then I cut out the center a little larger than my trace marks in order to expose only the outer edge mat around my castle frame.

Then I layered the sand castle frame onto my newly cut mat.

I then chose a glittery aqua paper for the water. I cut the design, but then carefully reserved the negative cut that the die made so that I could use both.

You can better see what I mean by my positive and my negative cuts here. The swirly one on top is what the die cuts, but the cut below that is the negative space that the die creates and it is equally as beautiful and useful.

I played with my wave shapes and my frame before settling on a design.

Still playing with the waves...

This is what I settled on...

and here's the finished frame...this could also be fun as a scrapbook layout by adding a title and some journaling.

Okay...here's the inspiration behind my Nautical collection. You can also see some gorgeous projects with this new collection on the Creative Imaginations blog.

I grew up near the ocean...not right on it...but about a 45 minute drive over the Santa Cruz mountains from San Jose. I loved that drive...making my way over the top of those ridges and then around a few bends...my heart would thump as I would see a glimpse of the ocean in the distance and know that I'd be on the beach with sand in my toes in just a short while. We spent many a happy occasion with friends or family at beaches along the Northern California coast.We built many a sand castle with our beach pails and shovels. We collected sand crabs by chasing their bubbles in the sand. We also enjoyed going to "the Boardwalk" in Santa Cruz...a beach side amusement park with retro carnavel flair. I loved the rickety wooden roller coaster "the giant dipper", and the smell of cotton candy and kettle pop corn. All those memories always invoke a smile on my face.

Those are the kinds of memories that inspired me to create the Nautical collection. The red white and blue colors remind me of the colors at the Boardwalk amusment park which was infused with these colors. The Dipper was a white roller coaster with red accents. The deep navy blue ocean along the northern coast with the bright blue skies was also inspiration for the coloring in this line. I took artistic license and added lighthouse icons to this collection to give it a "dual coastal" feeling...I know that lighthouses and lobster are indicative of the East coast.

Nautical Papers and stickers by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations. Anchor and yellow glitter tag are cut from Spellbinders dies from the Nautical collection by Samantha Walker.
Tool chest design is a digital die cut by Samantha Walker for Silhouette America.

Nautical stickers by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations

Nautical paper by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations

Spellbinders Blog Frenzy Day 4

2012-01-14T19:59:00.005-07:00

The entry window for the
Spellbinders Paper Arts contest on this blog has ended.
Don't forget that you still have time to enter
at the blogs listed on the Spellbinders blog. Thank you!

Welcome to the Fourth day of

The Spellbinders Abilities and Beyond Blog Frenzy!

Spellbinders™ Paper Arts is absolutely thrilled to bring you our largest product releases ever! These new collections are some of the most innovative and beautiful die cutting and embossing templates in the world! The Spellbinders Abilities and Beyond Blog Frenzy allows you a sneak peek of our introductions for the 2012 Winter Craft and Hobby Association trade show later this month.

Win today’s new Spellbinders products!

Be eligible to win the Grand Prize by entering each day, see the schedule below!

Enter my Blog Frenzy from 12:00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) January 15, 2012 until 11:59 pm (EST) January 16, 2012.

Today’s participating Blog Frenzy includes my blog

and Christine Emberson and Lesley Langdon’s blogs.

You can enter yesterday’s blogs, Shanna Vineyard, Kazan Clark and Tonya Dirk through January 15, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST.

See the Spellbinders Blog for the complete schedule of designers and contest rules.

Thank you Spellbinders Paper Arts for sponsoring this contest!

Here are the new dies I introduced:

S5-083 Antique Frame and Accents

MSRP: $29.99

PRODUCT SIZES:

Border: 9 x 3/4"

Frame: 3 x 4 ¼" inside opening: 1 ½ x 2 1/8"

Tag: 1 ½ x 3"

Corner SM: 1 3/8 x 5/8"

Corner LG: 1 ¾ x 7/8"

Flower: 1 ½ x 1 ½"

Scroll: 1 1/8 x 1 1/8"

S5-082 Nautical Frame and Accents

MSRP: $29.99

PRODUCT SIZES:

Border: 9 x 5/8"

Frame: 3 ½ x 2 ½" inside opening: 3 x 2"

Swirls: 2 ¼ x 1 3/8"

Ribbon: 3 ¼ x 1/2"

Starfish: 1"

Sand Dollar: 7/8"

Shell: 1 ¼ x ½"

Anchor: 1 1/8 x 1 ¼"

Lighthouse: 1 ¼ x 2 ½"

I'm so glad that you took the time to stop by my blog frenzy!

I've been busy working on some FUN projects for you with my NEW DIES!

First of all...

I love saying that...

"MY NEW DIES"

because I am beyond thrilled to be teaming up with Spellbinders to create dies!

This is an amazing company to work with, full of innovative ideas, a true love for creating. Even more importantly, a desire to bless others with the ability to create with their beautiful well-thought-out products. I feel their warmth and want you to know how much heart and soul they put into everything they produce.

This is my second release with them which I am excited to present to you today.

