My Wedding Report

I have yet to decide how I will actually use my Cuttlebug for our wedding. However, I need to start using the Cuttlebug to get familiar with how it works and the different ways I can potentially use it. Now despite my love of craft/diy stuff I would not consider myself an expert. I don’t do those crazy scrapbooks nor have lots of experience in making paper products. And although I love Martha Stewart, I am far from getting anywhere close to her league. I am basically in the process of learning and experimenting while I create things along the way.

I recently went to Michael’s to use some coupons that were going to expire and take a advantage of their sales. I bought Fiskars 1/2 inch corner rounder that I had been wanting for awhile after reading about Mrs. Penguin’s DIY Essentials.

When buying paper I try to buy paper pads instead of individual sheets, which saves some money. I love the big paper pads because first of all you get a huge assortment and some of it coordinates making it easy to tie projects together. Also if you are patient they sometimes go on sale for 40% off at Michaels.

I wanted to share my first two creations using my Cuttlebug and Cricut. I made two simple cards.

The first card is for some friends of our that recently got married that we are taking to dinner soon to celebrate. Their initials are L & J. I used my “Cricut sampler” cartridge and “opposites attract” cartridge to cut out the lettering. I used a polka dot embossing folder with my Cuttlebug for the background of the lettering.

(The lighting isn’t the best so I apologize for the picture quality in advance)

The next card is just a straight forward Happy Birthday card. The “Birthday Girl” is from my “Storybook Cardridge” which is my favorite cartridge. I used this cartridge from my bridesmaids cards as well. For the embossing folder I used this fun swirly one I got at Michael’s.

I even did envelope liners and embossed the flaps for an extra little detail. To make the envelope liner I traced the envelop flap onto the back of the paper I was using for the liner and cut that out. I snipped each side a tiny bit so that it would easily slide into the envelope. The liner itself only goes half way down into the envelope and I used a glue stick to put in there. I also got to use my new Martha Stewart bone folder to make sure I had a smooth crease after adding the liner.

They aren’t the best, but not bad for my first 2 cards. I really like embossing the envelope flap, so that is something we could possibly do for our invitations.

I’ve been waiting to post these until I had made sure each bridesmaid received her card, I still have a few left but I couldn’t wait any longer.

To make the cards I used my Cricut that I received from Mr. Ducky for my birthday. I love my cricut! While the cards were rather labor intensive because I individually did each letter and shape, I’m happy with how they all turned out. I made each card a little different adjusting the colors and fonts to the personalities of each bridesmaid. I wanted to give each girl something special that involved a picture of us together.

I have 2 maids of honor! Yes, a little unusual but let me explain my thinking. My two maids of honor are my best friends from high school. One of them I also went to college and was a sorority sister. It has always been the three of us for whether way back to our high school cheer days or our never-ending coffee dates at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. It made sense that my wedding would continue our team of 3. Also, they are 2 of the most busy people in the world and I am hoping that sharing the duties can alleviate any possible stress.

A few close-ups of some individual cards…

For the envelopes I used a vellum envelope and traced the name of each girl on the front. When you look at the front of each envelope you can see the picture of us underneath. It was a fun effect, I am thinking about using vellum with our wedding invitations.

And those are the bridesmaid cards! What do you think? Let me know if you have any questions about how I did anything. If you are interested in buying a Cricut let me know. I’ve been seeing some good deals that are more affordable than what is listed on Cricut website.

If you liked these, wait until I show you the new gadget Mr. Ducky gave me for Christmas to add to my crafting collection. You will see my first little test projects soon!

Mr. Ducky likes infomercials. Not really sure why, he just is extremely entertained by them and usually wants whatever they are offering. Well one day the roles reversed when I watched an infomercial for the Cricut. It was this amazing papercutting machine that could make anything! See the video link below for a quick demo of the Cricut in action:

Cricut Provo Craft

As I watched the infomercial I could only imagine the amazing things that could be created with the Cricut. I eventually forgot about the Cricut because it was simply out of budget and I already spend way too much money at Michaels. Then…for my birthday Mr. Ducky surprised me with my very own Cricut!! And it is just as awesome as the infomercial! (I sound like such a craft nerd right now) But it is really easy to use and the detail of things that it can cut out is amazing. For example I had it cut out a cityscape and it cut out tiny little windows for all the office buildings.

There are 3 types of Cricut machines. The basic difference is the size paper that it can cut out. I have the original and most basic Cricut. Maybe one day I’ll work up to the bigger one, but for now I am perfectly happy with the one I have. I also am not creating huge projects that would need really big shapes or letters. To use the machine you simply load your paper onto the “sticky pad” and feed it into the machine. Then using the keypad you select what you want it to cut and out and press “start” and your Cricut buzzes into action cutting out your selections.

Now with the Cricut you get cartridges, which contain all the shapes and fonts that it can cut out. For each cartridge you get a keypad and book detailing what you can cut out. You get 2 cartridges with the machine and then buy the rest separately. The types of cartridges are unlimited! There are cartridges for disney, baby, wedding, holidays, gardening, animals and just about everything you can think of. There are also tons of different fonts and shapes. My first cartridge I bought was the newly released Storybook cartridge. Here are the different options (shown from the Cricut website) that I can cut out using the Storybook cartridge:

For each letter/key there are 6 different “versions” I can use that change the look. So there are many more options for what to create than whats above.

Another picture of a few possibilities:

Do you want one yet??

Since getting my cricut I have discovered there is a whole community of “Cricuters” that share projects, ideas and just discuss their latest crafts. If you want to get some more examples of what you can make, go to the community and explore: Cricut Message Board

My first project with the Cricut is my “Will You Be My Bridesmaid” cards. They will be making their debut to the hive soon. In the meantime so that you too can be in awe of the Cricut, here are some examples of the crafts…

From Cricut SN: StampinMeg

From Cricut SN: CamilleRobinson

From Cricut SN: RachelL

From Cricut SN: Craftsmanda

There are even Cricut cartridges to make tags and boxes as you can see above. I don’t have this kind yet so I’d be interested to hear feedback from anyone who has used it. They look super cute though!

We are hoping to use the Cricut in some of the DIY for our wedding. Of course I will be keeping you updated on the specifics of what those projects are. I am thinking it could be good for invitations, programs, favors, guestbook, any sort of signage that we need and for adding a special touch when necessary.

So I just wanted to share with you my newest craft discovery. I am not nearly as advanced as the projects above so go easy on me! If you have more specific questions about the Cricut let me know and I can go more in depth. I didn’t want to bore anyone with too much information.

Have you used a Cricut before? What is your favorite craft tool or discovery?