Back to the Basics with Cricut Design Space™—Attach v. Slice

Close To My Heartattach, cardmaking, cricut, Design Space, how-to, Llama, Slice, tutorial Leave a comment

Hello, friends! This week, we’re going to take a closer look at the Attach tool in Cricut Design Space™ and how it relates to other tools on the app. This feature is a fairly basic one, but once you get comfortable with it, you’ll be able to increase your creative possibilities ten-fold! We’ve covered certain aspects of Attach in a previous post, which showed many of the awesome features the Attach tool has to offer. In this post, we will focus more on Attach versus Slice. These tools have a lot of similarities and, while they’re both great, there are some differences between them; having this knowledge will help you decide which tool is right for you and your project.

In our example card above, we kept it simple by attaching a single elongated hexagon shape, pulled from the Cricut^® Artistry collection. This collection has a wide variety of options to lend a bit of polish to each project. Be sure to check it out to boost your creativity!

As you follow along with this post, please keep in mind that the steps below show you how to use Design Space on a laptop or a desktop computer. If you are using the Design Space app on a mobile device, the tools and buttons will be in slightly different places on your screen. Most of these basic features are available on any device.

Attach v. Slice

As we mentioned in our earlier post, the Attach tool not only allows you to cut text or shapes, but it allows you to position them yourself. To save space in each cut, Design Space may automatically shuffle your cuts to use as little paper as possible. This is commonly seen when using the Slice tool.

While this is a handy feature in some instances, there are going to be times where you’ll want to keep your cut aligned the same way you laid it out on your Design Space canvas. By using Attach, your cut won’t be altered or shuffled around on the paper.

Another great feature of the Attach tool is the single cut. When you use the Slice tool, it will often cut your shape multiple times. This not only uses up more paper, but it may also mess up your project with unnecessary cuts. There are some projects where you may want multiple cuts of the same shape, but for instances where only one cut is necessary, Attach is a much simpler way to get the single cut you want.

In these examples, you can see the single cut of the Attach tool in the photo on the top, and the multiple cuts made by using the Slice tool in the photo on the bottom.

Using Attach

Once you’re familiar with how Attach works and how it relates to other features in Design Space, you’re ready to start using it yourself. The Attach tool is located at the bottom of the Layers panel, next to the Slice and Weld tools.

To use this tool, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got all the shapes and other components of your project displayed on your Design Space canvas. It’s a lot easier to use Attach if you’ve already inserted all the shapes and text you want to use.

Once you have all your project pieces in place, you’ll need to group the pieces that you want to attach. You can do this by clicking, holding, and dragging your mouse over the pieces you want to group. You’ll see a grey box appear behind your cursor when you do so. The pieces you intend to group should be inside this box.

When you let the mouse go, right-click your mouse in the same spot and select the “Group” option from your right-click menu. To make sure that you’ve grouped your images, click on one of the images and try moving it around on your Design Space canvas. If the images you wanted to group move together, you’ve got your group!

Once your images are grouped, use the Attach tool to cut your shapes or text. You won’t be able to move the attached shape as long as it’s still attached and grouped, but it will still cut when you click “Make It.”

If you want to change the placement of your text or shape, or if you even want to scrap that part of your project and use a different shape instead, you can Detach your shape to be able to move or alter various parts of your project. To Detach your shapes, go back to the same place where you found the Attach button. It should say Detach if you have any shapes that are grouped and attached. By clicking this button, you will basically undo the Attach action.

Put It Together

Follow the steps below to recreate the adorable llama card we showed you today!

1) Search for image #M369896 and insert it on your Design Space canvas. Unlock and resize it to 4″ x 5.25″ (W x H).

Tip: All measurements in this post are W x H.

2) Search for image #M41340E from the [insert collection name here] and insert it on your canvas. Leaving the image locked, resize the height to 2.75″.

3) Ungroup shape #M41340E and hide the overlay cut, leaving the solid background.

4) Position shape #M4130E over your 4″ x 5.25″ rectangle and group the images together.

5) Select Attach from the tools at the bottom of the Layers panel and click “Make It” to cut your new card overlay.

6) Cut this card overlay out of Carolina stripe patterned paper from the Craft On Paper Packet.

