A Cardmaking Kit Worth Your While!

Close To My Heartbox, cardmaking, cards, Craft with Heart, cut above, subscription 3 Comments

Calling all card makers (and want to be card makers)! Our new Craft with Heart™ cardmaking kit is out and ready to ship to your door! This DIY subscription box is bursting with beautiful pre-printed card bases, die-cuts, and stickers, as well as silver star-shaped confetti, shaker window foam and acetate pieces, a stamp block, a mini ink pad, and an exclusive My Acrylix^® stamp set! ~Swoon!~

The January–April 2020 subscription box comes with all of the materials you need to create a set of 24 gorgeous handmade cards, 2 each of the 12 unique designs shown below. An inspirational guide included in this crafty box not only shows you how to assemble each of the cards but also offers ideas on which stamp sentiments to use with each card.

If you’re a busy seasoned card maker or someone who’s been hesitant to give this personalized craft a try, the Craft with Heart program is especially wonderful because anyone who puts just a teensy bit of effort can successfully create stunning artwork quickly and with ease.

Keep up with all the occasions life brings your way with one of our Craft with Heart™ subscriptions. You choose whether you’d like your subscription to renew every 4 months or, for a better value, once a year. For a closer look at all of our Craft with Heart™ options, visit our website, HERE. Remember, this cardmaking subscription box is only available through the end of April. A new box, with a new set of cards and designs, will be available beginning May 1st!

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November 26, 2019Create, Learn

Adding Color to Vellum

Close To My Heartcardmaking, cards, color, colour, sophisticated, vellum 2 Comments

Vellum paper is a great addition to any project, but it can sometimes get a bit tricky figuring out how to incorporate it in fun and different ways. Somewhere between transparent and opaque, using vellum paper in your projects is an easy way add a touch of sophistication. From markers and ink pads to re-inkers and shimmer brushes, today we’re walking through a few ideas for adding a dash of color to vellum paper.

In this first example, we sponged the edges with the Mint and Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads using a round sponge. By gently dabbing the ink onto the page with the sponge, you can create the perfect blend of gentle color on the vellum for a fantastic colored overlay! While it may not look like much on its own, this technique is a great way to finish off the vellum work in your projects for a subtle flair.

This sponging technique is also great for larger surface areas, as you can see in this next card. Here, we used a sponge dauber to spread the ink over the entirety of each present overlay piece. We still concentrated more color at the edges, but we also spread the ink over the rest of the overlay to put more pigment in the finished piece.

In our next example, we’ve used TriBlend™ markers to add a few pops of color to this cheery birthday card. First, we created the fun candles on the front side of the vellum paper with silver embossing powder. Then, we flipped the vellum paper over and colored in the gaps with the Citrus, Bright Pink, Blue Turquoise, and Hydrangea markers on the back side of the vellum piece. This way, you get the illusion of soft candlelight on varicolored birthday candles that look so good, you almost want to blow them out!

Tip: To prevent warping or curling in your vellum paper, move your heat tool in small circles as you set the embossing powder and avoid focusing the stream of the heat tool in one spot for too long.

For this next card, you’ll want to make sure you have your re-inker stash handy. To create this adorable sentiment and wreath on our vellum circle, we used gold embossing powder for the center and Black StazOn™ Ink for the wreath. Once the ink was dry, we flipped the vellum circle over and colored in the leaves on the wreath with re-inkers, again on the back side, using a regular paintbrush as an application tool. This technique gives you a rich saturation level on your color for consistency and vibrancy.

Our last example today features the Julep Shimmer Brush. To start, we cut our vellum piece out with a bone folder and a paper trimmer to create the rough edges you see. (Instead of running the blade down the paper, run the bone folder in the crease of the trimmer to cut the paper.) Once we cut this large vellum piece, we heat-embossed oak leaves on it with gold embossing powder and colored them in with a Julep Shimmer Brush.

Tip: When using a shimmer brush to add color to vellum, be sure to keep the coloration consistent throughout. Otherwise, you may end up with some blotchy patches.

With the subtle shine of the shimmer brush, these leaves are the perfect finishing touch for this card!

Impress your friends and loved ones this season with beautiful handmade cards that include some color treated vellum. The subtle sophistication that a little dash of color adds goes a long way!

