How to use basic shapes and fonts to create page layouts

Below are layouts that I have done using basic shapes and fonts. These can be achieved with any number of cricuit cartridges that have squares, circles, rectangles or stars. Tese are alot easier to do if have either design studio or sure cutz a lot so you can manipulate the shapes easily, but you can still do them with the circut machine alone. With the machine only you will just need to use the arrow keys to get other cuts into the right place. It is important to remember not to remove the paper from the mat.

 In this layout I cut 3 large circles and with two of them I cut out a D from a block font in the same position. You then glue these together with a glue stick as this gives a firmer circle, which is necessary due to the fact the circle rotates around and where the D is cut out you can see different photos as it spins around. I just used a couple of washers and a large brad in the centre so it would spin freely, I then cover the brad with paper so I could put the larger photo on top. Anything you put on this rotating circle must not get stuck down to the background page. The tags that hang over are also used to turn your circle.

Using tags, bags and boxes or from my kitchen cricuit cartridge cut out a tag that will fit behind a 7x5 photo. Remember not to stick the left side of the photo down as this is where the tag will slide in and out from. You then use one of the cricut cartridges that has stars on it, for example; plantin schoolbook, accents essentials or George and Basic shapes. I used  accents essentials .

 In the above layout you will need either design studio or sure cutz alot as you will need to weld letters to a larger square. Very simple but extremely effective. You could even do this on other shapes. to create an original border that will frame your photos.

You will have to forgive me as I can not remember which cartridge holds the film strip. Again with the stars (afterall my boys are stars to me), there are alot of cartridges that have them. I used a combination of solid stars and outlines. I then dressed some of them up by punching some holes and threaded ribbon thru them. The glossy accents was used on some of them to give the layout more depth. I wanted this layout to show my son what was happening on the day he was born, so I looked up his starsign, top ten alums, movies and songs for that day (love my google).

This one again is straight forward. I cut out a tag from tags, bags and boxes and then using Mother's Day Bouquet I cut flowers of different sizes. Being a girls page you have to use bling and kindy glitz.

Well I hope I have managed to give you some ideas on what you can do with even the basic of shapes.

Scrapbooked Canvas

Well it has taken me awhile but I have finally finished my first scrapbooked canvas. As mentioned previously I used cricut cartridge Mother's day for doing the embossed metal with the cricut embossing tool. For the title I used sure cutz alot so I could find the font that matched the award announcement. I love the way it is so easy to weld fonts together to create your own unique font. Naturally I had to put bling on it as it was an amazing evening.

Final stage

I had the best intentions on my annual leave to get more scrapbooking done. However as with many best laid plans, they do not always go according to plan. But it was great to spend some time with my family that came over from Queensland, especially after what has happened there since they returned. Certainly makes one realise never take anything for granted and appreciate what you have.
As I mentioned in the first and only stage I listed on my blog, when Mandy showed me the cricut lite cartridge "Dude" I had to get it as I have 2 wonderful boys. So knowing my eldest loves his scooters and skateboards but forever loses his tools I not only had a perfect way to wrap his gift voucher from unleashed but it also serves the purpose of his special toolbox for his scooter and skateboard tools and the odd wheel.

I first covered the box with my 2 different pieces of patterned cardstock, then using the black memento ink (which I purchased from Scrappy Go Lucky) I inked all the sides.

Using design studio I was able to use the cri-kits black gel pen to draw out the detail and then by using the shadow function I worked out the area and size required to then get the cricut to cut it out. What ever you do, do not remove the mat out of the cricut machine!!

I adherd the dude cut outs with double sided tape for the half pipe and word, but used foam dots for the dude (this gives it a bit more dimension).

Believe it or not, pink and purple are currently the in thing for those that love to scooter or skateboard. So with that in mind and the fact my sons scooter is current purple with a splash of pink my colour scheme was selected.

I used copic pens 0, 100, V000, V15, V17, RV000, RV21 and RV34. Starting with the darker colour first on the outer rim I began shading the image. What is great about copic pens is that they make blending so easy which is great for giving a flat image the illusion of depth. Make sure when using copic pens you do use the correct type of paper, as it will bleed terribly if you don't.

My son loved his personalised gift on Christmas morning so much so he did not even realise there was a gift voucher inside of it, he just wanted to see the other images on the "Dude" cartridge.

Beyond the page

I love doing beyond the page projects, and what's great is that they make great gifts as well. Below are just a number different beyond the page items I have done.

What better way to hide those unsightly bills and pens, not only serves a purpose but is a decorative feature near my kitchen bench.

