Cricut cartridge list of content - Animal Kingdom

This is a comprehensive overview of the Cricut Cartridge, Animal Kingdom. I have included a little about the sample that you find on the back of the cartridge, a bit on the handbook pages, and, at the bottom of the entry, a spreadsheet that lists all of the images and words/phrases on Animal Kingdom-  with their page numbers. 
 First lets take a look at the sample sheet which is designed to give you a general idea of the content on the cartridge.  You can find this on the back of the box. You should note that the sample does not show ALL of the content as is the case with all of the sample sheets designed by Provocraft.  To see all the images, phrases, fonts, words, projects, cards and/ or paper designs (depending on the type of cartridge) you will need to review the handbook.  

I don't like these types of samples where the layers are monochromatic. I like to see the layers in different colors so I can get a better sense of the dimensions. The handbook is also bland with this cartridge, which is unfortunate because each image has a number of cool options. 

 This is a page out of the Animal Kingdom cartridge handbook. You can view the entire handbook as a PDF, by clicking here. Each image includes:

• a full body/ side profile of the animal and a front view of the head - both have a second layer (that is accessed with the shift key) for dimension. 
• a welded phrase associated with the sound the animal makes
• a bookmark with the side profile of the animal welded to the top
• a border with a second layer
• a shadow for the side profile image with a second layer 
• a blackout for the side profile image with a second layer 

The border option only shows 3 horses welded together.  In order to get a long border for larger pages like 12 x 12 paper, you can cut multiples of the border image and line them up along the edge or you can use Design Studio, Gypsy or Cricut Craft Room to weld multiple copies of the border image together  To learn more about welding with Design Studio, click here, welding with Gypsy, click here and welding with Cricut Craft Room, click here (these are all excellent youtube video tutorials.)

Below is a table with a list of the words/ expressions and a list of the images on the cartridge. The list is sorted alphabetically and has the page number for each line item.  If you would like a pdf of this information, you can download it by clicking here:   

ANIMAL KINGDOM PDF

I used the files created by Linda Scott , creator of the CricutCheat Sheet, as the meat and potatoes for this spreadsheet  My contribution is the page numbers along with a few extra items here and there.  You can get a copy of the original cheatsheet. which has all of the cartridges by joining the Yahoo Group CricutCheatSheet. I *love* this database but I added on the page numbers because once I knew which cartridge to go to, I spent a lot of time flipping through the books to see if the image/ phrase/ word was what I was looking for. I will be posting a new cartridge daily with this information.  If you find any errors in the spreadsheet, please let me know so I can correct them. 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. Thanks so much and have a great Monday!

Imagine Cartridge "All Wrapped Up" overview

It takes a lot of trial and error to really use the Cricut to its full potential so I thought I would share some of the lessons I have learned on my blog over the next few weeks.  Lord knows I scoured the internet to find cricut information when I first started using my cricut.  There is a lot of great stuff out there but it takes time to find it.  I hope the information I provide here will fill in some of the gaps.  I certainly could not have put together my information without sites like these:

• Cricut
• My Cut Search
• Mel Stampz
• Everyday Cricut

These are just a few of the sites that helped.  The message boards on the cricut website and 2 peas were also incredible resources. So without further adieu, here is my first installment of a series of cricut cartridge content information.

Below you will find as much information as I could put together for Imagine Cartridge "All Wrapped Up". This information includes:

• a sample view of the cartridge
• a link to the PDF of the handbook
• a spreadsheet with a list of the images, words and phrases, cards and projects with their pages numbers.

I will add this information on all of the cartridges I own over the next few weeks so you might want to bookmark my blog and check back frequently.

Click here to view the digital handbook for All Wrapped Up

This is a Imagine cartridge which allows you to print your own paper. Below is a closer view of the paper on this cartridge:

This is a table of contents that I put together with the images, phrases/ words and projects included on the cartridge along with the page numbers. I use it all the time instead of flipping through the booklet.  I have it on a master spreadsheet along with all my other cartridges so I can sort it alphabetically or just do a "find" when looking for a specific image. You can download a PDF version of this table by clicking :  

ALL WRAPPED UP PDF

My aim is to provide a comprehensive overview/ resource for each cartridge (limited to the ones I own).  Most of this is already available on the web in one way or another, however, I was unable to find a source where all of it was compiled together. If you find any errors in the spreadsheet, please let me know so I can correct them. 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.

I hope this is helpful.  Please feel free to leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments section. 

It has been too long...

