Fleur-de-lis frames

I actually did this frame before the Eagle Scout one from my last post - I decided to add the "Eagle Scout" to customize it for a special purpose. For the first version, I used mostly silhouetted fleur-de-lis shapes and then I did a second version reversing the sequence and using more of the solid shapes - I prefer the second version since it results in an alternating pattern but you will find both files linked at the end of this post.

One issue I finally solved for these full page frames (remember the first "nearly full page"one I posted with the leaf garlands - on March 4th) is to slightly offset the paper as you put it on the mat to compensate for the tendency of the machine to start a bit too far in on the mat when you place it in what should be the "proper" position. For me, on my machine, it seems to be about a sixteenth of an inch or so - just get out some "ugly" paper and check your machine as I suspect there may be subtle variations from person to person and machine to machine!

Below are photos of the placement of the paper on my mat - first the top left



top right



bottom right



and bottom left



When I cut the first design, I also had an issue again with bad cuts on a few of the silhouettes - reminding me of all the problems I encountered on the large doily design (one of my posts from my first day of blogging - February 1st). I decided not to stress over it, changed the blade and checked on the condition of my mat - the blade had been in use for quite a while and I had just finished doing over thirty large cuts for my Cricut Message Board recipe exchange layouts (thanks again to Kendra for organizing this!)

Here you can see the bad cuts and the roughness of some of the other areas - if this happens to you try changing your blade before getting too upset!



the cut after removing it from the mat - fleur-de-lis failure!!



I tried to salvage this cut by removing the offending cuts but it looked odd to me



so...in order not to be wasteful, I removed the solid ones too which leaves a spot for a word or title - you can see my small sharp scherenschnitte scissors in the photo - they are most helpful for delicate jobs!



When I test cut these I was first removing them from the mat by sliding my scraper under the entire cut edge and then "poking" out the waste bits - this was tricky and I came close to tearing a few of the delicate spots. So after various test cuts I finally figured I should try the opposite and lift only the design - leaving the waste bits on the mat.

Here are a few photos of my trusty scraper with the little pointed corner that works so well for these jobs (I wish I knew where I got this - I would try to get more for my fellow Cricutters!)



Just be patient and slow - particularly on the silhouetted items



Here are the remainders (negative space) on the mat - it could be fun to apply these to a sheet of paper using the actual frame as a template. I think it would make another pretty border.



This design could be used for all sorts of photos and different color combinations can be very pleasing - here is a pastel lilac and yellow version



Fleur-de-lis frame variation #1 (8 solid shapes)

Fleur-de-lis frame variation # 2 (12 solid shapes)


(By the way, if you are interested in knowing more about fleurs-de-lis, I found an entry in Wikipedia when I checked on the plural - you can click HERE to see this information)