Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Winter Lace Cartridge Review


I hope you have tried making a snowflake or two.  If you are not interested in making your own, you will definitely want to look at the "Winter Lace" seasonal cartridge.  I just got this one and I will be using it a lot for my holiday decorations.


Last year there was a similar seasonal cartridge full of snowflakes called "When it's Cold Outside" (the card on the left in the photo above).  I had to have it as soon as it was available!  The seasonal cartridges are limited edition mini cartridges and "When It's Cold Outside" (WICO) can now only be found at crazy prices on Ebay.

The snowflakes on Winter Lace are a more traditional snowflake style.  WICO had a lot of snowflakes that were made up of other images such as reindeer, skates, skis, angels, gingerbread men, etc.  There were only six "generic" layered snowflakes and five 3D snowflakes.

Winter Lace has 20 layered snowflakes and 10 3D snowflakes.  In this cartridge the layered snowflakes were done with both pieces on the same key allowing twice as many variations.



I cut a few samples at 3 1/2 inches.  This is a good size for an ornament or a card.  I used Core'dinations Core Couture glitter cardstock in two shades of blue.  As you can see, the snowflake cut cleanly (blade 6 pressure 5 speed 4).  It did take a bit of time to push out all of the tiny cut outs that did not stick to the mat when I lifted the snowflake.


Each of the twenty flat snowflakes has a solid base layer.  I am always amazed at how well the Cricut does with these intricate shapes with so much detail.


You can use the snowflakes with out the shadow layer.  In this example I cut only the top layer and folded up some of the interior points to add dimension.  I also added a snowflake gem from the Winter Medley from Creative Charms.


Here are the two pieces of one of the 3D snowflakes.  You could make some of the other snowflakes 3D by cutting a slit in one point to the center - you do need to have a solid area to cut through so some will not work (but you have 10 on the cartridge already!).


Here are two of the snowflakes assembled.  I cut them from some embossed white cardstock and I like the added texture.  You can add a thread or cord to hang these from a tree or in a window.


You can also make these and flatten them to send in a card to a friend.  They are simple to open up and hang and should arrive undamaged.


This is the snowflake at the top of this post without the gem in the center.  You can see how tiny the cuts are.  If you have trouble with the delicate cuts, try lowering your pressure a bit and doing a 2 times multi-cut (or even 3X for very thick cardstock).

As a snowflake fanatic - I highly recommend this cartridge.  I got mine from Terri at Stamps Alive.  She is a super fast shipper - I ordered Friday evening and the cartridge was in my hands on Monday.  She also stocks all sorts of other scrapbooking items (Spellbinders, Just Rite, Tim Holtz, Scor-Pal, Cuttlebug, and more) at very good prices.

This cartridge is not yet available to use with the Gypsy or Design Studio.  I believe there will be an update soon and then you will be able make even more elaborate snowflake designs and backgrounds.

 

I am happy to post (with permission) a picture that was sent in by a reader.  Cathy was inspired to try making her own snowflakes after reading yesterday's post and she sent me a picture of one of them - isn't it lovely!  She used the fleur-de-lis on the French Manor cartridge.

Have you tried making snowflakes - I'd love to see them!

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8 comments:

  1. Beautiful job Cathy, think i might have a go at one myself.

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  2. Love the snowflakes, haven't had time to try one of my own yet, but Cathy's sure is pretty!
    JeanH

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  3. Beautiful snow flakes. I know I'm putting this cartridge on my wish list. TFS

    Sue

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  4. These snowflakes are beautiful. I had a play yesterday following your instructions to make the snowflake from accent essentials and couldn't believe how easy it was so I will be having another play soon. Thanks for the instructions.
    Kim xXx

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  5. These are beautiful. I am going to have to have this cartridge. Thanks so much for you previous post on designing snowflakes. Hope to have so play time soon to try it out.

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  6. These snowflakes are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your instructions. I need to take the time to try making one of my own design.

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  7. Thanks for sharing a little about this cartridge. I loved it so much I ordered 2, 1 to keep and 1 to do a give-a-way with, but I haven't had a chance to play yet. I ordered the snowflake one last year too, but I think I'm going to like this one a lot better :)

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  8. I am a day late in posting this comment, so I hope Kathy sees it. I just loved her snowflake and wanted her to know what a great job she did. Fleur de lis is one of my favorites.
    Marcie

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