Stamping Vellum Like a Pro

Close To My Heartbase & shade, embossing, National Stamping Month, stamping, stamping technique, techniques, vellum Leave a comment

With its translucent properties and incredible versatility, vellum has made its way back into the papercrafting limelight! We have several stamping tips and techniques to share, showing just how fun and versatile vellum can be. Keep scrolling to see some vellum-enhanced artwork and to learn something new!

Stamping on Vellum #ctmh #closetomyheart #vellum #stamping #nsm #nationalstampingmonth #stampingtechniques #stampingtips If you look carefully at this scrapbook page, you will see that the bottom layer of the mat behind the photo is a large piece of vellum. There are several things to learn from this example alone. First, take a look at the beautiful floral arrangement that was stamped directly onto the vellum. To create this muted effect, we used our regular water-based dye inks. Because vellum is less porous than other papers, ink will take longer to dry. We helped move the process along by using our trusty craft heater. For this technique, allow your heater to heat up before you use it. Once it’s hot, blow on the ink intermittently from behind the paper (which means you would need to do this step before attaching a piece like this to your page). If you blow directly onto the ink and vellum without pulling the heater away, the ink will move and the paper will warp. Once you’re done with the craft heater, blot any excess ink with a tissue to achieve a softer color as well as a completely dry image.

Card Stamping on Vellum #ctmh #closetomyheart #vellum #stamping #nsm #nationalstampingmonth #stampingtechniques #stampingtips #cardmaking #card Now, let’s talk about embossing. There are so many ways to play with stamping and embossing on vellum. Our first approach is pretty straightforward. We used an embossed sentiment on a piece of vellum as an overlay for a stamped card front. This is an effective way to tone down a busy background and bring the focus to the sentiment and any other elements that are laid on top. (When setting your embossing powder, remember to use your craft heater intermittently and from behind to avoid warping!)

We took the translucent property of vellum a step further with this card. Instead of using it as an attached overlay, we made the entire card base from vellum and used one of our base & shade stamp sets for the images. The “base” of the image is stamped on the inside of the card and the “shade”—or outline—is stamped and embossed on the outside. Tips: attach a piece of cardstock to the inside of the card base and stamp it first, then line up the “shade” from above on the outside. After stamping and embossing the outside of your card, if the color from the base isn’t showing through as much as you’d like, add some watercolor (a little goes a long way on vellum) to your embossed images from behind. Watercolor paint dries fairly quickly on vellum, but if you’d like to speed the process up the craft heater should do it.

Card Stamping on Vellum #ctmh #closetomyheart #vellum #stamping #nsm #nationalstampingmonth #stampingtechniques #stampingtips #cardmaking #card Did you spot the vellum on this card? If you guessed in those colorful autumn leaves, then you are right! To recreate this effect, emboss your images using some of the tips that we’ve already discussed. The trick to these leaves is achieving their lovely fall color. This time, instead of using watercolors or ink behind our images, we used alcohol-based markers! (Alcohol-based markers are easier to blend than others, so make sure you are using the right product.)

Vellum has been around for a long time but it’s sure making a comeback! Whether you use it in papercrafting, scrapbooking, or cardmaking, vellum can easily add depth, dimension, and texture to any of your projects.

If you’ve got a tip or some artwork with vellum that you’d like to share, please do so in our comments below!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ My Beautiful Life Layout
Z3384 Beautiful You Stamp + Thin Cuts, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z2810 Blossom Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2812 Raspberry Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2819 Bashful Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2835 New England Ivy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2844 Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2850 Fern Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z2068 Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft Heater, Sewing Machine

4¼” x 5½” Go Where Your Dreams Take You Card
M1178 My Acrylix^® Delicate Flower Stamp Set, D1755 My Acrylix™ Pack Your Bags Stamp Set (from Cricut^® You Are Here Collection Z3389), 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3357 Better Together Complements, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3293 Shimmer Brush—Clear, Z2088 Ranger™ Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft Heater, Sewing Machine

4¼” x 5½” Thinking of You Card
C1690 My Acrylix^® For You Darling Stamp Set, D1739 My Acrylix^® Thoughtful Bird Stamp Set, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2849 Peacock Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2850 Fern Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2865 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3312 Gold Glitter Gems, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z2068 Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft Heater

