Anyone else missing getting out and going places? Today, I was thinking of one of my favorite places to visit and thought I’d share this layout from our trip to Disneyland a few years ago.
These pictures bring back the memories of this trip. My daughter was totally into taking selfies at the time and collected them with each character she met on the trip. The exchange happening in these pictures was priceless. The Evil Queen, being from Once Upon a Time, had never seen a cell phone of course and was very interested in the miniature “mirror”. It was a moment of Disney magic that still makes me laugh when I see these photos.
To make this layout special enough for these special photos, I used red and green glitter paper (retired) and gold foil paper. I love how well these specialty papers cut on the Cricut. Be sure to use the custom material settings to get the best results.
Want to make this project? Click the link below to open the Design Space file.
Update 2/13/2020: I updated this post from 2011 because the Hooray Bouquet set used for this mini-layout is back for a limited time! Even better, it is part of our Stamptacular sale and just $12.25! This stamp set coordinates our very first Cricut collection Art Philosophy. This was one of the first Art Philosophy stamp sets and I sure got a lot of mileage out of it!
This mini-layout is still hanging above my mom’s computer and it still makes me smile everytime I see it. My “little” girl in this picture is now in college and all grown up. Time sure flies doesn’t it?
Although this cartridge retired several years ago, it is back through my special Cricut link! In fact all of our Cricut images can now be purchased and used in Design Space with your Explore or Maker machines!!! Hurry, this stamp set will retire again on 2/29/2020!
I’ve decided to have a second create and take at my open house. Come to my house on Sunday, August 14(2011)from 2:30 – 4:00 pm to make this 6″ x 6″ page in addition to the card I showed you earlier. This layout can be added to a small scrapbook, but you do not have to be a scrapbooker to enjoy this cute project. It could be framed, hung on your frig, stuck on your office wall, etc. It even would make a great gift.
Bring a favorite 4″ x 4″ picture if you want to finish it here. (No need for specialty printing, just trim down a 4″ x 6″ print).
I’m so excited that our retired Cricut image collections are now available to purchase using my special Cricut Affiliate link! In this post, I’m going to knock the dust off the a favorite collection, especially for card-makers, Artfully Sent. Join my as to learn all the features of this amazing set of images.
History and Good News
The Artfully Sent Cricut collection was first released by Close To My Heart in 2014 in a physical cartridge bundle. This is was right after Cricut released the Explore, the first machine to use Design Space, but most Cricut users still used cartridge-driven machines like the Expression. The tiny pictures in the handbook, made this collection difficult to use on these older machines but the projects are perfectly suited for today’s Design Space machines. The collection retired a few years ago without being offered as a digital-only collection. When it retired, these images became unavailable to anyone who was unfortunate enough to miss out on getting this cartridge while it was available.
Last year, Close To My Heart began a new partnership with Cricut which allows all of our image collections, including retired collections like Artfully Sent, to be purchased using special links only available from Close To My Heart consultants! This is an exciting development because many of you missed these collection the first time around. This collection has so many fun projects and with the editing options now available in Design Space, the possibilities are endless!
This is the first post in a series focusing on the Close To My Heart Cricut image sets.
To get started, let’s watch the introductory video from 2014. Note that the stamp sets and cardstock are no longer included when you purchase the collection.
The cartridge was originally packaged with an Assembly booklet which is really helpful to know how to put together the cards. Click here to view the Assembly Booklet>>
Thumbnails of Images
Below is a preview of the font and envelopes, plus each of the the five types of cards. I’ve also included a thumbnail of each project, however as I mentioned before, these images are really small and it’s hard to see the details until you open the projects in Design Space. I’ve also includes links to a series of posts that I wrote when the Artfully Sent cartridge was originally released in 2014.
Font
The Artfully Sent font has fun decorative loops which adds a unique whimsical twist to your projects. The collection includes a full font with upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers and basic symbols. Click here for a more detailed look at the font>>
The 50 pop-up card projects have several layers including a card base, liner and icons. These complete projects are grouped which means in Design Space they are added to your canvas as a single layered image. Click here for more information about these cards >>
There are a whopping 100 in this set of cards. Each card has icons and/or sentiments cut into the card. For all of these, you can leave the cut outs as windows on the card, or cover the back with paper to add color to the design. You can also use the cut outs to make creative shaker window cards. Click here for more information about these cards >>
Sleeve and Overlay Cards
This next group of cards have tabs that when folded and attached create a sleeve or pocket. These can be used in a wide variety of ways including gift card holders, invitations or photos. Click here for more information about these cards >>
The overlay cards have a solid back and cut outs on the front of the card. Most of these do not have any theme, so you can dress them up to use at any occasion.
