Welcome Spring Card (file to share)

Spring is nearly here and I am so happy that this winter was much milder than the record-breaker last year.  I was in the mood to do some complicated maneuvers in Design Space (lots of slicing, hiding contour, creating extra color layers) and the result is this card.

I started with this border image - the Folk Art Border Hare (#M32418) from the Folk Art Festival cartridge which is included in Cricut Access.  (links to Cricut in this post are affiliate links which means I will be paid a commission if you purchase something after clicking on the link - your price stays the same,  I appreciate your support).

I hid some areas, duplicated and flipped the design and set it into a rectangle sized at 5 1/4 x 4 inches for an A2 card topper.  The blue layer here represents the card base, however, I cut the base by cutting an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock in half with my trimmer.  I usually do this because it conserves supplies.

This was my original design, with just a green base, white topper and the sentiment.  As I analyzed the image, I realized that there would be a lot of small pieces that I would need to place by hand (inside the bunnies, the hearts and the tulips).  My solution was to create additional layers by using the Contour function in Design Space.  This also allowed me to easily add more colors to the design.

I ended up with three design layers, the sentiment in pink, and the card base for the final design.

When you do this, you need to think carefully about the color that will show through each layer to get the result you want.  Here you can see the layers - the yellow is a solid piece cut at 4 x 5 1/4 inches - I did cut this with the Explore so the pieces would line up perfectly.

I also used contour to hide the cuts inside some of the shapes to make them solid (this also makes the file cut a bit faster).

These are the "extras" that I can use on another project.  I really like the shape of these bunnies.

I inked the edges of the green layer cuts very slightly to define the design a bit more.

I used the font "Don Juan" for the sentiment.  This is also included in Cricut Access.  I did not want the letters to be welded together, even though it is a little more (well - a lot more...) fiddly to assemble when they are single letters.

Here is my tip for getting the spacing even - just take the section of cardstock where the letters were cut and use it as a template for adhering the letters.

If you like the look of letters missing their centers you can use the remaining word strip for another project.  You could also save the inner pieces but they get really tiny to work with - these letters are only a bit more than a half inch tall.

I also did not save the tiny centers of the flowers in the bunnies and hearts that were cut from the green cardstock.

I added pink pearls for the centers and then, to make a lucky number seven of pearls on the card, I placed a pearl on top of the dot of the "i" in "Spring."

I think the extra layers of color and the pearls make this a much more interesting card.

If you'd like to make this card, click HERE for the link to the Design Space file (for Cricut Explore users).  I'd love to see what you make.

If you would like to know more about how I created the file, please leave a comment on this post and if enough people are interested I will see if I can put together a tutorial. It might have to be in several installments since there were so many steps involved!


Dreaming Tree Updates... 

I am happy to hear that many of you were introduced to Dreaming Tree by my last post.  I am an affiliate for Dreaming Tree and I thank you for using my links when you shop there.

Did you make a Shamrock basket from the free file offered by Dreaming Tree yet?  You can find all of the information HERE - if you submit a photo of your basket you can get a $2.99 gift card for the site.  The deadline is 11:59 CST time on February 29th, 2016.

The latest free file from Dreaming Tree is this pretty spring frame with a decorative easel.  You can find it HERE.

There is also a great new Gatefold Cards SVG Bundle at Dreaming Tree.  These cards are just beautiful and they are currently available as a free gift with a purchase of $9.98 or more from Dreaming Tree.  Just spend $9.98 or more and type FREEGIFT in the coupon code area when you check out.  This bundle will be added to your cart - free.  You can find all of the details HERE.


Craftsy Winter Clearance Sale...

Craftsy is taking an additional 20% off the clearance prices of supplies - I checked and there are some nice deals on papercrafting supplies as well as the yarns, fabrics, cake decorating and art supplies. #ad

Since this is leap year many stores and website are offering special deals this weekend and next Monday.  Cricut be having a special Leap Day sale on Monday and Tuesday and then will be offering March Madness with three different Mystery Boxes in March. 

Have a great weekend!


This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.  

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