Flights of Fancy

One of the things that I enjoy about having a blog is reading the comments and messages that readers send me.  I have "met" some really interesting people through my blog.  They are from all over the world and their ages and crafting experience vary widely.  I get lots of questions and requests for help with specific problems and I do my best to answer everyone.  If you send me a message and do not have an answer within a few days, please don't hesitate to send it again.  I sometimes have pages of email to get through and things do "slip through the cracks" on occasion.

The design at the top of this post is one that was requested by a reader from the West Coast.  He is 80 years old and just got a new Expression (moving up from a smaller machine).  His name is George (a funny coincidence considering the name of the original Cricut cartridge!).

George was having the problem that I hear about frequently.  He wanted to weld words inside a frame and the welds were not working correctly.  I did a video quite a while ago explaining how to do this - here is a LINK. 

I loved his idea of placing a butterfly and the words "Flights of Fancy" inside the lovely frame on the Home Accents cartridge.  He gave me a list of the font cartridges he has and the Ashlyn's Alphabet font seemed like a good fit for this project. I started working in Design Studio but then switched to the Gypsy to finish the file because it will group items and then will allow me to change the size of the group while keeping the relative position of the elements the same.  I wanted to expand the original cut into a larger file that George could cut on his new Expression. 

I found a few quirks while working back and forth between the Gypsy and Design Studio.  When I did my original Design Studio file the frame and butterfly were separate elements and I put each word in a group (by typing all of the letters in the same selection box) so I could adjust the size easily.  When the file is moved to the Gypsy, the letters all show up independently and must be regrouped.  Then, when the file is brought back to Design Studio, the letters are all independent and can not be grouped.

I have also had a little trouble getting used to the differences in the way the two programs "see" the mat.  In Design Studio, the location of an object on the mat is determined by the "x" and "y" values and the "0" for each axis is at the top left corner.  On the Gypsy, the "0" is at the bottom left corner.  The Gypsy also considers the bottom of the 12 x 12 mat to be the equivalent of a 6 x 12 mat.  In Design Studio, the baby bug mat is seen as the top half of the 12 x 12 mat.

For my first test cut, I used the DCWV Luxury stack.  The file cut perfectly but it is rather delicate and you must be very careful when lifting it from the mat. The bone folder was handy and I used it to help lift the design.  A better choice would be the Cricut spatula, or, my all time favorite, a wide plastic putty knife (currently lost in the clutter on my table!).

I test cut the Design Studio version of the file  as well.  I will share these files in a day or two.  I want to let George have "first dibs" on cutting his design!

I adhered the smaller version (5.5 x 5.5 inches) to some solid burgundy card stock cut at 7 x 7 inches and mounted on a piece of 8 x 8 metallic gold cardstock, also from DCWV.  I added some tiny pink pearls to accent the flowers and the two letters "F."  The pearls are from Creative Charms.  This would be pretty framed on a wall or placed on a tabletop easel.

There are just a few days left to get the "deal of the month" for June at Creative Charms.  You will get all of these items ($23 at regular prices) for just $6.99. For lots of ideas and projects using these and other Creative Charms embellishments, visit the Creative Charms blog HERE.  I am excited to be part of such a talented Design Team!

I had another great surprise from a blog friend today.  Marilyn Mae sent me a special package and I was thrilled with what I found inside!  I'll share what it was and what I am doing with it in a day or two...

The weekend is almost here - I have lots to finish up before it arrives!

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