I've got two sets that are about as drastically different from each other than you can get. Nautical themed, and a baroque Antique themed set. They are both frame and accent sets which are super for doing projects that require coordinating parts. One of my favorite things about them is that the coordinate perfectly with my two new (Winter CHA 2012) paper sets I have coming out with Creative Imaginations. Nautical, and Tea Party (you can view a sneak peek of the full Tea Party collection in the post below, and Nautical tomorrow). I used both paper collections in my projects so you can see how cute the dies work with the new papers.

The first project was done in celebration of my daughter's birthday

in a few days...she's turning 6!

In this coordinating ensemble, I've got a Birthday hat, card and present with tag to show you.

For the birthday hat, I combined the frame with the border make a tiara around the party cone hat.

The coordinating card uses both of the corner accents from the Antique frame set.

The present in the background, uses the ornate topped tag from the set.
The coordinating paper and stickers are from my new paper set "Tea Party" from Creative Imagintions, you can read about that in the post below.

Here's what I did to create this ensemble...

First I arranged my dies on a sheet of thin metal (more like a really thick foil.) I used the A-Base Plate, then the dies, cut side facing up, foil, then the C-Cutting Plate, and fed the sandwich into the Spellbinders Grand Calibur® machine. I used the border, the frame, the tag, and the two corner pieces. I arranged it to best utilize the space on the metal...I didn't want to waste any. I love cutting this stuff because it cuts so clean!

Next I took my die cut shapes, while still in the dies, and placed the Tan Embossing Pad and B-Embossing Plate on top of them...

then ran the sandwich through my Spellbinders Grand Calibur® machine again.

See how nicely that embossed...you can see that it's "puffy" through the spaces in the dies.

Then I carefully took everything out of the dies.

See...metal is soooo pretty when cut and embossed. Foil really lends itself to this project.

Then I set all of my pieces aside.

Then I created a party hat pattern. I just found the largest circle object in my house (this is a pizza stone) and I traced it on a sheet of white paper.

I then cut it out and laid it on top of my patterned paper and traced the pattern. I figured if I were to make a bunch of hats, I should have a pattern for all of them for consistency. Then after I cut it out, I curled it into a cone, taped the edge closed and set my hat piece aside.

Then I cut six strips of paper, 1 inch by 5 inches, and cut a fringe on one edge of each of them

at about 3/8 of an inch intervals.

The fringe when cut looks more like this...I ran my tape runner along the non-fringed edge and then layered on two more pieces. I did two stacks of 3.

Then I scrunched up the fringe with my fingers to create some fullness.

To make the frame crown, I traced the outer edge of the frame onto green card-stock, then cut it out. Then I attached the frame to the green card-stock that I just cut.

Next I layered in the butterfly, and wrote "birthday girl" inside of the frame.

I attached the frame in the center of a 1 X 12 inch strip of green card-stock.

Then I cut the gold border in half and attached it to the green border on both sides of the frame.

Then I attached my fringe pieces underneath the green card-stock.

Then at the bottom of the border I cut tiny little slits about 3/4 inch apart

to give the crown piece some flexibility to enable it to easily wrap around my cone shaped hat.

Then on the back side of the crown, where I just cut the slits, I ran my tape runner along the bottom edge of the crown border piece, and carefully attached it all the way around my party hat.

In this picture, if you look carefully, you can see the little slits

where I cut the bottom edge to give the crown some flexibility.

The card from the ensemble, is simple understated elegance.

Sometimes it doesn't take a lot to create a big impact.

In this case, the ornate corner pieces embossed in gold foil make this card sing.

The card is simply one sheet of my 6X6 Tea Party collection papers that has been folded in half.

The paper is already patterned with the layered borders at the top and the bottom...

so all I had to do was attach the accents I created with my dies,

and a simple sticker that says "friend" in the center.

Quick and easy!

My second project I used my Nautical set!

I also used a few of my new Nautical collection papers and stickers from Creative Imaginations.

The rosette you see behind the sand castle frame

is actually a flat sticker from my Nautical paper collection with clever shadowing

to make it look dimensional.

I cut the castle frame, the swirly water, and banner tag pieces out of glitter cardstock

to give the piece a sandy and glistening feel.

Notice that I used both the positive and the negative pieces from the swirly border...

Creative Imaginations Reveal! Tea Party!

2012-01-14T00:00:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite stories to tell from when I was little, is when one of my cousins engaged my Grandmother in a proper tea party. I thought it looked like so much fun. Grandma put her pinky in the air and sipped her tea very politely with my young cousin. I was slightly jealous of this interaction and how much fun they seemed to be having...until Grandma asked my cousin, "you are so short, where have you been getting your water for the tea? It tastes so sweet!" Then my cousin proceeded to take my Grandmother into the bathroom to show her where she had been getting the water, and she dipped a tea cup into the toilet and offered my Grandmother another cup of "tea."

I wasn't so jealous of that tea party any more...but the idea did pique my interest and I got my very own tea set the following Christmas. I cherished that set. It had pink roses on the little plastic cups, and I knew where to get my water for the tea...not like my cousin. I made many happy memories with that tea set and my stuffed animals.