Recipes:

4¼” x 5½” Grateful for You Card (Horizontal)
S1911 My Acrylix® Family Time Stamp Set, X7251B Cedar & Pine Paper Packet, X9009 Mix-in Paper Packet, X6046 French Vanilla Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z2829 Espresso Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6503 Mint Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6515 Paprika Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2851 Saffron Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z4235 Gold Loose Sequins, Z4249 Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder, Z4260 Stitched Rectangle Frames Thin Cuts, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots, Z697 Round Sponge, Z4252 Heat Tool, Z4220 Anti-static Pouch, X254 White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack, Die-cutting Machine

4¼” x 5½” Hip! Hip! Hooray! Card (Vertical)
D1899 My Acrylix® Birthday Greetings Stamp Set, X7250B Holly Jolly Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z4213 Silver Embellishing Thread, Z4191 Silver Glitter Gems, Z4260 Stitched Rectangle Frames Thin Cuts, Z2067 Silver Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z2482 Citrus TriBlend™ Marker, Z2495 Bright Pink TriBlend™ Marker, Z2489 Blue Turquoise TriBlend™ Marker, Z2494 Hydrangea TriBlend™ Marker, Z4252 Heat Tool, Z4220 Anti-static Pouch, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Die-cutting Machine

4¼” x 5½” Thank You Card (Vertical)
C1813 My Acrylix® Woodland Greeting Stamp Set, X9009 Mix-in Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z2727 Almond Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker, Z2729 Espresso Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker, Z7515 Paprika Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker, Z2751 Saffron Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker, Z2728 Toffee Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker, Z4235 Gold Loose Sequins, Z4054 Gold Embellishing Thread, Z3560 Golden Rod Stickles™ Glitter Gel, Z3316 Gold Shimmer Brush, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z2066 Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z4309 Shaker Window & Confetti Thin Cuts, Z4260 Stitched Rectangles Frames Thin Cuts, Die-cutting Machine, Paintbrush

4¼” x 5½” Season’s Greetings Card (Horizontal)
C1800 My Acrylix® Holly Jolly—Cardmaking Stamp Set, X7250B Holly Jolly Paper Packet, X9009 Mix-in Paper Packet, X6036 Ballerina Cardstock, X6031 Green Apple Cardstock, X6042 Mint Cardstock, X5974 Raspberry Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6507 Clover Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2812 Raspberry Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z3550 Striped Ribbon Bows, Z3549 Holly Jolly Dots, Z3515 Black Journaling Pen (.01), Z726 Sponge Daubers, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

4¼” x 5½” Grateful Card (Horizontal)
C1813 My Acrylix® Woodland Greetings Stamp Set, X7251B Cedar & Pine Paper Packet, X6046 French Vanilla Cardstock, X5962 Goldrush Cardstock, X5959 New England Ivy Cardstock, X6033 Paprika Cardstock, X6045 Sage Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2829 Espresso Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2835 New England Ivy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z4235 Gold Loose Sequins, Z4054 Gold Embellishing Thread, Z3508 Julep Shimmer Brush, Z2066 Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z4220 Anti-static Pouch, Z4252 Heat Tool, Z4181 Stitched Circles Thin Cuts, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Watercolor Pencils, Die-cutting Machine, Sewing Machine

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November 5, 2019Create, Memory Keeping

Beautiful Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Made Fast and Easy

Close To My Heartcardmaking, Craft with Heart, cut above, December, easy, fast, kit, november, October, scrapbooking, September, subscription Leave a comment

Happy November, everyone! We are so excited for the opportunity to pop in today and share with you how to put beautiful scrapbook pages and cards together in a snap using the Cut Above^® kits that are available through our Craft with Heart™ program.

The excuse that we hear most often from people for not scrapbooking is that they simply don’t have the time to do it. Cut Above^® layout kits are the response to that genuine concern. Each kit comes with all of the pieces you need to complete two coordinating two-page 12″ x 12″ scrapbook layouts, including pre-printed base pages, pre-cut paper pieces and die-cuts, complementing stickers, and simple assembly instructions. Essentially, all of the cutting has been taken out of the scrapbooking equation, saving you tons of time and allowing you to jump right into the artistic and creative side of memory keeping that we all enjoy and love so much.

Beautiful layouts like this one come together in minutes when you’re using a Cut Above^® kit!

To get your hands on these amazing kits, you don’t have to go far. In fact, we’ll deliver them straight to your doorstep on a schedule you decide through the Craft with Heart™ program. Craft with Heart™ is a subscription featuring Cut Above^® kits offered at monthly and 4-month intervals.

If you’re already a subscriber, share the opportunity with a friend! The Craft with Heart™ program is a fun and easy way to introduce the art of memory keeping and cardmaking to others. These kits make wonderful gifts!

Take a closer look at what we’ve got in store for the next couple of months:

Aren’t these gorgeous? You’d never guess that these layouts come together so quickly!

