Copyright

The content of my blog is COPYRIGHT Amy Sgro. Original work and photos are shared for your personal enjoyment and inspiration only. They may not be used for publication, submissions or contests. Do not represent my work as your own, nor use it to make items for sale.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Saint Patrick's Fun

Today I decided to make something fun for Saint Patrick's Day. I have a crop coming up and need some little gifts and this will be great for the Challenge on the Cricut Circle Blog.

I have a "knack" for finding four leaf clovers. "Lucky" is a word that many use when they see me reach down and pick one up. I have always been able to walk through a patch of clovers and find a four leaf without even trying. I started collecting a long time ago and had 100s pressed in an old dictionary. I finally got tired of them and tossed them. I regret it now, but there is nothing for it but to start all over.

So I decided to put this ability to the test and challenged myself to make something with it. I had bought a bag of bottle caps several months ago intending to make magnets for the Ohio Meetup, and changed my design. These caps have been sitting on a shelf since then, lonesome and collecting dust.

My initial though was to collect four leaf clovers, press them and make bookmarks or pins of some kind; However, once I saw the pressed clovers I threw that out the window. They just weren't pretty.
So I changed my idea.

Bottle caps
Four leaf clovers
Liquid Glass (CTMH)
White cardstock
Creative Memories Circle Punch


First, I punched out white circles and adhered them into the bottle caps with the liquid glass. Then I went hunting for clovers. As I found them, I would add a dab of liquid glass into the bottle cap and used a stickpin to arrange the petals. This I let dry so it would grab the clover and keep it in place, while I continued hunting. Once that was dry, I covered the entire center of the bottle cap with a thin layer of liquid glass, and repeated it once it was dry popping air bubbles as I went (I couldn't get them all).
Tuesday, I collected 7 clovers; Wednesday, I collected 17 clovers; Thursday I realized I messed up two and ran outside to find two more clovers.


Realizing that these are only okay looking on a necklace or as a charm, I decided to make them into pins and knew they needed "more". I had some animal striped ribbon from Walmart:


Using black thread, I folded the ribbon and slipped a quick stitch straight through all the folds. I pulled it tight and tied it off so it wouldn't fight me as I tried to glue.

I also stitched the two edges together so you wouldn't see the raw ends in the final product.Flip it over and this is what you would see:

Next, I used a low temp glue gun to attached a pin back to the back of the ribbon.
Then I used the glue gun to attach the bottle cap to the top of the ribbon. Smushing it down into the ribbon made it fit slightly better.I also added a touch of "Lime" Stickles around the edge of the bottle cap to give it a bit of a "pop."
This is the finished product:
Several of the finished pins:
Since these are crop goodies, I have placed them and some mint candies into a box made from George shapes with Elegant Edges for the sentiment frames. I used my Gypsy to weld and stretch as needed. Each participant will receive this as well as a pot of gold m&ms with rainbow streamers.
"Good Memories are like a Four Leaf Clover: Lucky to Have."


I hope you enjoying today's project. Good Luck finding your own Four Leaf Clovers!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Close To My Heart

Well I did it! I finally bit the bullet and signed up to be a Close To My Heart consultant. I've been considering this for over 3 years, but was waiting for the right time, the right special, the money, etc. I even signed up for my personal website: www.amysdigiscraps.myctmh.com
The sign up deal they have going right now is PHENOMENAL! To sign up as a consultant is $99 and you get the consultant kit and you have add on options that cost a little more. But for the month of March 2012, when you sign up you can get the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge for FREE - yes FREE! If you already have the cartridge, no worries, you can choose to receive a $100 credit instead (and you don't have to use it right away).
The Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge is $99 on its own and comes with 3 D stamp sets and 3 sheets of embellishments, so this is a great deal.
If you want the cartridge but do not want to sell anything - that's okay! You can sign up, get the welcome kit and the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and do nothing. No big deal. You can deactivate if you prefer or just let your membership lapse after a while. But the great thing is that for the next three months, anything you order for yourself you can get for the consultant pricing.
There are additional details regarding staying active. If you are interested, just leave a comment with your question or email and I'll contact you.
If you would like to sign up, please consider me as your upline. My website is www.amysdigiscraps.myctmh.com. If you sign up under me, you can be as active as you want - whether you want to make this a business or just to get the cartridge, it's your choice!