Showing posts with label enjoy the seasons cartridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enjoy the seasons cartridge. Show all posts

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Cricut Imagine Cartridge Enjoy the Seasons Mini Album

Last October, I was invited to be in the April "Cricut Mini Albums" book by Northridge publishing. One of the conditions was that I needed to pull any photos of the album until after the book was released.  This was to keep the album new and fresh. Yesterday, someone asked for the instructions to make the album and I realized I hadn't re-posted the tutorial. So here we go:

 
 
 
 

Enjoy the Seasons 12” x 6” album
What you’ll need:
  • Cricut Imagine
  • Enjoy the Seasons cartridge
  • 6, 12 x 12” sheets of chipboard
  • approx. 5 sheets of light weight chipboard (like the back page of a paper pack)
  • Crop-a-Dile for punching holes
  • 12  x 12” card stock or paper
  • 3-D pop dots or foam dots
  • 1” binder rings
  • Basic scrapbooking tools, your choice of accent embellishments and adhesive
First things first:
Before you assemble your book, you should pick the images you are going to use from the Enjoy the Seasons cartridge.  I chose the following at:
January – snowflakes, page 19 – size 3”
February – hearts, page 31 – size 2”
March – birds, page 32 - size 5”
April – hot air balloon, page 12 - size 3”
May – flowers, page 6 - size 3”
June – butterflies, page 32 - size 5.5”
July – lady by the lake, page 9 - size 3.75”
August – suns, page 31 - size 6.25”
September – apple with worm, page 16 - size 3.5”
October – bats, page 33 - size 5.75”
November – turkey, page 15 - size 3.75”
December – holly, page - size 5.75

You can print and cut this artwork as a flat image or in layers to make the embellishments dimensional.  I wanted the die cuts to hang off the edges of the pages in this album so I used thin chipboard to make them sturdy.  I also opted to print and cut the images in layers. To cut thin chipboard you should set the multi-cut to 2.

To cut the basic book:
Cut all 6 pages of the 12 x 12” chipboard sheets in half so you have 12, 12 x 6” pages. Set 2 of the 12 x 6” pages aside.  They will be the last 2 pages of the book. 
Next, cut the remaining 10, 12 x 6” pages as follows:
         2, 10 x 6” and 2, 2 x 6”
         2, 8 x 6” and 2, 4 x 6”
         4, 6 x 6” (you will only need 2 – you can discard the other 2)

Assembling the pages
This will leave you with 12 pages (24 if you count the front and back) which means you will need to select 24 paper/ cardstock patterns or colors.  You will need to cover your album pages before punching holes for the binder rings.  I selected paper that coordinated with the images I chose to use from the “Enjoy the Seasons” cartridge.
Make your paper selections and cover your chipboard pages and ink the edges.  Now you are ready to punch the holes.
You will punch 8 holes in the 12 x 6” pages,  6 holes in the 10 x 6” pages,  5 holes in the 8 x 6” pages, 4 holes in the 6 x 6” pages, 3 holes in the 4 x 6” pages and 2 holes in the 2 x 6” pages.
You need to punch 2 holes in the 2 x 6” pages and 8 holes, (instead of 7 hole), in the 12 x 6” pages to stabilize the spine of the book.  The best way to make sure that the holes line up straight for assembly is to make a template.  I used a 12 x 6” piece of chipboard for my template so it was nice and sturdy.

Measure .25” in from the (inner) vertical edge and draw a margin line from top to bottom.  You will use this line to make sure your holes line up.  You will punch holes at .25”, 1.70”, 3.50”, 5.25”, 6.75”, 8.50”, 10.25” and 11.75”

Stack the pages on top of one another and insert binder rings in each group of holes.  For a final touch, tie ribbon through the binder rings.

Viola- your book is assembled and your die cut embellishments are ready to be adhered.  The rest of the design is up to you and your photos. 

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Comprehensive Overview of Cricut Imagine Enjoy the Seasons

Today we are looking at the Cricut Imagine cartridge Enjoy the Seasons.   In this post you will get:
  • a close look at the papers/ patterns included on the cartridge
  • a sample view of the cartridge images
  • a look at a handbook page with some explanation of the possibilities
  • a link to the PDF of the handbook
  •  a look at the cartridge icons
  • a spreadsheet with a list of the images, words and phrases, cards and projects with their pages numbers including a link to download the PDF version.
First lets take a look at the papers and patterns available on the cartridge.   You can print these patterns into any size paper all the way up to 12 x 12 inches or you can use the patterns as fill for objects, fonts and shapes.

