Saved by the Bird

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My husband and I had to go to a wedding this week but in the rush-rush of my activities I didn't have a chance to design a card. With only three hours to go before we had to leave, I called my husband at work and asked him to pick up a card on his way home. After I hung up, I decided to see if I could whip up a card really fast. I tend to linger and dawdle over everything I make. Working fast is not my strong suit so I set a deadline. I gave myself one hour to create a card. If I didn't have it finished and in the envelope in an hour or less, I would abandon it and use whatever my husband brought home. That's when inspiration struck.

I love the free cutting files available for download from Birdscard.com and recently used two of her files for the birdhouse birthday card I made for my sister-in-law last week.  As soon as I saw this wedding cake card cutting file, I knew it would be a cinch. I had all the papers and embellishments I wanted to use easily available so cutting and putting the card together was a breeze. My KNK Zing Air cut everything flawlessly.

I followed Bird's lead and used a monochromatic color scheme for the cake, using a special pearlized paper that changes color when you turned it to the light. In the top photo you'll notice the garlands on the cake appear pearly white but in the lower photo you can see that they appear to be a pearly mint green. I had a small piece of floral striped paper in a mint color with rose and glitter accents. The garlands and tiny rose pink flowers play up and coordinate with those colors. Tiny pearls in the center of the flowers complete the embellishments. I called my husband back and told him not to worry about buying a card because I had made something better than he would find in any card store.

Thanks, Bird, for your fabulous files. You saved the day for me.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Birdhouse Birthday Card

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Birdhouse Birthday card front

The summer is my busiest time of year with birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and the occasional birth. My sister-in -law celebrated her 60th birthday last weekend so I created this card featuring my current fascination with birdhouses and my ever popular butterflies. I created the house file in a drawing progam and cut it with my KNK Zing Air electronic cutter. The grass border was a little piece left over from a previous project. The verse in the center of the birdhouse, a free cutting file I downloaded, appropriately enough, from birdscards.com, as well as the inside verse and image, were drawn with the Zing Air.


Drawn, you say? On a cutting machine? Yes! The Zing Air has an optional pen accessory tool that allows you to insert pens or slim markers in place of the cutting blade. This allows you to draw an image instead of cutting it. (
(I have also used a glue pen in the past and added glitter afterwards...great effect.) Because the Zing Air does not have a fill function, it only draws contours and lines, leaving the centers blank. With the verse on the front of the card, I had to manually fill in the letters with a fine tip marker. The inner verse was done using a hairline font, meaning that the contours of the font are very, very slim so the letters appear to be comprised of simple strokes. After trying out several different hairline fonts that I downloaded free from 1001Fonts.com, I chose the one  you see here. The image is one I composed using graphic files I have had on discs for years. I tweaked the elements a bit until I got something I liked and sent it to cut...err... I mean draw. I used a dark grey gel pen for drawing the poppy and hummingbird and a black one for the verse. I wanted a subtle difference between those two elements so they wouldn't visually compete with one another. My sister-in-law loved her card and showed it off to all her friends at her party.

I definitely see more birdhouses in my future.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

At Long Last, Success!

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Some detail cuts made with
the KNK Zing Air. The spiky plant in
the corner is my attempt at creating
a spider plant.

Way back in January I wrote about the arrival of my new KNK Zing Air electronic cutter. I was excited with the new options this machine would make available to me especially since my first few cuts were nothing short of awesome. Unfortunately my joy was short lived. It was weeks before I was able to get a decent cut from the machine no matter how hard I tried, cried, ranted or raved. Untold reams of card stock and paper were shredded in the process. Finally I threw my hands and wanted to return it but the time period for returns had expired so I was stuck and unhappy with the machine. Resigned to living with an expensive paper weight, I organized my thoughts and set about deliberately and carefully working through the settings in an attempt to figure out the beast. I can now happily say that I have made my peace with the machine and have been able to get some pretty amazing detailed cuts out of it in the process. At top left you'll see some of the leaf cutting files I have created (with the exception of the pink vines at bottom. Below that are a couple of more detailed free cutting files you can find at BirdsCards.com. The detail on that Valentine's heart is amazing and it cut out like butter.