4¼” x 5½” Truly Grateful Card
Z4041 Falling for You Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts, X7223B Falling for You Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z2829 Espresso Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, X7223C Falling for You Complements, Z4029 Bronze Sequins, Z3323 White Burlap Ribbon, Z2451 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Clay Marker, Z2452 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Golden Yellow Marker, Z2456 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Mahogany Marker, Z2459 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Pastel Green Marker, Z2068 Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft Heater, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

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September 14, 2017Celebrate, Create

Origami Cats & Bats

Close To My HeartDecor, Halloween, Halloween Decoration, mobile, origami Leave a comment

Trend alert! From runways to street wear, to wall art, jewelry, food, and even children’s toys—origami designs are everywhere! And since “origami” literally means the art of folding paper, we knew we had to get on board! If you’ve taken a look at our Cats & Bats collection, you’ll see that we’ve captured this style for your scrapbooking, cardmaking, and papercrafting project needs!

Cats & Bats Collection #cats&bats #catsandbats #ctmh #cats #bats #owls #origami #halloween

Origami crafting paper #cats&bats #catsandbats #ctmh #cats #bats #owls #origami #halloween

To help you embrace this trend even further, we made some Halloween origami art to encourage you to create something for your own space during this spooktacular time of year!

Cats & Bats Origami #ctmh #origami #trend #mobile #bats #cats&bats #papercrafting #walldecor

Inspired by our own paper designs, we found an origami bat tutorial that we just had to try! We started out with square pieces of paper and, true to the art of origami, didn’t use any cuts or adhesive.

Cats & Bats Origami #ctmh #origami #trend #mobile #bats #cats&bats #papercrafting #walldecor
We made six of these batty pieces and attached them to a spray-painted branch with some string. Then we added a few bows made from ribbon and suspended the branch with more string—and that’s it!

Don’t miss out on this exciting craze! It’s fun and crafty and right up our alley! (Who doesn’t love playing with paper?)

Fold away and craft on!

Recipe

Bat Mobile
X7224B Cats & Bats Paper Packet, Z3362 Adventure Ribbon Pack, Z3216 White Twine, Black Spray Paint, Branch

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September 12, 2017Celebrate, Create, Learn

Cards from YOUR Heart

Close To My Heartcardmaking, From the Heart, National Stamping Month, stamping, unique Leave a comment

Cardmaking is a craft from the heart. You do it because you want to send the message to the recipient that they are worth the extra sentiment that comes from something handmade by you.

By now, we’re sure you’ve seen several examples of the elegant cards you can make using our From the Heart card kit. As we continue celebrating stamping this month, we want to show you just how versatile this kit, and the gorgeous stamp set it comes with, really is.

Layered Stamping #CTHM #fromtheheart #cardmaking #goldfoil #gold #thinkingofyou #thankyou #specialthoughts #sendingwishes #happyforyou #stamping #flowers #layeredstamping #layeredstamps
When you are working with stamps, you have so much flexibility to design something that is truly your own. Allow your creative juices to flow and experiment with different color combinations, as well as image (and sentiment) placement.

Monochromatic Layered Stamping #CTHM #fromtheheart #monochromatic #cardmaking #goldfoil #gold #thinkingofyou #thankyou #specialthoughts #sendingwishes #happyforyou #stamping #flowers #layeredstamping #layeredstamps
With the entire Close To My Heart exclusive color palette at your disposal, you can attempt a variety of monochromatic schemes, like you see here. Stay within one color family, or try using all warm or cool colors. Don’t be afraid to switch up your colors based on the sentiment you’re using, the recipient of the card, or even the time of year.

Amped up Layered Stamping #CTHM #fromtheheart #cardmaking #goldfoil #gold #thinkingofyou #thankyou #specialthoughts #sendingwishes #happyforyou #stamping #flowers #layeredstamping #layeredstamps
Challenge yourself to take your artwork up another notch! This kit is intentionally made to create a more chic and sophisticated card. Emboss your sentiments (like we did in the cards above) or try your hand at embossing other stamped elements. Add embellishments, like pearls, sparkles, and gems. Switch up the floral arrangements, or incorporate a different stamp set altogether!

There are no rules here, so unleash your creativity! Every creative decision you make customizes your card even more and gives it your unique flair. Remember, you are the artist.

Since cards are a beautiful way of expressing the deepest sentiments from the heart, it’s only fitting that you make them exactly how you feel.

