Castle Card

The Design Studio software opens up so many possibilities for creating unique cards. There are many shapes that can be used to make interesting "shaped cards" for all occasions.

I created this card with my neighbor to help her get started on using the software - I will explain how we did this step by step to help others learn this simple technique.
Here is the inside of the card



To create a card, find a shape you would like to use and place it on the right side of the mat - we used a castle from the Paper Dolls Dress Up cartridge.



Click "weld" in the shape properties box while the first castle is selected. Then copy and paste the castle image using the quick buttons at the left of the screen (second and third from the top)
Then click "flip" in the Shape Properties box at the top right of the screen (both "weld" and "flip" should be checked on the second castle).



the result will look like this



Select the top "flipped" image and use the blue "handle" in the center of the left side to pull the image to the left along the horizontal axis



Move the second castle into position so that a symmetrical image is created and preview to check the cut. You will notice that the interior detail lines appear "grayed out" - this means that they will not be cut - leaving a solid area for your message



By using the 200 view you can check the center weld - here you can see that due to the shape of the castle there will be a cut going up about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the fold.


To minimize this, find another shape to weld on top of the area that you do not want to cut - try to use something on the same cartridge - for a bit of fun I chose the canoe to demonstrate! Be sure to click weld after selecting this filler shape.



The canoe is entirely "grayed out" and will not cut but will weld the two sides together in the area we wanted to cover - I left it up a bit from the base to make the scoring of the fold of the card easier (the line will be more obvious because of the little notch).

Preview the new cut by clicking on the "eyeball" (second from the bottom of the left buttons)



For a clearer view, click on the top button for a new page and preview on that page - it will look like this



We decided that the font from ZooBalloo would be a good choice for this card (there was also a pre-made "Happy Birthday" phrase on that cartridge), but you can make your words in whatever font pleases you. You can use pre-made words, weld your own words or do your own lettering by hand.

I left the second page of the file intact so you could see the approximate size for the words that will fit on this card




This card looks cute standing up



and fits perfectly in an A2 envelope



The offcut will be centered and could be used for a scrapbook page - possibly for journaling or as a creative cut out around a photo



Obviously you will need to change the name on the second page of this file which I left for sizing purposes.

Simple Castle Card

Ribbon Threading Variations

Once again, I resisted spending money on a hole punch because I was convinced that by using Design Studio I could create a .cut file which would achieve the same effect. Many people on the Cricut Message Board have mentioned the Martha Stewart ribbon threading punch lately. It creates a series of slots to thread ribbon through on a card or a scrapbooking layout.

The trickiest thing was getting the size right - here are my first attempts - the holes are a bit too big!



So I went back to work and found the best dimensions for one eighth inch and three eight inch ribbons.



I also created a file for smaller intervals between the holes for the one eighth inch ribbon



I designed this file to avoid the "uncuttable" area on either the baby bug or the expression mat I needed to position the cuts in a way that would result in slightly uneven spacing on a full 12 inch strip of paper. You can compensate by placing the paper a bit to the left as you see here



You can also vary the distance from the edge by moving the paper up or down.

I didn't want my first attempt to go to waste so I tried threading five eighth inch ribbon through the half inch holes on one of my first files - you can use this if you like a more puffy effect. The ribbon in the lower part of this photo was unlabeled but it apparently is a bit wider than three eighths inch so there are smaller gathers at the edges.



These files can be used for cards - simply place the card in the area of the mat where the spacing works for you. Once again there are endless variations!

I designed these using George on the baby bug mat - if you have the Expression they will also work because I set the file up to avoid the slightly larger "uncuttable" area on the Expression mat. You will need the George cart until I get a chance to do some files with Plantin Schoolbook (this time I did George first).

You can also just make your own file by copying these using the Plantin Schoolbook rectangle - check the Shape Properties box on my files for the sizes and placement of the rectangles. Then you can create further variations by changing the spacing as you please.

This file has four pages - each page is labeled to indicate which cut it will make.

Ribbon Threading - George

Check or Money Holder (baby bug version)

Thanks for waiting patiently for this one - as promised in my last post here is a version of the check or money holder made using only George and the baby bug.

Since the baby bug mat is not wide enough to cut this in one piece there are three pages to this design. The first page cuts the back and flap of the holder and the second page cuts the front of the envelope. To make a window for a cash holder, cut the second page, leave the mat in the bug and then cut the third page.

When scoring the sides of the holder you can follow the lines of the flaps, making the score exactly even with the cut edge.



To score the long line which forms the flap, you should score at 2 3/4 inches. If you use a Scor-Pal shift the paper to the 1/4 inch mark and score on the three inch line (see below).



The piece for the front on the holder should be scored at the half inch mark - I am right handed and find it easier to do this on the right side of the Scor-Pal (so my left hand can hold the paper steady).



You will have two pieces that look something like this.



I used my Creative Memories Precision Point adhesive pen to attach the two pieces - you need a strong bond to be sure that the bottom of the holder does not open up. Here you can see it ready to adhere - the color has changed from white to clear.



Line up the fold line with the bottom of the larger piece and adhere



then apply adhesive to the flaps on the larger piece and fold the front down on top of the flaps.

Here are a few more ideas on decorating these holders .

First I tried some more embossing - inserting the front flap into the embossing folder as far as possible - first on one side and then the other. This results in "overlapped" embossing that looks a bit muddled and odd in the center of the holder



So I embossed a 1 3/4 inch strip of contrasting paper in the same folder and adhered that to the front.



