Paisley - a new cartridge

 (Fair warning - photo heavy enabling post ahead!)

I was very lucky today.  I went to one of the Michael's stores near me and was able to find several of the newest cartridges.  I had asked about them last week and they hadn't arrived yet so my fingers were crossed when I stopped in today.  A helpful employee looked in the back for me and found them so I got Paisley, Sweet Treats and Pagoda!

Since Pagoda is available to view in Design Studio, I am going to start by posting photos of the booklet for Paisley.  This is a cutesy "girly-girl" cartridge that I don't really "need" but it is so stinkin' cute - I had to have it!  This is a full cartridge and the creative features are as follows...

 

 

 

I bought this cartridge based on what I had seen of the cartridge sample on the Cricut.com site (here is a LINK).  I find it helpful to get a really good look at what is on a cartridge before I decide to get it (even though I didn't get to do that in this case since it hasn't been added to Design Studio yet).  I thought I would post photos of the handbook so you could see what is included in this cartridge. I actually haven't even had a chance to cut anything yet (but I will soon...).  I wanted to share these photos as soon as possible.  Please respect the time and effort I put into taking, editing and posting these photos by referring others to my blog to see the photos and not copying them - thank you.

Remember, you can click on any photo to see a larger view.

a cute snail and an adorable bumble bee

a dragon fly and a darling ladybug

a couple of elephants - one wearing shades!

two out of the three monkeys - the first one looks like a bell hop or an organ grinder monkey and the second has a lollipop

a girl monkey and a dachshund dog

another dachshund with a hula hoop and a frog queen or king

another frog (with a heart) and a sleepy turtle

two fancy mushrooms

and two more mushrooms (that's a lot of mushrooms!)

two of the ever-so-popular-right-now owls (I see owls everywhere these days and I actually bought some Christmas owl stamps today - had to use that 50% coupon!)

two dresses - the beginning of the "fashion" section of the cartridge

more fashion with a cute "retro" look

umbrella and rainboots - these will be perfect for a photo that I have of a prom on a rainy night (gowns and rainboots look cute together sometimes!)

flats, heels and....

sneakers!  a clutch purse and

two more fashionable bags.

sunglasses and lipstick

perfume and a blow dryer

a necklace and a cell phone

a "i-pod" and, finally, a paisley(!)

and two more paisleys - they all have decorative layers

here are some of my favorites (and one of the main reasons I wanted this cartridge) 

matryoshka - Russian nesting dolls - two here and

two more - I can't wait to try these in graduated sizes!

a saucy giraffe and a zebra driving a car(!)

finally, a unicorn and a sophisticated glamour cat!

If you look carefully at the "button" feature, you will see lots of useful shapes - strawberry, all sorts of flowers (and scallops), music notes, hearts and "XO," bows, single and double cherry, apple, tulip, butterflies, simple ladybug, star, bows, tiaras, lollipop and an actual button shape. There are also lots of welded words in a girlish handwriting look - they all have shadows and blackout versions for a nice layered look.

I really like the bold graphic look of these designs - they are perfect in bright colors.  If you have only boys (like me) you may not find this cartridge very useful for scrapbooking, but it certainly will make a lot of adorable cards.  I also think that the images would be well suited for vinyl wall decorations for a child's bedroom.  I'll tell you more about this cartridge once I have actually cut out some of the items.  I think this one will put a smile on your face!

(I am still catching up on email - I discovered that my new "system" for auto-filing email as it arrives actually buried a bunch of messages from a while ago - pure user error - so I apologize if you have been waiting for an answer from me.  I need to get my Thanksgiving post up on Cutting Above and then I will devote my time to finding and answering all of these misfiled emails - thanks for your patience!)

Cards made with A Child's Year

We had a lovely dinner out but I could hardly wait to get home and try some more carts from this cartridge. This one cartridge could keep a crafter busy for days or weeks!



Here is the baby carriage cut - look at the tiny blades of grass and the delicate trim on the carriage.



I cut the top layer in pink and the shadow in pale green.



This lovely mat is on the shift function of the card feature on the school cut. When cut at five inches it makes a perfectly proportioned layer for an A2 card.



My baby carriage cut was a little larger so I cut the mat again at six inches to suit the carriage.



Then I layered everything on a 5 x 7 card but decided to trim 1/2 inch from the card to make it 5 x 6 1/2. The proportions worked better this way but you can plan the cuts to suit your card size (and, once again, when this cartridge is added to Design Studio you will be able to be sure about the sizing). I will probably add some more details to this card and stamp a sentiment in the grass border - tomorrow...



I am fascinated by the cards and the layers for the cards - there are dozens of interesting shapes and cuts for both the cards and also for the tags. Here is the heart card from the Valentine's Day set of images.



This photo shows the other side of the Valentine paper - I had planned to use the polka dots but I liked this side better in the end.



A bit of serendipity - the cut was random and done with this side of the paper face down on the mat and I couldn't have planned a better placement. The point of the heart has the darker red pattern and glittered border and the little bird ends up in the perfect spot. The word "Love" is pre-welded on the cartridge and is cut at 1 inch.



