Creating with the Cricut!

Welcome again to an exciting new post from Cooking With Crafts! Today your host (me!) will inspire you to break out that Cricut die-cutting machine and get creating with Close To My Heart's "Art Philosophy Collection"! The card-making workshop that I held this past Sunday focused on four cards that could be made using only the Art Philosophy Collection (along with papers, inks, and a few embellishments). The one exception I made was in the last "card", when we used a border stamp set, which I will note in the description. The patterned paper we used was all from this month's National Scrapbooking Month special from Close To My Heart - the "Dotty For You" paper pack. This super-popular paper pack is available While Supplies Last, and is down to it's last 20% of inventory as of this morning. So, if you haven't picked yours up yet - don't wait any longer, or you might miss out! (See my blog posts from April 20 and May 5 for more details on the "Dotty For You" Special!) Now, on to the artwork:

Given all of the time I spent trying to get this card "just right", I think it came out really nice! The one problem with the "Dotty For You" paper pack is that there are SO many patterns to choose from, it's hard to narrow it down! The best part about the paper pack is that there are six different colors of polka dot patterns on the reverse sides, making it really fun to mix & match! The focal piece was cut from the Cricut and stamped with one of the two coordinating stamps that comes in the collection. We then mounted the piece with some 3-D Foam Tape. I thought since it is coming up on the end of the school year, I would make this card for a teacher. I used 3 "Bitty Sparkles" in the upper right, as well as one to mark "Teacher" on the checklist. Much cooler than just checking the box, don't you think? :-)

Oooo, this one is my favorite. The butterfly paper is so colorful, and the Lagoon dots...well, Lagoon is my favorite as well! This time, not only was the focal piece cut from the Cricut, but the butterfly paper as well as the card itself were cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge. For the focal piece, we first stamped the image onto the die-cut in Cocoa ink. We then stamped the image again with Smoothie ink onto a piece of Colonial White cardstock and punched out just the center circle, which we then adhered to the center of the die-cut. The whole piece was then mounted to the card using 3-D Foam Tape. How fun!

Ah, this one is a tasty selection! The chevron patterned paper really gives this card some energy! Perfect for this upbeat birthday card! The two circles, as well as the cupcake were cut from the Cricut. For the cupcake, the shape was cut from Smoothie and Bamboo cardstocks. Then we stamped the cupcake image on both, using Hollyhock & Desert Sand inks respectively. Next, we trimmed off the top of the Bamboo piece, leaving just the "cup", which we then adhered to the bottom of the Smoothie piece. Lastly, the cupcake was adhered to the card using 3-D Foam Tape and embellished using Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel. Yummmm....

Our last "card" wasn't really a card at all - it was a gift box! This adorable box was also cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge, along with the two flowers and the tiny tag on the front. This is the item for which we "broke the rules" and used a stamp set outside of the Art Philosophy Collection. The border stamp used on the front came from the "Eclectic Edges" stamp set, which includes six gorgeous borders. And do you see that adorable button brad in the center of the blue flower? That came from the Honey Mini-Medley Accents Collection - which also included the stitched ribbon with which we tied up the box. Oh, good times, good times.

This workshop was so much fun - and so easy, since most of the cutting is done for you by the Cricut! If anyone is interested in the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection, the "Dotty For You" paper pack, or any Close To My Heart products, please contact me or go directly to my website at http://funforyou.ctmh.com! Enjoy!