An "over the top" Valentine

(This post originally appeared on the Everyday Cricut blog where I was the Guest Designer for the week of January 10-14, 2011)

Happy Wednesday!  It's Diane again back for Day Three of my Guest Designer week.  I am glad to hear that many of you are enjoying my projects and I hope you will try making similar projects on your own.

Today I have a very special Valentine full of bling.  I usually keep my designs fairly simple with a limited number of pieces.  However, for this card, I pulled out all the stops!  There are six cardstock pieces, 44 bits of bling and a special heart charm accenting the sentiment.

I even used three different Cricut cartridges, breaking my rule of trying to make a file work with only one or two cartridges.  The main elements are from Reminisce Accents, the sentiment is from Wild Card and the extra circle layer is from George.  For complete information about how I designed the card, please check THIS POST on my blog, Capadia Designs.

I needed a square card to accommodate the design I created and I decided to make it a bigger card than I normally make.  I cut the card base at 6 x 12 and folded it for a  6 x 6 inch square card.  The first white layer is cut at 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

I used Core'dinations cardstock for this card.. The pink and red are from the regular line but the white is a gemstone cardstock which has a lovely sheen.  My ATG tape dispenser certainly made the assembly process go faster.

Here is the card with the first three layers added.  I wanted just a bit of white to show to help "pop" the main design.

Next came the pink layer.  This is the shadow of the frame and it is rotated and welded to form a background. 

Finally, I added the top lace layer and set about figuring out the finishing touches for this card.

The sentiment from Wild Card had just the right degree of "swirliness" to go with the main design.  Wild Card is chock full of lovely sentiments which, of course, can be used on lots of other cards.

I thought there was a bit too much white showing on the top layer so I added a ring cut from the George cartridge to frame the sentiment and let it stand out in contrast to the darker colors around it.

The only thing left to do was to add some gradient gem and pearl stickers from Creative Charms.  I took photos at each step along the way but I won't post them all here!

I found this locket heart charm at the same local antique shop where I found the little cherub on Monday's card.  I added one more gem sticker to cover the hanging loop.

It was fun to work out the pattern for the gems and pearls.  I wish you could see the effect of the sparkly bits and the sheen of the white cardstock.  This is very difficult to capture with a camera but in person the card really sparkles!

When I cut the intricate top layer and the sentiment I used blade depth 6, pressure high and multi-cut 2 times.  It always seems better to do a multi-cut on the intricate filigree type designs and to keep the pressure a little lower.

Answers to a few more questions...

Karen (and others with new computers) - If you have Design Studio installed on an old computer and want to transfer it to a newer computer you should go ahead and download the trial version from the Cricut.com site.  There are step by step directions on how to do this at THIS POST on my blog, along with a video.  Do not install the version on the CD - it is out of date and won't work at all on a Windows 7 computer.  You can try to use the serial number (found on the CD envelope) to activate the software but you will most likely have to call Customer Service for help in transferring the program.    If you get through right away it will only take a few minutes to complete the process.

Here is the contact information - I would call rather than email as it can take a while to get an email response.

Cricut® support hours
	Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (MST)
	Cricut® support: 801-932-1144
	toll free service phone: 877-7CRICUT
	fax: 801-794-9001
	email: support@Cricut.com

KTbirdiegirl said...Wonderful projects! The recipient will certainly feel special! I had a thought, you could cut the letters L - O - V - E and adhere them to the individual candies and arrange them in the block fashion. I think I've seen postage stamps designed that way. TFS.
Kathryn

That's a great idea - I thought about adding initials to the candy bars for a special person but  I also like the twist on the famous painting and sculpture by Robert Indiana.

One more note - The Reminisce Accents cartridge is sold exclusively through independent Creative Memories consultants.  I am a consultant and, if you do not have a local consultant, I would be happy to help you.  Here is a LINK to the page on my personal website where you will find the Cricut cartridges (Reminisce Accents and Cheerful Seasons).  You can order from the website and have your items delivered directly to you anywhere in the US.

Enjoy the snow (if you have any).  Here's a little peek at something I'll be sharing tomorrow...

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