Christmas Wreath

This wreath is made using a branch from the new Pagoda cartridge.  I can hardly believe that something so delicate will cut easily over and over again - sometimes the Cricut just amazes me!

Last year there was a lot of interest in the Martha Stewart branch punch and it became one of the "hard to find" items of the holiday season.  I was able to buy one and I used it for a number of projects.  Someone asked me why I buy punches when I could design similar items in Design Studio and I replied that I thought the punch would be too delicate to cut (and also frustrating to make without the possibility of grouping all of the elements of the design so I could resize it).

Well...it looks like I was wrong!  In the photo above the branch on the bottom was created with the Martha Stewart punch and the more intricate and delicate branch at the top was cut with my Cricut.

This screen shot shows the key for the branch I used.   I set it to cut at two inches, wondering if that was a crazy thing to try.

Here is a closer view of one branch with the mat grid showing so you can see the size.  Those line are very thin!

By using Design Studio, I was able to fit 28 branches on the top of a 12 x 12 mat.  I did not fill the entire mat - sometimes I find that it makes a file corrupt more easily when there are many items (thought it is more often a problem with welded items and these are simple cuts).

 

I placed two shades of green paper on the mat.  To make this test even more difficult, I used some textured  white core cardstock that often gives me problems in cutting.  After cutting one side of the mat, I unloaded and turned it around and pressed cut again.  This does take a very long time to cut so I could do lots of other things while I waited!

The branches lifted from the mat easily but they are extremely delicate so you do need to be careful.  The good thing is that when you are using them to make a wreath it won't really matter if a little piece here or there breaks off.

To attach the branches to the cards, I punched a circle from scrap paper and used it as a guide to apply adhesive to the card.  I used my Creative Memories Precision Point Adhesive which is my favorite glue pen.  (Here is a LINK to more information about this glue pen).

Wait until the adhesive has dried to clear and shiny as you can see in this photo.  Then you are ready to start placing the branches in the wreath shape.

Start anywhere and apply the branches to the adhesive circle.

I alternated between the two shades of green overlapping the branches up to the first intersection of the twigs.

In this close view you can see the spacing of the alternating color branches.  There are twelve branches in each wreath.

I added dots of Christmas Red Stickles glitter glue at the branch intersections.  This photo shows the dimension of the branches as they curl up from the page.  I don't like using white core cardstock but in this project the white core gives the effect of frost or snow.  You could also add some clear Stickles to make the wreath more wintry.

On one card I added the word "Love" in the center of the wreath. This is from the "A Child's Year"cartridge (one of my all time favorites!).

 

For the second card, I welded the letters to spell "Joy" (also from A Child's Year).

I would recommend doing a trial cut of a branch with your chosen paper before trying to cut an entire mat full of branches.  Then you can make any necessary adjustments and avoid frustration with ruined cuts.

I have included a link for the file.  It is a simple file but I did maximize the number of branches that will cut.  I did a video about quantity in Design Studio a while ago that explains how and why I do these files - here is a LINK  to the video post.

Pagoda was the third new cartridge I got at Michael's this week.  I did photograph the Pagoda handbook and I will post those photos and my review of this cartridge tomorrow.

Branches for making Wreath