7) Cut a 4″ x 1″ rectangle out of Bluebird cardstock and draw a border around the edges with a journaling pen.

8) Using the My Acrylix^® Wild & Punny Stamp + Thin Cuts set, stamp and cut a llama on White Daisy cardstock with Intense Black ink.

Tip: Whenever you are using watercolor pencils or a waterbrush over a stamped image or sentiment, make sure you allow the ink to dry fully.

9) Color your llama as shown with watercolor pencils and a small round waterbrush and set it to the side.

10) Carefully position the Carolina stripe card overlay over a plain White Daisy card base and attach it using an adhesive runner. Do the same with your prepared Bluebird cardstock rectangle, as shown.

11) Using the My Acrylix^® Wild & Punny stamp set, stamp “Llama just say you ROCK!” with Intense Black Ink in the center of the card overlay cutout. Paint a color swash over the sentiment and color in “ROCK” with watercolor pencils and a small round waterbrush.

12) Attach your llama to the card using thin 3-D foam tape, as shown.

13) Embellish with sequins and white ribbon.

Whether you’re making an awesome card or a gorgeous scrapbook layout, the Attach feature is a great way to tailor your project to your creative vision. What have you created using Attach? Do you have any tips you’d like to share? Leave a comment below to spread the word!

Recipe:

4¼” x 5½” Llama Just Say You Rock Card (Vertical)
Z4082 My Acrylix^® Wild & Punny Stamp + Thin Cuts, X7245B Craft On Paper Packet, X5987 Bluebird Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4196 White Ribbon, Z4059 Crafty Loose Sequins, Z4242 Watercolor Pencils, Z3224 Small Round Waterbrush, Z1979 Marvy^® Uchida^® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3298 Cricut^® Artistry Collection

Cricut^® Shapes
Artistry
2.75″ #M41340E
4″ x 5.25″ #M369896

Leave a comment

August 13, 2019Learn, Memory Keeping

10 Simple Composition Rules to Take Better Photos

Close To My Heartcamera, capturing, composition, Memory Keeping, photo, photography, picture, rules, scrapbooking 7 Comments

Do you want to be a better memory keeper but struggle with taking “good” photos? If your answer is yes, then today’s message is for you! Photography is both an art form and a skill. As a form of self-expression, sometimes we’re not quite sure how to express what we really want to—at least not in a pretty way. Luckily, the skill part of capturing a great photo can be taught! Today we are reviewing a few basic rules of photography composition so that you can capture all of those picture-perfect moments life throws your way in photos you will be proud to scrapbook!

1. The Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is a fairly standard rule most photographers try to follow. Imagine that your shot has a 3 x 3 grid over it, then line up the main focus of your photograph at one of the intersection points on the grid. In these photos, the photographer has applied the Rule of Thirds by placing the cat’s nose and the people’s heads in the right-middle square of this imaginary grid. This way, the main focus of the photo isn’t dead center in the middle of the shot, which helps to visually expand the space.

2. Leading Lines

When you line up your shot, you may want to look for a leading line. Leading lines are visual lines that lead to the main subject of an image. Leading lines can extend through your photo and create depth. In these examples, you can see how the photographer used the pathway and trail to direct attention from the edges of the photographs to their main subject.

3. Natural Framing

Framing doesn’t have to be something that happens only after your pictures have been developed or printed. Finding a natural frame and positioning your subject inside it is a great way to draw the shot together and add a more professional feel to your photography. Here, you can see how the woman’s hands and the wall provide a frame for the most important parts of the photos.

4. Perspective

Photography is largely about perspective. Slight changes in perspective can make or break a photo. If you aren’t happy with the way your photo is looking, try switching up your position to alter the perspective of the shot. Whether you shoot your photo from above or below, as you can see in these examples, switching up your angle to get a different perspective can help you take your photography to all new heights.

5. Exposure

Exposure is a vital part of any photograph. If a photo is over-exposed, everything will be washed out in bright light, making the subject nearly invisible. On the other hand, if a photo is under-exposed, everything in your shot will appear shadowy and dark. By finding a good balance, you can highlight your subject while preserving the beauty of your background. For this tip, we’ve provided an example of bad exposure with excess light to show you what you don’t want to happen. We’ve also provided a good example with a balance of light and shadow. Finding this balance may take some practice, but it’s definitely worth it to add greater polish to your photos.

