Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!!!

Wanted to take a minute to wish all the moms, grandmas, great grandmas, and in this day and age, even great great grandmas a Happy Mother's Day!  Hope everyone gets spoiled rotten this weekend!
Here is my last mother's day card for the year!  I used the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder with the pink glitter gel pen to draw the front sentiment that I downloaded from the Silhouette store.  The I used Basic Grey's Green at Heart patterned paper and some ribbon to finish up the card.

See you all Monday!
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Boys will be boys with Chomas Creations Silhouette mini gel pen holder

I love the little stories I've journaled as my kids are growing.  My youngest son has always kept me on my toes, so for a funny story with him at age 2, read the journaling I'll add at the end of this post!  I swear sometimes my life should be a TV show with these kids hehe!  You can't make this stuff up!

Have I mentioned that the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder and mini Sharpie holder have now come down in price? Only $18.49 each, or both for $36! Also the mini gel pens are now $5.50 for a 10 pack, or all 20 for $10.50!

Also if you wouldn't mind taking a minute to vote for me for the Top 25 mom blogs, there is a link on the left side, and a post below this that describes what you are voting for!


I used the Echo Park line of papers for this page, and Silhouette now works with Echo Park for images you can download for their Studio software for $.99.  I love that they match the paper lines!  But I don't love all of the small parts you would have to cut in different colors for this page.  So I cheated hehe!  I used the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette along with the black metallic mini gel pen to draw the title, the truck and car, then cut around them with the Silhouette.  I colored the images in with the Copic markers. 

Here is the completed layout with the journaling!

Here is the journaling for the page!
Sometimes my life feels like it is straight out of a comedy show. One night I was out of Advil (not a good thing) & Jack was really crabby so I took him to Kroger's with me, the change in scenery usually does him a world of good. I'm looking at the Advil, I grab the bottle I want, we start to walk down the aisle and I am telling Jack, watch out, but don't have enough time to grab him, and BOOM!! He knocks over the deodorant display, & deodorant goes flying EVERYWHERE! I'm not at all embarrassed, I wish I had a loud speaker to announce CLEAN UP ON AISLE 3 over, cause I would. Jack tells me something along the lines of "what a mess" and I'm trying not to laugh and come off as rude in there, but I was very amused. Being the good mom that I am, I tell Jack, let's clean up our mess and I proceed to stand the cardboard tipsy makeshift deodorant shelf back up and collect the slew of deodorants to put back on it. I'm thinking this is a good lesson in cleaning up after yourself, but the shelf has another plan. After we take all the time and get about 1/2 of the 20 or so deodorants that are everywhere back onto the shelf, over it goes again!!! At this point, I'm realizing I am not winning the deodorant battle, so I walk up to the pharmacy and tell the lady that I think the shelf is broke and I tried to clean it up, and she tells me not to worry about it. Yeah, don't tell me when the shelf is knocked over, but after I spend 5 minutes with my hands full and making a bigger mess of things, and making sure to keep an eye on Jack as he tends to run!


Mental note to self, 2 minute trip in store or not, put Jack in the buggy!!!! May 4, 2008



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Hoppy Easter cards with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder

I worked really long and hard on this Easter bunny file for the Silhouette Studio, so I figured I needed to use it a couple more times!  Originally the file was in pieces made for cutting, and I layered them together so I could draw them with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette.
 Whenver I use the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holders, I always make extras for the kids to color in.  They get such a kick out of this!  My 6 year old daughter colored in this one...

Here is the card that I did.  Did you know you can use the Copic markers with the Chomas Creations mini gel pens and they won't bleed?  Opens up a lot of options!

Here are both of our cards together!  They will be mailing out today for some speical little people in our lives!

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Sweet 16 with the Silhouette mini gel pen holder

I love making my own background paper for my layouts!  This one was done with one of the downloadable sketches from the Silhouette library.  I used the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder with the glitter silver mini gel pen on dark brown paper, look how PRETTY!!!

I also used the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder with the black metallic mini gel pen to do the journaling for this page, cutting around the small font with rectangles, quick and easy journaling strips!

The title is also a Silhouette file that I downloaded, then cut out of the dark brown Silhouette fuzzy vinyl.  I added some pearls around the design as well!

And here is the completed page, along with my sweet 16 year old!  I added some Making Memories ribbons and more pearls on the bottom.

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Easter morning with the Silhouette mini gel pen holder

Don't worry, I'm still alive!  I know my blog has been neglected, but that seems to happen when you have 4 kids on spring break, and the week before they end up with 2 snow days!  They were home for 12 days straight, eeeeek!  Then I had some company for 3 days as well!
So I'm back in the swing of things, and being Easter is right around the corner, and I the snow has melted (finallly) I'm ready for springy things! 
I had this file from the Silhouette store that was this bunny with carrots, it took awhile but I did piece it together so that I could draw the bunny with the Chomas Creations Silhouette mini gel pen holder and black metallic mini gel pen, and then color with the Copic markers (fun fun!)   So with a little work in the Silhouette Studio software, you can take any file you download and piece them together to use for sketches!  Oh and can't forget the googly eyes on my animals hehe!