Its hard to believe that it has been a year since I last posted on this blog.  My life looks so different now than it did when I first started chronicling my journey with art .  Back then, I wasn't sure who I was as a creative being.  I just felt an overwhelming compulsion to make pretty things.  I began to explore all kinds of mediums, searching to find an authentic voice of expression. It wasn't until art school that I let go of my own expectations and just allowed myself to do what came naturally.  Up until then, I felt this absurd pressure to unleash some kind of hidden talent inside of me.  Formal art instruction taught me that art is work.  For most, art requires a willingness to be one of many.  Not the best artist in the room and not the worst.  Just an individual expressing themselves.  Yes, technical training and focus add to the finer details, but artistic honesty means quieting the chatter and giving yourself to your work.

I have been scrapbooking and photo-archiving for the last 8 years as a profession.  I have been blessed with a steady stream of clients and an abundance of projects that vary in scope.

Over the last year I have been working on identical scrapbook albums for my client's twins.  Its a massive undertaking since I started with over a 2000 digital images to sort through.  I filtered those photos to 500 and then had my client give me an overview of the stories for each of the photos sets.  From there, I developed 2 copies of the 500 photos and started making the layouts with titles and journalling gleaned from her notes.  See layouts below (I took these pics with my phone so the color, orientation and light are super wonky):

The sun is one of the layers on the Imagine Cartridge; "Imagine More" pg 4.  The top font is the shadow of a layer on the Imagine Cartridge; "Blast Off" and the bottom font is from"Cuttin' Up".

For this layout I used the doghouse image from the Imagine Cartridge; "Best Friends," page 18 and I printed the paw prints from Imagine Cartridge; "Imagine More," pg 8 which I made into bubble stickers with Epiphany Crafts Bubble Caps. This was so much more difficult than it needed to be because I had to print (not cut) that layer, large and the punch out the paw part of the image.  This is why I decided to create a cheat sheet with Page Numbers.  I flipped through all of the books trying to find paw prints to no avail.  Once I had finished the spreadsheet with the cartridges I own, I found paw prints in Car Decals, Word Collage and Life's a Party.

The title font "The Toy Snake" is from "Life's a Party". The T-shirt  (from "Formal Occasion" -pg 47, Layer 2 + shift) and skirt (pg 30) on "The Shirt Says it All".  I used design studio to place the phrase that is cut on the t-shirt.

I made all of the flowers by hand with flowers on a variety of cartridges mixed together with some Sizzix flower die cut.

The hats where made from "Simply Charmed" pg 57, layer 2 as the base.  the details, I did by hand.

 I used the circle shape that comes loaded on the Imagine to use on the Portable Play Mat. The Hungry title on the left page is from Baby Steps, pg 57.

I used the baby girl and boy die cut images from "Baby Steps," pages 27 and 47.  I used paper that coordinated with the photo outfits. The Out in the Stroller layout was tricky.  I knew I wanted to use strollers as my "L"s on the title.  I manipulated "Stretch Your Imagination" pg 71 to make it work.  The title font is from "Life's a Party"

The Grandpa cut out is from "My Community" pg 21.  I manipulated it to look like the person in the photo.

This project is now winding down.  I'll miss it when I'm done. I have to declare that I couldn't have done it without my Cricut.  My Cricut (I have an Imagine) has allowed me to customize many of the embellishments to match the photographs and allowed me to create just about anything I could conjure up with my imagination.

Fun and Easy craft to do with kids!

There is nothing like a bored child and summer can sometimes bring this about.. All that free time... We have a huge gap to fill when our little ones are not able to play with their friends daily while burning off all that energy at recess. here is a fun idea:

Yesterday we did a fun and simple craft at camp that kept the kids busy and happy for hours. You can do this with just one child but the more kids you get to play, the better.

Restaurant fun:

First we took file folds and cut them in half to make two 5.25 x 8.25" menus. Then each kid named their restaurant and decorated the front of the menu to reflect the name and kinds of food they served . Next they decided on three or more dishes they would serve and listed these inside with pictures and prices.

Once their menus were complete, I put out a ton of misc. craft supplies and all kinds of things from the recycle bin. To do this at home, you can also peek into the garage and cupboards to find random gardening, auto, household bits and office supplies that you don't need or use (i.e. - box a piece of jewelry came in, stray hair rollers, single socks, clothes pins, an old jar of ponds cream that you are never going to use...).

Next I put everything on display for the children to consider, then told them to make their three dishes from the array of random items. This was ahoot to watch. They made pizza from a box, covered it with red fabric from an old T-shirt and topped it with feathers for cheese, bits of foam for mushrooms and small circles of paper for the pepperoni.

