Tuesday, January 27, 2009

More Snowflakes!



I made it back home from my trip and tonight we are expecting another storm in Massachusetts - so I decided to share this snowflake file I did last year when I got my Christmas solutions cartridge. I am getting tired of snow but I am still fascinated by snowflake designs!

I welded the snowflake designs together in the "seven sisters" pattern commonly used with hexagons in quilting. The large snowflake design looks like this (on a 12 x 12 page)



I also did the same design but eliminated the center snowflake for a frame - this variation looks like this



Below is a photo of the full seven sisters cut on the mat



After the large snowflake was carefully lifted the remainder bits on the mat looked like this



By placing the frame cut on top of these leftovers you can get an idea of how this would look if you carefully saved all of the cut out bits and adhered them inside the frame (similar to a puzzle and the Indie Art frame from yesterday's post).



Below you can see the full cut layered over the frame



and the frame layered over the full cut



Since I did this as an adjustable file you can copy and paste the design and adjust the size to suit your project. I did a few common card sizes for you to see how they look - below is a labeled screen shot



and here are the actual cuts.



When you cut the large size of the design lifts easily but on these smaller cuts you need to take care - there are many tiny pieces that may need some "help" to come away from the frame. You can see the small slits that stayed "stuck" in this photo



This is the tool I used to help "poke out" the slits



This is actually a tool to use for picking up small pieces and moving them around with a sticky substance that extrudes from the point on the other end but the tip on this end worked nicely to separate the cuts.



Here is one of the card cuts after a bit of "clean up" to remove the smallest interior pieces.



You can trim the center points away to make a more open frame as seen in the photos below





The full page offcuts left from the larger cuts are attractive and could be used as a page background





You could even add back the center from the frame cut for this effect (sorry, in the photo I have it a bit off center but you can get the idea)



Be sure you have a sharp blade and a good mat for these intricate cuts - I had a few problems with the blade snagging at corners but I was able to snip the few small uncut areas (you can see a close up of one in the photo below).



The design shown with two shades of blue for the cut and background.



I hope the snows aren't too deep where you are - but if you get snowed in have some fun with your Cricut!



Snowflake variations (A)

19 comments:

  1. oh these are so cool...I love snow...well, watching it snow! Not real fond of driving and shoveling it! Nice job Diane...another reason I need to get that cart! tfs!!! :)

    Vicki

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  2. What a beautiful design! I too am from Mass. and have to say that this is a fitting day to send out the snowflakes! :) Can't wait to try it out! Thanks again for always sharing your wonderful creations!

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  3. These are gorgeous!! I have a number of photos of my daughter dancing in the snow scene of The Nutcracker. These designs will be perfect!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

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  4. Great job. Fantastic work
    barb911 s/e mi

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  5. Wow! You are amazing with all the things you do. Even though I only see snow every 20 years or so, I have started loving snowflakes/men recently. kc
    PS---write me!!! kopperhead at cox dot net.

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  6. These are just the most gorgeous snowflakes I have ever seen! Wow! And getting these photos of all the different variations must have been a LOT OF WORK! You are amazing - thanks for sharing these fantastic designs! I love to see your blog everyday! Take care, Joy

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  7. Just recently found your blog and love your work! I too, have quilted and love to scrapbook! Can you please clarify what you mean by adjustable designs? One you created the largeer snowflake from the smaller ones, are you able to edit the whole image as a single item, and if so how? Also, I would love the cut file if you share them! I am working on an album of all my Christmas card photos and this would be perfect! Thanks!

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  8. Please disregard my request for the cut file, I just figured it out and it was so easy! Thanks again! I still wondering about the adjustable file feature...so when you get a chance if you can give me an explanation it would be much appreciated.

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  9. WoW, these snowflakes are so awesome...I can't beleive the talent you have..thank you for sharing!!

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  10. Your work is just amazing
    Hugs
    Norine

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  11. I love these snowflakes...TFS!

    cyimbugbitten

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  12. I wish we had some snow now and then. We have to got on a skitrip to France or Switzerland to see it:-) When I was young it snowed more often in our country, but lately it's very dry and cold, but now snow at all...That said, love the snowflakes, thanks so much for sharing it with us:-)

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  13. I don't have a big E but am saving this one for the day when I do !

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  14. Thanks for sharing this. Very pretty.

    Betty

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  15. This is very pretty and very versatile! Thank you for sharing.

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  16. Clare - sorry this got lost in the shuffle and I am not sure if you are checking back on the comments.

    An adjustable design is one where all the shapes are contained in the same "selection box" - this enables you to resize the complete design, copy, paste - essentially use all of the operations of the "handles" around the box on the full design.

    You can't combine items that are stretched, angled or skewed so a true group function would be much more desirable, but the ability to use the nudge arrows to make things adjustable has helped somewhat. There are a couple of tutorials on my blog that take you through this step by step - let me know if you have questions.

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  17. Cap,

    Thank you so much for sharing you wonderful creations they are all so fantastic.
    VickieW

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