I think the heart is meant to be affixed to the card base on both sides but I liked the effect of the loose top flap - you could add an extra message here.



Here is the final card with some white pen dots added in the scallops.



Finally, I couldn't resist cutting out a few Halloween images - here is one pumpkin...



Here are the two layers of the pumpkin tag.



They fit together perfectly and I like the expressions on the pumpkin faces!



Last photo for today - just look at the details on this witch - don't you love her shoes!

(If you are one of the feed subscribers who gets a morning email this is a very long one - three posts in one day! Here is a LINK to the first post with all of the cartridge handbook pages and overlays.)

A Child's Year - One of the Best Yet!

I feel like my birthday came early (it isn't until next week). This morning I received a copy of the new "A Child's Year" cartridge to preview for you and I can tell already that this is going to be one of my all time favorites. This is a full cartridge and it is absolutely packed with great images, cards, tags, wonderful icons and even a full upper and lower case font - WOW!!!



The creative features include Monogram - capital letters in scalloped ovals or balloons,



Icon - so many great images and lots of nice realistic ones for those who don't care for some of the "cute" images on other cartridges,



a Card feature with folding cards and flat note cards,



Tags with some interesting layering options,



a full font which is very classic and useful - on first glance it reminds me of a cross between Alphalicious and Doodletype



and finally, a shadow feature for all of the intricate, Scherenschnitte style images on the main keypad.

I am so eager to start cutting - this cartridge is not in Design Studio yet but will be added soon (I believe they are working on adding the keywords). I resisted the temptation to go play right away so I could take photos to share with you - next I will be off to try some cuts which I will try to post later today.

This type of cartridge has so much to offer even if you don't use Design Studio - let me show you what it includes....(remember you can click on any photo to see it in a large size)



Birthday images with yet another cupcake option - the child in the high chair is adorable!



Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day - the shamrock and hearts are wonderful!



Two sets of Easter images - I love the little chick and the bunny in the tag.



Children with umbrellas - I remember someone was recently asking for a "Morton Salt" image - this would work very well. Next there are three pages of garden images - the border in the shift of the Icon looks great and I really like the girl pushing a wheelbarrow.



More garden images, a great watering can and potted plant and wonderfully detailed realistic leaves.



Outdoor - fishing images with a very nice fish on the Tag option and then some special "Mom" images. The roses and doves with a heart are beautiful.



"Dad" images with baseball, bat and cap and yummy ice cream - cones and a sundae!



Three pages of beach images - cute beach balls and beach umbrella vignette.



The third page of beach images and 4th of July (this was the image that is on the Products page on Cricut.com) The little go-cart looks fantastic - so much detail...



More 4th of July - watermelon and crossed flags and some very nice reading images and book icons.



Some school images, including a cap and diploma and a lovely realistic apple with detailed leaves.



Music images - take a look at that violin and the grand piano - I know I will be using these! The shaped card on that page looks very nice as well. The "craft" images include some nice scissors, the heart in hand motif (common in quilting) and a sweet girl at an easel.



Two sets of Halloween images - great pumpkins and costumed children.



Thanksgiving "Pilgrims" with a detailed turkey and some wonderful winter images - the snowman is very charming and the snowflakes icons are lovely and different.



Two sets of Christmas images - the holly icon is very stylish for a card and the steaming cup of tea and the teacup card can be used throughout the year.



Pages of images with animals including a duck and a very detailed beetle (almost scary!) along with some lovely bird images.



More birds and some cats! (I know many people have been wishing for more cat images).



The dogs are not forgotten and there is a cute folding tag of a bone



Some sets of girls playing old fashioned games and a very cute hand card.



A few cooking images and a rolling pin, wooden spoon and mixing bowl - also some more teacup and teapot images including a nice aperture card and tag.



Baby doll and airplane images - some "captain's" wings and a suitcase - also some nice word art.



Two sets of toy images - the tricycle and little wagon are very detailed - also a great card with a scalloped front.



"Dress up" images - a lucky horseshoe and stick pony and a cute princess dress and crown.



Just look at those teddy bears - they are great! and the bubble bath images are also sweet...



Time for bed - a lovely card and tag, another cat and the "tooth fairy" with a tooth and tooth brush - the little girls with fairy wings are precious.

The designer of this cartridge is Sharyn Sowell and I have to say I think she is amazingly talented and has given us some wonderful new images. I like the fact that many of them are very realistic so they can be used for all sorts of things and are not limited to "Kids" projects and pages. This was a cartridge that I have been interested in ever since I heard about it from the reports from CHA last winter and it not only lives up to but far exceeds my expectations.

(Thanks to Cathy from the Cricut Message Board I am adding a LINK to Sharyn Sowell's website - truly incredible work!)

I am going to go do some trial cuts and will post them as soon as I can - I am sorry to be such an "enabler" but I think that once you look at these images this cartridge will end up on a lot of "wish lists" because it is so classy and versatile.

I'd like to say thanks again to Provo Craft for the honor of being asked to review this cartridge.