Thinking of You Card

When the Cricut Lite cartridges first came out I knew that my favorite one would be Lacy Labels.  The layered shapes and lovely embellishments and sentiments are useful for so many occasions.  There are four layers for the images and with a little Design Studio or Gypsy manipulation you can make great shaped cards.

Lots of shiny layers and a glittery sentiment make this a special card for a special person.  The light and dark colors can be changed around to vary the look of the card.

Gem stickers in various sizes and colors add sparkle.

I'll share the details about how to make this card in a day or two.  If you look back to some of my older posts using Lacy Labels you can probably figure it out for yourself!

A note about yesterday's full page design...Michelle was correct with her comment about the starry background - it is from the Tinkerbell cartridge, and Cathy had the answer for the green frame - it is a stretched "top note" shape from Accent Essentials.  Thanks for commenting.

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Circle into Oval - Another Lacy Labels Shaped Card

This is another shaped card made from the Lacy Labels cartridge.  If you missed the first one I posted, you can find it HERE.  I did more adjusting of the original image in this case.  The image started as a circle but I turned it into an oval to make a card that would fit in a typical A2 card (invitation) envelope.

The cuts I used are from this key.  For the base, I used the shadow layer with "Real Size" on to get a shape 5 1//2 inches tall and then adjusted it with the handles to fit an A2 size.  I added the rest of the layers and adjusted them to fit the base, once again using the handles on the shapes.

Here is a screen shot of the mat with the items all set up to cut.  The weld of the card is rather small and it will not stand straight up by itself due to the depth of the center scallop.  The weld is created by a third smaller version of the image welded to the two sides.  The connection is small but it does seem to be sufficient.

It is so convenient to set up all of the papers to cut at one time.  I used paper from the "Madeline" stack by SEI for this card.  The silver metallic is from an American Crafts package and the card base is a Martha Stewart cardstock.

For most shaped cards in the A2 size you can easily arrange all of the cuts on one 12 x 12 mat.

Here are all of the pieces of the card.  The "hello" is very delicate but it cut cleanly.

The "hello" is actually from another label set but it worked nicely for my project.  I adjusted it to the proper size to fit a small space on the card using the "handles" - the handles make it very fast and easy to adapt the pieces.

I planned the placement of the first layer cut to make sure that the large flower would be centered in the frame.

I cut another layer from white cardstock to create an inner liner for the card.  The cardstock is not terribly dark but the white liner is nice to make the message written inside easy to read.

When I added the frame to the card, I used small foam squares to raise it from the floral layer.

This card was very difficult to photograph to show the shiny details.  I added sticky gems to the flourishes on each side of the frame layer.  The shimmer of the frame paper and the accents are lovely in real life.

I may try making this card again in colors with greater contrast.  It would have an entirely different look.

There are many more shapes on the Lacy Labels cartridge just waiting to be made into shaped cards - I hope you have fun exploring the possibilities if you have this cartridge.

Oval Hello Card


A Few More Things...

This week you will find lots of Christmas inspiration at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot.  I designed the sketch for the card challenge and I can't wait to see what all of the other designers made with the sketch.




If you are not yet a member of Lettering Delights, consider joining today - there is a new set of freebie images for all members and there is a sale on for buy $10 get $10 free.  The code you need for this discount is "SpendTen."  I am a Lettering Delights affiliate.  Please click on the image above or in my left side bar to visit the site and sign up if you are not already a member.  I will receive credit for the referral.

This image shows the freebies set you will receive in addition to the usual freebies for joining the site and subscribing to the newsletter.  There are lots of nice images and papers in the set.


If you purchased the StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software from my site during the sale last month you should have an email from me about the first few online question and answer sessions.

I hope you had a great weekend - I took some time away from my computer and made a day trip with some friends.  It was a lot of fun but very tiring in the heat that we have been having!


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Shaped Card from Lacy Labels

The new Cricut Lite Lacy Labels cartridge is great for making shaped cards.  I simply welded the shadow layers together and then used the decorative layers for the front of the card.

Here is the label that I used for the card.  It is the shift which creates the bottom layer on the label.  You need to check "real size" to get an accurate 5 1/2 inch size for an A2 card.

If you set the slider bar at 5 1/2 inches the base will actually be 5.782 inches.  The sizing appears to be based on the first layer of the labels.

After the shape is added to the mat at 5.5 inches you need to change the width to 4.25 inches.  Then copy, paste and flip a second image and slide it over into position to form the card.

In order to make the card shape perfect so the layers will work nicely you should place the shapes at 1.75 and 6.00 on the X axis and then add a third shape to create the weld at the seam.  Be sure that weld is checked on all three shapes.

The sentiment is from the Wild Card cartridge but you can substitute a sentiment from another cartridge if you do not have Wild Card (however, this cartridge has been spotted on clearance at Walmart lately for $23 and it is well worth it!).  Remember, the sizing of the sentiments on this cartridge is based on the size of the card so a setting of 5 1/2 inches actually produces a cut about 2 1/2 inches high - you can use the handles to get the size and shape exactly as you like for your card.

I also added an extra page with the sentiment partially off the mat so I could cut an extra bird to layer on the sentiment.

