Happy National Scrapbooking Month, friends! We kicked off our celebration last weekend with an incredible virtual crafting event! If you missed out on any of these awesome projects, and would still like to participate, the instructional videos are available under the past Events tab on the Close To My Heart (Official) Facebook page.
For the rest of the month, we’re keeping the party going with the gorgeous Hope & Kindness collection! This beautiful suite is designed with concepts of inspiration, self-affirmation, beauty, and growth at its core, and encourages you to find the best qualities in yourself and the people closest to you. We can’t wait to show it off, and today, we’re going to take you on a behind the scenes tour of all this wonderful collection has to offer!
At the heart of the suite is the exclusive paper packet, which features three full sheets of cut-apart sentiments, pattern sections, and icons. Not only do these patterned papers make crafting a joy, but the inspirational quotes included in the papers help to remind us to look for the best and have patience with ourselves as we continue to grow.
These papers are accompanied by a selection of coordinating stickers and kraft paper die-cuts that complement the paper packet perfectly and make the ideal finishing touches to treasured scrapbook pages and heartfelt cards.
Another stand-out feature of this collection is the coordinating cardstock pack. This cardstock pack includes 12 sheets with printed texture patterns on one side of each page, allowing for variation not only in the colors used but in textures as well!
Rounding out the Hope & Kindness product suite is the Hope & Kindness stamp set, Thin Cuts metal dies, and the Fancy Doilies Thin Cuts dies. These elements are coordinated perfectly with the papers, stickers, and die-cuts, but can also be used in other projects for years to come!
Along with the amazing new products available through the Hope & Kindness special, we’ve also designed three incredible workshop kits so crafters of all types can enjoy working with Hope & Kindness!
For our memory keepers, we’ve got a beautiful scrapbooking workshop kit, which includes all the exclusive papers you’ll need to create six coordinating 12″ x 12″ two-page layouts! Just imagine how spectacular your favorite photos will look incorporated into these pages!
Cardmakers can look forward to loads of crafting fun with the Hope & Kindness Cardmaking Workshop Kit! This kit includes materials to create 16 standard size cards (2 each of 8 designs).
With so many fun designs to choose from, you can easily create cards that are great for all types of occasions—birthdays, sympathy, expressions of thanks, or just because!
Last but not least, we’re thrilled to show off our Hope & Kindness Album Workshop Kit, which allows crafters to create an entire 6″ x 8″ mini album in one sitting! Many of the pages in this album incorporate Flip Flaps™ to accommodate even more photos and adds a fun, interactive element!
With so much fun in store with Hope & Kindness, it’s going to be an unforgettable National Scrapbooking Month! We can’t wait to celebrate all month long with this amazing collection and we’re looking forward to seeing all the awesome artwork you’ll create! What are you most excited to make with Hope & Kindness? Tell us about it in the comments below!
As you can imagine, so much goes into putting together these catalogs, especially the artwork that is designed and created from the featured products. Nearly every page displays a beautiful scrapbook layout or set of cards offering more than meets the eye at a quick glance.
Today we’re taking a deep dive into the scrapbook page on the cover of the May–June catalog and closely examining some of the elements and techniques that were used to bring it all together.
One of the first things you will notice on this page is the background. We’ve talked about repeating shapes to create a background before, in Creating an Intricate Scrapbook Page Is Easier than You Think! In that previous post, we mentioned that replicating one shape is not only a quick way to create a background but it’s also a great way to incorporate many different patterns and colors, so you can use as many of your favorite pattern paper designs without having to choose! (There are just so many pretty papers!)
In this case, a background made up of squares is a little extra special. Because the base page is also a square (12″ x 12″), we are repeating the shape again by filling it with the smaller 1⅞” squares. Even though it is the same shape, this approach is not only visually satisfying but visually exciting, as well, because the recurrence is with a variety of patterned papers and colors.
Can you find any other ways that we’ve used squares on this page?
If you said stitching, then you are right! When creating your art, consider lines, patterns, and shapes, as well as mixing media. A few stitched lines can quickly elevate a scrapbook page or card. If you’re not good with a sewing machine, you can easily draw “stitch” lines with a pen! (The number of rows and columns of background squares is also squared, 5 by 5!)
