All I want for Christmas

Happy Christmas Eve Everyone...
Well, you all know how much I love my Cricut!!I have one in Grey..I've seen one in Pinkand one in White & Blueand one in Blueone in Redone in Blackand one in Green...
But Santa, if you are listening.. I would'nt mind this please..

That's right a GOLD Cricut, I have been a good lad this year! Honest!!...Whatever you are doing over the festive period. I hope you enjoy it and get the time to spend with your families. I for one am looking forward to spending time with mine.. A chance to recharge the batteries ready for next years crafting..
Have fun everyone, and MERRY CHRISTMAS from everyone at Pinnacle Crafts..

Thanks for checking us out..
Pinnacles..

Holidays are coming!!

Hi Everyone, well Christmas week is finally here.. And am I prepared?? Erm... Nearly! Sunday Night was Pinnacle Crafts Christmas Party.. After a treacherous walk in the Ice and Snow and a couple falls on the way we made it to the restaurant for 8 O'clock and partied the night away.. A great meal, great company and a great time was had by all with the Pinnacles HARD CORE finally calling it a night at around 5am!! Work hard, play hard I say!!I can't believe after making hundreds and hundreds of cards this year for the shop, lessons, blog, magazines etc I still have not made some for my nearest and dearest friends and family.. So before the meal on Sunday I managed to get my closest friends cards finished and out of the way.. I'm not sure if I work better with a deadline, but at this late stage you have to just go with what time you have!I cut out a circle frame from Plantin SchoolBook using the Roly Poly function this was cut at 4 1/2". I also cut from Blue Mirror card a selection of 1 3/4" leaves using the Speaking of Fall cartridge. For all of my cards I cut out around 500 leaves! Well I say "I"! The machine did it in no time at all!!Once cut, I applied each leaf to the cut out circle using Pinflair glue. Initially I applied the glue to each leaf, but this was taking far too long! so I just ran the glue around a section of the circle and applied the leaves. This took a fraction of the time.Once I had done 1 layer I went round with a second layer of leaves to make the wreath look a bit fuller.Once the project was dry I attached it to some White card stock using foam pads. A simple bow and Peel Off sentiment finished the projects off.Although my theme was Blue, one of my friends just loves purple, so I did a special one just for her...They really do look quite effective don't you think?One of the ideas I had that didn't/Hasn't quite made it onto a card yet is following the same theme, So for those who do not have a Cricut machine you can still achieve a similar result.I took a sheet of glossy White card stock and randomly applied some Alcohol Inks in some festive colours.. Water Melon, Pesto, Oregano, Meadow and my favourite "Lettuce"!!I punched out several leaf shapes using my leaf punchand applied them in the same way as before..Finishing off with a little bit of glitter in the centre.
As I said this has not made it onto a card as yet, but just playing around thought it would make an ideal stand for our candles on our Christmas table..My last card is for an Italian friend of mine. I used my Winter Woodland cartridge to cut out the the letters to spell Buon Natale (which I believe is Italian for Merry Christmas!).I used Red and Green Mirror card and White glossy card to form the Italian flag.I also cut out the letters in Black Mirror card using the shadow function which when put together with the coloured letters gave the them a more 3 dimensional look..A few punched snowflakes and job done..
Now all I have to do is get my immediate families cards done and I'm already for Christmas.. Hope you are too??

Thanks for checking us out..
See you soon
Pinnacles..

