Eyelet Edge Variation (and other info)

I received a lot of questions and emails about the eyelet edge file.  I had hoped that my directions were clear enough to create your own file.  I have been trying to encourage everyone to actually use the software and not simply download files from other people.  Once you master the basics (which are really quite simple) you can have so much fun creating your own unique projects.  However, a number of people wanted my Gypsy file so I have added a link to download the file in the original post HERE.

I also had several requests for a non-Gypsy version of the card and I remembered a "sneak peek" I had posted  a while ago and I went back in the archives to search for the post.  It turned out to be from last October (time flies...). I had intended to turn this into a finished card but apparently I got busy with other things!

This eyelet edge is more complex and I used some "out of the box" thinking to create it.  I wonder if anyone can guess which cartridge I used?  I will try to find the file and finish a sample card in the next couple of days.

I had a nice surprise today.  I received an email that a comment was added to the thread on the Cricut Message Board where I posted the Wheelbarrow Card I made with Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons cartridge.  I clicked on the notification and found out that several message board members were congratulating me because my card was highlighted in the Chirp newsletter this week.

To be featured in the Customer Spotlight you must submit your project, but the highlighted message board threads are selected by the newsletter staff and you are not notified.  I still haven't received the Chirp in my email but here is a LINK to the current issue.  The Chirp is posted on the Cricut.com site so if you don't get the emailed version you can check there to see the latest news.

 

There are some special deals being offered directly from Cricut.com in the Green Wednesday email.  These emails come out fairly frequently but I don't think there has been a new one every Wednesday.To see the full email image click HERE .  You can also go to the Shopping section of Cricut.com and click on the special offers tab at the bottom of the column to find the Green Wednesday section.

The Cricut Imagine will be available in a special bundle (not the same as the HSN bundle) at the price of $579.99 with free shipping.  The cartridges included are Imagine More (this is the basic cartridge for the machine), Country Carnival Imagine Art and Audrey Imagine Colors and Patterns

There are also specials for the Cuttlebug Companion folders ($14.39 instead of $17.99) and the latest seasonal cartridge set (Christmas Cards, Christmas Village and Thanksgiving) $54.97 instead of $64.97.  If you are a Cricut Circle member you will also get an additional 10% off and double rewards points.


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Eyelet Border Card with the Gypsy

I love to use border punches but it can be tricky to get them perfectly lined up for a nice card edge.  Some border punches are not sized to fit neatly on a card front.  With Design Studio or the Gypsy, I can create card blanks with "punched" borders that are a perfect fit and save my hands from all that punching!  I started making bordered cards this way a couple of years ago and I have learned a few helpful tricks along the way.

I had my Gypsy along on the trip to Virginia so I worked on a few of these designs while I was flying back and forth.  I decided to make a design using only the preloaded Gypsy cartridges.  This is the image I used.  The keywords identify it as "watermelon, half circle or grapefruit" - I thought of it as a lemon slice!

I added a group of seven of the images to the mat.  I prefer to make borders with an uneven number of images so there will be an obvious centerpoint to the design.  On the Gypsy the kerning I applied was -.12 and the scallops were evenly spaced when the kerning was applied.  In Design Studio you usually need to fix the kerning by nudging a few items in order to get even spacing.

I then changed the length of the group to 5.5 inches so it would make a border for an A2 card.  On the Gypsy the sizing can be locked to stay proportional or unlocked to allow the height and width to be individually adjusted.  Design Studio does not have this proportional sizing and there is no way to lock the aspect ratio when you change one dimension.  I generally use the lower right "handle" to get the size as close to my intended size as possible and then type in the final values.

To create the base of the card I needed to use this square from the Gypsy Font cartridge.  There is not a perfect square on the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge (I discovered this on another project - it doesn't really matter since both of the Gypsy cartridges are preloaded on the Gypsy so you will have a square).

I used one guideline rectangle to figure out the sizing for the card with the "punched" border.  I placed the 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch rectangle on the mat, added the border section and then added a rectangle adjusted to the width to fit with the punched border.  The border and this rectangle are then welded to create the card base.  The guideline rectangle should be moved to another page or deleted before the design is cut.