To create additional interest in our repetitive background, we also distressed our papers. Paper distressing happens when you alter the color or texture of the paper to produce a similar effect to it having been weathered by exposure to the elements over time. This real, authentic distressing (versus faux) is very popular and trendy, especially paired with the gorgeous patterns and colors from our Hope & Kindness collection. An easy way to distress the edges of your papers is running one blade of your scissors along the edges until the desired effect is achieved.
Now that we’ve got our background covered, let’s jump up to the next layer, and that’s the cluster of stickers and die-cuts we created for our photo. We know that the star of a good scrapbook layout is the story that it tells, whether it’s through photos, journaling, or a combination of both. For our already busy page, we needed to create a space that would draw and center our focus. This space is where we eventually want the photo and story.
Not wanting to cover up too much of the gorgeous background we created, we knew that we had to place our photo somewhere off-center, so we chose the bottom right. (We’ve been trained for things to resolve in the bottom and to the right, so if you’re ever in doubt, go for the bottom right!)
To begin creating the visual pull, we clustered several stickers and die-cuts just to the left of that space. Even though it may not look intentional, the way we placed and chose the pieces were very much so. For example, notice that we used three chipboard die-cut leaf stems. If you remember this simple rule when it comes to embellishments, you’re already ahead of the game: using an odd number of elements creates more dynamic art. This is known as the rule of odds.
Also, as you create a cluster of embellishments, keep it interesting by incorporating different sizes, shapes, and materials. Add even more interest to the grouping by popping a few of these elements off the page with some foam tape. If you look closely, you can see that in our cluster we only used foam tape on the left side of the stickers, creating another visual arrow towards where the photo will be with a downward slope.
Lastly, let’s quickly discuss the photo. Our cluster was ready, but our photo needed something more before it could be attached to the page. That “something more” was a photo mat. The purpose of the photo mat on a layout like this is to provide your eyes with a place to rest once they’ve arrived to where we’ve been pointing towards all along. That is why the mat on this photo is a solid-colored cardstock rather than patterned paper. It provides your eyes with a visual break from all of the excitement happening on the rest of the page.
You may have noticed that we also layered an additional White Daisy cardstock mat between the photo and the Papaya cardstock. This extra layer created the small white border that highlights our destination even more. White was a good choice because it’s a neutral bright color that is in the photo and in several of the patterns of the papers and stickers.
When you’re looking through any of our catalogs, we hope that you will discover lots of new concepts and ideas illustrated in the featured art. Taking a good look at the provided artwork examples is bound to reveal creative techniques or unique approaches to using a product. When you see a piece that stands out to you, flag it to return to later when you are ready to try it out for yourself. Our catalogs are so much more than product brochures, and we hope that you’ll use them as the full resource that they are and can be!
When March rolls around, it’s party time at Close To My Heart! Not only is it our Founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton’s birthday month, it’s also a time to celebrate all the things you love about crafting! Today, we’ll be taking you on a step-by-step journey through the process of creating an adorable celebratory card and a handful of festive badge decorations to help you get into party mode!
If the artwork we’re showing off today looks familiar, that’s because it is featured on the cover of our new March–April catalog, which we just released! This artwork is geared toward a birthday celebration, but you can easily switch out sentiments and embellishments to suit a variety of occasions. We’ll be looking at two party crafting essentials: cards and décor!
When creating a birthday card, a standout design is key for creating a fun and memorable card! For this Happy Birthday Cake card, we used papers and coordinating colors from the new Cake Day collection.
A prominent feature of this design is the diagonal slit through the center of the card. This slit is only 1/8″ wide, but it makes a big impression! To achieve this look, you’ll want to first apply any detailing to the top piece of paper, like we’ve done with the stamped details and colorful splatters shown here. Then, you cut the piece diagonally from the top-left to the bottom-right corner.
Once the cut has been made, take each piece of paper, and along the cut line you just made, slice off half the width of the slit. Because we created this card with a 1/8″ slit, we cut off 1/16″ from each individual piece after the initial diagonal cut has been made. If the thought of cutting a 1/16″ strip makes you break into a sweat, consider recreating this look using a wider slit in the middle.
