CRICUT: Crazy Cute Cards - Wallet gift card

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

I spent today in the craft room and here's one of my projects.

This is the Wallet gift card holder from Crazy Cute Cards cartridge.

I used Cricut Faux leather in Charcoal for the outside and Stampin' Up double sided paper for the inside.

Happy crafting!  ♥

CRICUT: Crazy Cute Cards project

Today's project is the Mother's Day Bouquet card from the Crazy Cute Cards cartridge.

The digital handbook for this cartridge says to set the width to 23.54 which will give you a finished card height of 7". However, if you use that measurement it won't fit on a 12x12" mat.  I changed the width to 20" which gave me a finished height of 4.75".

Here's my completed card.

After I had assembled it I played with the Design Space file and worked out that I could in fact get it to fit on a 12x12 mat using the size in the handbook if I did a little slicing and rotating.

First you need to click the Ungroup button at the bottom of the Layers panel. That will allow you to work with each layer. If you don't ungroup, Slice won't be available.

I sliced all of the sets of the flowers in half by placing a square (click the Insert Shapes button) over one half of the set, selecting both the square and the flower layer and clicking Slice.

Delete the square and the sliced copy and then the two sides of that layer can be moved individually. Design Space will automatically place them closer together on the preview screen.

Repeat for the other flower layers.

For the base layer place an 11.5" square on the mat and move it over the base layer. You can select the square and click Arrange, Send to Back so that you can see the base layer.

Use the rotate handle on the base layer and turn it so it fits diagonally inside the square.

Select the base layer and the square and click Attach

Lastly, go to the Layers panel and click the eye to hide the square.

Now when you click Go, all the layers will fit on 12x12 mats.  ☺

Here's the finished DS file if you want to see it. ☺
https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/41725896

Happy crafting!  ♥

CRICUT: Design Space Sync Panel

Here's a way to quickly see at a glance how many different colours of cardstock are used in a project in Cricut Design Space.

This is an example of a project that uses lots of layers. It's the Mother's Day Bouquet Card from the Crazy Cute Cards cartridge.

From the image it's difficult to work out how many colours of cardstock you'll need.

If you look at the Layers panel the colours are mixed up, so again it's hard to tell.

But, if you click on the Sync panel all the layers are sorted and you can easily see that there are seven colours used in the project.

You can of course minimise the number of colours used by combining two or more together. For example, if you wanted to combine the two cream shades you would click on the coloured rectangle of one and drag it up or down over the layer you want to combine it with.

The two layers have now been combined.

If you change your mind you can click the Undo button on the toolbar.

You can also see the number of colours once you click the Go button. ☺

Happy crafting!  ♥

Dreaming Tree Blog Hop winner

Thanks to everyone who hopped along with us and commented on our projects.

The winner of the $10 Dreaming Tree gift card from my blog is

Angela, please send me an email to claim your prize. 

thenoncraftycrafter@hotmail.com

Just because the contest has ended doesn't mean you can't still check out the projects. Here's the list of bloggers:

1.  DezinesbyEM

2.  Misfit Crafter

3.  Just Yolie

4.  A Thing for Paper

5.  Izbzee

6.  Oh So Many Crafts

7.  Sweet Love Canada

8.  The Non-Crafty Crafter

9.  Scrappy Coyote

10.  2 Debs Crafting

Don't forget to check out Dreaming Tree. You'll find so many great projects there with many more to come!

This link will take you to the free section of the Dreaming Tree site. It's a great place to start if you've never made a 3D project before.

http://www.3dsvg.com/product-category/free-svg-files-cricut-silhouette

Again, thanks for participating! ☺

Happy crafting!  ♥

TheHungryJPEG - Craftalicious Bundle Vol 03

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

The HungryJPEG Craftalicious Bundle number 3 is here!

You'll find 64 items in this bundle. All fonts and graphics are 100% accessible on Cricut, Silhouette, Sure Cuts a Lot as well as many other craft based machines and programs.

As always this bundle comes with a Complete License, which allows you to use the products included within this pack for a wide range of commercial activities... Including on printed products, that are subsequently sold.

The cost of this bundle is $19. But be sure to use the code June20 to receive 20% off that price. You can also use that code on any of the bundles available at HungryJPEG.com during June 2016.

You can check out the full details of this bundle here including a handy FAQ document that explains how to use the cut files:

CRAFTALICIOUS BUNDLE #3

I'd say these three items are worth the cost of the bundle alone!

Here's a peek at what's included:

Happy crafting!  ♥

Dreaming Tree SVG's June blog hop

Welcome to the blog hop featuring Dreaming Tree SVG files. Thanks so much for participating.

To enter for your chance to receive a $10 Dreaming Tree Gift Certificate you must leave a comment on this post.  The more blogs you visit and comment on, the more chances you have to win! This contest runs from 06/10/2016 12:00 AM EST to 06/13/2016 11:59 PM EST.

One winner will be awarded from each blog and one grand prize winner will be awarded based on all comments from all blogs. Winners will be posted by June 15, 2016.

Please check back to see if you are a winner!

For my project I used the Antique Tray from Myrcella’s Vanity SVG Bundle.

I used Cricut Design Space to scale the size down to make the finished tray 9" x 7.5". This is very easy to do by selecting all the layers in the project and dragging the sizing arrow inwards. I used the grid lines on the Design Space canvas to eyeball the size.

The digital image is from Tiddly Inks and I coloured it using Copics.

I used the Cricut Explore Air to cut my project.

Hope you like it!