May all of your handmade cards be from your heart.

Recipes

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September 7, 2017Celebrate, Create, Learn

Split Stamping Technique

Close To My Heartbaby, card, cardmaking, floral, flower, how, idea, split, spring, stamp, stamping, technique, to 20 Comments

In honor of National Stamping Month, we thought it’d be fun to share with you some stamping techniques on the blog—because no crafter can ever have too many stamping tricks up her sleeve, right? 😉

Today’s post is going to teach you what we call the Split Stamping technique.

This technique is exactly what it sounds like: You split your stamp image. There are a few different ways to do this.

One of the easiest ways is to stamp an image onto a piece of cardstock and then cut it into pieces, like the elephant below.

Cutting up an image and reassembling it on your artwork is a unique way to draw more attention to your stamping.

Another way you can “split” your stamp is with masking. Not sure what we mean by “masking”? Masking is when you cover up part of your stamp or paper before stamping an image.

Here, we attached a strip of cardstock across the center of our card with just a little bit of adhesive so it wouldn’t slide around. Next, we stamped our flowers along the top and bottom of the card, overlapping them slightly with the strip. We then carefully peeled off the cardstock strip, removed any leftover adhesive with our Rub & Remove™ eraser, painted our flowers, and then stamped our sentiment.

For a more advanced spin on this technique, try incorporating the piece of cardstock you use for the masking!

For this card, we cut both pieces of White Daisy cardstock, attached the smaller piece to the center of the larger piece with a little bit of adhesive, and then stamped our flowers over both pieces. Next, we carefully separated the smaller piece of cardstock from the larger one, painted our flowers, and popped the piece up on Bashful cardstock with 3-D foam tape. To add even more dimension, we also stamped some of the blossoms on scrap paper, painted them, trimmed them out, and then attached them over the matching blossoms with 3-D foam tape.

What do you think of the Split Stamping technique? Tell us in the comments below! And be sure to follow the blog all month long to see even more stamping techniques! 🙂

Recipes

4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ Congrats Card (Vertical)
D1726 My Acrylix® Sweet Baby Stamp Set, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3361 Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen

4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ Best Wishes Card (Horizontal)
D1747 My Acrylix® Happily Ever After Stamp Set, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4014 White & Gold Twine, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set

4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ So Happy for You Card (Vertical)
C1693 My Acrylix® Many Congratulations Stamp Set, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set

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September 5, 2017Create, Learn

Step-by-Step Instructions: From the Heart Card Kit

Close To My Heartcard, flower, from, heart, how, instruction, kit, Month, September, stamping, to 19 Comments

September is National Stamping Month, and we’ve designed an incredible card kit with elegant, layered stamping to celebrate!

It’s called the From the Heart card kit, and if you love stamping, you’ll love all the ways you can play with the interchangeable stamp designs to achieve a variety of looks for your cards.

If the thought of creating cards like these feels a bit daunting, don’t worry! The kit comes with helpful instructions to walk you through the assembly—just take a look!

Here are the pieces you get in your kit. You get enough to create 12 cards, plus the beautiful From the Heart stamp set and 12 envelopes. Once you punch out these pieces, follow the instructions below to create your cards.

Step 1

All the folds come pre-scored, so all you have to do is fold along the score lines. Starting with your card base (A), turn the gold foil side down and sharply fold the two outside flaps inward. Add adhesive to the top of these flaps.

Step 2

Fold your card base in half along the score line, attaching the front of the card base to the top of the flaps. This will form a pocket.

Step 3

Starting with the detached end of the large flap, make sharp folds along the score lines, accordion style, as shown.

Step 4

Add adhesive to the bottom of first fold (the white side).

Step 5

Insert the pull insert (B) into the pocket in your card base (A), keeping B centered. Attach that first fold from step 5 to the edge of the pull insert, keeping the edges flush. Now when you pull on the insert piece in and out, the large flap should pop up and down!

Step 6

Slide your card closed and then add adhesive to top of first fold (over gold foil).

Step 7

Attach supporting piece (D) to the top of first fold. This supporting piece is a little bit larger than the area where you added the adhesive, so keep the top edge flush with the crease and center it on the flap. When it’s in place, the edges of the supporting piece should overlap the gold foil around the edges of your card.

Step 8

Stamp your choice of sentiment and flowers onto your card front (C). When stamping the layers of your flowers, add extra depth by using different colors for each layer.