The journaling circle was designed by me and you can download that file here... journaling circle and use it with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette!

The title for this page was another download from the Silhouette store as well.  The papers and brads are Making Memories.  The kids are mine hehe!  I was sick this Easter, thus the nonmatching pj's and the lack of a sock on my daughter! 

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Make-the-Cut with the Silhouette and Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder

First, a bit of news!!!  Tomorrow, Saturday March 26th I will be part of the Disney Pixar Blog hop!!!  Hope you can hop on by and see what I have been up to, and oh yeah, maybe check out some blog candy!

Ok, so I do like my Silhouette, I really do!  And I also like all the SVG's from Lettering Delights, but I can't use SVG's in the Studio software for the Silhouette.  In comes Make-the-Cut, which can both use SVG's and cut to the Silhouette!  So I skip a lot of steps of converting files while using MTC with the Silhouette, and I like things that are quick and easy!  And of course there are a ton of MTC files out there that will be able to be used as well.  There is a link on the left of my blog where you can try MTC out before you buy, and a code for a discount on the program as well if you are interested.
It is pretty easy to get the Silhouette set up with MTC, there is a step by step tutorial here... Creative Designs Cakes tutorial  There is talk about making MTC even easier with the Silhouette in the near future.
This is a Lettering Delights download I bought, and I wanted to make a card with it.  I opened the SVG in MTC (1).  I also added a shadow layer to make my cut around it.
To start, I kept the layer on I wanted to draw (2), and turned the shadow layer off (3).

I then added my Chomas Creations Silhouette mini gel pen holder to the machine and sent the file to the Silhouette to draw. 

Then I turned off the draw layer (4) and turned back on the shadow layer (5).  Without removing the mat from the Silhouette, I removed the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder from the Silhouette and added the blade back in and cut the card.

This is what it looks like straight from the Silhouette.

I used Copic markers to color in the letters and then added the finished image to my card! See all you Silhouette users, the Copic markers can be used with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder!!! WOOWOO!

Don't forget to hop on by tomorrow!!!

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A post about the Silhouette SD

Today is something a big different for my blog.  I was asked a few questions on the Silhouette SD so I'm writing up a review!
**Update (there is now a plug in for the Silhouette for MTC that makes it even easier to use, and you can even use print and cut with it as it uses the optical eye, very cool! )  I like to use Make-the-Cut quite a bit, I have more creative control with it.  I got the Silhouette SD up and running with MTC.    What does this mean to you and me?  Well the ability to EASILY cut SVG's and MTC files on the Silhouette!  I found that in Studio I could not use all the SVG files I have (a lot!) on my computer.  And then Lettering Delights starts this super cute line of SVG's they sell, and they are super cheap.  So of course I need more options lol!  So all my Silhouette fans, keep MTC in mind if you want to use it for SVG's!  May want to check out Lettering Delights as well... Just sayin...
So here is the post I did with pros and cons on the Silhouette machine, for my Silhouette friends, and for those that support MTC and maybe looking for another cutter. 

I got the Silhouette originally because of the amazing downloadable designs that were offered for the machine. And they roll in at, get this, a mere $.99 each! Better yet, you can buy a subscription and for around $16 a month I get almost 150 downloads! (some files are licensed and cost $1.99) There are other options for subscriptions depending if you want more or less downloads each month. Now that I’ve got my Silhouette working with Make-the-Cut I will also be able to use all the MTC files I already have, as well as SVG files to!


The price for the machines isn’t that bad either, I’ve seen them around $180 for just the machine.

Pros on the Silhouette machine:

Works with Make-the-Cut! There is a great tutorial here on setting up the Silhouette machine with MTC here… http://www.creativedesignscakes.com/photo_6.html

Does an amazing job with the mini gel pen holders to draw or write journaling, even on fine details and is less jerky then on some other machines.

Cuts vinyl, you can even add a vinyl roll to the machine and skip the mat, and will cut up to 36 inches in length this way.

Has cheap downloads available in singles, no pricey cartridges and no designs you don’t want! They have a lot of designs from companies like Hero Arts, Cosmo Cricket, SEI, and KI Memories. There are also licensed designs like Peter Rabbit and the Little Miss, Little Mister line.

Does a great job at print and cut when using the Silhouette Studio software and an optical eye. You print our your image with registration marks in your printer, then put the image into your Silhouette machine which will read the registration marks and cut your image.

Has loads of rhinestone template downloads thru the Silhouette store.

