Dilly Beans Hearts Challenge

This week our Dilly Beans Challenge is Hearts.  No prob.  I've been dying to use a robot from Megan's new release and went with the adorable Luv Bot Framed.  However, instead of coloring, I decided to try something new.  I have a bunch of colored metal sheets that haven't been touched in maybe 3 years and thought it would be fun to emboss the stamp in metal.

I printed the image and taped it to the back of the metal sheet and used a stylis against my foam piercing mat to trace the image.  You actually have to go back and forth (meaning back to the front and back again) and rub the unembossed portions with your finger and trace on either side of the embossed lines on the front and sometimes retrace over and over to get a crisp enough image to sand, and mine is in no way perfect (even though I worked on this for probably 45 minutes) but it was fun, different, and came out sort of cool.  Remember, if you want to try this, to flip your image if you want it to face the same way as drawn, but in this case I didn't think it mattered.  The mat is embossed on metallic paper with the Robotz Cricut Companion folder in my Cuttlebug and the hearts were cut in the some colored metal with my Nesties.  So there you have it, my attempt to mix things up a bit.  Always fun trying new techniques and the adorable Robots in the Dilly Beans Shop are perfect for that.  Oh, and BTW, Megan just added some MORE new designs, so check them out HERE and also the fab work by my teamies HERE.

I'm also entering this in the Penny's Paper-Crafty Masculine Challenge, Simon Says Stamp and Show No Rules Challenge, the WishCraft Waste Not Wednesday Challenge (the colored metal sheet), and the Card a Day August Embossing Challenge.

Graduation 2012

TWO of my BFF's sons have graduated high school this year.  I've known them since before they were born and I think I'm as proud as their parents to see how they've grown into amazing young men.  I was lucky enough to attend Alex's graduation on Thursday but Andy's was in Michigan and his party is today.  Bummer I'm missing it and of course, his card is late.  (Big surprise, eh Beck?)Don't look, 'cause Andy's card may just be pretty darn similar (or at least look surprised when it finally comes in the mail.  LOL xx)

Don't faint, Sandy E.  It's a Cricut card and it's not even Monday.  Shaped front, of course.  The cuts are welded in DS from Happy Graduation and Varsity Letter to a rounded rectangle from George.  Cool that Dublin High colors are red, white and blue so I could use some 3D star stickers I got at M's.

The diploma is embossed in the center with a script folder and I used a stylis on the ends that seems invisible in the pix.  At least you can see the dimension.  I almost didn't get pix at all, since I finished this about 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave and I wasn't dressed yet.  Well worth the effort, though.  Alex is one of my biggest fans as far as card making goes.

I'm also entering this in the SJ Crafts Shop Monthly Challenge #5 All About the Boy and the something extra I've used from my stash are the dimensional star stickers (at least 2 years old), The Card a Day June Red White and Blue Challenge, and the Cooking with Cricut End of School Year/Graduation Challenge.