The thing that makes the slit work is choosing a fun paper to peek through it! For our card, we used Wild Berry Glitter paper and cut it to not only peep through the slit but also to provide a nice border around the top piece.
After selecting our papers, we created an embellishment cluster to place at the center of the card, comprised of a Cricut®-cut circle, a few stickers from the Cake Day sticker selection, some Gold Embellishing Thread, and a “Happy Birthday” sentiment and balloon die-cuts from the Cake Day—Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts set.
Finishing up with a few Primary Sprinkles and Bitty Sparkles, this vibrant birthday card is sure to be an unforgettable part of any birthday celebration!
For the décor part of our art feature today, we’ll be going through the creation process for a selection of party badges that are sure to be a hit anywhere! For these badges, we’ve provided a downloadable Cricut Design Space™ file, which uses some basic element shapes to construct a few of these badges.
These badges feature patterned papers from the Cake Day paper collection as well as some of the coordinating cardstock colors. You can easily customize these badges by choosing a paper collection or cardstock colors that fit the theme of whatever you are celebrating. Cardstock is a great option for this kind of project because of how versatile it makes the final piece—and now is a great time to stock up on cardstock because our exclusive cardstock is on sale all month long during our Cardstock Carnival! Talk about reasons to celebrate!
You’ll need to attach a scoring tool to your machine to achieve the final, pleated look for the badge bases. Once you’ve cut all the pieces, gently remove them from your Cricut® mat to avoid tearing, and fold accordion-style along the scored lines. Create the badge shape by compressing the piece, holding the center section, and gathering the accordion fold into a circle shape. Secure the center of the circle and both ends with adhesive.
Once you’ve secured the ends and center of your badge base, you can attach any other embellishment pieces, like the dovetailed ribbon pieces on the “Party” and “Cake Time”, sentiments or stickers. You can even stack smaller pleated badge pieces on larger ones, like you see on the “Cake Time” and Wild Berry bow badges. Because these badges require relatively few process steps, it’s easy to cut and construct several at once, making them a project that not only is fun and simple to create, but is sure to wow wherever it’s used!
Don’t have a Cricut® machine? No problem! These badges can also be made by hand by using a hand-held scoring tool. (In fact, four of the seven badges shown below were created using this method!)
To create badges by hand, cut a piece of paper with a width of half the desired diameter of your finished badges (e.g. For a 2″ finished badge, trim paper to a width of 1″). Once you’ve cut your paper to the desired width, you can either use a scoring attachment with a paper cutter, or you can use a papercrafting tool and a ruler to create your own score lines by hand. We’ve created our score lines 1/4″ apart, but you can use different measurements for larger or smaller pleats.
From there, you simply fold your paper accordion-style along the scored lines, compress the piece, holding the center section, gather the accordion fold into a circle shape, and secure the center of the circle and both ends with adhesive. Once you’ve constructed your badge, add a few embellishments, and you’re left with a beautiful, handmade decor piece!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this artwork showcase featuring some of our newest items from the new March–April catalog. Click here to view the catalog and all the exciting new products available through March and April. Happy March, and happy crafting!
When creativity strikes, it can do so in a full spectrum of colors! Our exclusive colors can be found in Exclusive Inks™ stamp pads and re-inkers, shimmer brushes, embellishments, and so much more. With these products, you can achieve effortless color coordination in all of your crafting.
Sometimes, however, the embellishments that we want to use in our artwork are only available in neutral colors, such as white, wood, or cork. The good news is that you can get crafty with your embellishments as well and color them to meet your color needs!
First things first, we absolutely love all of our embellishments and the colors that they come in. We wouldn’t have them any other way, and they serve us so well in lots of art projects, as you have witnessed in the many artwork examples shown on this blog, our catalogs, and our other social media outlets. The idea today is to show you just another amazing facet to these already incredible little embellishments that can make all the difference!
A lot of the color that we’ve added to our example embellishments can be added directly from the tool to the embellishment. For example, markers, shimmer brushes, and glitter glues, all have tips fine enough that can dispense the color right onto your choice of embellishment. When you are coloring with these sorts of tools, we encourage you to color the embellishment before adding it to your project. If it is adhesive-backed, color it while it is still on the backing sheet that it came on. For embellishments that are not adhesive-backed, use a small amount of adhesive on the back and attach it lightly to a piece of scratch paper. This way, you can color the embellishment to just the right color you want without worrying about making stray marks on your project. You can then place the newly colored embellishment after you’ve achieved the color or effect you were hoping for.