Step 9

Stamp leaves and twigs in between flowers. Again, add depth by stamping all of the layers in different colors. This stamp set allows you to get incredible detail in your stamp images for a beautiful finished card.

Step 10

Set aside your card front and go back to the base for a moment. Slide your card open, and then stamp your choice of inside sentiment onto the card base. The From the Heart stamp set includes four large sentiments designed especially to fit this space.

Step 11

Once your stamping is dry, slide the card closed and add adhesive to second fold of large flap. This is the section right next to the supporting strip (D) that you attached, and it is where you will attach your card front.

Step 12

Attach your card front (C) to the second fold, lining up the edges with the supporting strip (D).

Make your own beautiful, interactive cards using this card kit, available only during September! If you have any questions about how to assemble these cards or about the card kit itself, tell us in the comments below!

Happy crafting! 🙂

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August 31, 2017Celebrate, Create

Usher in a New Season

Close To My Heartart, autumn, Decor, DIY, door, fall, inspiration, leaf, seasonal, wreath 12 Comments

Earlier this year we showed you how to use the Cricut^® Flower Market Collection for a springtime monogram. Today we have some artwork that just goes to show that this truly is a collection for all seasons! Take a look at this beautiful wreath celebrating the upcoming fall!

Papercrafting Wreath #papercrafting #cricut #flowermarket #diy #CTHM #closetomyheart #fall #autumn #wreath #paperwreath

Starting with a simple grapevine wreath, we decorated our piece with paper flowers and leaves in stunning fall colors. (Picking our colors was easy—we just turned to our brand new fall-themed paper packets from the Holiday Expressions idea book, which is available for purchase as of September 1.)

Cricut Leaf #cricut #leaf #wreath #flowermarket #youarehere #fall #autumn #ctmh #closetomyheart

Cricut Flower #cricut #flower #ctmh #closetomyheart #diy #button #wreath #fall #autumn

fall leaves #ctmh #closetomyheart #diy #flowermarket #cricut #wreath #fall #autumn

When working with Cricut^® shapes in your décor, add dimension and life by curling and bending petals and leaves. Add embellishments, like buttons and ribbons, for more textures, details, and volume.

With its changing leaves in rich hues of reds, oranges, and yellows, fall is by far the most colorful season of the year to draw inspiration from. Bring some of those glowing vibrant tones into your home by creating some of your own décor pieces—it’s all about where your creativity takes you!

Recipe

Fall Wreath
Z4041 Falling for You—Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts, X7223B Falling for You Paper Packet, X7224B Cats & Bats Paper Packet, X5949 Almond Cardstock, X5951 Espresso Cardstock, X5952 Nutmeg Cardstock, X5965 Ruby Cardstock, Z2832 Pewter Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7223C Falling for You Complements, Z3323 White Burlap Ribbon, Z3385 Cricut^® Flower Market Collection, Z3389 Cricut^® You Are Here Collection, 18″ Grapevine Wreath, Hot Glue Gun

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
3″ Shift + Icon <J> (cut 8, p. 27, #MD6F435)
4½” <Chrsnthm> (cut 2, p. 47, #MFADEB0)

You Are Here
2½” Icon-4 <a> (cut 18, p. 21, #M27629BD)
2½” Shift + Icon-4 <A> (cut 18, p. 21, #M27629BD)

Numbers starting with #M specify the image number in Cricut Design Space™

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August 29, 2017Create, Memory Keeping

Free Back-to-School Scrapbook Pattern!

Close To My Heartback, free, pattern, school, scrapbook, tinkerin', to 6 Comments

Back-to-school season is in full swing, and we’ve got a free scrapbook pattern to help you celebrate!

This pattern originally debuted with our Tinkerin’ paper collection, but we’ve revamped the instructions so they can be used with any papers for any occasion. We chose to use this pattern to document some back-to-school memories using our Enchantment Fundamental paper packet and some matching cardstock.

We also incorporated our August Stamp of the Month set, My Acrylix® School Year. This stamp set is designed to help you document both the first and last day of school. Be sure to order the stamp set now because it’s gone at the end of the month—you won’t want to be tardy on this one! And the great news is that you can get the Stamp of the Month for a super great price with a qualifying purchase. However you do the math, more crafting supplies for less money is the always the correct answer! 😉

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™ pattern books, including volume three, which just debuted this month! If you love the free scrapbook patterns on the blog, you’re sure to be blown away by all the patterns in our how-to books.