Pocket Cards
The last collection of projects are flat cards that can be put into the pockets of a divided scrapbooking memory protector. These are also great titles for your full size pages or even for the front of a greeting card. I also like that you can punch a hole in the top (or add in design space) and have an instant tag for any occasion. Click here for more information about these cards >>
This cartridge was retired several years ago, but the good news is that it is back! If you never bought the physical cartridge, you can now create with these images in Design Space. You can access them several different ways. The Artfully Sent images are now available with Cricut Access or can be purchased individually in Design Space for $1.99 for each project and $6.99 for the font. However, the best value is to purchase the full collection which includes all 700 individual images (projects plus font) for just $49.95. When you purchase the full collection, the images are yours forever, regardless of your subscription status. You can subscribe to Access or purchase the full collection on Cricut.com. (If you use the Cricut link in this post for your purchases, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank You!)
Here’s one more video you can watch to see even more inspiring projects made with Artfully Sent.
I hope this post has encouraged you to check out or re-familiarize yourself with this great classic collection of card-making projects.
Over the last year or so, I’ve realized that I use most of my creative time to work on projects for my business. My old scrapbooks have been somewhat neglected. When I have worked on my personal pages, it is often when my energy and creative juices are depleted. The goal is often to just “get it done” and as a result the pages are over-simple.
So, I’ve decided to be sure to have a little time carved out each week to focus on a project or two JUST FOR FUN! This page is a result. Note that NONE of the images are from my beloved Close To My Heart cartridges — gasp! Instead, I pulled from the Disney Classics cartridge to create this Captain Hook themed layout. (However, I did use CTMH cardstock of course and also our Silver Foil Paper.)
Are you like me and need to start making time for your personal projects? Maybe you don’t have a scrapbooking business distracting you, but I bet you have other things that fill up your days. I started with Close To My Heart for this very reason — I was not finding time to scrapbook and thought that doing it as a job would force me to make time. I had found that I needed regular creative time to handle the stresses of life. My plan has worked well for me most of the time, but I still have to be careful to carve out time for my personal projects.
I’d love to hear from you! In the comments, I’d love to hear your struggles with making time for your hobbies — scrapbooking or other. If you are inspired to mark off some creative time, please share what you are working on!
Cricut has just released a new app for iPhones and iPads called Cricut Basics. This program allows you to cut images and projects on your Cricut Explore machine in a way that is faster and simpler than Design Space.
This weekend, I borrowed my husband’s iPad to try it out. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, it is perfect when you just need to make a few cuts or have a project that is ready to go. To help you get started, I recorded this video showing you how to cut projects, images and text using the Cricut Basics App.
A couple months ago, I helped my sister create a gift for her friend who was waiting for her sweet baby to arrive. She wanted to make a mural for the nursery that reflected her Chinese heritage. Here are some pictures of the completed room just a few weeks before they received permission to travel to meet their daughter, Esther.
The entire project was made with removable indoor vinyl which was cut on my Cricut Explore. The vinyl setting is amazing since it makes a “kiss” cut, which leaves the paper backing intact. This type of cut makes it simple to peel off the finished pieces.
In order to maintain a link to her heritage, we used Design Space to build a custom vinyl image that had her English and Chinese names in multiple fonts. Once the image was cut, transfer paper was used to keep the individual pieces spaced properly until it could be applied to the wall.
The flowers, leaves and butterflies are Cricut images. (Sorry, I don’t remember the cartridges. I had a subscription at the time so we hunted through the whole image library to find ones that we liked.)
My sister drew the pandas and the tree. We uploaded the panda drawings into Design Space and then cut them with the Cricut Explore. My sister cut the tree out of brown vinyl by hand.
After all the pieces were cut, we mailed them to Esther’s mom. I had an idea of how it would all turn out, but the final result was much better than I could imagine.
I’m so excited to finally have the Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge in my hands and have been playing around with it. I can’t wait to show you my creations. However, first I thought it would be helpful to share with you some details about how to make the various types of cards on this cartridge. Today I’ll show you the fun decorative loopy font that comes on this cartridge.