Porous surfaces, such as wood or cork, will absorb a lot of the colors—gels, glues, and embossing powder are the exceptions—whereas the color media will sit on nonporous surfaces found on embellishments like dots and gems. Regardless of the embellishment you may be garnishing, always remember to allow the color to dry in order to avoid any unwanted transfer (onto yourself or other parts of your project).
We will leave you with one final tip. If you are wanting to color match an embellishment with one of our exclusive colors, our Exclusive Inks™ are your answer! Depending on the embellishment, you may want to either use one of our stamp pads or re-inkers. If you are adding color to clear sparkles (see our Wild Berry Exclusive Inks™ example in the first set of embellishments, above), use a sponge or dauber with your ink pad. Ink the sponge, then gently dab the embellishment until the desired color is achieved. For embellishments that may require more detail, a re-inker paired with a waterbrush allows great control and precision. Place a drop of re-inker onto an all-purpose mat (or another nonporous surface that can act as your palette). Lift the ink with the brush to add color to your embellishments in a more controlled manner.
If you have any questions on any of these ideas that we shared, please let us know in the comments below and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can!
There’s no limit to the creative ways you can add a pop of color to your artwork!
Whether you’re looking to make a set of Valentines for a classroom or to deliver a single, unique treat for a special occasion, these two darling paper projects are must-haves in your crafting repertoire!
We made the treat holders we are showing you today using our new Smitten paper collection, and we are simply head over heels for the results! This Valentine’s themed collection includes a gorgeous 12″ x 12″ patterned paper packet with double-sided designs, a coordinating 12″ x 12″ sticker sheet with captivating glossy UV-coated accents, and an incredibly cute stamp set with coordinating Thin Cuts full of sweet puns, all designed to brighten up anyone’s day.
*These are the products we used to create our example but, the beauty behind these projects is that you can make them from whatever you have at home, too, and for any occasion!
Prepare: Stamp sentiments/designs on the small White Daisy cardstock square and embellish as desired.
Assemble: 1. Fold the 6″ x 6″ patterned paper in half, diagonally.
2. Make a light pencil mark along one of the short edges of the triangle, at 2½” from the right angle, bring the opposite corner of the triangle up to that point, and fold. Do the same thing with the other side.
3. Open the two corner folds to return to the original triangle, then fold down the top layer of the remaining corner at the 2½” marks. Lift this fold back up and bring in the corners again.
4. Insert the top triangle fold into the space between the layers of the top corner fold, then gently use your finger to pop in and curve the bottom of the pocket.
5. Attach the prepared White Daisy cardstock square to the front of your pocket, with foam tape if you’d like some additional dimension, then fill the pocket with a note or a candy, or whatever treat you’re ready to deliver!
Prepare: Fold the White Daisy cardstock in half and dovetail the open end. Stamp and embellish your newly created flag as desired. Then, attach the flag to the top of the ⅜” x 2½” cardstock.
Assemble: 1. Score the drawer piece horizontally, at 1⅜” and 2¾”. Then score this same piece vertically, at 1⅜” and 4¼”.
2. Cut along the 1⅜” vertical score lines, up to the first set of horizontal score lines, and then fold in along each score line.
3. Attach the 1⅜” corners to the inside of the long sides of the box, on both ends, to form a 1⅜” x 2⅞” x 1⅜” box.
4. Score and fold the tunnel patterned paper horizontally, ¾” from the top and bottom. Then, curve and attach the scored parts to one of the 1½” x 2⅞” cardstock pieces.
5. Attach the remaining 1½” x 2⅞” cardstock piece to the bottom of the newly created tunnel.
6. Insert the drawer and attach the prepared flag to the outside, and your mailbox is complete!
Join us to make these projects along with us, or simply to watch and then make the projects on your own at your own pace. Either way, we look forward to hosting you!
We will be creating the fun treat holders we walked you through today, along with several varieties of the same, on January 31, at 4:30 p.m. (MT), also live on our Facebook page. See you there!