6. Check Your Background!

From telephone poles, wires, and cars, to animals, and stealthy photobombers, nothing is more distracting than something you don’t want in the background of your photo. Since many cameras nowadays allow us to look back at our shots instantly, it’s easier than ever to deal with this, but it’s always a good idea to double and triple-check the background of each photo to make sure you haven’t accidentally captured a distraction.

7. Symmetry and Patterns

Most people have a thing for symmetry and patterns. Sometimes, we can’t quite put our finger on why we prefer certain photos to others, but chances are, symmetry and patterns (or the lack thereof) have something to do with it. Even if we aren’t aware of it consciously, we still notice. If you’re able to find a pattern or some beautiful symmetry in your shot, take advantage of it! In these shots, the photographer utilized the symmetry in the architecture of the cathedral and the natural pattern created by the flowering trees to appeal to that sub-conscious love of regularity we all share.

8. Foreground

When you have a clear subject in your photograph, it may seem counterintuitive to focus on anything but that subject in your photo. However, if you are able to create some interest in the foreground of your shot, you’ll be able to create the illusion of additional depth. In these examples, the cup of coffee and the look-out binoculars serve as additional interest points, which also create depth in both photos.

9. Triangles

This “rule” is related to the patterns and symmetry guideline. If you look closely, you can find triangles in nearly everything you see. If you can integrate triangles into the background, foreground, or leading lines of your photo, it will instantly enhance the quality of your photo. These triangles don’t necessarily need to be overt or obvious. Basically, you just need to be able to draw a triangle using points in the photograph. Whether the triangles are created by an architectural element or by people’s arms, they will add greatly to the aesthetic value of your photos.

10. Rules Are Made to Be Broken!

Once you have a good grasp of the first nine photography rules we just shared, you will be ready to explore your creativity and learn when and how to break them. If you want to achieve an effect that follows one rule while breaking another, go for it! Don’t be afraid to branch out and experiment on your own terms to find your niche.

Do you guys have any tricks or techniques that you’d like to share? Leave a comment below!

Leave a comment

August 6, 2019Create, Learn, Memory Keeping

Creating a Scrapbook Album in No Time Using the 3-2-1 Formula

Close To My Heart3-2-1, 321, 6 x 8, album, concept, Craft On, easy, Everyday Life, fast, how-to, howto, method, mini album, quick, scrapbooking technique, technique 16 Comments

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to scrapbook that stack of photos that you keep meaning to get to, then you’ve come to the right place! We are going to be making 10 6″ x 8″ two-page layouts using a super speedy scrapbooking technique known as the 3-2-1 Formula.

As the name implies, this is a formulaic project. That means that you will follow a simple formula to cut all of your patterned paper and then assemble your layouts. As you will see, you will continue to have a lot of creative freedom to add your own flair to each of your pages. No two albums will look the same, unless you make them that way intentionally.

Here’s what you’ll need:

5 sheets of patterned paper* (in a variety of coordinating patterns)
4 cardstock sheets* in coordinating colors (coordinate with your patterned paper)
10 White Daisy cardstock sheets*
Coordinating embellishments

*For those of you not familiar with Close To My Heart products, all of our cardstock and patterned papers come in a 12″ x 12″ format, and that is what we will be using to make this project.

Step 1: Creating Base Pages. The very first thing we cut are your base pages from the White Daisy cardstock. From 10 sheets, you should be able to get 20 6″ x 8″ pieces.

Step 2: Cutting Patterned Paper. Before measuring and cutting anything, trim all the zip strips from each of the patterned paper sheets. The zip strip is the extra ½” accent paper along the top of each Close To My Heart patterned paper sheet. Cut each of these in half and set them aside. Next, cut the remaining 12″ x 12″ paper in half, to 6″ x 12″. Here’s where the 3-2-1 comes into play. Cut these two half sheets of patterned paper into strips of 3″ x 6″, 2″ x 6″, and 1″ x 6″.

(Half of this example paper is showing what the pattern is on the back side of this sheet. Each one of our patterned papers has a double-sided coordinating design, for additional creative flexibility.)