Below is the sample of the images included on the cartridge that Provocraft prints back of the box.

This is just a preview of 15 images - there are 40 complete images plus phrases and icons (shown further down the page) and when you add the isolated image layers, you have a lot to play with! I love the flexibility you get with the Imagine because each layer is a stand alone image that can be used on it's own. If you are not familiar with Imagine Cartridges, this probably is confusing so let me explain further.

There are a total of four images in the first row of the handbook page below.  The first is the complete image printed without layers.  The second image is just the sky which you can turn sideways and use as a cloud if you wanted to.  The third image is the hot air balloon with a bunny in the basket.  You can use this image alone or you can stack it on top of the second image to create dimension.  Use foam squares or pop dots to adhere the two layers together and you have a 3-D embellishment.  The fourth image is a scroll on which you can write or adhere a word or expression.  You do not have to use the scroll when you print and cut the images as separate layers, but if you decide to use the first image, the scroll will be included.
Above, is another row from the handbook.  The first image is a darling camping scene (one of my favorite on this cartridge!).  The second image is just the background.  The third image is a cluster of trees which you can layer on top of the background or use on their own with, or without the tent and camp fire.  The same is true for the fourth and fifth images.  Layer them all together to make the first scene with dimension or use them on their own to make your own designs.  To see all of the pages in the handbook click here.

 Enjoy the Seasons is the cartridge I used to create this 6 x12 inch album.  When it is done there will be 12 pages (24 front and back) for photos, journalling and more. 
photo removed to be published in cricut mini albums
I wasn't able to work on it while I was on vacation but I will finish it this week so you can see each page on its own.  All of the embellishments were printed and cut with the Cricut Imagine.  I have added it to scrapscene WIP (work in progress) http://www.scrapscene.com/tag/wipmonday.html  just for fun.  I have never done this before - have you?

Below are all of the complete images on this cartridge:

And these are all of the icons included on the cartridge.  These icons do not have layers.  They are flat images but make fabulous borders.
Last but not least, here is a list of all of the images and phrases on this cartridge with their page numbers.  If you find any errors in the spreadsheet, please let me know so I can correct it. If you would like to share this information on your blog, instead of copy and pasting this info, please paste a link to my site. The spreadsheet below is saved as a JPEG but you can download a PDF version of Enjoy the Seasons here:



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Cricut Cartridge posts interrupted by a slice of heaven

I am sorry for the lapse in blog posts.  I am on vacation in a magical place called Arnold, CA.  It is truly a slice of heaven but internet connectivity is spotty and very slow when available.  I have already been at it for 45 minutes just to post the photo above and write these few sentences.  I just wanted to make sure I let you all know that I haven't abandoned my posts about Cricut cartridges nor the promised series about the Cricut Imagine cartridge "Enjoy the Seasons".  I will try to post prior to returning home but if I can't get the internet to cooperate, I'll be back in business on Sunday, July 29.  We are off to the lake... I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Cricut Imagine Cartridge "Enjoy the Seasons" Preview

I have been up to something today and it isn't housework. I decided that my next Cricut Cartridge overview should be accompanied by examples of my own work so I pulled out the Cricut Imagine Cartridge, "Enjoy the Seasons" and waited for an idea. 

It took most of the day to put together this 12 x 6 inch mini album.  There are 24 pages total, 2 (1 front /1 back) for each month in the year.  All of the images were printed and cut from the "Enjoy the Seasons" cartridge. Once its complete, I will spend some time showing you what this awesome cartridge is capable of.
Over the next couple of days, I will posting several entries about the cartridge and this project including:
  • a comprehensive overview of the Enjoy the Seasons cartridge
  • instructions for making this album
  • tips, tricks and lessons learned when working with this cartridge
  • and I also want to do a write up about things like inking, creating dimension, choosing adhesive, when to use titles, procrastination via perfectionism and the inevitability of Cricut boo boos.