Guest Designer at Connie Can Crop: February Challenge - I Do! (Wedding or Blingy... You Choose!)

So... I'm having a Virgin moment... I am a first-time VIRGIN! guest designer over at Connie Can Crop. and just so you know... I'm her first, too! So... does that mean we had a double-virgin? I'll take that with sugar on the rim, no salt please. Trying to watch my sodium intake in my margaritas nowadays.

Connie does a monthly challenge, and February's challenge is "I Do!" We were to do something either wedding themed get it? "I Do!"? duh... but me? I had invitations to make. My youngest kiddo turned 11 at the very end of January, but circumstances never allow us to have a party for her that particular weekend. So... we usually do something the day before Super Bowl never on SuperBowl Sunday; that would be totally un-American! This year, she wanted to have a roller-skating party. And so... we did. I was a tad late on the invites, as I was having slight difficulties which turned out to be user/interpreter error: read: I was reading it all wrong! and had to get those resolved on the Brother front.

 

Moving on... First thing's first. Had to design a skating boot. Way back in the day, when I did a set of these, I truly did design my own. Nifty Fifties (by Cricut) wasn't out yet (that's where I got the skate/boot!). I created a skate and boot from a hiking boot (from a camping cartridge, I think) and added circles (wheels!). lol. But... with the Cricut Explore Air (and the subscription), there are so many more possibilities and less work, which makes more time for me to play! and I found he perfect one.

 

I cut everything out individually... and inked or colored or Gelato'ed it all while on the mat(s). Heck ya! I had to make 15 of these babies, and I wasn't about to put them all individually down and ink them to have them slide all over the place. Remember, the mats are sticky. Things stay in place. DO NOT TAKE THE NEGATIVE PAPER (IOW: Don't weed out your design!) BEFORE INKING OR COLORING. You don't want to get the mat dirty with your colors and potentially take away the "stick."

and if you're looking at the dates I have written down on each mat, I date everything. Just so I know how long something lasted. (It's an OCD-analytical-mind thing. And it works for me. Don't judge.

Those Gelatos go on SOOOO smooth. I just love them. The pics look a tad yellowish, but trust me. That is white.

On to the Brother Scan N Cut 2. I love this machine. (Love the Explore Air, too! I'm giving love to almost all my machines today... I handwrote this... scanned it, and cut it. Then I did it all over again, because the OCD in me didn't like the separation of the "Skate" and "Celebrate". It left WAY too much space between and didn't feel like a full element to me. Yes, I'm a slight perfectionist with flaws. I love for things to be homemade and have a slight imperfection, but the imperfection that of my choosing.

So... like I said. I did it again. and copied it. and copied it. and copied it. and copied it... you get the picture, right? I copied it 11 times, to get 12 total. I tried to copy it on the machine itself, but it separates out the writing from the background. IOW... I couldn't figure out the dang thing, so I gave up and did it a way I could figure out, as I was spending WAY too much time trying to figure it out.

And just so you know... this would scan into the Brother... but wouldn't save. It said there was "too much of a pattern." So, I kept trying... by taking out one pattern piece at a time. It would finally save at 8 pattern pieces. And this... is the final cut. YAY!

See how delicate and detailed it is? So cool!

And after all the layers (of the skate and boot), this is what we've got...

Super lovin' it! I'm not a pink person... but my kid is. And she wanted super glitter, too... but I decided against it, as she was inviting boys, too... and these boys aren't the glittery kind.

But me and the OCD just needed something else... it was missing... Wink of Stella on the snowflakes! And so... I obliged. Still totally loving the stuff and getting the hang of it so much easier! and yes... I finally bought the full-color pack! Can't wait to play with all that.

And... the final invitation in all it's glittered glory.

And the whole lot of them. Because you know I love my kid.

You can see... In my own way, I said, "I Do!" to my kid. And "I DID!" her invitations. Haha! I'd totally do it again. She loves them... and so did everyone else.

 

The party? Yep. It was great. Only a few knew how to skate at the beginning, but by the end... no one wanted to leave. I think it's a keeper!

 

Thanks for visiting. I sure hope you enjoyed the Virgin Territory my Guest Designer Stint. Please don't forget to visit Connie Can Crop and check on her other designers. She always has lots of fabulous people doing fabulous things. Feel free (and you know you're appreciated) to comment at the bottom. I always love to hear from you! Enjoy your day, and think about what YOU say, "I Do!" to!