I am using Design Studio screen shots to show you the steps but you can not cut this design from the computer - it uses the Gypsy cartridges so can only be cut with the Gypsy.  You can click on any of the screen shots to see a larger version.

 I set up a 12 x 12 mat to cut two card bases with eyelets borders at once.

I cut the card base from Core'dinations Gemstone cardstock in opal.  I used multi cut 2  times to be sure that the eyelet sections would be cut cleanly.

I scored the card at 4 1/4 inches on my Scor-Pal  to create a neat fold in the heavy cardstock.

Once I had the card base cut I could quickly pull together a card by adding a layer, a sentiment and some gems.

I added some glittery striped cardstock from the DCWV "Linen Closet" stack.

The "Thanks" sentiment is from the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge.  I cut the top layer in the same opal Gemstone cardstock and the shadow layer in a darker tan cardstock.

The card was quite simple but also shiny and pretty- it just needed a little something more...

 I added some Creative Charms small gradient gem stickers in blue along the eyelet border.  I put one more on the tail of the "s" just for fun!

I can use this same card base cut over and over.  I can even prepare some of these bases when I am not very busy and then have them on hand to decorate.

There are many more images that will work to create a punched border effect for your cards.  I think I gave enough details about how to create your own file that you should be able to make one of your own.  If you have trouble and want me to post the file (after I "clean it up" a bit!), please leave a comment and let me know you need it.

Link to Gypsy file added 9/30 - 


A2 Eyelet Edge Card


There are just a couple of days left to purchase the Creative Charms Deal of the Month for September  - this deal comes in a boy or girl version and includes $24.00 worth of product for just $7.99 - here is a LINK to the page on their site.  New deals for October will be announced soon...

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A Lovely Wedding

We are home again after a fast trip to Virginia for the wedding of our cousin.  It was a beautiful celebration.  I just went through my photos and there were some moments and details that I wanted to remember.  I thought I'd share some of them with you.  Sometimes looking at pictures can be very inspirational for other projects.

The wedding and reception took place at a Botanical Garden.  It was a lovely setting and very intimate since the building can accommodate only a limited number of guests.  The tables had amazing arrangements of branches with orchids or reeds and floating candles.

The ceremony was in the late afternoon and as the day turned to evening the tiny lights in the indoor trees and the candles gave a magical effect to the room.

This sign greeted us at the entrance.  The hot pink and green colors were perfect together.  The artwork was done by another cousin, Juliana Bright.  She created all of the wedding stationery, including the wonderful and colorful save the date card.  You can see some more of Juliana's artwork and illustrations HERE.

The ceremony combined many traditions from different parts of the family.  A wedding canopy incorporated the prayer shawl from a great grandfather from the bride's mother's side of the family.

This Dutch wish tree was a special place to leave a message for the bride and groom.

Here are the directions for the wish tree.  The ringing of the bell for each wish was fun to hear.  The tags were simple stamped tags but you could make more elaborate tags with lots of different Cricut cartridges.

The tree filled up as the evening went on.

There was not a "head table" but the bride and groom's chairs were marked with special bows

The tables all had a very natural look with moss for the base of the centerpieces.  The place cards were also set out on a mossy table and the ringbearers carried the rings tied on these moss cushions.

Allison was a beautiful bride - here she is with her colorful bouquet shortly after the ceremony.

Her long hair was carefully arranged in loose curls with sparkly hair ornaments that really caught the light.

Her gown was made with lots of beading and lace and the train gathered up beautifully for the reception.

Most of the attendants were children and they looked adorable with their crowns of flowers.

This was after the ceremony - I think she was a little bit tired.

The branches with orchids were so lovely and really tied all of the colors together.

This was taken right after they were pronounced husband and wife.  Allison's brother Jon served as her honor attendant and you can see how happy they all are in this photo.  His son and daughter were two of the children in the wedding.

As we left the reception there were packets of wildflower and other seeds for us to take and this card of thanks.

