Sunday, December 30, 2012

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I  hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to all the great things the new year will bring!

And if you're looking for a last minute idea for a party hat to ring in the new year, how about this stylish top hat version of a fascinator? The hat is made from the Patriotic Party Hat available in the 99 Cent Store and is approximately 4" high. Just use the Hat, Hat Brim and Hat Top pieces, and assemble according to the instructions included with the file.  Then add the free 2013 download that you can grab right here (this link is no longer valid), and add elastic or ribbon to hold the hat on (or attach it to a headband) and voila! You have a one of a kind new year party hat!

Have a great night, and I'll see you in 2013!



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Holiday Ornament - Free SVG Cutting File

Hi readers, I have one last Christmas freebie for you, a dainty Holiday Ornament. Use it to make some paper ornaments to hang from your tree, or even make a festive banner with it.  It would also make a great tag to use in your gift wrapping!

As always, SVG, MTC and PDF files are included in the download. Just click on the preview below to grab this freebie and Happy Holidays everyone!

{{no longer available}}


Thursday, December 6, 2012

New Free MTC File Viewer

Make the Cut! File ViewerFor all my Make the Cut! readers, Andy (the amazing programmer behind Make the Cut!) just released a great new tool, a MTC file viewer for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Now instead of seeing the generic file icon when you're browsing your files, you can actually see what they contain! This is a fabulous new feature especially for crafters who have accumulated a lot of cutting files. What you see is basically a miniature version of the entire cutting mat, as you can see to the right.

For more information on the free download, and instructions on how to install it, read the first post in this forum thread. (And while you're there, check out the latest update to Make the Cut! too!)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Santa's Sleigh - New SVG Paper Cutting File in the 99 Cent Store

Deliver holiday treats with cheer in Santa's Sleigh this holiday season. The sleigh will add a very merry touch to your festive decor, and is roomy enough to hold lots of goodies.
The download includes SVG, MTC and PDF files as well as assembly instructions. The file cuts well on any size mat, depending on your desired finished size.

New: For people without electronic cutters, a scissor cutting file in pdf is also included that can be printed on the 8 1/2 x 11" paper of your choice and cut using scissors or a craft knife.

Click here or on the image below to purchase the cutting file for just 99 cents.

Monday, October 29, 2012

A couple screaming deals for you!

If you've noticed things have been a little quiet around here lately, it's because we moved last weekend, and now I"m on vacation, so I haven't been able to do any designing! I'm looking forward to getting my studio organized in our new house and getting back into the swing of things again, but until then I thought I'd post a couple of bundle deals so you don't think I've forgot about you, which I certainly haven't! :-)

Just click on the images to grab the bundles in the store.

These bundles are no longer available.






Enjoy!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Bonus SVG Freebie for Facebook Fans

I was very excited to see yesterday that we passed the 1300 fans mark on Facebook! To celebrate, I've posted a bonus SVG freebie, this cute Happy Jack o' Lantern file with a bonus face, but just for Facebook fans!

To grab the freebie, just visit the Cre8ive Cutz Facebook page. If you are already a fan, click on the Free SVG File link at the top of the page (it has a picture of the Popcorn Box & Lid which you also get for free if you are a fan). Underneath the video, you'll find a download link for the bonus freebie. If you're not a fan yet, just click Like first, and then click the Free SVG File link.

Enjoy and thanks for being a fan of Cre8ive Cutz!

{{this freebie is no longer available}}


Saturday, September 29, 2012

New in the 99 Cent Store - Decorative Bottles SVG Cutting File

Have anything you need to keep bottled up? Dress up your scrapbook pages and cards with this set of 5 Decorative Bottles; use them as potion bottles on Halloween projects, perfume bottles on your girly projects, or any other type of decorative bottle.  Each one includes the bottle, cork, label and label shadow. The corks are separate from the bottles, so they can be included or not, depending on what you need.
The download includes SVG, MTC and PDF files. The file cuts well on any size mat.

New: For people without electronic cutters, a scissor cutting file in pdf is also included that can be printed on the 8 1/2 x 11" paper of your choice and cut using scissors or a craft knife.

Click here or on the preview image below to purchase the set in the 99 Cent Store.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

He's a Hoot! Free Owl SVG Cutting File

Feeling a little owly? This cute little guy is just what you need for scrapbook pages and cards that will be a hoot!  As always, SVG, MTC and PDF files are included in the download. Just click on the preview below to grab this freebie and enjoy!


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Surprises in unexpected places

I admit it, sometimes it doesn't take much to make me happy. Especially when I make a great crafting find in an unexpected place.  That happened to me this week in the stationary store, but before I tell you what I found, a little background.

If you visit this blog regularly, you already know that I love designing purses and boxes that you can open and close to hide treasures inside.  Typically I use velcro dots to hold them closed, but I've found that I usually need to cut the dot to make it small enough to suit my liking (gumming up my scissors in the process), and in many cases it takes a bit of effort to rip the two velcro bits apart once they're attached to the project. Sometimes I end up bending the paper, which does not make me happy.