Step 3: Creating Photo Mats from Cardstock. For a more polished look, we like to add photo mats behind most, if not all, of our photos. That is what we will be making with the 4 sheets of coordinating cardstock.

Cut each cardstock sheet into 6 6″ x 4″ rectangles. You should have a total of 24 when you are done. If you’d like to have a few 3″ x 4″ mats, simply cut these in half. Please note that the photos you will be mounting on these mats will have to be trimmed down a ¼” in both height and width to fit.

Step 4: Putting It All Together. You’re going to need a bit of space for this, so make sure to clear your table or a place on your living room rug or somewhere else you can keep your project safe. We are going to lay out all 20 White Daisy cardstock base pages. Next, let’s distribute the strips of patterned paper and cardstock mats. Each page should get one 4″ x 6″ photo mat, or two 3″ x 4″ mats, and one strip of each size, 3″, 2″, and 1″. If you’d like for the pages that will be facing each other in your album to match, keep that in mind as you distribute your papers. Lastly, decide how you want to attach these pieces to your pages and get to it! Move the components around until you are happy with your pages. Experiment with different arrangements and consider whether you want 3″ x 4″ or 4″ x 6″ photo mats on the layouts, or a combination of both.

Step 5: Embellish! Using coordinating embellishments add your finishing touches!

Here’s an album that we came up with using this method:

(Click on the individual images to enlarge.)

If you like our finished album and would like to recreate it using our same papers and embellishments, we’ve put together the Craft On Everyday Life™ Album Workshop Kit to help you do just that. If you don’t, that’s okay, too! The beauty of the 3-2-1 technique is that it can be applied using any coordinating papers you like!

Your pages and layouts can look very differently depending on how you choose to mix and match the various components on your pages. Have fun creating pages using the combinations that you love and that best suit your photos and memories!

Leave a comment

August 1, 2019Create, Learn, Memory Keeping

Making a Connected Story

Close To My Heartalbum, Connected Story, Extended Story, layer, Memory Keeping, scrapbooking, Stacy Julian, Story by Stacy, Storyteller, storytelling 3 Comments

Our most interesting and compelling stories often involve some kind of connection, where what we have experienced is compared and contrasted with another person, place, or time. This type of story is what our storytelling and memory keeping friend, Stacy Julian, calls a Connected Story.

When a grandmother’s love of theater manifests in her grandson’s ability to light up the stage or a young girl’s delight in animals stems from her grandpa’s life work as a veterinarian, you have the makings of a connected story.

Connected Stories don’t have to be about significant generational influence or interests steeped in tradition. The best stories stem from your own experience and celebrate simple things, like the love of watermelon, hiking, jigsaw puzzles or violin music. When we back up and look at the past through the lens of one particular thing, it will reveal unique aspects of our lives, things we certainly want to document in our scrapbooks!

Learn more about the Connected Story process from Stacy Julian herself as she shares one of her personal favorites, below:

When you’re scrapbooking, how often do you find yourself running out of room because you have more photos and words than easily fit in one or two 12″ × 12″ pages? In short, you have more story to tell!

Stacy scrapbooked her watermelon Connected Story in a stack of multiple styles and sizes of Memory Protectors™. The result invites us on a journey where details unfold as we turn each page of the story.

The idea is to design a multi-layer layout, starting with a 12″ × 12″ base, that coordinates visually so that you can document a bigger experience or theme. This takes a little bit of planning, but the great thing is that no two layouts of this sort have to be arranged the same. The number of layers and styles of protectors will depend on the story you have to tell.

For additional storytelling tools and examples of this kind, make sure to check out our Story by Stacy™ how-to book, Storyteller.

Remember, the most compelling stories come from your own experience of ordinary life—from the things with which you already have an emotional connection. When you recount something that’s happened to you, you’ll recall not just the events but also the feelings associated with them. Those feelings and sensory details color your stories and bring them to life so they can be experienced again and again—retold by the people you love and the people who will someday want to know you.

Leave a comment

July 23, 2019Create, Learn

Exploring Watercolor Techniques

Close To My Heartbrush, painting, paints, puddle, splatter, strokes, waterbrush, watercolor, watercolour 4 Comments

As you know, we love exploring new techniques here at Close To My Heart, but we also love expounding on old favorites. Recently, we’ve had a lot of fun playing around with various watercolor techniques, and we’re so excited to share a couple with you today! We asked a few of our artists to demonstrate some of their ideas in speedy video clips, so you can see them in action, too!

