SVG Attic DT Friday! Tangled Lantern

So I was completely swamped with projects when SVG Attic was having their Lantern Contest a few weeks ago and although I got mine started, I just ran out of time to finish it. Lol! But here it is nonetheless, I spent a lot of time designing it to look like scenes from our most recently favorite Disney movie "Tangled". If you haven't seen the movie, you probably wont understand the lantern. But you should definitely go out and rent it tonight! Or better yet, just buy it. It's totally worth it!!

Anyways, you know the drill, here's a million pictures coming at ya!  :-)

The sun has a huge significance in the movie and it just happens to look awesome on a lantern!!

Side 2 is Rapunzel's tower with a glowing window, and Rapunzel's magic golden hair all glowing.

Side 3- Rapunzel in the boat with Flynn (not pictured) looking at all the floating lanterns around them. And yes, her hair is braided just like in the movie!

Side 4-Rapunzel on the tree tops staring at the "floating lights" far away.

 

I tell ya, I used a TON of twine on this lantern!! Lol! But it just looks so cute as her hair!! I got my twine from The Twinery. They were the ones with the best selection of colors, and I needed a sunshine yellow!

I braided some sheer wired ribbon for the handle and tied a bow around the top so it wouldn't look so bare up there. 

Now the best ones....... Lights off!

Here's my inspiration pictures I found online......

Now for the details. I used soooooo many sets from SVG Attic to make this lantern!

I used Cape Cod for:
-the "tower" (which is the lighthouse svg)
-the grassy hill (supposed to be the sandbar)
-the sailboat (which I modified and added a swirl to)

Just Beachy for:
-the sun
-the waves

Luau set for:
-the lanterns
-the grass skirt (welded to the lighthouse for a "thatched roof" look)

Paper Dolls:
-the woman

Summer Lanterns:
-obviously the lantern
-the bushes (at the base of the tower)
-the bricks for the chimney (modified to fit the shape of the lighthouse)

Give a Hoot Set:
-trees
-vines for side of tower
-long branch with swirl on it (modified and welded to the boat)

Just so you know, I use Make The Cut with my Cricut Expression to cut out my SVG files. I absolutely cannot live without MTC!! Because of that program I am able to manipulate and change different svg files to make them suit my needs. For instance, the bricks on the side of the tower, are really from the chimney bricks in the house lantern file, and I was able to crop them into the right shape to cut out of one the tower layers.

I am thinking of doing a video tutorial on some of these MTC tricks that I know. Is that something anyone might be interested in seeing??

Another useful tool in Make The Cut, is the rhinestone feature. A couple weeks ago I was hearing about a fun tool called the Sew Easy, which basically just punches stitching holes into your paper in certain designs. Someone mentioned that they thought it would be neat if someone made a tool that would cut the stitching holes in a variety of shapes.

Well, MTC already does!! It's called the Rhinestone tool. If you have MTC, try it!!!  That is how I made the holes around the sun on my lantern! You could totally use it for threading twine or embroidery floss through in any shapes!!! How cute would a rainbow card that way be?!!!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you like my Tangled Lantern, and if you are one of the few people who has not seen this movie, seriously, go do it now! :-)

*Hugs*
-Anna Dawn

On a First Name Basis

Hello friends!! 

Sorry I haven't been around for a while. My in-laws were in town and we have been running around showing them Alaska.
Which is a rather large state, so it wasn't exactly an easy thing to do! lol!
But I think they had a good time,
they caught LOTS of Salmon and Halibut,
saw several Moose along the roads,
and experienced a few HOT Alaska summer days (73 F)!! 

It was fun to see them, it's been a few years, but I'm glad to get back into the swing of things and get my kids back onto a normal routine.

Well, onto the main reason for this post.

I have recently made a few new friends, virtual and physical lol! We moved into our home almost 6 months ago! Wow time has flown by! But I have always felt really awkward about introducing myself and telling people my name. Online it's much easier. :-)

Just to clarify, for anyone who might have wondered.  
I go by Anna Dawn. 
That's my first name.

Yeah, it's two words,
yeah Dawn is capitalized,
and yeah, there's a space in between.

But that's my name. It has always been a little weird, and although a lot of people have told me they think it's a beautiful name, I have pretty much always despised it. But even so, I actually dislike being called Anna even more.

Please don't feel bad, if you have called me this.
Chances are, I let you.
I don't like to correct people,
I'm always worried that it will make them uncomfortable or feel bad.
So I don't say anything.
But now I am.

My ultimate goal is that my name will become so well known that even the celebrities will know it, and say it the right way too! Just Kidding, yeah right! Lol!

I hope as I get to know more of you, I will be on a first name basis with you too! :-)

Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon. I'm working on another DT project for SVG Attic, so be watching for it!!

-Anna Dawn

My First DT Project for SVG Attic!!

A few weeks ago Jessica Bashaw, of Jessica's Crop Corner, asked me to be on her Design Team for her new store SVG Attic, which sells SVG files to use with your personal die-cutting machines. I couldn't believe she wanted me!! I mean, yeah I applied for a spot on the DT, but did I really think I was gonna be picked? No! Totally blew my mind! Go check out her stuff, browse around the store, and if you don't use SVGs or own a cutting machine then at the very least just go check out the bio page that has my picture on it!!! HERE

Well I've been so excited to share what I made with her super cute Backyard BBQ set and Cupcake stand and wrapper from the Bridal Shower set. Hope you enjoy!

 

I totally missed out on the 4th of July, it came and went and I didn't even get a chance to decorate or do any cute festivities! But I figured, summer isn't over yet, so I still have a chance to put up some cute decorations! Since we love having people over, and grilling is my husband's specialty :-) I made some fun barbecue decor!

I made the cupcake stand and wrapper to look like a little grill, then put some adorable "grill" cupcakes in them! I cut a half-circle out of the base of the stand in MTC, and omitted the stand's top sides and just hot glued the circle into the cupcake wrapper. I also had to hand cut the decorative edge off the cupcake wrapper. My incredibly talented friend made the awesome cupcakes for me! They were Perfect!

I also made a fun candy dish the same way, but larger, and added a lid to it so I could use the cool little shishkabobs in the set! I created the grill's grate in MTC with their fun lattice feature, and layered 6 of them on top of each other for more dimension.

I loved playing with these barbecue files! I don't think I'm quite done with them yet, I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve :-) lol!

There's the inside of the candy dish!!

Now for the details:

Backyard BBQ
Chef hat               3.2630 w  2.9946 h
Apron                  4.6114 w  5.7260 h
BBQ Caption       1.6253 w  1.1739 h
Oven Mitt            2.3615 w  1.4427 h
Pitcher                 3.2224 w  3.3849 h
Soda Can            1.1984 w  2.2297 h
Ketchup              1.1416 w  2.8036 h
Mustard              1.0681 w  2.3173 h
Steak                  1.6965 w  1.2294 h
Hot dog w/Bun   1.2080 w  2.9662 h
Spatula               1.2980 w  5.7885 h
Fork                    .4890 w  6.6864 h
Steak bits           1.1798 w  1.1798 h
Onion                   .8630 w  1.0413 h
Mushroom            .8229 w .8787 h

Bridal Shower Kit
Cupcake Wrapper                   11.7222 w  4.9502 h
Cupcake Stand Base                  2.6923 w  3.9015 h
Circle for cupcake stand top       2.9375 w  2.9375 h

Thanks for stopping by! Now go buy some SVGs! Lol!

An Award!! and A new Friend

Even though I'm probably one of the worst bloggers out there, I have managed to meet some really special new friends through my blog and the crafting blogs I surround myself with everyday. It's fun to get to know people in blogland that are too far away to ever have actually met in real life, but I find myself having so much in common with. Lately I have gotten to know a little more about Jani from Paper Compulsions and have found that she is just a wonderful lady! She really "gets" me, is a wonderful listener, and has given me lots of positive encouragement when I really needed it. She is also super talented and creative!

Go check out her blog and become a follower! You won't regret it!

Thanks Jani, for the award, and for just being there for me!

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award.

The rules for the award are the following: 
1) Send a thank you to the person who nominated you and include their link.
2) To accept this award, answer 7 random facts about yourself.
3) Pass the award on to at least 8 other awesome blog buddies.

I'm not really good with randomness, so I'll just spout off the first 7 things I can think of.

1. I got married when I was 19 and have been with my husband for almost 10 years!
2. I don't like to sleep, or go pee. They both seem like a huge waste of time and I postpone both as long as possible. (TMI! Lol!)
3. I have a ton of freckles. On my face, my shoulders and arms, even my knees.
4. I do not have a college degree, and it is one of my biggest regrets in life. Although, it's never too late to fix it! :-)
5. I am extremely shy. To the point of being borderline anti-social.
6.I love to play logic games and puzzles. Think crossword and sudoku on crack. Wanna try some? Go here: http://www.conceptispuzzles.com
7. This "random" list about me took me 2 hours to comprise! So much for just spouting off things lol! And that's how I get out of coming up with a 7th thing! Haha!

And here's some fun blogs with super talented ladies I am nominating and you should go check out!!

Kasi from 19 Eighty Expressions

Ruthie from September Ninth

Jessica from Jessica's Crop Corner

Jenni from Jenni Price Illustration

Jennifer from Jennifer Katy Designs

Kristin from Paper Creations by Kristin

Lisa from Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons

Shelley from Carley's Closet

And Don't Forget to go check out my new friend Jani's blog too!

Baby Shower Gift

So, many of you have heard me talking about SVG's right? And how I use my Cricut to cut these types of files instead of purchasing lots of Cricut Cartridges. I've even designed a few of my own SVG files. But there are a ton of shops online now that sell these SVG cutting files. One fun place is called SVG Cuts. They have some adorable files and cute 3-D projects. Like these 3-D letters! So if you start seeing an abundance of 3-D letters from me, here's where I got them!

For a Baby Shower Gift I made some 3-D letters in the baby's name to go with the pink/brown color scheme of the baby's room. Hope you like!

To package it all up nice and pretty I made a box for it with another svg file from SVG Cuts called Big Boutique Boxes.  I used my shredder to make some paper filler and had the kiddos help me crumple it all up! Lol!

Well thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think!

Oh, and don't forget to check back next Friday for my 1st Design Team Project for SVG Attic!! Plus, go check out my bio on their website! CLICK HERE!! It's all so very exciting!

EXCITING NEWS!

I'm on a Design Team!! YES! The super talented Jessica from Jessica's Crop Corner, and owner of SVG Attic, has chosen me, along with two other lovely ladies to be on her design team. We get to use her amazing SVG files to create projects to share with others!! I'm BEYOND thrilled! She has these super fun collections like:

Backyard BBQ

Give A Hoot

Cape Cod

Luau

Just Beachy

Little League

Those are just a few.....!!! There's lots more, so go check them out!!

And the two other talented ladies I'll be working with are:

Ruthie from September Ninth
and
Kasi from 19Eighty Expressions

Go visit their blogs and see the amazing work they do!! I'm so excited to be included in this Design Team and can't wait to start creating!!!

I'll be posting my Design Team projects on the 1st and 3rd Friday's of the month, so look forward to that!!!