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

OK, same title as my last post... But this time it really has snowed!!Apologies for not posting recently. As, I'm sure like the rest of you, I have been dashing here and there getting ready for the festive season.. So as I am almost prepared for the big day I did take some time to make some projects for some wonderful people who share my passion for my Cricut, well not my Cricut their own Cricut's.. Oh you know what I mean!!
Anyhoo, searching the world of blogland for a little piece of inspiration, I came across this wonderful blog.. Hop on over and take a look..So with inspo abound I set about making my own version..
I cut out a 6" Snowman image from Snow Friends (this is a limited edition cartridge and won't be around for long!) in Green non shedding Glitter card. I know a Green Snowman! but this is a Cricut card and Cricut calls for Green.. (just humour me..).
A few years a go I purchased the Store Front cartridge at a bargain price, and yes I have used it quite a lot as it has all things Cuttlebug and Cricut on it.. I saw it recently for an absolute fortune so I was glad I got it when I did.. So as it has the Cricut images on it I cut out the Cricut characters head image at 3 1/2" again on Green Glitter card.The eyes were cut from White glossy card stock, one at 1 1/4" and the other at 1". The little dot for the pupil was just the waste from the original head cut.Using the next button on the Snow Friends Cartridge I cut out the Scarf and Gloves and stuck them to the Snowman image with Pinflair Glue.Then over layed the head image onto the top of the Snowman.The process for each of the images was the same, I just changed the colour of the Scarf and Gloves..Taking a piece of 6 3/4" paper and my trusty Punch Around the Page punch I added a snowy border to the paper.First cutting the corners
and then connecting the border to go all around the page.. And look at all the wonderfall waste which can be used for other projects!!If you haven't used these before, give them a go. Simple instructions are in the box they come in and add a great feature to an otherwise boring edge!!
I cut a simple Merry Christmas sentiment from Lyrical Letters at 2 1/2" and put the cards together..In PinkIn Blue
In CopperIn Gold.
I hope you like the cards and the concept behind them and a great big Thank You to Terry for the inspiration..

Thanks for checking us out
See you soon
Pinnacles.....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Hi Everyone, OK well we may not have the real thing! good thing too considering the chaos we had earlier this year when it did snow.. But today we bring you the next best thing!!
It's rare that any of our projects over lap, but today you have the combined efforts of both myself and Joanne in this project.. To be honest more Joanne than me...She had prepared this amazing Snowflake for her Parchment lesson on Saturday and I wanted to show it off to it's best.. If you remember back to her last piece of work, the background card I used to take to photograph really enhanced all the work Joanne had put into the lantern..
I'd been playing with a few pieces of card and eventually found the right piece and then let my Cricut machine work it's magic!!I cut out a Background image at 8" from the Storybook Cartridge (Frame Accent, Shift & #7).. I've used this cut before and love it.I then cut out a square, again at 8" and put the 2 pieces together.Now, Joanne had made her Snowflake in both White & Blue Parchment and simply laying them on top of each other and then onto the cut out card stock produced what I consider to be one amazing snowflake scene, it even makes me feel cold looking at it!! Here are a few close ups so you can see all of the detailed work that has gone into this project..

I know she loves doing her Parchment work and I hope you enjoy viewing them, or if it has inspired you to perhaps give it a go? Joanne holds lessons in this amazing technique.. So if you are planning on starting a new hobby in the New Year take a look at our lessons and see what we have got planned for you in 2010.
Thanks for checking us out

See you soon.
Pinnacles..

Blog Candy Winner..

Hi Everyone, I'm sorry but no project to share with you today.. I've just had one of the busiest weekends of my life and have had no time at all to be creative.. I promise to share something with you all soon though...
I did however remember that it is the 1st of the Month... Yay only 24 days til Chrimbo... So as it is the 1st that can only mean one thing.. Yep Blog Candy...And the winner chosen at random is.... Lucy Titford.. Well done Lucy.. Now I know you are sunning yourself in Florida at the moment so when you come back we'll have your goodies waiting for you in the shop.. Enjoy!!

Thanks for checking us out..
See you soon
Pinnacles..

Now don't be Koi!!