This is a great time of year to get started with the program if you haven’t already. September is when we introduced the last four scrapbooking kits for the year, which means if you sign up before January 1 for a four month or annual subscription you will not have missed out and will also receive the beautiful September and October scrapbooking kits!

This September, for the first time ever, we launched a subscription kit just for cards!

Just like the scrapbooking kits, the card subscription kit comes with all of the materials you need to create two each of the assortment of cards you see here, designed especially for the season ahead.

The kit includes card bases in varying sizes, pre-cut die-cuts, coordinating stickers, and an exclusive stamp set and mini black ink pad to customize each of your card sentiments to use for any occasion that arises.

Craft with Heart™ is the perfect solution for those who enjoy the art of scrapbooking and cardmaking but are looking for a quicker alternative. Even if you’re a die-hard decorative scrapper or card maker who loves to spend hours on a project, the Cut Above^® kits are a great way to catch up on documenting your stories and celebrating relationships without sacrificing quality. They’re a win-win deal that you will absolutely love!

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October 2, 2019Celebrate, Create, Memory Keeping

Accessing All 13 Close To My Heart Cricut® Collections

Close To My HeartArt Philosophy, Artbooking, Artfully Sent, artiste, Artistry, cardmaking, cartridge, City Sidewalks, Complete Creativity, cricut, Design Space, digital, Explore, Flower Market, Hello AU/NZ, Hello Canada, Hello USA, Maker, Papercrafting, scrapbooking, Season of Joy, You Are Here 13 Comments

Have you heard the news? All 13 of the Close To My Heart Cricut^® collections, including the new Complete Creativity and some that have been retired for years, are now digitally available for purchase!

Close To My Heart Cricut^® Collections:

Complete Creativity (NEW)
Art Philosophy
Artbooking
Artfully Sent
Artiste
Artistry
City Sidewalks
Flower Market
Hello AU/NZ
Hello Canada
Hello USA
Season of Joy
You Are Here

There has been some confusion around how to access these collections, so we’ve put together a quick tutorial below to show you how. If you’ve already figured it out on your own, skip to the bottom half of this post to see sample shapes and an artwork example for each collection.

*The following tutorial currently applies to people residing in the United States or Canada, only. (For our Australian and New Zealand crafters, all 13 of these collections are also available through purchasing a digital code from your Consultant which unlocks the shapes in Cricut Design Space™.)

**You will need a Cricut^® machine that is Design Space compatible to digitally link your collections to your account. Any of the Explore models or the New Maker will do. If you already own some or all of the Close To My Heart collections in cartridge format, with the right cutting machine, you can link these collections digitally as well. Click here for a short video to learn how.

STEP 1

To start, go to your Close To My Heart Consultant’s website. (If you do not have a Close To My Heart Consultant, visit us here and click on Find a Consultant to find one near you.) Scroll all the way to the bottom of the home page and click on the green Cricut^® button.

Clicking on this button will take you to the 13 Close To My Heart Cricut^® collections, hosted on the Cricut^® website.

STEP 2

Choose the collection you want to purchase and click Add to Cart. Doing so will pull up a side bar with the items you’ve chosen to purchase. When you are ready to check out, you can either click on the small cart icon or the green Checkout button.

STEP 3

If you aren’t signed in to your Cricut^® account already, you will be prompted to do so.

Make sure to use your Design Space account information to sign in and then continue the checkout process.

After purchasing any of the CTMH Cricut^® collections, they will automatically populate in your Design Space account, along with your other shapes.

STEP 4

To view your CTMH shapes and collections, go to your Design Space account and click on either New Project or My Projects.

Next, click on Images in the side bar, on the left. If you are looking for a specific cartridge or shape, click on Cartridges to view all of your purchased collections or type in the collection’s name or shape number in the search bar, on the top right corner of the page.

ONE FINAL TIP

Each of the shapes in Design Space is given a name and assigned a number. If you click on a shape, for example the first shape of the collection shown above, this information will show up in place of the shape’s image.

If you are looking for one specific shape, and you know its Design Space name or number (including the “#” sign), you can use this information in the search bar to locate it. When we give out project “recipes” (a list of products used), either for our catalogs or on this blog, Cricut^® shapes are referenced by the collection from which it comes and its shape number.

The star shape above would then be:

Cricut^® Shape:
Art Philosophy
#M3EA7D

Now that you know how to access all of our Close To My Heart Cricut^® collections and shapes, let’s take a quick look at what each of them has to offer!