The first technique we’ll be looking at today is a splatter technique. This watercolor method allows you to add a little “controlled crazy” to your project. J

As you can see in the video, you’ll start by using a waterbrush to activate your watercolor paints by adding a drop or two of water. Once you’ve selected and activated all the colors you’d like to use, dip the waterbrush into your color of choice and swirl it around a bit, making sure to get a decent amount of paint onto the tip of your brush.

When you feel like the brush is sufficiently saturated, bring the brush over your page and lightly tap it against your index finger. This will send a series of splatters raining down onto the page to create a fun, haphazard feel.

For our next technique, we’ll be showing you how to create and replicate a soft color transfer.

To recreate this look, paint directly onto your All-purpose Mat with your waterbrush. The paint will probably stay in small droplets and won’t want to spread across the mat, but that’s just fine. When you’ve added all the colors to your mat that you’d like to use in the paint puddle, gently lay your card or page down over the paint.

When you lift it up, you should have achieved a color transfer that is both soft and seamless. If you’d like it to be blended out a little more, you can swirl your card or base page around in the paint, creating the look you see here.

The last technique we’re showcasing today is a combination of two different techniques. (Technique combinations help you to really personalize each project, so don’t ever be afraid to experiment!)

Tip: For pages like this one, it’s not a bad idea to use actual watercolor paper. When you paint over a large surface area, the paper will start to absorb the water and can curl or ripple, which distorts your project. Using watercolor paper is more resilient and shouldn’t ripple or curl as your paint.

For this page, we started by selecting various shades of blue from our watercolor palette. Then, we painted long strokes down the page with a waterbrush. Once we made a couple strokes with our first color, we moved on to our next shade of blue, creating a sort of stripe sequence down the page. By sticking with a single-color theme, it’s easier to achieve a nice blend as you move across the page, and you can avoid unintentional color combination.

Tip: If you’re unsure of how a color will look on the page, it’s a good idea to do a test stroke on a piece of scrap paper. This is especially helpful if you’re mixing two colors together.

Continue alternating between your various colors or shades until you’ve covered the width of your page. Then, you’ll revisit the splatter technique we showed you earlier on in this post. Select one or two of your favorite colors and splatter it across your page. This is another place to be aware of color combination, so we recommend choosing colors that you already used in your stripe sequence. For this example, we stuck with the tried and true blue.

If you want to shake things up even more, gently blend out some of the larger splatters on your page. You can even paint a few new strokes if you want to. It’s really all up to you!

We loved sharing a few of our favorite watercolor techniques with you today! What are some of your favorite ways to wow with watercolor? Let us know in the comments below!

Leave a comment

July 16, 2019Celebrate, Community, Create, Memory Keeping

A FREE Scrapbook Pattern for Your Convention Memories

Close To My Heartconvention, free, how-to, Make It From Your Heart, north america, pattern book, Scrapbook Pattern, Share the Joy 5 Comments

We just wrapped up our 2019 North American Convention in Provo, Utah, a few days ago and IT. WAS. A. BLAST! A BIG THANK YOU to all of you who participated and traveled from not just all across the U.S. but from all over the world (Canada, Australia, JAPAN!) to come and see us. What an invigorating opportunity it is for us to get together and feed off of each other’s energy! All of us at the Home Office were so happy to visit with you and get to know so many of you personally, too. We spent days crafting, business planning, building and strengthening relationships, and searching high and low for our sticky friends, Sticky Boy and Sticky Girl. (If you’re not familiar with the Sticky’s and their story, visit them on their Facebook page to join in on the fun!)

To get you going on scrapping all of your new stories and photos from this energizing event, we are sharing a fun, and FREE, downloadable scrapbook pattern, complete with cutting diagrams and all!

Some of you may remember this pattern from its original debut with our Aspen paper packet many years ago. As you can see, our patterns truly are timeless and can be used at any time and for any occasion with the right combination of papers, Complements, and a little ingenuity!

