Having Fun With the Cricut

I have led a couple of classes on Cricut basics in the last few weeks. During these workshops, everyone gets a chance to make three projects, cutting out each piece themselves and thereby truly learning the Cricut. I hear about far too many people who say they have a Cricut but it sits in the box since they can't figure out how to work it. That is a shame. The Cricut can really make paper crafting easy if you learn to use the machine.

The first project using the Artbooking cartridge is above. The Artbooking cartridge is set up to help the paper crafter make scrapbook pages easy. Page 86 of the Artbooking booklet is set up for a 12 x 12 birthday page.

I want to use that stack of presents on a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card. I can simply set the Cricut on 4 inches with real size dial. But since I also want to use flip and layer the presents, I decided to not use the real size dial. I set the machine on 8 inches and used Sarita paper. (Setting it on 8 inches will coordinate the stack to properly fit an 8 inch scrapbook page. If I wanted an actual 8 inch piece, I would press the real size dial button.)  Press "icon" and the "happy" button. Then I have a nice set of presents. Without taking the paper out of the Cricut, I turned on the "flip" button to get the mirror image. Press "icon," "shift," and "happy" and cut the paper. The paper is removed and the present stack is perfect.

Next, I used lagoon paper. I set the Cricut at 4 inches, clicked  "real size dial," "photo mat 2," and "little toes," and then cut. This photo mat was on page 85 of the booklet. A 1 1/4 inch circle was cut from colonial white paper.

Add another piece of Sarita paper, the Perfect Fit- Birthday Stamp set, Lagoon ink, and a little glitz and the card is set.

Our project using the Artiste cartridge, was this box. I love the Huntington paper. Of course, I do love fall colors so this is perfect for me.

I set the Cricut up with the Artiste cartridge. This project does need a 12 x 10 piece of paper so a big machine is needed. A Create machine will be too small.  I used a piece of Huntington paper. I set the machine at 4 inches. Using page 37 of the Artiste booklet as a guide, I clicked on  "3-D Object" and "7."  I changed the paper to Colonial White. The size is 3 inches. I clicked on "accent 3" and "7" to cut the tag.  Quick, easy cuts.

I decorated the box using the You Are My Happy stamp set. This is the National Stamping Month special set and only available this month. I also used Jute Ribbon, hemp bakers twine, and a wooden shape.

My final project uses the Art Philosophy cartridge.

I made this one on a Cricut Create machine which can only take 6 x 12 paper at a maximum. Using Cocoa paper, I set the size at 5 1/4 inches. I opened page 35 of the Art Philosophy booklet as a guide, and I clicked "card" and "rectangle 5." It cut a very nice card base. I also cut leaves at 1 1/2 inches from barn red and huntington paper. Click on "shift" and "leaf2." Using New England Ivy paper click on "shift" and "leaf 4." I added a little burlap ribbon and the outside was all done.

Inside the card, I used the September stamp of the month. I only used part of this stamp, masking out the bottom to fit the card. I then used a little liquid glass on the word "FALL" as a highlight. I also used liquid glass to glue the burlap down. Liquid glass is a strong adhesive that is great for ribbon.

Again, the card was quick and easy. Using the CTMH Cricut cartridges always makes paper crafting easy.  Each cartridge has a different strength:

     Artbooking-- Scrapbook pages and mini albums
     Artiste-- 3-D Objects
     Art Philosophy-- basic shapes and patterns used in card making

But all three can be used with all aspects of paper crafting. I have made cards from all three, scrapbook pages from all three, and 3-D objects from all three. Each one is amazing! With over 700 images each, I never need to go to any other cartridge. My paper crafting looks more professional when using the cartridges and I spend less time fighting with my paper to make an object look right. I really love my Cricut and the CTMH cartridges.  They make my playtime with paper even more fun.