COMPLETE CREATIVITY

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Artwork Example:

As our newest Cricut^® collection, we cannot wait for you to get your hands on this one! The Complete Creativity collection is divided up by whole card and scrapbook projects, providing all the shapes you need to create complete cards and scrapbook pages for a variety of themes and occasions!

ART PHILOSOPHY

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Featuring hundreds of basic, versatile shapes and fonts you’ll use every day, many of which coordinate with dozens of our My Acrylix® stamps, the Art Philosophy collection is a must-have for every crafter!

ARTBOOKING

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

The Artbooking collection includes accents, borders, titles, overlays, photo mats, and more! You’ll love using these shapes for creating themed mini books to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and everyday life!

ARTFULLY SENT

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Featuring more than 25 different card themes and 5 different card formats, the Artfully Sent collection has a card for any and all occasions! Card styles include pop-ups, scenes, sentiments, sleeves, and pocket cards.

ARTISTE

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Take your creativity up a notch with the wonderful 3-D projects, party favors, interactive cards, awards, and more, found in the Artiste collection.

ARTISTRY

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

The designs in the Artistry collection are staples for any crafter, spanning a wide variety of themes, holidays, and seasons. Get back to the basics with font, banners, layered shapes, borders, backgrounds, and other fun icons that can be used for any and every occasion.

CITY SIDEWALKS

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Dress up your artwork in holiday style with the festive images from this mini Cricut® collection! The City Sidewalks collection comes with 30 complete images, including titles, photo frames, borders, card sentiments, card overlays, and other cheery Christmas designs.

FLOWER MARKET

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

With blooms and blossoms for every season of life, we know the Flower Market collection will really grow on you (if it hasn’t already)! All of the designs feature some type of botanical detail, from flowers and leaves to branches and wreaths. Designed to span an entire year’s worth of themes and occasions, you’ll have beautiful designs and sentiments for holidays, cardmaking, and everyday scrapbooking.

HELLO AU/NZ

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Featuring 20 layered images, the Hello AU/NZ collection has shapes, overlays, and names for Australian and New Zealand states and territories, as well as a local flower, slogan, and coordinating icon. The collection also includes extra images about Australia and New Zealand, including each country’s flag.

HELLO CANADA

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Also featuring 20 layered images, the Hello Canada collection has shapes, overlays, and names for all Canadian provinces and territories, as well as a local flower, slogan, and coordinating icon. The collection also includes extra images about Canada, including the Canadian flag.

HELLO USA

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Featuring 60 layered images, the Hello USA collection has shapes, overlays, and names for all 50 states, as well as a local flower, slogan, and state-specific icon. The collection also includes 10 extra images about the US, including regions and the US flag.

SEASON OF JOY

Sample Shapes:

(Not all shapes shown.)

Example Artwork:

Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with the dynamic cut designs in the Season of Joy collection. This collection features over 45 images and projects, including seasonal icons, titles, and sentiments, as well as a collection of 3-D projects that you can create after a few simple cuts on your Cricut^® machine.

Whether you’re traveling abroad, taking a road trip, or enjoying a relaxing staycation, the You Are Here collection is sure to have everything you need to document your journey. From outdoor escapades and family reunions to spa retreats and holiday outings, you’ll find shapes and sentiments for every pit stop along the road of life!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Spooktacular Page
CC10194 Spooktacular Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X6047 Black Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Cricut^® Complete Creativity Collection

Cricut^® Shape:
Complete Creativity
#MEE7655E

4¼” x 5½” Love You Card (Vertical)
C1801 My Acrylix^® Every Little Thing—Cardmaking Stamp Set, X7248S Every Little Thing Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X6047 Black Cardstock, X5957 Sapphire Cardstock, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3521 Every Little Thing Vellum Die-cuts, Z4213 Silver Embellishing Thread, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Z2068 White Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z4220 Anti-static Pouch, Z4252 Heat Tool, Z4181 Stitched Circles Thin Cuts, Z1912 Corner Rounder, Cricut^® Art Philosophy Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut^® Shape:
Art Philosophy
#M4139D

5″ Trick-or-Treat Mini Album
CC10194 Spooktacular Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X6047 Black Cardstock, X6035 Lemonade Cardstock, X5955 Pebble Cardstock, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z4196 White Ribbon, Z4181 Stitched Circles Thin Cuts, Cricut^® Artbooking Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut^® Shapes:
Artbooking
#MAB71C
#M3E1B0
#M40EAA
#M46C7D
#M3CDA5