One of the best ways to make a lasting connection with friends and family is through sharing your favorite stories. Being able to share your best-loved memories with your best-loved people is such a treat—especially when the story is accompanied by the perfect photos!
As memory keepers, we’re passionate about creating showcase pieces for our most treasured pictures and stories. Our new True Story album makes it easier than ever to preserve and retell your own priceless stories. With beautiful pre-cut pages and fold-out sections throughout, this mini album carries more of your favorite photos and stories than you might expect based on its size!
The True Story project is designed to accommodate over 40 photos in individual Memory Protectors™ and Flip Flaps™ while still leaving plenty of room for journaling to tell the stories depicted in the photos. This unique album is designed to fit in one of our Everyday Life™ 6″ x 8″ albums and comes with many of the pieces pre-cut and even pre-printed! It also includes a few clear acrylic pages and specialty die-cuts for an even more unique finish.
With so many exciting elements like no other, True Story is a joy to create and will be a treasured keepsake for years to come. To help you get the full picture of this project’s potential, including all the opportunities for journaling and photo display in the finished product, we’ve put together this short video, which shows off each page of this one-of-a-kind album. Enjoy!
We can’t wait to hear about all the amazing things our fellow crafters do with the True Story album! As a special treat, we’ll be giving away five True Story Album Kits to five lucky readers! To be eligible for this giveaway, subscribe to the Make It from Your Heart blog and leave a comment below and let us know about your plans for True Story! All entries must be submitted by 4 p.m. tomorrow, January 6 (MST). Winners will be notified via e-mail we use the email address you are subscribed with so make sure it is up to date to not miss out!).
We’re jumping right into the new year and celebrating National Papercrafting Month with the All Around Creativity special, featuring four gorgeous wreath kits that are only available from Close To My Heart through the end of the month. There are so many different ways to embellish these beautiful wreaths, so we figured we’d have some fun and share with you four simple ways that we’ve added color to the plywood bases.
Adding color to wood doesn’t need to be super messy or take a huge amount of time. It can be quick, easy, and clean. To start off, we’ll take a peek at one of the easiest wood-coloration techniques. This method uses an Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad and will only take you a few minutes from application until it’s completely dry!
Simply select the ink color you’d like to use and gently swipe the stamp pad over the surface of the wood with quick, dabbing motions, going with the grain. Going with the grain helps you to emphasize the natural beauty of the wood, while also protecting your stamp pad from getting scratched up or caught on the wood. As you’ll see in the video below, we left some of the wood grain visible for a more stained look, but you can make it as light or as dark as you’d like.
To achieve a softer, mottled look, try sponging the ink onto the wood.
Cut a Round Sponge into quarters. While gripping the point of one quarter with your fingers, gently load your sponge with ink by pouncing it on your stamp pad. Because the sponge absorbs the ink, it may not look like you have a lot on there, but you’ll have more ink than you think!
Once you’ve got your sponge inked and ready to go, use the same pouncing motion you used on the stamp pad to apply the color to the plywood. The ink will dry lighter than it looks while you apply it. For a darker, richer tone, you will have to apply additional layers of ink.
This next technique uses TriBlend™ markers. When using an alcohol-based marker to color wood, you’ll want to go in the direction of the grain and use a steady hand to achieve even color throughout.
Because you have greater control over color distribution when you use this method, you also have more control over the appearance of the colored wood. For instance, if you want a softer, lighter look, use a light hand and don’t go over the same spot too many times. For darker and richer tones, add more color layers to really get the pigment into the wood.
If you’re going for a darker color, don’t jam the marker tip into the wood, as this may damage your marker. Instead, go over the same area of the wood multiple times for color layering and try using a lighter shade of your TriBlend™ marker.
The last technique we’re showcasing today adds a bit of sparkle to your art. Heat embossing! (We went there, and it’s beautiful!)
First, place your wreath over a piece of scratch paper so you can catch any excess embossing powder. Then, begin by rubbing the surface of the wreath with an anti-static pouch. Apply VersaMark™ ink to the wreath, a few sections at a time, using the same pouncing motion you saw in our first technique. While the ink is still wet, sprinkle embossing powder over it, shake off any excess powder onto your scratch paper, and heat set with a heat tool. (Use your scratch paper to easily funnel your excess embossing powder back into its container for future use.)