Recipe

12″ x 12″ School Is Cool Layout
S1708 My Acrylix® School Year Stamp Set, Z3352 Enchantment Fundamental Paper Packet, X5958 Peacock Cardstock, X5961 Saffron Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1386 Black Cardstock, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3090 Red Gems, Z3323 White Burlap Ribbon, Z3329 Thin Cuts—Basic Stars, Z3348 Thin Cuts—Scallop Border, Z3386 Thin Cuts—Block Alphabet, 3505 Watercolor Pencils, Die-cutting Machine

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August 24, 2017Create, Memory Keeping

Mini Cricut® Flowers

Close To My Heartbitty, border, cricut, daisy, flower, market, mini, tulip 18 Comments

When you think about using Cricut® flowers on your scrapbooking, you probably think of something like this…

…a large flower cluster in a corner, or maybe a wreath. This certainly is a beautiful way to embellish a page, but have you ever thought about making your Cricut® flowers itty bitty?

While large flowers create a dramatic focal point, mini-sized flowers add a certain daintiness to your artwork.

To create the littlest flowers on this page, we actually used the inside pieces from the other daisies on the page. Aren’t they so cute and sweet? 🙂

Mini Cricut®-cut flowers also work really well on cards. You can use them to frame your stamping, and when you use layered images like these, you get lots of extra dimension.

Another great thing about mini flowers is that you have more flexibility for arranging them on your page. We love the idea of creating custom borders with these little flowers, like you see on the page above. It creates such a beautiful accent and draws the eye in to the photos.

What do you think about this technique? Tell us in the comments below!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Remember Page
Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5978 Glacier Cardstock, X5959 New England Ivy Cardstock, X5960 Fern Cardstock, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3312 Gold Glitter Gems, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape, Z3342 3-D Foam Dots, Z3285 Cricut® Flower Market Collection, Sewing Machine, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
2 ½” Shift+Background <#> (cut 3, p. 3, #MD4326D)
3 ½” Shift+Background <#> (cut 3, p. 3, #MD4326D)
4″ Shift+Icon <J> (cut 2, p. 27, #MD6F435)
2 ½” <Hibiscus> (p. 30, #MFAD3B7)
1 ½” and 1 ¾” <Rose> (p. 42, #MFAD8CB)
1″ <Daisy> (use just smallest flowers, p. 46, #MFADCF2)

12″ x 12″ XOXO Page
Z3353 Basics Fundamentals Paper Packet, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, X5974 Raspberry Cardstock, X5946 Linen Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z3238 Gold Glitter Paper, Z3380 Gold Bow Clips, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape, Z3342 3-D Foam Dots, Z3386 Thin Cuts—Block Alphabet, Z3285 Cricut® Flower Market Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
1″ Shift+Icon <J> (p. 27, #MD6F435)
1 ½” Shift+Icon <J> (cut 4, p. 27, #MD6F435 )
2″ Shift+Icon <J> (p. 27, #MD6F435)
1″ <Daisy> (cut 2, p. 46, #MFADCF2)
1 ¼” <Daisy> (p. 46, #MFADCF2)

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Thanks Card (Vertical)
B1536 My Acrylix® All the Thanks Stamp Set, Z3352 Enchantment Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, X5959 New England Ivy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z2832 Pewter Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3363 Enchantment Ribbon Pack, Z3371 Gold Pearls, Z3348 Thin Cuts—Scallop Border, Z3318 Thin Cuts—Basic Circles, Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft Heater, Z3316 Shimmer Brush—Gold, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape, Z3285 Cricut® Flower Market Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
¾” and 1″ <Daisy> (p. 46, #MFADCF2)

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Thank You Card (Horizontal)
B1536 My Acrylix® All the Thanks Stamp Set, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5959 New England Ivy Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z2832 Pewter Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z2067 Ranger™ Silver Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft Heater, Z3318 Thin Cuts—Basic Circles, Z3285 Cricut® Flower Market Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
1″ Shift+Background <#> (cut 4, p. 3, #MD4326D)
2″ Shift+Background <#> (cut 4, p. 3, #MD4326D)
2″ Background <i> (p. 18, #MD42E65)
3″ Background <i> (p. 18, #MD42E65)
¾” <Daisy> (cut 2, p. 46, #MFADCF2)
1″ <Daisy> (p. 46, #MFADCF2)