3″ x 4¼” You’re a Classic Card (Horizontal)
X7249S Hawthorn Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X6046 French Vanilla Cardstock, X6034 Sangria Cardstock, Z3543 Hawthorn Wood Shapes, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Cricut^® Artfully Sent Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Artfully Sent
#M1067B4

2½” x 3¾” Trick-or-Treat Treat Bag
CC10190 My Acrylix® Frightful Friends Stamp Set, CC10192 Spooktacular Paper Packet, X6047 Black Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4221 Mink Twine, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Z3630 Watercolor Pencils, Z3224 Small Round Waterbrush, Z3516 Black Journaling Pen (.03), Cricut^® Artiste Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Artiste
#M3DEF8
#M3E22F

5″ x 7″ Happy Birthday Card (Vertical)
X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, X6031 Green Apple Cardstock, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, X6042 Mint Cardstock, X5984 Pixie Cardstock, X5974 Raspberry Cardstock, X5980 Sweet Leaf Cardstock, X5976 Thistle Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z3553 Acrylic Hearts, Z3557 Cool Mint Stickles™ Glitter Gel, Z3563 Diamond Stickles™ Glitter Gel, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Cricut^® Artistry Collection, Sewing Machine

Cricut^® Shapes:
Artistry
#M4187BA
#M40FD89
#M41669B
#M4132AC, cut 2
#M412A0C
#M58A2E4
#M410335, cut 2
#M4169DA
#M411DD6
#M58A48E, cut 2
#M410487
#M418C08
#M418B30
#M412151
#M413170
#M40FF13

Basic Shapes
#M369879 (circle)

4¼” x 5½” Season’s Greetings Card (Vertical)
X6047 Black Cardstock, X6038 Candy Apple Cardstock, X6030 Evergreen Cardstock, X6029 Julep Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4235 Gold Loose Sequins, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Z3555 Christmas Red Stickles™ Glitter Gel, Cricut^® City Sidewalks Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
City Sidewalks
#MF6456F
#MF647BC
#MF645F0

Basic Shapes
#M369879 (circle)

Today, I Choose Joy Tag
C1799 My Acrylix^® Perk Up Stamp Set, D1868 My Acrylix^® Joy by Melissa Esplin Stamp Set, X7248B Every Little Thing Paper Packet, X6036 Ballerina Cardstock, X6029 Julep Cardstock, X5984 Pixie Cardstock, X5974 Raspberry Cardstock, X5961 Saffron Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2844 Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Cricut^® Flower Market Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
#MFADCF2
#MD37FB8

12″ x 12″ Beautiful New Zealand/Australia Pocket Scrapbooking Layout
X5949 Almond Cardstock, X6029 Julep Cardstock, X5955 Pebble Cardstock, X5961 Saffron Cardstock, X5957 Sapphire Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X7249E Hawthorn Picture My Life Cards, X7248E Every Little Thing Picture My Life Cards, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z341 Glue Dots® Mini Dots, Cricut^® Hello AU/NZ Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Hello AU/NZ
#M2EDE0BE
#M2EDE203
#M2EDE37F

6″ x 8″ Quebec Layout with Pocket Scrapbooking
X7249B Hawthorn Paper Packet, X5951 Espresso Cardstock, X6046 French Vanilla Cardstock, X5962 Goldrush Cardstock, X5947 Mink Cardstock, X5961 Saffron Cardstock, Z3543 Hawthorn Wood Shapes, Z4054 Gold Embellishing Thread, Z341 Glue Dots^® Mini Dots, Z4181 Stitched Circles Thin Cuts, Cricut^® Hello Canada Collection, Die-cutting Machine

Cricut^® Shapes:
Hello Canada
#M2DB6B68
#M2DB6CAA

12″ x 12″ California Has My Heart Page
B1638 My Acrylix® Modern Typewriter Alphabet Stamp Set, C1725 My Acrylix® Simply Said Alphabet Stamp Set, X7248B Every Little Thing Paper Packet, X6047 Black Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3521 Every Little Thing Vellum Die-cuts, Z3553 Acrylic Hearts, Z4304 Silver Loose Sequins, Z341 Glue Dots® Mini Dots, Cricut^® Hello USA Collection, Sewing Machine

Cricut^® Shape:
Hello USA
#M2CCF890

Santa & Elf Boxes
X5949 Almond Cardstock, X6047 Black Cardstock, X5982 Canary Cardstock, X6038 Candy Apple Cardstock, X6031 Green Apple Cardstock, X6044 Peach Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Cricut^® Season of Joy Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Season of Joy
#M629BBF2
#M629BA03

6″ x 8″ Grand Canyon Album Cover
X7249S Hawthorn Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X6047 Black Cardstock, X6046 French Vanilla Cardstock, X5962 Goldrush Cardstock, X6033 Paprika Cardstock, X5955 Pebble Cardstock, Z1375 Kraft Paper, Z2828 Toffee Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4054 Gold Embellishing Thread, Z697 Round Sponge, Cricut^® You Are Here Collection

Cricut^® Shape:
You Are Here
#M276272D

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August 21, 2019Create, Learn

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

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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!