We absolutely love these wreaths and National Papercrafting Month, because it really gets us thinking outside the box! We can’t wait to see all the different ways you choose to add color to your wreaths.
Remember, you can only get these gorgeous wreath kits until January 31, and if you buy four or more you even get a discount! Make sure to take full advantage of the All Around Creativity special while you still can. For a few of you who may be on the fence, we are giving away four of these kits to four lucky readers! For a chance to win, you must do two things. First, make sure you are subscribed to this blog. If you are not, find the blue button on the sidebar that says “Subscribe to list” and follow the prompts once you’ve clicked it. Second, leave us a comment below telling us what types of crafts you like to work out, outside of scrapbooking and cardmaking. You have until 12 p.m. (MST) Thursday, January 9, to submit your entries. All winners will be notified by email. Good luck and happy crafting!
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.
YOU ARE HERE
Sample Shapes: (Not all shapes shown.)
Artwork Example:
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!
What better way is there to kick off the summer months than with a beautiful patriotic wreath? Display it on your porch or mantel, hang it on a wall, or place it on a shelf to be admired. It will become that conversation piece in your space that you can proudly say, “Yep, I made that!”
Once you’ve gathered all of your materials, follow these easy steps and begin assembling your wreath.
Step 1—Cut your paper into the following shapes and sizes:
46 – 4″ x 4″ Sapphire cardstock squares 16 – 3½” x 3½” Candy Apple cardstock squares 12 – 3″ x 3″ White Daisy cardstock squares
3 – 9½” cardstock circles, any color*
1 – 2¼”, 2½”, 2¾”, 3″, 4¼”, 4½”, 4¾”, 5″ White Daisy sunburst*
1 – 5¾” cardstock circle, any color (optional template)* 8 –1¼” gold foil stars (optional embellishment)** 2 – 1½” and 2″ gold foil stars (optional embellishment)** 4 – 1¾” gold foil stars (optional embellishment)**
*These shapes can be cut using this Cricut Design Space™ file. If you own a Cricut® machine but do not have access to Design Space, see the recipe at the end of this post for additional cutting information.
**These shapes can be cut using the Cricut® Flower Market collection, Shift + Background <p> or #MD431D.
Step 2—Build your base.
Stack and attach all three 9½” cardstock circles on top of one another to create your base. Use the optional smaller 5¾” cardstock circle and, with a pencil, trace a guideline onto your base. If you did not cut this piece, draw a guideline by hand approximately 2″ from the edge.
Step 3—Form your petals.
Once your paper is all cut, roll each square piece like a cone, leaving it open on the top and closed at the bottom; seal the seam with Liquid Glass or hot glue. Roll up each petal keeping the same color intensity of our two-toned cardstock on the outside of each.
Step 4—Assemble the Outer Wreath.
Using the penciled circle as your guide, start building your wreath starting with the outside layer. Attach your largest petals onto the base, seam down, leaving about a finger width between each. (Tip: pinch the bottom tip of the cone flat when adding adhesive).
When building your second row, place the petals in the spaces created in the first layer, and so on.
Use the large Sapphire petals for the first two layers, then create one layer using the medium-sized Candy Apple petals, and complete the final third layer using the small White Daisy petals.
(Depending on how tightly you roll your petals and how close you attach them, you may end up using a different number than you originally cut.)
Step 5—Build the Center Wreath. Gather your remaining pieces.
First, gently bend the “rays” of each sunburst paper piece up with your fingers. Stack and attach all of these pieces together from largest to smallest, with the largest piece on the bottom. Next, glue the paper baking cup, open end down, to the center of the wreath. The baking cup will act as a stand for the sunburst flower you just created so it won’t get buried in the middle of all the wreath’s petals. Glue the bottom of the sunburst flower to the baking cup.
Finally, embellish the center of your wreath with the optional gold foil stars and sequins. For our center, we sandwiched two stars of the same size around a toothpick and then attached the toothpick to the white center by wrapping the bottom of it with a glue dot.
Step 6—Display your completed wreath with pride!
What are some ways you’re using papercrafts to decorate your space this next season? Share with us in the comments below. We love hearing from you!