Once all the food was made, we set up little tables (you can use real furniture or make your own from boxes, pillows and a tin can with a flower in it.) We printed out order sheets on the computer from here and took turns playing guest and server. It was such a fun time! The kids kept wanting to add items to their menu so they would run over to the supplies and whip up a new entree.

Mini city under construction

I teach art and creativity at St. Timothy's school as an after school enrichment program and during summer camp for 10 weeks. The program is called "Create and Innovate." One of the most infamous activities we do is create a city out of recycled items. We started this activity on Monday.

It begins with a "city planning meeting" where we determine the scale of our city with action figures and dolls. Both Barbie and a Transformer are too large. This year we have settled on a game piece of a knight in armor (with sword drawn) as our point of reference.

Next we discuss what we want to have in our city: school, church, gas station, hotel, park, houses, stores and a jail are some of the buildings we are currently working on. A Bat Cave was suggested so we will see if we have room for it today.

Each child gets building bucks to use towards buying supplies and services

hello creativity!

I haven't even looked at my sewing machine since Christmas, but yesterday I needed to mend something and the next thing I knew I was making shorts from an old pair of jeans and embellishing with Heather Bailey fabric. It was such a nice feeling to quietly stitch and openheartedly consider what to do next.

Sometimes I think it is a shame that I scrapbook for a job. I just don't tinker creatively anymore. I have all kinds of excuses: I don't want to make a mess in my studio; I need a change of scenery; I feel like If I'm feeling creative, I should be working; or I don't want to start something I won't be able to finish.. RIDICULOUS!

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem so I'm making a public announcement of my intention to change. Any objections? I didn't think so.

Actually, it has been a pretty artful summer thus far and I didn't even have to instigate my own momentum. Between the twin's scrapbooks I'm doing for my long term client, the projects I'm preparing for and teaching in the art and creativity classes at camp and my undeniable need for some sort of outlet, I have just "found" myself standing at the drafting table, adhesive in hand.

A big part of my drive comes from the awesome projects I've been doing with my cricut. I love that machine. I never thought I would get into using a lot of commercial products in my work but here I am, having a great time with layers, clean edges, shadows and cartridges. I think the jump start has been awesome in helping lay down that first piece of paper. Often, it is that first step that gets in my way to actually "DOING" something.

I used to think that the cricut would cause my work to look cookie-cutter-drone-ish and that the process of putting everything together would be like painting with numbers. This is so off base. My cricut pages and cards usually take much longer to assemble that "free hand" work and it is easier to know when to stop and do a know project. I cannot tell you how many unfinished pages I have in page planner sleeves that are missing a title or embellishments because I can't find what I'm looking for.

Now that I am doing some of my own work again, I will have something to post/ share on my blog. I'm hoping the next post will be very soon!

back to the blogsphere

I disappeared from the world of blogging this last year. Instead, I joined the Facebook craze because it was easy and quick and I enjoyed getting the feedback but I have been working SO MUCH (I scrapbook for hire) that I have scrapbooking on the brain and facebook isn't really a great forum for me to talk about it (most of my "friends" are normal folk).

I have been hitting the message boards lately (it has been years!) and it is refreshing to be amongst my people. I've learned a lot of new techniques, discovered a bunch of cool products and have seen some fabulous work. What I love the most is how readily people will offer suggestions and information when you post a question! My job is pretty isolating and cerebral so connecting with others interested in the same thing really keeps me among the living.

To catch you up (if I even have any readers after this lengthy hiatus), this last school year I had the privilege to teach an enrichment program at my children's school, St. Timothy's. This program incorporated art, science and creative thinking to examine and explore various puzzles and ideas. It was called Create and Innovate, named after the Institute of Innovation fellowship I completed in 2010. It was such a hit and I had the BEST time with the kids and the projects! I will be teaching it again this summer via St. Tim's summer camp. I have taught art at a number of summer camps for many years and really enjoy the change of pace and watching the kids use their right brain!

This year, camp is filled to capacity and my program has been a big draw for many of the kids who might not have normally attended. (I love getting a little affirmation now and then!)

I am also working on a massive scrapbook project and it is so much fun! I have struggled a little with inspiration (sometimes I can't make a commitment to any of my ideas and it drives me crazy!) but I have been really pleased with the work I have completed.

The album(s) are two identical scrapbooks chronically the first year of life for a pair of twins. I have 500 photos to incorporate (each) and a big story to tell. Pulling the whole thing together is almost like writing a book. There has to be a natural progression - specific events have to be highlighted and a lot of different family members and friends need to be included. Plus I have to assemble 2 of everything which is harder than it seems.