The other layers of the label must be adjusted to fit the altered card shape.  Simply use the "handles" to make width and height adjustments.  Here you can see the mat with all of the cuts for the card set up to cut at the same time.

The papers are cut to fit in the areas for each part of the design.  This is a very efficient way to  create cards.

Here are all of the pieces.  I cut the greeting a second time so I could trim off the little bird in the same pink glitter cardstock as the flower.

Here is the scored and folded card base.  I left the little dip to make it easy to see the score line and to add a bit of interest at the fold.

The patterned paper I used for the first layer is from K & Company.

The frame layer is cut in Core'dinations gemstone cardstock.  I used the Creative Memories Precision Point Adhesive pen on the back.

Here is the card with the frame layer added.

The words, flower and bird are all cut in DCWV glitter cardstock.  I use multicut (2 times) to get a clean cut in the glitter cardstock.

I added this pretty sequin flower from Creative Charms on top of the flower cut on the frame. 

These sequin flowers are one of my favorite items from Creative Charms.  Here is a LINK to the page on their site where you can find the flowers.  They are available in a variety of colors and are currently on sale for 99 cents for a set of six in two sizes - a great deal!

I decided the card needed just a bit more bling so I added some gradient gem stickers in two sizes.

Many of the labels on this cartridge will work as shaped cards.  They are fun to make and just a bit more interesting than putting the label on a plain card.

If you would like to use my file for making this card you can download it at this link.  I'd love to see how your card turns out if you make one.

Shaped Card


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Lacy Labels and more...

Of all of the Cricut Lite cartridges that just came out last month, Lacy Labels has to be my hands down, slam dunk favorite.  I can see myself using every single image on this cartridge over and over again.  It is perfect for cardmaking but will also work for mini-albums and scrapbook pages.  A couple of weeks ago, one of my online blog friends called me from Walmart for some advice about which cartridges to buy and I told her this was one that should be at the top of everyone's list but that I was waiting a bit to buy it since I just spent a significant chunk of money to join the Cricut Circle.

A few days later, a package arrived with this great cartridge - I could hardly believe it!  Marilyn Mae - you are such a sweetie - thank you so much!  I am working on putting together an appropriate "thank you" package to send you.  I have only had a chance to try a few cuts and they are just as great as they looked in Design Studio.

The layers are intricate but cut very cleanly and by choosing some lovely Core'dinations gemstone cardstock and adding just a few pearls or gems from Creative Charms I made these two samples.  For the image at the top of the page, I took my photo into the Creative Memories StoryBook program and created my own embellishments from the photos.  The background paper for the image at the top of this post is from the "Inch by Inch Collection" by Lettering Delights. 

I also used the "Inch by Inch" collection to make this quick digital page in my StoryBook software.  This is one of the sets I just got in the super secret 60% off sale that ends at midnight (MDT) on July 9th. It was originally $18 and on sale as a collection for $9.  After the discount code was applied, I got the set of six papers, two full alphabets with numbers and punctuation and 30 graphic embellishments for just $3.60!

If you'd like to take advantage of this sale, you can support my blog by clicking on the box above or in my left side bar to take you to the Lettering Delights site.  I will get credit for the referral.  The code to use is "Firecracker" and you can use it as many times as you like between now and midnight (MDT) July 9th to take 60% off your total order of any size.

I have to confess that I made a blunder yesterday.  I wanted to adjust the Flights of Fancy file for George to fit the opening in his tray better.  He told me the opening was 10 inches and, without thinking it through, I quickly chose 8 inches as the size needed (thinking of a 1 inch border all around a ten inch square).

I was tired (I tend to finally sit down and write my blog or finish designs late at night) and so I didn't follow my usual procedure of making a template or guideline to check the size and placement of a design.  If you have taken classes with me, you know that this is something I always emphasize!

I did warn George to cut the file in "ugly" paper so he could check it before using the expensive metallic paper he was thinking of for the final design.  He let me know that the cut was just a bit too big.  The light bulb went off - I needed my square shape to fit in a round hole - oops!

The diagonal of an eight inch square is actually a bit larger than the diameter of a ten inch circle.  If you click on the image above you can see that a 10 inch circle cuts off two corners of the design when it is sized at eight inches.

 

By placing a shape on the mat to use as a guideline you can visualize the final effect and adjust your design to suit.  I ended up with a seven inch square design that I will send to George as my take of the best option for his project. There is a lot of truth in the expression "haste makes waste" - at the very least haste makes it likely you will make a mistake!

Last, but not least, today is my friend Nancy's birthday.  She is a Red Sox fan and last month when we were at the game I saw the scoreboard message and snapped this photo for her!
Happy Birthday Nancy!

I had to renew my driver's license today - just in the nick of time before my birthday (in Massachusetts your license expires on your birthday - I am not sure about other states).  There is a requirement that you go in person every other time so they can get a new photo.  I checked online and went to an office about half an hour away to try to avoid lines but it still took a big chunk of my day.  I did stop in the Marshall's across the plaza and found a few scrapbooking bargains which made the trip a little less dull!  I'll show you what I found soon.

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