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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 4 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

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April 16, 2019Create, Learn

Stamping with StazOn™ Ink

Close To My Heartacetate, black ink, cardmaking, ink, Made with Love, mini album, shaker window, stamp pad, stamping on plastic, stamping on wood, StazOn, window, wood mini album cover 7 Comments

We’ve been having a lot fun with StazOn™ ink in our art studio recently and wanted to let you in on it!

Considering all of the different black ink options available, from the faithful Archival Black to the newer Intense Black, it is no surprise that the StazOn ink pad is often overlooked. Most of us who follow this blog papercraft, scrapbook, or make cards out of paper. StazOn ink, although it works well on semi-porous surfaces, including paper, is better known for its use on non-porous surfaces such as plastic, glass, and porcelain. It stays put on the stamped surface, without pilling, until it completely dries.

We decided to put this trusty ink pad to the test, and sure enough, the results were as expected!

Tip: An inked stamp can be slippery on a non-porous surface, like the acetate circle in the shaker windows above. When you are ready to stamp, we suggest you do so with a steady hand, bringing the stamp straight down. (Avoid breathing if possible! 😉 ) Any slight movement in your hands can cause your image to smudge. Just as carefully, remove the stamp from the surface with a straight lift. Do not roll your stamp away.

Follow-up Tip: If you moved while stamping…it happens…have a damp rag (a wet wipe works!) at the ready to wipe off your surface. This only works on non-porous surfaces. If you are working on a semi-porous surface, like leather or photos, wiping will only spread the ink around creating a bigger smudge. A wet wipe should do the trick. (DO NOT use the My Acrylix® Spritz Cleaner to wet your surface for cleaning.)

Once your image is stamped, the ink will require time to set. We recommend that you plan ahead as you work with StazOn ink. Stamp first and set these pieces aside to dry as you work on the rest of your project.

But what if you want to stamp on something that is porous?

Most inks will seep into a permeable surface and spider out from the original stamped image. The trick, here, is to make your surface non-porous, or less porous. To stamp on a wood surface, like this album cover from our Made with Love mini album workshop, use a clear matte acrylic sealer. Before we stamped on our album cover, we sealed the surface with a clear finish aerosol spray. (If you have access to Mod Podge, it works really well, too!) Make sure to allow the sealant to dry before stamping onto the surface. It shouldn’t take too long, but if in doubt wait a bit longer just to make sure.

What are you stamping with StazOn? Do you have any tips or tricks for using this ink? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Recipes

4¼” x 5½” It’s Your Birthday (dots) Card
C1749 My Acrylix® Something Fierce—Cardmaking Stamp Set, X7242B I Heart Us Paper Packet, X5994 Ballerina Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z888 Black StazOn™ Ink Pad, Z4270 I Heart Us Sequins, Z4014 White & Gold Twine, Z4304 Loose Sequins—Silver, Z4309 Thin Cuts—Shaker Window & Confetti, Z4310 Shaker Window Foam & Acetate, Die-cutting Machine

4¼” x 5½” Happy Birthday Card
C1749 My Acrylix® Something Fierce—Cardmaking Stamp Set, X7240B Something Fierce Paper Packet, X7242B I Heart Us Paper Packet, X5994 Ballerina Cardstock, X5998 Canary Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z888 Black StazOn™ Ink Pad, Z4270 I Heart Us Sequins, Z4014 White & Gold Twine, Z4304 Loose Sequins—Silver, Z4309 Thin Cuts—Shaker Window & Confetti, Z4310 Shaker Window Foam & Acetate, Die-cutting Machine

4¼” x 5½” It’s Your Birthday (stripes) Card
C1749 My Acrylix® Something Fierce—Cardmaking Stamp Set, X7240B Something Fierce Paper Packet, X7242B I Heart Us Paper Packet, X6016 Pixie Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z888 Black StazOn™ Ink Pad , X7242C I Heart Us Complements, Z4270 I Heart Us Sequins, Z4304 Loose Sequins—Silver, Z4309 Thin Cuts—Shaker Window & Confetti, Z4310 Shaker Window Foam & Acetate, Die-cutting Machine

6⅛” × 7¼” Grandmother Mini Album
CC4193 Made with Love Mini Album Workshop Kit, Z888 Black StazOn™ Ink Pad

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March 12, 2019Create, Learn

Back to the Basics with Cricut Design Space™—Card Edition!