2019 Update: Our retired Cricut image collections are now available to purchase using my special Cricut link! The Artfully Sent Cricut collection was first released by Close To My Heart in 2014 in a physical cartridge bundle. It retired a few years later without being offered as a digital-only collection. This made all of these great images unavailable to anyone who was unfortunate enough to miss out on this cartridge while it was available.
This fall (2019), Close To My Heart began a new partnership with Cricut which allows all of our image collections, including retired collections like Artfully Sent, to be purchased using special links only available from Close To My Heart consultants! This is an exciting development because many of you missed these collection the first time around.
Note that the Artfully Sent images are also available in Cricut Access or can be purchased individually in Design Space for $1.99 for each project and $6.99 for the font. However, the best value is to purchase the full collection which includes all 700 individual images (projects plus font) for just $49.95. You can subscribe to Access or purchase the full collection on Cricut.com. (If you use the Cricut link in this post for your purchases, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank You!)
Earlier this week, I posted about the type of cards and envelopes available on this cartridge. You can use these links to learn more about these card types.
Now that we have finished all the types of cards on the Artfully Sent cartridge, this final post will focus on the Artfully Sent Font. If you are using a cartridge driven Cricut machine like an Expression, the font will cut when you do not press any function key.
FONT
First of all there is a complete NEW font. It includes upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and several punctionation marks and symbols.
In Design Space, the font has four options: Regular, Bold, Italic and Bold Italic.
There is not a writing option, but if you change the line type to “Draw”, you can use a pen to get a nice outline font.
Are you ready to get your hands (and Cricut machine) on this collection? Hop on over to Cricut using my special link to view and purchase from the Close To My Heart Cricut library!
I am trying to be patient as I wait for my Artfully Sent cartridge to arrive in the mail. In the mean time, I’m sharing details about how to make the various types of cards on this cartridge. Today, I’m going to focus on the cards on the Sentiment function. Each of the 50 keys on the pad allows you to make two cards.
2019 Update: Our retired Cricut image collections are now available to purchase using my special Cricut link! The Artfully Sent Cricut collection was first released by Close To My Heart in 2014 in a physical cartridge bundle. It retired a few years later without being offered as a digital-only collection. This made all of these great images unavailable to anyone who was unfortunate enough to miss out on this cartridge while it was available.
This fall (2019), Close To My Heart began a new partnership with Cricut which allows all of our image collections, including retired collections like Artfully Sent, to be purchased using special links only available from Close To My Heart consultants! This is an exciting development because many of you missed these collection the first time around.
Note that the Artfully Sent images are also available in Cricut Access or can be purchased individually in Design Space for $1.99 for each project and $6.99 for the font. However, the best value is to purchase the full collection which includes all 700 individual images (projects plus font) for just $49.95. You can subscribe to Access or purchase the full collection on Cricut.com. (If you use the Cricut link in this post for your purchases, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank You!)
This week, I’m writing a series of posts showcasing all the types of cards available on this cartridge, plus the envelopes and font. Click the links below to learn more! I’ll update the list after the remaining posts in this series are available.
The Artfully Sent includes sentiment cards for all occasions including birthday wishes, offers of sympathy, words of gratitude and much more. There are two types of sentiment cards.
CUT OUT CARD
The first set of Sentiment Cards have icons and sentiments cut into the front of the card.
You can complete these cards by adding pieces of paper (great way to use scraps!) behind the cut out and add additional decorations to the front of the card itself. Each of these projects are designed to make a 5″ x 7″ card.
BORDER CARDS
The second set of sentiment cards have a border cut into the front of the card.
These projects are designed to make 4.25″ x 5.5″ cards. So if you keep the dimensions relative (don’t open the padlock), you can get a perfectly shaped card. These cards are fairly basic so they provide a great start to a project. There are lots of things you can do to finish them off: add paper behind the cut outs, stamp or cut out sentiments or add decorations. You might decide to just keep it simple like this one.
The Sentiment cards are the fastest way to create decorative cards using Artfully Sent. If you’d like more inspiration on sentiment cards, watch this video:
I hope this Pop-up card overview has been helpful. I’ll be posting information about the other types of cards on the cartridge soon.
Are you ready to get your hands (and Cricut machine) on this collection? Hop on over to Cricut using my special link to view and purchase from the Close To My Heart Cricut library!
I can’t wait to get my hands on the new Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge. An early to mid-September release is the current target. So it could happen anytime! I will keep you updated as I learn more.