So I've been looking for a good alternative, and found some magnetic dots at my local Michael's (roughly $6 for a package of about 20 dots) a couple weeks ago.  They're pretty good, but again they're too big for most of my projects, and they're thick and not easy to cut.

So imagine my delight when I came across this at the stationary store a couple days ago, purely by accident:


It's a roll of several feet of magnetic tape, I didn't even know such a thing existed!  It cost about $6 for the roll, same as the aforementioned magnetic dots, and after careful calculation I figure it should last me roughly forever, with the amount I need to use on each project.  

The beauty of this stuff is it's thin, so it's easy to cut into any size I need (the little black rectangle in the picture is a little piece I cut off the roll). It doesn't gum up my scissors when I cut it, and the magnetic pull is strong enough to hold paper together but yet snaps apart very easily too!

You can definitely to see this stuff in my assembly instructions from now on!

Friday, September 14, 2012

New in the 99 Cent Store - Dancing Scarecrow SVG and Scissor Cutz File

Dress up your walls and doors this fall with a lively Dancing Scarecrow. This little guy has 9 joints (neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees) which means you can position him just about any way you choose. All the joints are hidden by the scarecrow's clothes. And the best part is, you can use up your paper scraps on his clothes and patches, since he's a scarecrow! :-)

The download includes SVG, MTC and PDF files as well as assembly instructions. The file cuts well on any size mat, depending on your desired finished size. (To cut the Dancing Scarecrow at full size, a 12x12 mat is required.

New: For people without electronic cutters, a scissor cutting file in pdf is also included that can be printed on the 8 1/2 x 11" paper of your choice and cut using scissors or a craft knife.

 The finished scarecrow as sized in the files is approximately 26" tall.

Click here or on any of the photos below to purchase the Dancing Scarecrow.






Wednesday, September 5, 2012

New in the 99 Cent Store - Vampire Bat Candy Box SVG Cutting File

Take a bite out of Halloween with this Vampire Bat Candy box.  He makes a great decoration on your table, and his cape lifts up to reveal a hiding spot for treats or other treasures.  His wings can be cut from paper or vellum (as shown) to give them a translucent effect.

The download includes SVG, MTC and PDF files as well as assembly instructions. The file cuts well on any size mat.

New: For people without electronic cutters, a scissor cutting file in pdf is also included that can be printed on the 8 1/2 x 11" paper of your choice and cut using scissors or a craft knife. Click here or on any of the photos below to purchase the Vampire Bat Candy Box.

 

The Vampire Bat is wearing a cape, just like all good vampires.

The cape lifts up to reveal a hiding spot for treats and treasures.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Color Inspiration

Do you have favorite colors you always like to create with? I find there are colors I gravitate towards, and others that I almost never use.  So recently I thought it would be good to challenge myself, to create something with colors I rarely use except as accents; gray and yellow. I kept the card very simple using some great papers from the Farmhouse collection by October Afternoon, and  I was thrilled with how it turned out!
 
Sooo, I thought I'd share a little inspiration with you too from time to time.  Without further ado, here is my first color inspiration for you. Feel free to use any or all of the colors in the palette to create a card, scrapbook page or anything else you have on your project list.  And I would love to see your projects! You can email photos to me, or post them to the Cre8ive Cutz Facebook page. Have fun!


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Using the built in HDR function on your iPhone camera

If you're like me, your iPhone has become the camera you always have handy, so lots of photos destined for the scrapbook are taken on it. I even went on a trip to New York recently with my sisters and my iPhone was the only camera I brought with me. In fact, all three of used our iPhones to take all our photos. Even though I didn't have quite as much control, I still got some great shots and preserved some wonderful memories.

Given that for lots of us, phones are now our camera of choice in most cases, I thought I'd do a slightly different kind of tutorial for you today.

You may know that when you are composing a photo on your phone, if you tap the screen on a certain spot, the focus and exposure will be set for that specific spot. But what happens when you have a scene where part of it is in shadow and part of it in sunlight? You can tell your phone to expose the shadows properly, but you end up with the rest of the photo blown out, like this:


Alternatively, you can expose for the sunlit area, and you end up with indistinguishable shapes in the shadows, like this:


But there is an alternative! The new iPhones (4 and above) have a function built into the native camera app called HDR, otherwise known as High Dynamic Range. Basically what the function does is take two photos, one that exposes for the shadow and one for the light, and then it automagically merges them into one well-exposed photo like this one:


To turn on the HDR function, start your camera app then touch the Options button at the top of the screen. Move the HDR slider to ON, then touch Done.


Now the fun starts! Experiment with touching the light and shadow areas on your screen to see the difference it makes in your HDR photo. You can even try using HDR on photos that don't necessarily call for it, you might be surprised at the effects you get.

One thing you do need to remember is that since your phone is taking two photos and merging them, it is a bit slower than taking a regular picture.  So if you're taking photos of fast moving kids, it might not work out so well, but for scenery shots it's a great way to go.