You’ll notice in our example artwork that we replaced pattern pieces B and C with a circle, the large photo on the right page with patterned papers and stamping, and that we included trimmed down die-cuts made using our Multi Circle Windows die (from the Share the Joy Thin Cuts Bundle that is currently on sale). Use the pattern exactly as shown or make a few minor alterations to make it more your own. Either way, you’re sure to have great results.

Now download the pattern below, and enjoy a little scrappin’ time! ❤

Download Pattern

For even more scrapbook patterns, check out our Make It from Your Heart™ collection. If you love the free scrapbook patterns we share on our blog, you’re sure to be blown away by all the patterns in our how-to books!

Recipe:

12″ x 12″ Convention 2014 Layout
C1725 My Acrylix^® Simply Said Stamp Set, D1842 My Acrylix^® Into the Wild—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, CC7192 Seaside Paper Packet, X7247B Into the Wild Paper Packet, X5988 Peach Cardstock, X6015 Pewter Cardstock, X6023 Sweet Leaf Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3637 Vellum Paper, X7247E Picture My Life™ Cards—Into the Wild, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2853 Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, CC61912 Share the Joy Thin Cuts Bundle, X7247C Into the Wild—Complements, Z4059 Loose Sequins—Crafty, Z4088 White Alphabet Foam Stickers, Z4242 Watercolor Pencils, Z2446 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Black Marker, Z1979 Marvy^® Uchida LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Die-cutting Machine

Leave a comment

July 9, 2019Celebrate, Create

Creating Memories by the Seaside

Close To My HeartBring Back My Pack, cardmaking, scrapbooking, Seaside, workshop 69 Comments

Just in time for all of those sun-bleached memories you’re creating, our beloved Seaside collection is back now and through the end of August! With updated colors—including brand new French Vanilla—, a new 12″ x 12″ coordinating sticker sheet, and a new workshop, our timeless Seaside patterns have just the right amount of beachy bliss to capture the feeling of cool ocean breezes and all that this radiant season has to offer!

1. My Acrylix^® Seaside Greetings

This stunning stamp set, with its realistic line designs and versatile sentiments, is not just beautiful but also very easy to use in both scrapbooking and cardmaking. (We’ll show you how we’ve paired it together with the rest of the Seaside collection to make scrapbook pages and cards in the available workshop, below.)

2. Seaside Paper Packet

Here it is! Featuring our exclusive colors, French Vanilla (new!!), Glacier, Lagoon, Raspberry, Smoothie, Sweet Leaf, and Toffee, this dreamy paper packet comes with 6 refreshed patterned paper sheets, 2 each of 3 double-sided designs, and 1 new coordinating sticker sheet! The zip strips are also new (and super cute)! Click on the individual thumbnail images to take a closer look!

(You can get a FREE Seaside paper packet by becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant or hosting a qualifying party in July!)

3. Seaside Coordinating Cardstock

These cardstock colors coordinate perfectly with those in the Seaside paper packet. Each coordinating cardstock pack comes with 12 sheets, three each of French Vanilla, Lagoon, Smoothie, and Toffee; all 12″ x 12″.

4. Seaside Workshop Kit

Paired with this downloadable workshop guide, the materials in this kit come together to create the gorgeous scrapbook layout, pages, and cards you see here:

12″ x 12″ layout:

12″ x 12″ pages:

4¼” x 5½” cards:

Making Memories by the Seaside #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhseaside #bringbackmypack #scrapbooking #cardmaking #patterns #workshopguide #beach #vacation #holiday #summer

3″ x 3″ cards:

We love this collection so much that we want everyone to have one of these kits to create this artwork. To help with that effort, we’re giving three of the dreamy Seaside Workshop kits away to three lucky winners! To qualify for an entry to win, first make sure you are subscribed to this blog. Then, leave us a comment below telling us what you love so much about this collection or, if you’ve been with us for a while, let us know what other retired collection you love that you would like to see make its way back. You have until 3 p.m. (MST) tomorrow (Wednesday, July 10) to get your entries in. All winners will be notified via email shortly after that—so keep an eye out, it really can be you who wins!

AND REMEMBER…Seaside is only available for a limited time and only while supplies last! Act fast and get your favorites from this collection before they run out and it goes away for good! GOOD LUCK!

