Framed Butterflies

Played around with my new eCraft this morning and created this super quick and easy butterfly deco piece.

I simply used scraps backed with cardstock for stability.  I am amazed at the teeny detail this machine can cut (check out those antennae!).  I cut the butterflies at a size 2 and placed them in a 5x7" frame without the glass.  The wings bend up, but I didn't capture it well in the photo.

First eCraft video!

Woohoo!  I am over-the-moon excited that my eCraft arrived at my doorstep on Monday night!!  Here's my second video clip (the first will never see the light of Vimeo {sniff} b/c I recorded it in the suped up crazy high-def million res mode and the file was like 11 trillion gig!).  Oh well, it was just corny me taking my machine out of the box and making my first cut.

In this vid, I show you how I got the best results cutting three different types of paper: thin patterned paper, Stampin' Up! cardstock, and glittered cardstock with beautiful results.  Enough of me talking, here take a look, and I'm warning you, I'm a little wordy--my next vids will be less talk and more action!


eCraft demo on 3 papers from Michelle Neddo on Vimeo.
Cutting settings for SU! cardstock, DCWV glittered cardstock, MME patterned paper

dream grandly.live deeply.create daily

I created this canvas last weekend during Cocoa Daisy's Spring Crop. It was so fun to get out the paste and paints and play around--that's what it's all about, right!?

Here are the deets:

1. I spread some modeling paste onto a 9x12 canvas and let dry.  I used good old Crayola watercolors to apply a wash in turquoise, then added some lime to the edge and held the canvas upright so it could drip down.  A few splatters of raspberry and turquoise and the background was done. 
2. The branch was cut using the Craftwell eCraft Fundamentals 2 card.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I ran the branch through the sewing machine to give it a bit of stitchy texture.  Then embellished it with some folded paper flowers.
3. The butterflies are cut with the Sizzix Butterflies die from My Mind's Eye paper (the tiny one is a Martha Stewart punch) and embellied with rhinestones.
4. The wording is something I came up with for my 2010 planner, and thought it would work well here.  The pink stickers are Basic Grey and the rubons are American Crafts.

Whip out some paints and dress up a canvas!  Have fun!!

Spring has Sprung

It has been a productive scrappy weekend thanks to the team at Scrapbook Heaven and their fabulous challenges.  Here's another LO for Susan's critter challenge.

cardstock and patterned paper: DCWV; white alphabet stickers: Sassafras; green letters: Sizzix:Naturally Serif; epoxy chipboard bird: Colorbok; tree diecut with Craftwell eCraft; crochet flower: me!

You are Amazing

Another sketch from Scrapbook Heaven.

I loved this sketch right away, and had the perfect photo in my stash of film pictures. 
Pom-pom fringe is a bit like Midas: everything it touches just turns to gold (or at least looks a whole lot more fun!).  I got a little silly with the black pen and added some crazy doodling.  I'm such a doodle wanna be!  I really want to be a good doodler, but sometimes I just can't pull it off.  {sigh}

patterned papers: My Mind's Eye; journaling block, circle, and word stickers: Colorbok; star button: Buttons Galore; fabric yo-yo: Fabric Editions, LLC; ric-rac: Wrights, pom-pom fringe: unknown
The star was cut with Craftwell's eCraft machine.

Craftwell's eCraft

The buzz abounds for the crafting industry's latest personal electronic cutting machine by New York based company Craftwell. The eCraft is a sleek, low-profile and portable machine that cuts without the use of a cutting mat (woohoo! no mats to replace or sticky glue to apply). This little machine can cut images up to 10" high by. . . wait for it. . . ANY length. There's even a roller attachment accessory that will house a paper roll to create banners. Imagine a darling personalized Welcome Home Baby sign or a Go Team banner for the kiddos' sporting events. The machine also boasts a paper feed tray so that multiple quantities can be cut without having to key each one. This is a fantastic feature for those mass produced cards (picture holiday cards). Simply choose the image from the large LCD screen and key the quantity, load the paper tray and walk away to maybe cook dinner or some other mundane task that gets in the way of crafting time. Come back and, voila! a stack of neatly cut images ready to pop out and apply to your cards.

The eCraft can cut through regular weight paper, card stock, specialty papers (flocked, glitter, textured), magnet, vinyl, and even grunge paper. And it cuts all this using a sensor so you don't have to make any adjustments to the blade. There's also talk about a longer blade option that could handle chipboard. I'm wondering if it could even cut fabric that's been stabilized with a spray adhesive on cardstock (or maybe an iron on stabilizer, hmmm?).

If you thought all of that was enough to make you run out and buy one, there's more. It also draws. So if your design has a bit of detail (ie. petals on a rose), the eCraft will draw the detail first and then cut out the image, and you don't have to swap the pen for the blade. As for the artwork, Craftwell has designed images in a variety of themes, including fonts. These will be sold on SD cards (called Fun Cards). Because the machine uses SD cards, you can run it independently of your computer, but as an added feature you can use Craftwell's software component to create your own designs in Adobe (and the like) or use any True Type font.

There are a few price points ranging from $259-$399 for B&W vs color screen, and even a heavy duty commercial grade cutter for the professional (or very serious) crafter. The eCraft is anticipated to arrive in time for the holidays. I know a few people who will have it at the top of their wish list, myself included.

Check out this video from YouTube showing the eCraft in action: