An Unexpected Wreath

While there are several seasonal holiday Cricut cartridges available you can actually find images that will work for the holidays on other cartridges that you may own.  Sometimes I just browse through the cartridges on Design Studio looking at all of the options - there are endless possibilities once you combine the cartridges with the flexibility and creativity made possible by the Design Studio program.

A cartridge that doesn't get a lot of attention is the "50 States" educational cartridge.  I think the educational cartridges are easily overlooked because they are in their own section in the "All by Category" listing in Design Studio.  It is easier to find the cartridges if you add them to "My Cartridges" because they will appear in strict alphabetical order, regardless of category.  The 50 States cartridge has a lot to offer in addition to the state names, shapes and capitals.  The state birds, flowers and flags are also included. 

The key highlighted here is the cut I used to make this wreath.

Here is a preview of the image that the key cuts.  You could cut it straight from the cartridge and save the extra pieces, however, by using Design Studio and "hide selected contour" you can conserve your paper.

Here you can see that I have hidden the center images (they are in pale blue indicating that they will not cut).

I wanted some stars to layer on the wreath.  I found some on the key highlighted above.

This key cuts seven small and one large star.  I needed nine stars all the same size.  I manipulated the shape using the handles around the box to make sure the size was correct.  I cut the stars from glitter cardstock.

I wanted to conserve my cardstock, so I overlapped several of the cuts to nestle the stars as closely together as possible.  I  used "hide selected contour" to make this work.  If you look carefully at this screen shot you will see many blue lines.

The glitter cardstock I used was from the DCWV Holiday Collection mat stack.  Some of the colors have a very glossy finish but others, such as this gold, have a more textured feel that I like a lot.  When I cut glitter cardstock, I usually use blade depth 6, high pressure and multi cut 2.

I added Stickles to all of the "berry" spots on the wreath.  The paper I used for the base wreath is from a K & Co. Holiday Stack.  I used foam squares to raise up the stars for more dimension.

This cut makes a lovely frame on a page.  As always, the look changes dramatically with different background papers.  You could also create a framed piece for the wall with the addition of a holiday greeting in the center.

This screen shot shows a preview using the words "Seasons Greetings" from the Christmas Solutions cartridge.  Some people do not like the look of the "t" in "Greetings" - the curl can make it look more like an "f."

I tried an alternative by creating a welded phrase with the Blackletter cartridge.  (I did not check weld for the previews so I could see the phrases in color).  I think this is a bit easier to read though I would probably change it to "Merry Christmas."  (There is no "Merry" on the Christmas cartridge - the phrase is set up for "Happy Christmas" which is a more common greeting in England).

I made this wreath quite a while ago and I intended to layer it with another wreath to see it that would create a more traditional look but I haven't had time to do that or to "clean up" the file for posting.  I think the wreath on Joys of the Season would look nice with this wreath added on top.

I do something similar with the wreath on our front door each year.  I have a grapevine and ivy artificial wreath that I decorated several years ago.  Each year I buy a fresh evergreen wreath and layer the artificial wreath on top - it is a quick and easy way to have a fully decorated wreath very quickly!

I did lots of cleaning and put another tree up today - I am getting closer to finishing!   Tomorrow I'll be on my way to New Jersey.  I will try to post a file for this cut if I get a chance - you can easily replicate it yourself and add your own greetings phrase to suit.

 ETA:  Download link for file added in THIS POST - be sure to read the explanation so you can avoid a cutting error.