Leave a comment

July 2, 2019Celebrate, Community

50 Things to Do This Summer

Close To My Heartactivities, Bring Back My Pack, bucket, fun, list, Seaside, summer 18 Comments

The excitement of summer is in the air and we want you to enjoy every bit of it! To get started, if you haven’t already, check out this fun list of 50 Things to Do This Summer we’ve compiled with no one else but you in mind. (Take this list on the go by downloading the printer friendly version, here.)

Do you have any more fun ideas to add to our list? Tell us how you’re planning on spending your summer in the comments below!

Leave a comment

June 26, 2019Create, Learn

Back to the Basics with Cricut Design Space™—Using Lock/Unlock

Close To My HeartArtbooking, Artistry, basics, cardmaking, cricut, Design Space, Hello USA, lock, lock feature, unlock, unlock feature 3 Comments

We are continuing our review of some of the basic features of Cricut Design Space™ today by taking a closer look at the Lock/Unlock tool. This feature is one of the simplest and most helpful tools in Design Space, and once you learn how to make the most of it, you’ll be able to use it on virtually any project to take your creativity to new heights!

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

On the card above, we used an assortment of images from the Artbooking, Artistry, and Hello USA Cricut^® collections. These collections each lend a different flair to this project, and we love the way they all came together. By branching out and using images from a few different collections, you can create something that’s truly unique and all your own!

As you read along, remember that the steps below show you how to use Design Space on a laptop or desktop computer. If you are using the app on a mobile device, the buttons and tools will be in slightly different places on your screen. Most of these basic features are available on any device.

Lock/Unlock

The Lock/Unlock feature in Design Space allows you to change the height or width of shapes or text. Since most shapes or text blocks won’t automatically fit into your project, Lock/Unlock will be one of your go-to tools as you create your Cricut masterpieces. For this project, we used the Lock/Unlock tool to resize the height or width of each Cricut shape and image to fit seamlessly into this card.

When you want to lock or unlock a shape, image, or block of text, there are two ways to do so—with the button on the toolbar at the top of your screen,

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

or with the button at the bottom left corner of your shape or image.

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

Lock/Unlock with Basic Shapes

Basic shapes can be selected from the basic shapes tab in the Design Panel. Although basic shapes are often used as versatile building blocks of great Cricut designs, you’ll probably need to resize or adjust them in order to fit on a project. When you insert a basic shape, it will automatically be locked, meaning, if you try to resize it, the height and width will adjust together. You can make the entire shape bigger or smaller, but you can’t adjust the height or the width individually unless you unlock it. Once you unlock the shape, you can alter just the height or just the width to make sure you have the needed dimensions for your shape. If you want to resize your shape to a specific size, you can enter your measurements into the dimension indicators on the toolbar at the top of your canvas.

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

For this card, we used the unlock feature to create a 4.25″ x 5.5″ base for our card and a red rectangle layer to go behind the “Celebrate” sentiment. This allowed us to tailor these pieces to fit the card.

Locking/Unlocking More Intricate Shapes

Just like basic shapes, when you insert any shape from any Cricut collection, it will populate on your canvas as a locked image. Resizing one of these shapes with the Lock/Unlock feature is very similar to resizing a basic shape. You’ll just need to pay a little closer attention to any intricate parts of your shape to ensure that it doesn’t get too cramped or warped.

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

You can see above how the circle medal behind the banner warps into an oval when it is stretched too far horizontally. You’ll want to look out for things like this as you use the Lock/Unlock feature.

In our example card, we resized the pennant banner, the circle medal, and the star accents to fit neatly on the card. By using Lock/Unlock, we were able to work these images into the card design with ease.

Lock/Unlock with Text

Using the Lock/Unlock feature with text is a great way to really expand your creative capacity. 🙂

For our card, we used a Cricut shape to cut the “Celebrate” sentiment. If you choose to include typed-in text rather than an existing shape of text in your project, you can easily resize individual letters using Lock/Unlock. Select the entire text block, ungroup it, and then alter each letter as you choose.

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

If you’d like to alter the text block as a whole, you can select the entire text block (regroup it if you’ve ungrouped it) and then unlock and resize it as you please.

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

Put It Together

Lock Feature in Cricut Design Space™ #ctmh #closetomyheart #cricut #designspace #cardmaking #celebrate #artistry #artbooking #HelloUSA

Follow the steps below to put all of the ideas we discussed today together and make the Celebrate card!

Search for the “Celebrate” sentiment from the Artbooking collection, #M3D5CF, and insert it on your canvas.
Search for the star image from the Artbooking collection, #M3E9BD, and insert it on your canvas. Copy and paste this image to get two stars.
Search for the circle medal image from the Artistry collection, #M4183C8, and insert it on your canvas.
Search for image #M2CCFB18 from the Hello USA collection and insert it on your canvas. (You will only be using the star overlay from this 4th of July image.)
For the card base, insert a square shape from the Shapes tab in the Design Panel. Unlock and resize it to measure 4.25″ x 5.5″.

Tip: Be sure to change the colors of each shape or image as you resize them. This will help you to keep track of which paper you’ll need to use for each cut.

Select a circle shape from the Shapes tab in the Design Panel. Keep the shape locked and resize it to cover one of the small holes in the top of the pennant image. Copy the small circle and cover the other hole. Select the entire image and weld. This should leave you with one solid pennant image piece. Change the color of the pennant to a light blue and resize it to 2.933″ x 5.306″, then center it over your 4.25″ x 5.5″ card base.

Tip: All measurements in this post are W x H.

Select the circle medal shape and resize it to 4″ x 3.52″. Change the color of the banner to blue and the scalloped circle to white. You will need to ungroup this image to do this. Be sure to regroup it when you’re done.
Select the “Celebrate” sentiment and unlock it. Resize it to .75” in height. Then, place it on top of the circle medal piece and center it in the banner. Rotate the “Celebrate” sentiment until it fits within the banner.
Select both, the circle medal and the “Celebrate” sentiment, and group them together. Select the Slice option from the toolbar at the bottom of the Layers Panel.
Select a square shape from the Shapes tab in the Design Panel. Resize it to 2.806″ x 1.215″ and change its color to a dark red. This piece will form the background for the “Celebrate” sentiment.
Select the circle medal and place it over the red layer square you just created. Make sure the red piece is completely covered by the medal. Group this entire image together and center it over the blue pennant.
Ungroup the “Happy 4th” image and delete everything except the star base and overlay. Change the color of these pieces to yellow.
Select Make It in the top right corner and cut your project pieces.
Assemble your card and embellish with watercolor paint and sequins!

We hope you enjoyed this brief overview of the Lock/Unlock tool. Be sure to check out our next Design Space post, where we’ll explore more applications of the Attach feature! In the comments below make sure to let us know if you have any Design Space questions or if there are any topics you’d like us to cover in the future.

Recipe:

4¼” x 5½” Celebrate Card
X7247B Into the Wilde Paper Packet, X5992 Candy Apple Cardstock, X6005 Goldrush Cardstock, X6020 Saffron Cardstock, X6021 Sapphire Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4235 Loose Sequins—Gold, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3224 Waterbrush—Small Round, Z1979 Marvy^® Uchida^® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3298 Cricut^® Artistry Digital Collection, Z3503 Cricut^® Artbooking Digital Collection, Z3390 Cricut^® Hello USA Digital Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Artbooking
.75″ #M3D5CF
.344 x .408, .4 x .45 #M3E9BD
2.933 x 5.306 #M4235A

Artistry
4″ x 3.52 #M4183C8

Hello USA
1.507 x 1.602 #M2CCFB18

Leave a comment

Attach v. Slice

Using Attach

Put It Together

Share this:

1. The Rule of Thirds

2. Leading Lines

3. Natural Framing

4. Perspective

5. Exposure

6. Check Your Background!

7. Symmetry and Patterns

8. Foreground

9. Triangles

10. Rules Are Made to Be Broken!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

1. My Acrylix® Seaside Greetings

2. Seaside Paper Packet

3. Seaside Coordinating Cardstock

4. Seaside Workshop Kit

Share this:

Share this:

Lock/Unlock

Lock/Unlock with Basic Shapes

Locking/Unlocking More Intricate Shapes

Lock/Unlock with Text

Put It Together

Share this:

1. My Acrylix^® Seaside Greetings