12″ x 12″ Remember Page (Floral Borders)
Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5946 Linen Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, X5955 Pebble Cardstock, X5957 Sapphire Cardstock, X5985 Smoothie Cardstock, X5964 Pomegranate Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z3361 Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Z3369 Bashful Pearls, Z3285 Cricut® Flower Market Collection, Sewing Machine, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
1 ½” Shift + Background <#> (cut 6, p. 3, #MD4326D)
2 ½” Flower-2 <j> (cut 8, p. 27, #MD6F398)
2″ Shift + Icon <J> (cut 9, p. 27, #MD6F398)
2″ Flower-1 <z> (cut 5, p. 31, Real Dial Size off, #MD6FE71)
2″ Flower-2 <z> (cut 3, p. 31, Real Dial Size off, #MD6FE40)

Numbers starting with #M specify the image number in Cricut Design Space™

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August 22, 2017Create, Memory Keeping

Basic Cricut® Shapes for Backgrounds

Close To My Heartbackground, basic, circle, cricut, design, heart, page, scrapbook, scrapbooking, shape, space 11 Comments

Looking for a way to spice up your scrapbook pages? We’ve got just the thing! All you need is a Cricut® machine and a little imagination for this technique.

First, find a basic Cricut® shape that you like: square, heart, diamond, etc. Next, cut out the shape over and over again on a piece of solid cardstock (we recommend using Cricut Design Space™ so you can more easily control where the shapes cut). Remove the shapes from the piece of cardstock, and then back the empty spaces with different pieces of patterned paper. As you can see from the example above, we repeated paper patterns across the shapes to add a sense of continuity to the page.

If you don’t have Cricut Design Space™, you can still get this effect by cutting multiple versions of the same image, but you could also cut the shapes out of patterned paper and attach them to a piece of cardstock. There are lots of different spins on this technique!

For example…

…try backing the shapes with photos! It’s a lot easier than trying to cut your photos on a Cricut® machine because you can slide them around behind the cardstock until they are framed just the way you like.

Another spin on this technique is to change up the size of your shapes. Smaller shapes give you a lot more little shape windows to work with. This page also shows how much you can play around with dimension as well.

First, we backed some of the empty spaces with patterned paper and left others empty. Next, we used 3-D foam tape to attach the White Daisy cardstock piece with all of our heart shapes cut out of it. The Bashful background shows through the empty hearts and creates a bit of a shadow. To finish off the look, we took some of the hearts that were cut out and embossed them with gold powder. We then used them to “fill in” a few of the heart-shaped windows with more 3-D foam tape to make them really pop. See how many possibilities there are when you start playing around with your Cricut® shapes?

We used circles and hearts for our artwork, but what Cricut® shapes would you try with this technique? Tell us in the comments below! 🙂

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Sweet Moments Page
B1539 My Acrylix® Pen Pal Alphabet, Z3353 Basics Fundamental Paper Packet, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z2825 Mink Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3369 Bashful Pearls, Z3381 Gold Heart Clips, Z3342 3-D Foam Dots, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3290 Cricut® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
2 ½” Background <C> (cut 7, p. 33, #MD70813)

12″ x 12″ This Is the Life Page
Z3351 Adventure Fundamental Paper Packet, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, Z3352 Enchantment Fundamental Paper Packet, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3371 Gold Pearls, Z3387 Cricut® You Are Here Digital Collection, Sewing Machine, Pen

Cricut® Shapes:
You Are Here
3½” Title <i> (cut 8, p. 18, #M282C87A)
3½” Title <Seas> (p. 40, #M27F84BF)
3 ½” Shift+Title <Seas> (p. 40,#M27F84BF)

12″ x 12″ Together Page
Z3353 Basics Fundamental Paper Packet, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3364 Basics Ribbon Pack, Z555 Craft Heater, Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z4034 Thin Cuts—Together, Z3342 3-D Foam Dots, Z3290 Cricut® Flower Market Digital Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut® Shapes:
Flower Market
2 ½” Background <C> (cut 90, p. 33, #MD70813)*
*Grouped onto a 11″ x 11″ square and welded in Cricut Design Space™

Numbers starting with #M specify the image number in Cricut Design Space™

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