Close To My Heartcardmaking, cricut, Design Space, envelopes, Flower Market, how-to, So Much Happy, tutorial 12 Comments

Often the tools we show you in Design Space are illustrated with a scrapbook page or layout, but not today! In this next back to the basics post, we want to remind you that these tools can be used for many, many projects, including custom cards and envelopes. As we continue our review of basic tools in Design Space, you’ll see that it’s easy to create cards and envelopes that are both beautiful, unique, and most importantly, easy!

On the cards above, all of the shapes we used, including the sentiments, flowers, and even the envelopes, come from the Flower Market Cricut^® collection. Flower Market has both flat and 3-D shapes, and you can see we’ve used both types on these cards. This makes it a truly versatile collection, useful for an entire year’s worth of seasons, celebrations, and creativity!

The steps below show you how to work in Design Space from a desktop or laptop computer. If you use the app on a mobile device, the buttons and tools will be located in slightly different places on your screen, but the same features are available on any device.

Basic Shapes

Design Space has a “basic shapes” feature in the Design Panel. The shapes in this section are available to you for free, and it’s an easy way to add simple shapes like circles, rectangles, hearts, or diamonds and also use them as a base for other projects. For example, you could insert a square and then size it for a variety of things, and this is exactly what we did to create our cards.

To create a card front in Design Space, insert a square shape from the Shapes section. Adjust the size to 4.25″ x 5.5″. If you wanted to cut an entire card base, insert a square shape and size it to 8.5″ x 5.5″. In the next section, we’ll tell you how to add a score line to the card base.

Cut Lines and Score Lines

When you insert a shape on your canvas, the line of that shape is typically a solid cut line, but you’ll notice when you add an image, like the envelope from the Flower Market collection (#MD38C82), there is a dash line as well.

This is a score line. Your Cricut^® machine will both cut and score the envelope for you. You just need a scoring tool or scoring wheel, depending on the type of machine you have. You can change lines to cut, score, or even draw. If you aren’t sure what type of lines you have on your shape. You can always look in the Layers panel. It will tell you which ones will score or cut, and you can change the line type in the Edit bar.

To complete your card base, insert a score line. Score lines can also be added from the same Shapes section of the Design panel. Resize the score line to 5.5″, move it over your card base, and select both images. Then under Align in the Edit bar, select Center. Once the score line is centered, keeping both the line and the card base selected, click Attach in the Layers panel. Using Attach keeps your score line exactly where you want it, even if you move the shape on the canvas.

Using the Slice Tool

We used the Slice tool to create the sentiments for our cards. The Slice tool is one of the functions at the bottom of the Layers Panel, next to others like Weld and Contour. With Slice, you can cut an image or text out of another shape. Simply place your word or image over the one you want to cut it from. Select both shapes, and click Slice in the Layers Panel.

Initially, it might not look like anything happened, but if you click on your images, you’ll have two of whatever you cut. One is the shape itself, and the other is the shape you cut from the background.

There are a few important things to keep in mind. First, you can see in the “Thanks a Bunch” banner on this card, we sliced the sentiment from Lagoon paper and attached that to a solid White Daisy banner. For something like this, before you slice in Design Space, make sure you ungroup the image. Images that have multiple layers can’t be sliced. If your sentiment image has multiple pieces grouped together as one shape, like this one does, you’ll need to ungroup them and slice using just one image.

Another thing to remember is to duplicate the solid shape that goes behind whatever you’re slicing, if applicable. If you are slicing into the card base, you wouldn’t need a duplicate piece, but if you’re slicing into another shape, like the banner on this card, you’ll want to have a solid shape to layer behind it.

The last important tip we have for you is that you want to make sure when cutting your project that you keep small pieces that go inside letters or other shapes. With this card, that means you want to set aside the inside of each “a” and the “B” to attach to the banner.

If you look closely, you’ll notice a similar thing happening on the Happy Easter card, but it’s also a little bit different. We sliced the sentiment from the card base, but instead of saving the inside pieces, we cut the sentiment separately and layered a solid piece of White Daisy cardstock on the back, behind the sliced shape.

Put It Together (Basic Shapes, Score, and Slice)

All of the cards in our post today use the tools we’ve talked about including a basic rectangle shape, inserting a score line, and slicing a sentiment. Follow the steps below to put it all together and make the Sending Sunshine card!