Here are a couple more photos I took on my iPhone.  Neither of them actually needed to be HDR, but the effect that it gave was almost like slightly oversharpening the pic, in addition to popping the color a bit, which I thought was pretty cool.  These are completely unretouched, straight out of the phone. Mouse over the pictures to see the same photo without using HDR.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

New in the 99 Cent Store - Mini Card Box & Cards SVG Cutting File

What do you give the person who has everything? This cute and useful Mini Card Box, complete with cards and envelopes that they can use in their own gift giving. Or make a set for yourself to have on hand just in case, and store them in the pretty box until they're needed. 

Cutting files for the card box, a round card base, a square card base and the envelope are included. The cards as shown are approximately 3" x 3". The download includes SVG, MTC and PDF files as well as assembly instructions. The file cuts well on any size mat. 

New: For people without electronic cutters, a Print 'n Snip pdf version is also included that can be printed on the 8 1/2 x 11" paper of your choice and cut using scissors or a craft knife. Click here or on any of the photos below to purchase the Mini Card Box & Cards.


Store everything in the convenient and pretty card box.

Complete the box with the included flower or a purchased embellishment.

A round scalloped card base is included.

A square scalloped card base is included.

Make mini envelopes to match your cards.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Stay in touch this summer!

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a great summer! Ours has been busy, and it's not over yet, with two family weddings to go to before the end of August. We're also going to be moving this fall, so it's going to be busy, busy, busy for a while yet!

But, if you're like me, you still like to keep up on what's happening in the crafting world even if life is crazy. So, I wanted to share with you that Cre8ive Cutz is on Pinterest. I post pics of my 99 cent files, video tutorials, freebies and projects, of course, but I also post other inspiration like colors, cool techniques, and even cakes.  If you'd like to follow me, you can find me right here.

And that's not all, Cre8ive Cutz is now on Instagram too! Just search for cre8ivecutz on Instagram (available for iPhone and Android phones). I don't have too many pics posted there yet, but I plan to share projects in progress and lots of other fun stuff.

And of course, if you don't already "like" me on Facebook, you should do that too 'cause there's something in it for you. Everyone who clicks that little like button gets instant access to download this Popcorn Box cutting file as well as a video showing you how to put it together.

Finally, by signing up for my newsletter (which goes out about once a week), you'll get all the latest news, new releases, freebies and tutorials delivered right to your inbox.  I occasionally include free downloads exclusively for subscribers too.  You can sign up for the newsletter right here. Happy crafting!

Monday, August 6, 2012

New in the 99 Cent Store - Backpack SVG Cutting File

Get the students in your life ready to head back to school with this Backpack gift bag, new in the 99 Cent Store. The Backpack features a large main compartment as well as a gift card pocket on the front and smaller compartments on the sides for extra goodies. The download includes SVG, MTC (for Make the Cut! software) and PDF files.  Click here or on any of the photos below to check out the Backpack in the store.


The backpack opens to reveal a large main compartment as well as a gift card pocket on the front.

Side compartments hold extra goodies.

The shoulder straps on the back add the finishing touch.

Velcro or magnets on the front buckle and strap hold the backpack closed once it's packed with gifts.

The handy handle on top makes it nice and easy to carry the backpack.


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

How do you like your Assembly Instructions?

Hi everyone, I have a small favor to ask. For those of you who have purchased my files, I'd like to get your feedback on the way I format my assembly instructions. The way I do them today is to list all the step by step instructions first, with the photograph of that step referenced, then below that I have all the numbered photographs.

 A few posts back, I gave you some assembly instructions for the 4th of July Party Straw Toppers, where I had each assembly step described underneath the photograph demonstrating that step.

My question for you is, which format do you find easier to follow, or is there something else entirely you like? If you could take a quick second to let me know in the poll below, I would really appreciate it!  Thanks so much.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Baby Onsie Card SVG File - New in the 99 Cent Store

Congratulate the new parents and welcome the new little one in style with this adorable Baby Onsie Card that looks just like the real thing! Use girl or boy colors and embellishments to personalize the card, or keep the colors neutral if it's a surprise!

SVG, MTC and vector PDF files are included in the download, as well as illustrated assembly instructions.  Click any of the photos below to check out Baby Onsie Card in the 99 Cent Store.


Detail on the front of the card mimics embroidery on a onsie.

Detail on the sleeves is just like the real thing.

The bottom of the card is held closed with velcro or magnet.

The card swings open to reveal your message.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Watermelon Slice - Free SVG Cutting File

Seems like everyone is is in the middle of a heat wave these days, so how about a nice juicy slice of watermelon to cool things off?  As always, SVG, MTC and PDF files are included in the download. Just click on the preview below to grab this freebie and enjoy! {{This freebie is no longer available}}

Saturday, June 30, 2012

New in the 99 Cent Store - Patriotic Party Hat SVG Cutting File

Looking for a little something extra-stylish this 4th of July? How about this Patriotic Party Hat, brand new in the 99 Cent Store. The hat does double duty as a favor box as well! Just add some goodies, slide the Party Hat over top and you've got a great July 4th party gift for friends and family. They'll be the hit of the party!

SVG, MTC and vector PDF files are included in the download, as well as illustrated assembly instructions.  Click any of the photos below to check out Patriotic Party Hat in the 99 Cent Store.




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