I think we all can think of a time where we enjoyed a "tea party" with a friend, doll or stuffed animal when we were little. As adults, drinking tea is associated with friends, and chatting, and enjoying the passing of time together.

I'm so excited to introduce to you, my new collection, Tea Party, for Creative Imaginations. Through the iconography of tea party elements, it celebrates friendship and the warm feelings associated with the ones we love. I hope this collection warms your heart, and inspires you to create projects for and about those friends and the people you love.

Here's a close-up on some of the papers from the collection...

and a closeup on the 12X12 sticker sheet...

And....if you want a REAL treat...hop over to the Creative Imaginations Blog...they have some amazing projects created with this new Tea Party collection displayed on their blog.

Silhouette, How'd you do that?

2012-01-12T23:35:00.003-07:00

Hi...another Friday, yeah! I hope you all have great plans for this MLK holiday weekend. If you are crafting this weekend...I've got another Silhouette "How'd you do that?" tip for you.

My creative team member Eva Dobilas put together this fun "Kiss Me"card:

Eva Dobilas designed this project, here is what she has to say about it: Quick tips on how I created this Kiss Me card. I mixed two of Samantha’s card shape files: 3 nesting artisan shapes and merry christmas. For my paper choices I choose Samantha’s Creative Imaginations A to Z paper line. I love the bright look of the papers along with black and white. The focus of my card is the border hearts cutting files, which I cut out of both black and white cardstock to create the layered look. As a final touch I used the sentiment from Samantha’s Unity stamps set.

I want you to take note of the row of white hearts on her card...there is a fun layering border set, that she used to do these hearts. You may ask, "What's a "layering border?" Here's a picture of the file, and I'll explain how it works.

To get this row of white hearts, Eva cut a scalloped border on the white paper, and a pointed border with the black paper. When you layer the two borders together, you get a row of hearts.

This is especially cute when you place these layering edges over a card edge. Imagine the front of the card cut with the scallops and the back of the card cut with the points...Cute!

One more Silhouette tip for the day...You CAN cut through thick cardstock with your Silhouette. You CAN also accidentally cut through your cutting mat when you get over-zealous about cutting through thick cardstock. The other day, I was cutting thick Kraft cardstock. I was cutting a file with a lot of detail. This project here:

New ornate card wrap or envelope design

I want you to take note of how clean those detailed lines are. This is my second attempt at cutting the design. The first attempt, I had my blade set way too deep. I set my blade to a number 9. I had my cutting speed at 2 and selected double cut in the options. Well, my Silhouette cut THROUGH my mat in several spots...and the details got a little messy around the points. So I tweaked my settings to a blade depth of 5...and a speed of 1. The result, a total crisp cut, no attached cut lines (I hate that when my settings are off and you almost cut through but not quite in some areas) and beautiful detail. So...there is this thing called "test cut" on your cut settings...if you are unsure of how deep to set your blade, check the test cut first...see if the machine will cut through your paper without going too deep or not enough...then tweak and adjust from there.

I'll walk you through where to change your settings...

for some of you this is basic...for others, I hope you have an AH HA moment.

When you send your file to cut, you will be presented with a dialog box in the upper right corner of your screen. You can see the dialog box above. Next I want you to notice the "change settings" prompt. I've circled it in red so you can miss it. Click on that.

You will then be presented with this dialog box shown above. Now you can go through and select your paper type that you are cutting, and the settings will switch automatically for what might work for an average simple cut.

In this dialog box, I selected Print Paper. Notice how the speed changed to 10, the thickness automatically set to 25, and recommended a blade depth of 2. (if you are still using the colored caps for your blade depth, I recommend that you buy a new Silhouette blade with the racheting number adjuster...much better blade system.)

But since we are cutting cardstock that is heavy, and a very detailed cut, we want to tweak a few things.

Here, I selected Cardstock Heavy-80lb. It changed the cut speed automatically for me to a 2, but I slowed it down even further to a 1 to ensure all my details cut perfectly. Below that, it recommended a blade depth of 3. However, that is not quite enough for the detail and thickness of my cardstock, so I adjust my blade to 5. (hint, you have to physically take your blade out of your machine and rachet the numbers, it won't do it for you by moving the blade depth numbers here on this screen.) Next, to ensure a clean through cut, I checked the box "double cut." Next, if you wish, you can do a test cut with these settings on your paper to see how they work. If you are doing several cards, and these seem to be cutting well at these settings but you feel that your paper or cardstock can handle a higher speed try that out...it's all a matter of trial and error. You will get to know your machine the more you experiment.

I hope this basic tutorial has helped some of you out there who haven't fooled with the settings within your Silhouette software. The Silhouette machine is a fabulous piece of machinery, but we have to know how to tell it what to do. So if something isn't cutting right, chances are, we are not telling the machine to do something at the right speed or thickness or something else. Another thing to watch out for is not to cut really detailed designs too small...you will have a troublesome time as well.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!