Creating the "over the top" Valentine

Welcome to a snowy Wednesday in my part of the world.  The school cancellations started yesterday afternoon and there is a prediction for over a foot of snow so it seems like a good day to craft!  If you are visiting my blog for the first time, I hope you will find lots of interesting and helpful information.  At the top of the right column you can click to subscribe by email or follow this blog if you want to keep up with my projects and tutorials.  To see the steps for assembling this card, please visit the Everyday Cricut blog at THIS POST.

This fancy Valentine was made using a design on the Reminisce Accents cartridge.

I started with this frame element and realized that it would create an interesting pattern if I added another frame rotated 90 degrees and welded the two together.

I repeated the process of copying, pasting and rotating 90 degrees with the shadow layer and also with the shadow blackout layer.

Here is the location of the shadow blackout on the keypad.  Once you have chosen your size (in this case five inches) you should not change the value on the slider bar to be sure that the layers will fit properly.

 

I added a couple of squares to the mat to represent the card base and first layer.  These will not be cut with the Cricut - they are just in the file to help with the previews to visualize the colors.

When I did the color preview I realized that there needed to be better contrast to make the words "pop!" 

I added an extra ring at the top (this is from the George cartridge) and decided that the colors would work.

Answers to some more questions...

Karen (and others with new computers) - If you have Design Studio installed on an old computer and want to transfer it to a newer computer you should go ahead and download the trial version from the Cricut.com site.  There are step by step directions on how to do this at THIS POST on my blog, along with a video.  Do not install the version on the CD - it is out of date and won't work at all on a Windows 7 computer.  You can try to use the serial number (found on the CD envelope) to activate the software but you will most likely have to call Customer Service for help in transferring the program.    If you get through right away it will only take a few minutes to complete the process.

Here is the contact information - I would call rather than email as it can take a while to get an email response.

Cricut® support hours
	Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (MST)
	Cricut® support: 801-932-1144
	toll free service phone: 877-7CRICUT
	fax: 801-794-9001
	email: support@Cricut.com

KTbirdiegirl said...Wonderful projects! The recipient will certainly feel special! I had a thought, you could cut the letters L - O - V - E and adhere them to the individual candies and arrange them in the block fashion. I think I've seen postage stamps designed that way. TFS.
Kathryn

That's a great idea - I thought about adding initials to the candy bars for a special person but  I also like the twist on the famous painting and sculpture by Robert Indiana.

The bags I used for the candy holders are small ziplock bags from the craft store.  My bags were sized about 3 x 4 inches.  You can adapt the design of the topper to fit whatever bags you find - that is one of the beauties of working with the Design Studio or the Gypsy.

One more note - The Reminisce Accents cartridge is sold exclusively through independent Creative Memories consultants.  I am a consultant and, if you do not have a local consultant, I would be happy to help you.  Here is a LINK to the page on my personal website where you will find the Cricut cartridges (Reminisce Accents and Cheerful Seasons).  You can order from the website and have your items delivered directly to you anywhere in the US.

Here is a sneak peek at tomorrow's project - it is another sweet one...


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How to design a custom candy bag topper

Happy Tuesday - today it is 1-11-11!  This is the second day of my week as Guest Designer on the Everyday Cricut blog.  If you are visiting here for the first time, I hope you will find lots of interesting and helpful information.  At the top of the right column you can click to subscribe by email or follow this blog if you want to keep up with my projects and tutorials.

These sweet little treat bags are great for anyone to share for Valentine's Day.  I filled 3 x 4 inch plastic ziplock bags from the craft store and used Design Studio to create a custom topper to fit the bags.  To see all of the assembly steps, please go to THIS POST on the Everyday Cricut blog.

Today I will explain how I created this topper and how you can make your own from many of the designs available on your favorite Cricut cartridges.   You can click on any of the screen shots to enlarge them so you can see the details more clearly.

I started with a border element - this one is from the Reminisce Accents cartridge and I chose it because it has hearts!

I measured the bags and I knew that the topper needed to be three inches wide.  I checked with a piece of scrap paper to be sure that a three inch square would work to cover the top once the topper was folded.  Then I placed a square on the mat and sized it to 3 x 3 inches.

Next I added the shadow version of the border element to the mat.  I sized it at one inch.  You can see that it is not wide enough so I used the "handle" at the right center of the selection box to stretch it to fit the square.

 I made sure that the shape fit neatly in the square.  Then I copied and pasted it, rotated the pasted image 180 degrees and slid the image to the bottom of the square.

Next I pulled down the square and pulled up the  bottom of the square to line up nicely with the heart design.  I kept the two rows of hearts in position to keep the size of the final topper to about 3 x 3 inches before folding.

Once this was done there was an awkward spot in the design which would cut a very tiny area and had the potential to snag the blade.

I added a couple of filler rectangles and welded  the design to eliminate these tiny cuts.  Here you can see the preview of the base of the topper - only the dark lines will cut.  If the welds don't work out the way they should, remember to work from the inside out to build your design so the welds will work correctly.  You can create the design and then copy and paste the elements in the proper order on a new mat in the file.

Next I added the top layer of the row of hearts located at this key.

I adjusted the heart shapes to fit the bottom layer and previewed the design.

Then I set up a page to cut the topper and the layer at the same time.

You can use any border element with layers to make a similar design.  I will try to make a quick video to show this procedure for those of you who learn more easily from a video than a written tutorial.  It really is quick and easy to do and there are so many variations possible.