My boys loved this one at Christmas time. Every morning they would wake up to see what I had left for them. So thank you Mandy from Scrappy Go Lucky that not only had this Dusty Attic item for sale but also for introducing me to flower soft. It's not just useful at Christmas time either, if you take the middle insert out it can hold smooch or kindy glitz paints and then you could use the numbers to represent different items, from eyelets, brads and flowers.

This one was definitely a challenge, but enjoyed seeing it come together nearly as much as seeing Mandy's daughters face when I gave it to her. I am so glad Mandy has a girl now if I want to do something really girlie I know the perfect home for it. For the instructions on how to make this check at the Scrappy Go Lucky Blog.

I have a tendancy, if I can not find it - I will make it. I wanted the word love to stand upright and could not find anything long enough or sturdy enough to hold them. So into my shed I went and with the table and drop saw I made this box for myself. My friend Mel liked it so much she asked me to make her three of them, I am still waiting to see how hers turn out, when she has I will post them on the blog. No pressure Mel!

There is not much I will not scrapbook. These used to be what the lindmindt chocolates came in one year for Christmas. They were so cute I had to scrapbook them.

My Christmas centre piece with a difference. This one was so much fun to create because the boys and I got dresses up and with my camera on the tripod I got some great shots. There are a number of different cricut cartridges with stars on them so you can pick which ever one you like. The design studio helped or gypsy if you have one. To make the photos stand up I just used skewers and put the florist green foam in the base box.

If you have design studio or gypsy you can also make your own personalised named albums. It's just a matter of using the welding function and ensuring each rectangle shape you use per letter gets extended.

If you ever get sick of looking at a bare white fridge then do as I do scrap it using the vinyl sheets or even contact. Do make sure to put your cricut machine on the right settings for vinyl or contact or you could have a great deal of trouble. If your unsure Mandy at Scrappy Go Lucky has a fantastic book purely dedicated to your blade, pressure and speed settings for different types of paper.

Lastly, I had to play with the glass etching with the vinyl when it came out. Plus again one of my favourite cartridges as I love swirls and butterflys - Wall Decor and More. Sorry the quality of the photos are not as good as they could be.

Well I hope in some small way I have inspired you. I know I love looking at scrapbooking blogs to see the different styles and projects people do.

Stay tuned for these project updates

With my Christmas Holiday coming up I thought I would tackle some projects that I have been wanting to do for awhile.

Stage One preview:

Thanks to Mandy of Scrappy Go Lucky that got in the cricut light cartridges here in Australia, as there was one there that as a mother of 11 and 8 year old boys is a must. Yes, I am referring to "Dude". My son is obessed with his skate board and scooter, but he is forever losing the tools he uses on them. Whilst cleaning up my scrapbooking area I found the perfect size box which has a magnetic flap that secures the contents inside. I used the cri-kit gel pens and of course design studio so I could align the shadow that was required to cut it out on the cricut. So stay tuned for an updated look on the finish product.

The other project to watch out for is a scrapbooked canvass, and what better topic then my special night at the Regional Small Business Awards. Mandy again had the perfect product for me (embossing foil and cricuit tool) which was also the perfect colour match to the dress I wore. I used a couple of different mediums on the canvass, first was the textured paste and secondly was flow medium; this product gives a tranparency to the paint, smoother finish and still the right consistancy so you can work your magic.  On this canvass I used masking tape in different areas to get my squares, once dried I then repositioned the tape. You will see how where the squares overlap the colour is darker. the cartridge I have used so far is "Mothers Day". 

The Cricuts Versatility

Not only does the Cricut give you the options of cutting things at any desired size it is well and truly a time saver. A years ago it took me two weeks to do my sons football team banner with each letter having to be hand drawn and cut. This year it took me two nights after work to complete, not only that but I even had more writing on it this year and did both sides of the banner. With many of the boys hitting their 50 game milestone next year I look forward to it eagerly instead of with fear. The important thing to remember is to get a light weight gsm paper, I used about a 80gsm, it cut perfectly and was not to heavy for the crepe paper banner which stood @2m x 3m wide.

Regular occurance you may read

I am an experimentor when it comes to scrapbookking, setting myself a challenge is sometimes the only way for me to get motivated. I am very lucky to know Mandy from Scrappy Go Lucky who helps me out here. So what is the regular occurance you may read, well it is simple "thank you Mandy from Scrappy Go Lucky" I love it when she sets a challenge and I am always eagerly awaiting to hear when she has new products in. Cartridges, Copics, flower soft, you name it I want to have a go of it, and the embossing tool for the cricut, all I can say is "Oh my, Yippie, happy happy happy.