You can see in the above photo that the embossing did not quite reach the bottom of the back of the holder so I added a strip of the same color paper (unembossed) to cover that area



Here is the finished money holder



For another holder I used some leftover flower cut outs and a strip of paper as decorations. First I punched 1/8 inch holes in the strip and the flowers



Then I attached the flowers to the strip using eyelets



I adhered this strip to the front of the holder and turned up the petals on the flowers



You can also simply tie a ribbon around the holder - here I used 1/8 ribbon cut to a length of about 20 inches. Thin ribbon will keep the holder closed without crushing the paper.



There are so many possibilities for decorating these holders - adding names to personalize them, stamping on the front flap, all sorts of embellishments will work so just let your imagination go wild!

Check or Money Holder - George

Simple Check or Money Holder

After I posted the gift card holder (and variations) a few people asked me if I could design a money or check holder. I have put together a simple one - this version is for Plantin Schoolbook only. I will try to get a George version up soon (you can try it yourself - you will need to design it in two pieces as it would be too large for the 6 x 12 mat). I may even get ambitious and do a scalloped edge version but that will take more time than I have right now!

The basic design is simple - I took a bank money holder apart and just worked out shapes and measurements to make something very comparable. The fun is in the papers you choose and the embellishments you add. I am showing a few simple ones here but you can do whatever you want to make these unique and personalized for the recipient.


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The basic card stock cut can be embossed but the flap is longer than the standard cuttlebug folder. This photo shows the basic shape of the money holder



Here I have placed the money holder in a folder ready to emboss



The holder just fits through the width of the Cuttlebug by folding the flap over the folder



Here it is lined up with the dots for a second pass through the Cuttlebug



I tried to put it in only part way and then reverse but I ended up running the whole thing through again which resulted in a small unembossed "stripe" (the second pass erased the first embossing).



So I set about making it look like "I meant to do that" and decided to add some paper strips (you could also use ribbon) and a flower.



Before I added the strips I embossed a line at the sides of the unembossed area to set it off. You can see that more clearly in this photo of the completed holder. Just trim the ends of the paper strips even with the edge of the money holder after the paper is stuck down.



I had a spare stickled flower (decorated with "Stickles" glitter glue) on my work table so that found a new home on the cover. I used my Cropadile to punch a hole through the flower and the cover on the green "ribbon" strip and then I added a pink eyelet to hold it all together.



Here is another view of the finished money holder



These are fun cut from a favorite piece of patterned paper - you can use a 12 x 12 sheet or an 8 1/2 x 11 (be sure that the paper is put on the mat in the correct direction when using 8 1/2 x 11). This example uses Happy Birthday paper and by a lucky coincidence the words line up almost perfectly!



I also did a version to hold a check (with no oval cut out for the face of the President on the bill to show through). Here is a bold striped one showing the uncut inside



and here is the front view



I added this flower to the leftover oval from the orange folder and turned the edges up a bit for dimension as you can see in this close up. I attached it to the oval with an eyelet before sticking the oval to the cover.



These should be useful for many gift giving occasions - particularly if you prefer to give cash or a check instead of a gift card (and not limit the place where the gift can be spent).

This file is set up to cut the plain holder on page one. If you want a money holder with an oval opening, leave your mat in the machine, click on page two and cut the oval.

Check or Money Holder - Plantin Schoolbook

Window Pane Cards

The Cricut Message Board can be a bad influence on me sometimes! For example, this morning, I just peeked in to see what was new and a group of Cricut addicts were watching the shopping channel QVC. They made it sound so interesting that I started watching and, sure enough, I spent a bit over $60 (stamps and other goodies).

One thing I did figure out was that I DO NOT NEED the Big Shot die cutter/embosser. I have a Cricut and a Cuttlebug and the Design Studio software! The item attracting everyone's attention was a magnetic die holder that allowed you to do window cutouts. I took one look and thought to myself "that would be so simple to do with the DS software" and while (against my better judgment) I continued to watch the items for sale, I opened up DS and made some files.
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Here is the basic shape - the first card they displayed was a four opening window like this



They look very cute when you add a photo behind the window - here are a few examples...



with people or scenery...



Here is a nine pane option



You could also decorate the front of the card as if you are looking in the window - here are a few flowers to give you an idea of how to start (I can see little curtains, a window box, grass, etc.)



Glitter card stock behind the openings is very pretty



add a decoration



or a lot of shapes



You will be left with some one inch or three quarter inch squares - save these for another project



As you adapt and change your grids be careful to line the squares up properly - here you can see that the bottom center square on the lilac card is slightly off (a bit too far to the right) - for these I used smaller squares offset like the four panes version.



You can also add a backing sheet and fill the spaces with stickers - here I used some flower stickers in a tic tac toe grid - cat's game (does everyone call it that when no one wins?)



I also like it turned as a horizontal card - you could add a stamp or word sticker appropriate for the occasion (this is a good way to use up some old "sprinkle stickers").



These are so simple I am almost embarrassed to share them but I know that many people are just getting the software and learning to use it so I thought I'd post them to help out. As usual I worked them up in George and Plantin Schoolbook so all bug owners should be able to use them - even those with just the trial software.

You can use these for note cards - I set all these files up as 4 x 5 but when you look at the files you will see how quickly they can be adapted to a larger size if you want and the number and size of "window panes" you desire.

4 x 5 window pane card - 4 panes - George

4 x 5 window pane card - 4 panes - Plantin Schoolbook

4 x 5 window pane card - 9 panes - George

4 x 5 window pane card - 9 panes - Plantin Schoolbook

4 x 5 window pane card - 9 panes offset - George

4 x 5 window pane card - 9 panes offset - Plantin Schoolbook