Please go to THIS POST on the Everyday Cricut Blog for the assembly directions.

If you have any questions about making the topper please be sure to leave a comment and I will try to answer your questions.  The candy bag toppers are a lot of fun to make and you can do all sorts of embellishing - I kept these very simple.

Here is another type of candy holder and you can find the directions and the file for these at THIS POST from last year.

Answers to a few more questions and comments from yesterday's posts...

You do not need the deep cut blade to cut vinyl or contact paper.  I cut the fuzzy contact paper with a regular blade.

We have a fabulous old style five and dime (5 & 10) in West Concord.  They have pretty much anything you need and if they don't have it in the store they will get it in a day or two.  I will try to find out more information about the contact paper I bought there so I can give better information for those of you who are looking to find some for your projects.

I think the contact paper I used might be meant to be applied to the bottom of bookends and vases to keep them from scratching table tops  - I was surprised that it is red since that sort of adhesive paper is usually green.

The "Conversation" Cuttlebug folder I used was part of a bundle of six folders I got last year from HSN - I checked and found it on the Cricut.com site HERE, Creative Express HERE, Custom Crops HERE, and many others.

I checked today and the Wedding cartridge is available on the Cricut.com site - here is a LINK to the page.  I also found it on the Oh My Crafts site HERE, Custom Crops HERE, Creative Express HERE, Hallmark Scrapbook HERE, and many others when I searched online.  I think it must be "discontinued" but not gone yet!

A "card guideline" is simply a rectangle sized at the size of your card that you can use to plan the sizing and placement of your design elements.  You can do this even if you only have the trial version of Design Studio and you will save a lot of time and paper.  I'll be posting a video in the next day or so which will take you through the process step by step. Be sure to check back to my blog to see when it is posted.  You can also subscribe or follow so you won't miss a post.


One more note - The Reminisce Accents cartridge is sold exclusively through independent Creative Memories consultants.  I am a consultant and, if you do not have a local consultant, I would be happy to help you.  Here is a LINK to the page on my personal website where you will find the Cricut cartridges (Reminisce Accents and Cheerful Seasons).  You can order from the website and have your items delivered directly to you anywhere in the US.

I had another sweet to share but it will have to wait until later in the week.  Thanks for stopping by today.

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Pink and Blue Snowflake card

This card is in rather untraditional colors for a holiday card.  I actually did not set out to make a card today - I just wanted to test cut a few more snowflake files so I could post them.  But one thing led to another and...

First, I test cut the snowflake design at the original large size.  I used some pale blue cardstock - the inexpensive kind that comes in value packs at the large craft stores.  This type of cardstock generally is on the thin side with a hard finish and it cuts easily in the Cricut.

I decided to adapt the cut and make it smaller so it could be used on a card.  Here are the two test cuts side by side.  This snowflake was designed with elements from the Reminisce Accents cartridge.

Then I started to get some ideas (always dangerous!) and began to make the plain test cut into something a bit fancier.  I got out some Versamark watermark ink in the "Frost" dazzle color and some sparkly embossing powder called "kaleidoscope."

 

I put the snowflake on some scrap paper and used the ink pad to generously cover the cardstock with ink.

Here you can see the inked up snowflake.

Then I put the snowflake in a plastic sandwich container and poured the embossing powder all over it.

I carefully tapped off the excess powder and checked to be sure the snowflake was evenly covered.

I applied heat with my embossing gun and watched the transformation from powdery and dull to smooth and shiny.  Whenever I do heat embossing it seems like magic to me!

The plain blue base color now has a wonderful iridescent and shimmery finish making a magical snowflake.  The heat gun tends to make the cardstock curl up a bit but it will flatten down easily.

I used my Creative Memories Precision Point Adhesive generously on the back to make sure the cut would adhere nicely to the embossed mat.  My original idea was to make an A2 card so I cut a mat layer from white cardstock at 4 x 5 1/4 inches and embossed it with the "Snow Dots" embossing folder.

I decided to make a 5 x 7 card instead and chose a pale pink card base from a pack of premade cards.  I cut a blue mat layer at 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches which left a space to add a sentiment below the matted snowflake.  I used some "Zing" glitter embossing powder in pink on the sentiment I stamped with a Martha Stewart holiday greeting set.

I didn't like the look of the mat layer ending abruptly above the sentiment so I added a thin white ribbon and adhered it to the back of the blue mat before assembling the card.

I tied a tiny piece of ribbon around the base ribbon and added a gem sticker in pink on the knot.

Here is the card flat on the table.  It is very hard to get a good photograph to show the effect of the embossed snowflake and the glittered sentiment but I hope you can imagine the sparkle.

Here is one more close view so you can see the iridescent effect on the snowflake and the embossed background.  This technique allows you to turn a plain piece of inexpensive cardstock into a specialty paper for a beautiful snowflake.

 

I used this same technique a couple of years ago for this card.  It is a great way to have a specialty cardstock effect for a very low cost - a little embossing powder goes a long way! If you'd like to see details about the pine cone card here is a LINK to the post from a couple of years ago.  The file for this card is also available at the post - it uses Joys of the Season and Graphically Speaking (two of my favorite older cartridges).

The file for this snowflake has both large and small versions on two different pages.  The small version is the size I used for this card.  You can adapt the snowflake to fit the size you need for your project.  I'd love to see what you make if you download the file.

Snowflake with points

I have some fun projects coming up using the ProMarkers and I also have been spending some "quality time" with Martha for a new series that I will tell you about next week.  Have a great weekend!

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