Cuts a perfect circle!

Very quick, but of course you can slow down the cutting speed if you need to.

The Silhouette SD comes with an SD slot to save your designs in for on the go use.

Customer service is very helpful. There are yahoo groups that can help with small issues and answer any questions. These ladies have always been super helpful to me.

Fantastic blog put together by the Silhouette team that gives tons of project ideas and great tutorials. http://silhouettemachine.blogspot.com/


Cons on the Silhouette machine:

Only cuts to 8 inches in width.

Lacks a lot of pressure, some thick cardstocks like Bazzill may need a double cut to cut all the way through.

Will not cut chipboard.

Blades and mats are pretty pricey. But there are 3rd party companies that make cheaper blades and you can always resticky your mats a few time.

Around me I need to shop online for the blades and mats as I haven’t seen them in any stores. They are easy to find online though.


All in all a good starter machine, or a good machine for someone that likes well priced downloadable designs for purchase and doesn’t want to search the internet for files to download. Very small and very portable.

Here is a layout I did using the Silhouette to do the journaling on my page, look how nice it draws with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder!  The book was also drawn with the mini gel pen.

You can use the Studio software that comes with the Silhouette to do awesome print and cuts!  You can use their files, or any jpeg you have on your computer.  The doggy and fire truck are both print and cuts done with the Silhouette.  The chain link fence background was done with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder and the title was done with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder and Copic markers.

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Snow Angels with Chomas Creations adjustable holders

I shared this file for my Cricut friends, but wanted to add one for the SIlhouette as well!  This scallop doodle journaling circle was designed by me with my Wacom tablet & then drawn with my Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder and gel pens!  You can download the Studio draw file here... doodle draw file & the shadow for the file you can download here... doodle shadow cut file

To make the journaling circles, first use the Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder to draw the file scallop circle cut.  Then without removing the mat from the Silhouette, replace the Silhouette mini gel pen with the Silhouette blade and cut the scallop cricle shadow file.  They are all lined up and ready to go! 

I swear Michigan set world records in the amount of snow received this year and I had to climb through over a foot of snow to get this photo of my kidlets!  This is how I took the photo, and I think it is fun, so I didn't flip it over. 

The snowflakes were files I downloaded from the Silhouette store, and then I used the Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder and the light blue metallic mini gel pen to draw them on my background paper!

The title was also one I downloaded from the Silhouette store, I cut the word snow, and the snowflakes with the Silhouette fuzzy vinyl, love this stuff for my snow pages!

Here is the finished page! 

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Little Miss Sunshine with Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette and Copics

When I saw the new files for the Little Miss and Little Mr. for the Silhouette, they reminded me of being a kid again, and I had to have them!  Only problem was there are some tiny cuts on there!  Bring on the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette!!!  Instead of cutting Little Miss Sunshine, I added all of her layers together in Silhouette Studio, then I drew her with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette and the black metallic mini gel pen. 

I then colored her in with the Copic markers!

Sometimes I type my journaling in Microsoft Word, then have to cut all the strips with my journaling, which can be quite time consuming, so I decided to try it with Silhouette Studio instead.  It was quick to type my journaling in Studio, which I then drew onto cardstock with the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder for the Silhouette.

Then I added little rectangles around the journaling lines, and copied and pasted those onto another layer in Studio.  I then cut these.

My journaling boxes were done!!!  I added a little yellow Copic around the boxes before I added them to the page.

I also cut the sunshine and clouds out with Silhouette Studio.  This was actually a pretty quick page for me!  I added some Stickles around my clouds and sunshine!  Voila!

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Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder with the Silhouette

I'll admit, I've been slacking with my Silhouette usage!  All of the excitement of the new Chomas Creations engraving tip for the Cricut, and the Silhouette got left behind!  But I got it out today, and designed this page with some of the files I downloaded from the Silhouette library! 
I was looking at some of my old pics on the computer and ran across this one of my now 4 1/2 year old with his 3 blankies.  Yes, he had 3 that meant the world to him, and they went everywhere with him, including to bed at night, there was no going to bed at night without all 3.  I had almost forgot about this little quirk, so I'm very glad I have my photos and scrapbook pages to remind me!
The stars were sketches on the Silhouette site, I used the Chomas Creations mini gel pen holder with the Chomas Creations mini gel pens (there are 20 colors available for order on my blog) for the Silhouette to draw these designs, and then without removing the mat from the machine, I replaced the gel pen holder with the blade and cut them out.  Here are my designs before I played with them, look at those details!  Each dot is seperate in these designs and Chomas Creations mini gel pens drew each one, no problem...

I then used the Copic markers (did you know that the Chomas Creations mini gel pens don't smear when you color with the Copics???) to color in all of the designs on my page!

And here is the finished page!  The papers are all Echo Park's new boy line.

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