It was a very special occasion and we were so glad to see our flower girl married to such a wonderful man.  We wish them many years of happiness together.

Tomorrow I'll be back to "crafty" posts again.  I did have my Gypsy on the plane with me and have several things ready to test cut.

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Pumpkin Candy Holder and more...

We are still enjoying the wedding festivities - I'll soon be able to add the photos of Allison as a bride and redo my digital layout.  I thought I'd share links to a couple of older posts for those of you who may not have been readers of my blog last year.

The pumpkin candy holder at the top of this post is easy and fun to make.  It uses the A Child's Year cartridge but you can easily substitute other cartridges to make a similar candy holder - the basic principals for this type of holder stays the same no matter what decorative shape you choose.  Here is a LINK to the post from October.

This Halloween Black Cat card uses only George and can be cut on a 6 x 12 or a 12 x 12 mat.  If you have the Original Cricut you can cut this with just the trial version of the Design Studio software.  Here is a LINK to the post, also from last October.

When I looked at my post from yesterday, I decided that my original layout plan was a bit more to my liking.  In this version, I did not use a full sheet of "virtual vellum" - I simply covered each photo individually and created the oval cut-outs.  Here are a few variations of this plan.  Once again, digital scrapping gives you the possibility of trying lots of ideas before committing to a final version!

This version uses paper from the Reminisce Palette.

This paper is from the Jewel Christmas Palette,

and this is from the Jewel Winter Power Palette Additions.  In all three cases I added a glow behind the words.

So many possibilities...

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A Wedding in the Family

We have a very special family event this weekend.  My husband's youngest cousin is getting married.  He is the oldest in his generation and Allison was one of our flower girls when we got married nearly 30 years ago!

We don't have a lot of wedding photos - we were married just before wedding videos and multi-photographer coverage became popular.  The single use "table cameras" were not available and our photographer took the standard "official" photos and a few candids.  I searched through the photos to see if I had a portrait of Allison but I found very few photos that included her.  They were all photos of groups.

 

I wanted to do a digital page showing these photos so I used my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software and started with a blank 12 x 12 page.  I added four of the photos that I had already edited and "cleaned up" (these were scanned from my original proof set which we purchased from the photographer).  I applied a soft edge to all of the photos.

The soft edge effect is one of the many available in the program.  In the "Format Photos" tab, I chose the "select" icon in the frame area and applied the soft edge option in the "cutouts" menu (you can also choose various mat configurations in the "frame" drop down menu).

My next step was to find a way to highlight Allison in the photos.  I did this by adding a white 12 x 12 square at 37% opacity (creating "virtual vellum") and then erasing oval shapes to let the areas of the photos with Allison show in full color.

To erase the ovals in the white "vellum" layer, I selected the layer in the left column (it is darker gray) and then clicked on "Ellipse" in the cutters section of the "Cut and Fill" ribbon.  I used the yellow boxes to shape the ovals to highlight Allison and then chose "Erase the shaded area" to delete sections of the white square.

I added two text boxes and used the font AR BLANCA in bold black for the words.  I tried various options for the background.  I find the ability to try many digital variations without wasting any  real paper to be a great advantage to digital scrapping.

I chose an overlay from the Delight Youth Digital Overlays and changed the color to dark green in the "fill" section of the "Cut and Fill" ribbon.  Using overlays is a great way to create your own custom papers.

I liked the lacy ornate background but you could create entirely different looks for the page depending on your choices.

Here is an example using a red paper from the Candy Cane Digital Kit.

This example has a background paper from the Black and White Digital Power Palette.

Yet another version with green paper from the Primary Digital Power Palette.

If you have questions about the Creative Memories program and don't have a CM consultant, please don't hesitate to contact me.  I will be having some more online question and answer sessions again soon.  If you purchased the software through me you will get notification of the times of these free sessions.

Here is the happy couple - our little flower girl, all grown up!

 I hope you are having a great weekend.  I won't have much computer time this weekend so if you are trying to reach me with a question it may take me a few days to get back to you.

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