First, search for the sentiment, #MD38CC3, and insert it on your canvas.
Ungroup the sentiment, and delete only the “Sunshine” image. Then resize the sentiment to a height of 1.75″, leaving the width locked.
For the card base, insert a square shape from the Shapes. Adjust the size to 8.5″ x 5.5″. Don’t insert a score line yet. You have to use the slice tool first, before attaching a score line.
Slice the sentiment from right side of the card base. This is your card front. Place the sentiment where you want it, select both images, and click Slice in the Layers panel.
Keep both extra sentiments. You’ll cut them from Lemon cardstock and layer the two in another step.
Now insert a score line, also from the Shapes section of the Design Panel. Size it to 5.5″. Place it over the card base, and select both images. Then, under Align in the Edit bar, select Center, and then select Attach in the Layers panel.
Insert other flowers and leaves on the canvas as desired. For our card, we used the Daisy image (#MFADCF2) cut in three different sizes, and we paired it with the Rhododendron leaf (#MD37FB).
Color your project pieces to make it easy to cut on the right color of paper or cardstock. Then select Make It in the top right corner and cut your project pieces.
Attach one 4″ x 5¼” piece of Mint cardstock behind the sliced portion of your card (on the inside of the card). Then layer the two Lemon sentiments and attach inside the sliced section.
Embellish with stamped images, 3-D flowers, sequins, and more!

**Bonus Tip!

Are you unsure how to add a Close To My Heart digital collection to your Cricut^® account? Simply visit www.cricut.com/CTMH and sign in to your account (or create one if you haven’t already). In the list of options in the menu on the left, you’ll see the last one is Redeem Promotion. Select that option. Then enter the code, click Redeem, and you’ll be on your way. Not sure if you’ve already linked your physical cartridges? In that same menu, you can select Linked Cartridges. This will show you the ones you’ve already linked to your account.

Next month, we’ll look at ways to manipulate text in the Edit bar on the canvas with the shapes and unique font from the You Are Here collection. Check back in April for more Design Space fun!

Recipes:

4¼” x 5½” Happy Easter Card (Vertical)
D1797 My Acrylix^® Watercolor Impressions Stamp Set, X7241B So Much Happy Paper Packet, X5995 Clover Cardstock, X6008 Lemon Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4235 Loose Sequins—Gold, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z2089 Glue Dots^® Micro Dots, Z3501 Cricut^® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
1.5″ #MD72936
3″ #MD72998
2.5″ #MD72998

4¼” x 5½” Thanks a Bunch Card (Horizontal)
D1797 My Acrylix^® Watercolor Impressions Stamp Set, X7241B So Much Happy Paper Packet, X5995 Clover Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2824 Linen Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4235 Loose Sequins—Gold, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z2089 Glue Dots^® Micro Dots, Z3501 Cricut^® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
3.5″ #MD4051F
0.75″ #MD3840E

4¼” x 5½” Sending Sunshine Card (Horizontal)
D1823 My Acrylix^® Word Search Highlights Stamp Set, D1797 My Acrylix^® Watercolor Impressions Stamp Set, X7241B So Much Happy Paper Packet, X6008 Lemon Cardstock, X5986 Mint Cardstock, X5988 Peach Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2808 Lemon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4270 I Heart Us Sequins, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z3501 Cricut^® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
0.5″ #MD37FB8
1.25″, 1.5″, 1.75 #MFADCF2
1.75″ #MD38CC3

Envelopes
X7241B So Much Happy Paper Packet, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3501 Cricut^® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
10.5″ #MD38C82 (cut 3)

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Close To My Heart Cricut® Collections:

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

ONE FINAL TIP

COMPLETE CREATIVITY

ART PHILOSOPHY

ARTBOOKING

ARTFULLY SENT

ARTISTE

ARTISTRY

CITY SIDEWALKS

FLOWER MARKET

HELLO AU/NZ

HELLO CANADA

HELLO USA

SEASON OF JOY

YOU ARE HERE

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Attach v. Slice

Using Attach

Put It Together

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1. My Acrylix® Seaside Greetings

2. Seaside Paper Packet

3. Seaside Coordinating Cardstock

4. Seaside Workshop Kit

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Lock/Unlock

Lock/Unlock with Basic Shapes

Locking/Unlocking More Intricate Shapes

Lock/Unlock with Text

Put It Together

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Close To My Heart Cricut^® Collections:

1. My Acrylix^® Seaside Greetings