Hi Everyone.. Phew!! what a week so far.. The lead up to Pinnacle Crafts Club Members Weekend is always a little bit frantic.. Getting the shop stocked, orders marked off and everything ship shape for a smooth discount weekend.. Well it's almost here, in fact the last one of the year! So if you are coming along we all look forward to seeing you.. That said, amongst the general running of the shop, teaching, serving, orders etc I have still found a "brief" moment to craft!!
I think I'm all Christmas'd out for the time being. So I fancied ringing the changes a bit for this project.. So out came my trusty Cricut.
I cut 3 Koi images at 3" from the Pagoda Cartridge using some great new patterned mirror card we have in stock. I then cut out corresponding images on plain mirror card using the Blackout function.and then layered the pieces together.I then cut out a 7" Square from Winter Woodland Cartridge, I used the Centre Point function to cut out an inner Square at 5" which left me with the frame I wanted.. The idea being to make a pond for the Koi..
I wanted to make the edge of the pond a bit more interesting, so I embossed around the frame using the Glitter Girls Elegance and Fantasy Embossing Board.To add the element of water I randomly applied Pool & Stream Alcohol Inks to a piece of Acetate.I also cut a piece of heavy glittered card stock to size, this I will use as the base to the pond!
Now I have all of my elements for the card I'm ready to rock and roll and assemble it.I added a strip of double sided foam tape to the under side of the embossed piece of card stock and a double layer of foam tape to the Acetate, this was to give a bit more dimension to the finished card.
Position the Koi images onto the Glitter card stock and the mount the Acetate and frame on top of each other.. How good does this look??
I would have been happy to leave it there and use it potentially as a picture, but in the end decided to mount it onto a card. Keep it simple I thought! But a simple card was exactly that.. too simple.. It just needed a little something..
So with my trusty new corner punch I punched the Two outer corners with the wings of the punch open..
Did you know that you can punch the corners of the card next to the spine without punching all the way through both sides of the card??! Well here's how...
Open just one of the wings and buff it to the edge of your card. Halfway down the side of the punch is a little notch. Line this up with the spine of the card and punch.. Hey! it just cuts on one side of the card. Cool eh!!? Repeat this on the other corner...Simple, but effective..
I also added a few Lilly pads, which were cut from the Pagoda Cartridge at 1" Real Dial Size, these were randomly applied to the picture which was then mounted onto the punched card... A little closer so you can hopefully see the full effect.. If not it's on display in the shop, so if you are in for the massive 30% Club Members Discount over the weekend you can see it for real...

Thanks for checking us out..
See you soon
Pinnacles......

It's been a long time coming..

...but they have finally arrived! The Punch Around the Page sets are here....
I have been waiting for ages to get my hands on these, so as soon as they were in I got to playing with them..At the moment we have three sets available..Snowfall..Rings...and Scallop 3 Dots..These punch sets are unique in the fact that they allow you to punch all the way around a piece of card stock, using specific measurements.. Don't worry! they are simple measurements and all the instructions are in the box...
For my sample cards I cut out 2 5" circles from my Cricut machine, but any other tool that allows you to cut 5" circles is fine.
Now, you may remember back a few weeks ago the Butterfly card I did?! The method for this card is basically the same..Take a waste piece of card and cut in a circle at 5". Fold in half and the fold in half again. Where the 2 folds cross will locate the centre of the circle.lay this piece of card over your patterned card stock and mark the centre.
Then dissect the piece of card into 8 equal sections using a Ruler and Pencil passing through this centre point.Take your corner punch "with the wings closed" and line up the notch at the front of the punch with one of the pencil lines.Guide the punch to the corresponding horizontal pencil lines and punch through the card stock.Repeat this all the way around the circle on both pieces of patterned card stock.
The centre will pop out and you are also left with a cool negative piece to use.
Apply glue to the second Frong in from the right, all the way around your image and adhere it to the negative image.With the second negative image, apply foam pads to the back and position on top of the Snowflake image rotating it slightly.I then cut a piece of light Blue Mirror card ( sorry, I know it looks Green!) 5" x 5"
and cut the corners with the corner punch, notice the wings are now open.
then line up your border punch and cut along the straight edges of the card, connecting the pre cut corners..Lay all of your cut images together to see the best way to put them together..
I then did the same process with a Gold piece of Mirror card this time cut at 6 3/4".It's all starting to come together now!
I mounted the Gold card onto some complementary Blue card stock,
then the Blue Mirror cardand finally my initial image...
There are lots of different combinations your could do with these punches, the difficult choice was really which one to go for, and there are more designs on their way... Good job Christmas, and Club Members Weekend is just around the corner don't you think?!!!

Anyway, I hope you like the samples and that they give you some idea of how these amazing punches work, but as I said FULL and SIMPLE instructions come in the box.. Also the punches can be used individually or together and are great value and excellent Christmas Gift ideas...

Thanks for checking us out...
See you soon
Pinnacles...