Be sure to check out the Dreaming Tree svg's. This link will take you to the free category which is a great place to start if you've never used these types of files before.

http://www.3dsvg.com/product-category/free-svg-files-cricut-silhouette/

Make sure you sign up for their newsletter while you're there! 

Please continue the hop by visiting the next crafter on the list!

1.  DezinesbyEM

2.  Misfit Crafter

3.  Just Yolie

4.  A Thing for Paper

5.  Izbzee

6.  Oh So Many Crafts

7.  Sweet Love Canada

8.  The Non-Crafty Crafter (You are here)

9.  Scrappy Coyote (Next)

10.  2 Debs Crafting

Happy crafting!  ♥

Crazy Cute Cards Cartridge sizing chart

A week or so ago Cricut released a new digital cartridge for Cricut Access members. The handbook has now been added at the Cricut site. There are some assembly instructions for each card there along with the size you should set the width to create a card that fits on the 12 x 12 cutting mat.

I've put together a chart that lists all the cards along with their image code and the width measurement.

You will find that chart in my Facebook group Cricut Explore and More

Here's a sneak peek!

Happy crafting!  ♥

Cricut Trade-up program is back

Have you heard about the Cricut Trade-up Program? You might have received an email from Cricut about it. If not....

You can get $50 to put towards a new Cricut Explore Air™ or Cricut Explore One™. And it doesn't have to be an old Cricut you're trading in either! You can also trade in competitors machines.

Eligible machines are:

Cricut
Cricut Expression®
Cricut Expression 2
Cricut Mini®
Cricut Imagine®
Cricut Cake®
Cricut Cake Mini
Cricut Create™
Original Cricut

Silhouette
Silhouette Cameo®
Silhouette Portrait®
Silhouette Curio™

Other
Brother Scan 'N Cut
Sizzix Eclips
Bosskut Gazelle
KNK Zing
Craftwell eCraft
Pazzles Inspiration

Full details can be found here: http://us.cricut.com/home/trade-up-program.

This promotion ends 30 June 2016.

Happy crafting!  ♥

Dreaming Tree Chess King box

Just in time for Father's Day (in the USA anyway) is the new "King of the Castle" bundle from Dreaming Tree.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

There are three projects in this bundle... a crown cupcake box, a cascade card and a box in the shape of a chess king.

Here's my take on the chess king. ☺

Here's a photo of the full bundle courtesy of the Dreaming Tree website.

I've done quite a few of the Dreaming Tree projects now and assembling them has become really easy! I had most of the parts of this project done before watching the assembly video.

Materials list:

The black and grey cardstock are from Cricut.  Packs of 20 sheets in single colours are currently on sale for $5.00. Be sure to use the code HOTDEALS to get 10% off your purchase and free Fed-ex home delivery.

If you're in Canada use the code HOTDEALSCANADA to get 10% off your order and $14.99 flat rate shipping on orders over $75.)

The patterned cardstock was printed at home on my Epson WF-7620 wide format printer and is from a set called Goldfinger Papers by AMB Illustrations. https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/AMBillustrations

Happy crafting!  ♥

Which blades work with the Cricut Explore?

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

This question gets asked a lot and I often see posts from people who've purchased the incorrect blades or score tools for their Explore.

So I've put together some info that will hopefully help when you're next looking for replacement blades for your Cricut Explore.

If you purchase from the Cricut store (links below) make sure you use my discount code NARELLE to receive 15% off and free USA/Can shipping. 

Which blades work with the Cricut Explore?

(Listed Cricut.com prices are current as at 5/31/16)

German Carbide Blades

The Cricut Explore comes with at least one German Carbide blade. The German Carbide blade has a longer cutting life span than the regular Cricut cutting blades. However, both work in the Explore.

The German Carbide replacement blades are available in packs of 1, 5 and 10.

A replacement for the regular Explore housing is also available. Which is great if you want a spare or like to use one housing for paper and one for vinyl.  (This housing was out of stock at Cricut.com at the time of writing.)

The regular (non-German carbide) Cricut replacement blade is available in a two pack.

Deep Cut blade

You must have the deep cut blade housing to effectively use the deep cut blades. 

The deep cut housing is shorter than the regular housing. This allows thicker materials to fit under the housing as well as allowing more of the blade to protrude. 

The deep cut housing comes with one deep cut blade. 

Replacement deep cut blades are available in packs of two. 

Which blades/housing DON’T work in the Explore?

The following only work in the older style Cricuts – Personal, Expression, Create, Expression 2, Imagine and Mini.

(The blade will work in the Explore, but not this housing.)

These blades only work with the Cricut Cake models which have both been discontinued.

Other accessories

This is the scoring stylus for the Explore.

This is the scoring housing and tip for the older Cricuts - Personal, Expression, Create, Expression 2, Imagine and Mini.

This is the replacement accessory adapter for the Explore. If your pens/scoring stylus becomes loose, remove the accessory adapter by opening the A clamp. Gently squeeze the bottom of the accessory adapter with one hand while lifting it out of the adapter with the other hand. The adapter will pop out. Check the bottom of the accessory adapter to see if any of the plastic pieces have broken. If they have you will need to replace it. 

Gently push the accessory back into the holder. Hold the bottom of the clamp steady while pushing the adapter down. 

This is the pen/scoring stylus adapter for the Cricut Explore One. It is not meant for use in the other Explore models however it will fit into the B carriage, so could be used if you wanted to write with two different colour pens. 

If you are doing that make sure you have your text set to CUT for the layer that will be using the B carriage.

Hope this helps you on your next shopping trip to the craft store. ☺

Happy crafting!  ♥