Special Thank You Card

Having a precision cutter at my beck and call opens up a whole world of possibilities and I couldn't wait to try my hand at something with a little more meat than some of my past projects. I needed a special Thank You card for someone so this was a great opportunity to dabble in 3-D paper crafting. At right you see the result. It is a composite of commercial cutting files, files created by me and die cuts. The close up shots show the details that I was able to achieve. The finished card dimensions are 4.25" x 5.50 inches so you get an idea of how small those little leaves and tiny flowers are. Click on the photos to view a larger image.

Look at the precision cuts on
those little leaves.

I must say I am very happy with the result considering it was a first try and, bolstered by the success I have had, I'm going to explore more 3-D crafting possibilities. It is something I have wanted to do for some time but really did not want to spend my time meticulously cutting out every little piece by hand. My new Zing will take the drudgery out of it and allow me more artistic freedom. I can't wait to put it through some more paces. I'll keep you informed of my progress.

This angle shows the depth of
 the 3-D elements of the card.
Those leaves and flowers
are popped out.

Check out the double lattice: pink
on top, gold beneath peeking out
around the edges.

NOTA BENE: For any of you who may be contemplating purchasing a KNK Zing Air, I highly recommend you purchase directly from the manufacturer, KNKusa.com. I purchased mine through Amazon and went through a litany of customer service issues that added to my initial displeasure with the machine. If I had to do it all over again, I would purchase from the source, not from a vendor.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

The New Kid in Town

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The Zing Air arrives.

In my last post I mentioned that after four years of using the CraftWell eCraft I was upgrading to a new electronic cutting machine. My KNK Zing Air arrived sooner than anticipated and I didn't get around to opening it for a couple of days. It appeared unassuming enough and I didn't expect that I would have a difficult time learning the nuances of this new system. Well, this only turned out to be partially true. It was easy enough to hook up but I had a devil of a time getting my computer to recognize and connect to it. After turning everything off and restarting, propitiating gods and sacrificing chickens it connected and I was able to run the machine.

I am happy to report that the Zing Air is far superior to my old eCraft cutter in many ways and offers creative options I could only wish for. I won't go into all of the bells and whistles.  There are many YouTube videos that can walk you through those details. I will say that my favorite tool is the pen holder that allows me to draw images from my computer with almost any pen or marker at my disposal. I even used a glue pen to draw a delicate flourish image which I then covered in glitter. Oh, I'm going to have fun exploring the possibilities.

My one disappointment is that the machine was advertised as including a special blade for cutting fabric but it did not arrive in the box. I purchased the machine from Amazon but was unable to find a Contact Us link with a telephone number or an email address. I tried contacting the Amazon vendor who responded that I had to handle the issue through Amazon. The only option I found to deal with missing parts was to get a full refund. Thankfully I can get a fabric blade from the manufacturer for less than $10 so I'm not going to waste further time and energy over this but I can tell you I will definitely think twice or more before buying anything else from Amazon that has more moving parts than a book.

Okay, rant over. I'm off to my new machine to see what goodies I can conjure up. I'll be sure to post them here.  Stay tuned.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

A Fond Farewell To An Old Friend

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The eCraft  -  November 2010

I've just taken a leap and invested in a new electronic cutting machine as a combination Christmas/birthday gift to myself. My trusty eCraft cutter, which I won in a contest over four years ago, has served me well but its limitations are many. The machine is just not as good as some others in creating cleanly cut detailed designs. Craftwell, the eCraft's manufacturer, is no longer making the machine although I was told by a representative that they will continue to support it and carry the accessories. Nevertheless, I can see the writing on the wall. The eCraft is not long for this world.

I'm ready to move on to a more reliable machine that will make the intricate and detailed cuts that I long for. My new KNK Zing Air will arrive sometime next week and I'm greatly looking forward to it but I will always fondly remember my first machine. Once I have mastered the learning curve of the Zing Air, I have no doubt I will be whipping up some amazing projects which I will post here and link to my Facebook page. Here's to a new year, a new machine and some new creative adventures.


Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva