Pazzles Craft Room » Tricky Tuesdays (Tips)

Making Shaped Cards

Amanda — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:50:10 +0000

Often when I am talking to people on our designer chat or through email they are wanting to make a shaped card but don't know how. So I've had in mind for a while now to make a video on creating shaped cards. They are just so easy and so fun that I think even beginners will be able to master the few simple steps.

Pesky Title Problems

Christine — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:51:40 +0000

I love, love, love collecting fonts! In fact, I have so many fonts that I needed to take some of them off of my computer. :) Who wouldn't love to have a collection of fonts to choose from? Especially since we can use any True Type Font with our Inspiration cutter. I imagine most of you wanted to make words and titles almost from the moment you took your machine out of the box.

Ruffles and Pleats

Christine — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:12:07 +0000

I love ruffles and pleats. They can soften a project that is too stark and add class to something that is too simple. Usually, I use fabric ruffled ribbons to add to my projects. But pretty as the ruffled and pleated fabric trims are, they can be a costly addition to my design. Recently I decided to try my hand at making my own ruffled and pleated ribbon out of paper.

Paper Quilting

Christine — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:46:38 +0000

Are you like me? Do you hate to throw away even the smallest piece of paper? I just can't bear to toss those nice strips of paper left over from projects. They are too small to cut anything out of but still...they might be useful! Of course, I can use them as borders and under edges of frames but I seem to manage to accumulate more than I can use. In today's Tricky Tuesday I am going to show you how a quilt project inspired me to find a way to use those strips of paper.

Cake Bon Bons in Fancy Cups

Christine — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:06:21 +0000

I love making these sweet bon bon treats from cake. You may know them by another name: cake pops or cake truffles. They are absolutely divine tasting and can be made in so many different flavors. Use your Pazzles Pastry Tool to cut fun topper designs from fondant or sugar sheets. You can cut 2 or 3 dozen toppers at one time so you have spectacular results very quickly. I have made them so often that I have come up with a few tricks to make the job easier and faster.

Ruffled Christmas Trees

Christine — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:33:54 +0000

Christmas is less than a week away. The kids are out of school and if you are a mom, you are trying to find ways to contain their enthusiasm! I used to love to make Christmas crafts with my children. Few of them have survived the years but the memories live on. This week's Tricky Tuesday is a fun ruffled Christmas tree that the kids can help make.

Paper Bows

Christine — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:04:23 +0000

Wrapping a gift in beautiful paper and bows is half the fun of gift giving. Every year I pick just the right wrapping paper to fit my theme. Well, at least that is the theory. I like to have a different wrapping paper for each of the grandkids but now that there are 11 of them it is impossible. Now I have a different paper for each family, that way it is less confusing when it comes to passing the gifts out on Christmas Day.

Frosty Window Card

Christine — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:01:51 +0000

Have you ever walked by a home on a frosty evening and caught a glimpse through the window? The Christmas tree sparkles with lights; maybe there are candles on the sill and a wreath hanging in the window. This simple card evokes that same cozy feeling for me.

Christmas is the season of giving and for those of us who craft, our thoughts often turn to making cards. What better way to express our personality and individuality than in a custom made Christmas card. The truth be known, for many of us, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without handmade cards.

Don’t Take Your Blade for Granted

Christine — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:32:12 +0000

We are all guilty of taking our cutting blade for granted, especially if we have been using our Inspiration or other Creative Cutter for very long. After all it is just a little, tiny piece of metal that barely sticks out of the blade holder. We are more likely to focus on our cutting mat and ignore the blade. In fact, we often blame the mat or cutter for problems when we should be paying more attention to the blade. Give the blade a little TLC and it will be the Super Hero of your projects. Today, I want to draw your attention to some lesser know facts about that unsung hero- your cutting blade.

How do I outline? Let me count the ways.

Christine — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:22:20 +0000

I hope you won't mind if I take a look back at some of our earlier tutorials. I want to remember that every day we have new Craft Room members joining us that are very new to the Inspiration Studio software. How well I remember wanting to conquer every skill there was to know. There is a lot to learn, but the effort is well worth it. So, if you are new to the Inspiration, welcome! I hope today's lesson will help you understand outlining text. If you have had your Inspiration for a while, I think you will also find the new Outlining Guide useful. Even I forget whether the text needs to be broken first or if I need to use the Contour function.