Current Target: Early to Mid-September Release
While we wait, I thought I’d this picture that Close To My Heart released of three Artfully Sent cards.
2019 Update: Our retired Cricut image collections are now available to purchase using my special Cricut link! The Artfully Sent Cricut collection was first released by Close To My Heart in 2014 in a physical cartridge bundle. It retired a few years later without being offered as a digital-only collection. This made all of these great images unavailable to anyone who was unfortunate enough to miss out on this cartridge while it was available.
This fall (2019), Close To My Heart began a new partnership with Cricut which allows all of our image collections, including retired collections like Artfully Sent, to be purchased using special links only available from Close To My Heart consultants! This is an exciting development because many of you missed these collection the first time around.
Note that the Artfully Sent images are also available in Cricut Access or can be purchased individually in Design Space for $1.99 for each project and $6.99 for the font. However, the best value is to purchase the full collection which includes all 700 individual images (projects plus font) for just $49.95. You can subscribe to Access or purchase the full collection on Cricut.com. (If you use the Cricut link in this post for your purchases, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank You!)
On this cartridge, you will find lots of interactive and dynamic cards including: pop-up, swing, backdrop, build-a-scene, sentiment, border and pocket cards.
FREE Stamp Set when you reserve your copy!
Remember you can only get this cartridge from Close To My Heart Independent Consultans like me. Although it is not yet available for purchase, I can reserve a copy for you today. Simply send me an email saying that you’d like a copy and I’ll add this stamp set to your order for free!!
Beautiful Friendship (B1400) – $9.95 value
This reservation deal will DISAPPEAR once the cartridge is released. So be sure to email me now to get the free stamp set.
By now, you may have probably heard that Close To My Heart is releasing a new Cricut Collection. It is called Artfully Sent and is scheduled to be released in September. However, you can reserve your copy today to get a FREE stamp set!
2019 Update: Our retired Cricut image collections are now available to purchase using my special Cricut link! The Artfully Sent Cricut collection was first released by Close To My Heart in 2014 in a physical cartridge bundle. It retired a few years later without being offered as a digital-only collection. This made all of these great images unavailable to anyone who was unfortunate enough to miss out on this cartridge while it was available.
This fall (2019), Close To My Heart began a new partnership with Cricut which allows all of our image collections, including retired collections like Artfully Sent, to be purchased using special links only available from Close To My Heart consultants! This is an exciting development because many of you missed these collection the first time around.
Note that the Artfully Sent images are also available in Cricut Access or can be purchased individually in Design Space for $1.99 for each project and $6.99 for the font. However, the best value is to purchase the full collection which includes all 700 individual images (projects plus font) for just $49.95. You can subscribe to Access or purchase the full collection on Cricut.com. (If you use the Cricut link in this post for your purchases, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank You!)
Along with the cartridge, you get three D-size (large!) stamp sets (Alphabet, Curlicue Frame & Just To Say) and a pack of 24 sheets of white cardstock. You will be ready to start creating lovely cards immediately.
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME CARDMAKING?
Here’s the facts:
The cartridge includes 25 different themes so you have a card for just about any occasion. You are on the fast track to create 5 different card styles, each with 50 cards:
Pop up
Build a Scene
Sentiments
Icon
Pocket (Sleeves)
The tiny pictures in the handbook, made this collection difficult to use on these older machines but the projects are perfectly suited for today’s Design Space machines.The tiny pictures in the handbook, made this collection difficult to use on these older machines but the projects are perfectly suited for today’s Design Space machines.
There are an additional 50 stand alone cards. Plus for the scrapbookers, there are 50 4″ x 6″ and 50 3″ x 4″ Picture My Life cards!
In total, you can make one of 400 complete project with just a few button presses! You will also find a complete alphabet and envelopes.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this cartridge!
It really is a cardmaker’s dream.
Speaking of cardmaking, the new Annual Expressions Idea Book has a number of great new stamp sets just for card makers. For example, this fun set (You Mean the World To Me, B1467) has for great expressions perfect for your hand made cards.
Reserve your copy of Artfully Sent from me by September 1 and I’ll add this stamp set to your order FREE! Simply email me that you’d like to order this cartridge and when the cartridge is available, I’ll send you a PayPal invoice for the cartridge ($99 plus shipping and tax). You will have one week to submit payment to receive the free stamp set.
Please email me if you have any questions about this offer. In the mean time, keep creating!