I am so grateful that I get to do such a meaningful project. It really is an honor. Below you can find a few pages I've done... (sorry for the crummy pictures and I don't know what is going on with the layout below - looks like I have to re-familiarize myself with blogspot!)

Institute for Innovation

It has been nearly two weeks and I am still buzzing from the amazing 2-day workshop I attended at RAFT. Two full days of creativity and the wonderful ziggity zag that comes from playing in your "creative mind state."

It was a hands-on program with multiple instructors leading a variety of "experiences" to generate and harness creative energy. We brainstormed and scampered. We mastered Leonardo's bridge and the Nail Puzzle. We even talked our way through the various hues of a color. But most of all we spoke about the future and education and how we can make a difference.

We do not realize it, but hands on learning has lost its place in our education system. The days of auto shop, sewing and wood shop are long past and kids are stuck in lectures and textbooks to learn about all the wonders of the world. Through the Institute of Innovation, I was reminded that you learn what you love and most often you can't know if you love something until you have applied it... tried it on... taken it for a spin. Through creativity we can reach our kids on a personal level and spark their passion to learn.

The other participants of this workshop came from many backgrounds with varied experiences. Combined with the fantastic curriculum and the infectious enthusiasm of the instructors, I left with a greater understanding of how I want to affect others with my art. I have always known that through the process of artistic creation we can access the magical world of our imagination. For many however, imagination is an inaccessible oasis in the midst of turbulent schedules and overwhelming "to-do lists." Many people need a little help to enter this place of innovation and invention. I want to be the person that provides that help. The hostess that opens the door. I want to share the key with others so they can tap into their possibilities. And guess what? I get to.

This Fall, I will be teaching my summer art class as an enrichment program at St. Timothy's School. While I have been doing this for 4 years now, I have new clarity about my objectives. I have also applied for a Fellowship through the Institute of Innovation which would compliment my classes in the most incredible ways. Besides the increased access to programming and resources, the generous stipend would allow me to offer scholarships and subsidies to families on a tighter budget. There were a lot of amazing individuals interested in the opportunity. I will find out if I have been selected next week...(fingers and toes crossed.) Until then, I am busy putting together the curriculum and working through the logistics.

Loving camp in so many ways

If you have been reading my blog for a year or more than you know that I get crazy excited about teaching art at summer camp. I *LOVE* tapping into a child's creativity and allowing them to invent without inhibition. If you look back to my July entries from year's past you will see that art camp is the highlight of my summer.

This year I am teaching at St. Timothy's rather than Gen Israel where I have taught the last 3 years. The groups are about the same size but I have yet to "recycle" a class. I just love designing new projects and exercises that tickle the imagination and give a child a feeling of success.

The first week of camp was a hoot. I offered the kids a boatload of upcycled treasures from RAFT to use to make a small city. We had a city planning meeting each day before we got to the building and discussed scale, distribution of commercial versus residential real estate, infrastructure, mass transit, cooperative projects and even funding. Of course we used much more colorful terms like small, medium and big, houses versus stores, choo choo trains, building bucks and more.


I was absolutely blown away by the creativity and enthusiasm the kids showed. We worked on the project for 4 days - 2 hours a day, and I never heard "I'm done" or "I'm bored." They worked together, exchanged ideas and the older kids even helped the younger kids execute their vision. When the city was completely laid out, I honestly got a little choked up.


The following week, the preschoolers made dioramas out of RAFT materials. The boys in the group seemed even more enthusiastic than the girls as they flipped through the wallpaper sample books and decided on fabric for their bedding. These kids are 4 and 5 years old yet they remained focused on their projects for over an hour, two days in a row. They presented the finished projects to their parents with uninhibited pride.



The 1st through 6th graders had a much different theme for their classes. It was Spy week. We made passports and credentials, badges, TOP SECRET files with missions of our own creation. Then we made communicators, laser watches that cut through metal, portable listening devices, invisibility cream and spy gear fanny packs. It was a HIT! (and I was dog tired at the end of each day. )

This last week it was water week so by the time the kids came to me they had been in the sun all day and were in need of some quiet time. We made cards for our troops abroad, hovercrafts and puff rockets which was just the right pace in this heat.

We still have several more weeks before camp ends and I will blog more about the activities as we do them. My next post will be dedicated exclusively to the Innovation Institute. This was a two day journey into creativity and innovation. That is all I will say for now but be prepared to read an incredibly enthusiastic blog with lots of great projects!