Artbooking Made Easy - Episode 2

************** Video is at the end of this post ****************

 

Posted by Jeanette Lynton

 

Attention, class! As you saw in our opening video, today’s lesson is on how incredibly easy it is to use the school-themed keys of the Cricut® Artbooking cartridge to make great projects. Recall that there are two image-packed keys for every single theme on this cartridge. They’re designed so you can cut several elements for a page without the guesswork—which is simply thrilling!—but that doesn’t mean you should feel stuck using only the cuts from that key on a single layout. You’ll have the most fun when you mix the two! Pages made of images from both keys will be especially unique, and with some creative stamping your projects will undoubtedly be all your own. Let’s take a closer look at the A+ layouts you just saw in the video.

 

I love the versatility of our school-themed overlays and photo mats (you’ll find them, and all other scholarly keys, on pages 68 and 69 in the Cricut® booklet). You can do so many creative things with the individual boxes! Take, for instance, the days of the week calendar overlay.
With the linked dial size at 11", you can cut all pieces on this project at the proportions seen here. The photos of this adorable little guy ready for his first day of school are 4" x 6" and 5" x 7". Don’t you love the way the artist who made this layout chose to attach one behind the photo frame, and place the other on top, with a little foam tape for added pop? Another great stylistic choice the artist made was choosing to list school subjects in the empty slots originally meant for the days of the week. It would be just as fun to list names of teachers, after-school clubs, or cherished classmates! Another idea: try cutting away the days of the week to leave seven empty slots that can be used to focus on academic goals, favorite recess activities, or class pets.
 

You’ll notice that the ruler shape shows up in many places on these layouts, but never in the same way twice. Just by backing it with different colors, angling it in various ways on the page, and even detaching it from its original photo mat, this page’s artist made a very versatile element. What you see here is a ruler cut at the 11" linked dial size, the colors Crystal Blue, Ruby, Whisper, Goldrush, Pear, and Lagoon. How will you take the images you see here and tweak them to fit your tastes? I’m sure you already have ideas spinning . . . and that’s exactly what I hope for!

 

This layout was also made with the linked dial size set at 11". The right page features an overlay of nine boxes, used here to picture 3" x 3" photos of four adorable girls. Filling the squares with faces of grade school friends would be just as easy, and a fun keepsake for a child to cherish in later years.

There are so many creative things you can do with all of the keys of the Cricut® Artbooking cartridge, and the school-themed keys are top-of-the-class.

Now that you’ve seen it in action in our jeanettelynton.com classroom, you can return to your crafting space and do your homework—if you can call something you love this much “work”. Class dismissed!

Recipes:
12" x 12" Hello Mr. Smarty Layout
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection (cuts and stamp set)
X7172B ProPlayer Paper Packet
Z1701 Baker’s Twine Neutral Assortment
Z1848 Red Shimmer Trim
Colors: Crystal Blue, Ruby, Whisper, Goldrush, Pear, Lagoon, Colonial White

12" x 12" Think, Grow, Learn Layout

Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection
D1556 My Acrylix® School Years
X7171B Sarita Paper Packet
Z1869 Babycakes Assortment
Z1850 Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape
Colors: Olive, Cocoa, Honey, Juniper, Whisper, kraft

Pasted from http://www.jeanettelynton.com/

********* Additional pics from the CTMH Art Department **********

(thanks Noreen for the extra pics :)

 



************* Extra tips for re-creating this layouts ****************

Hello Mr. Smarty:

• Combines element from both page 68 & 69, all cut at 11"
• When combining elements from non-related keys, it may be necessary to use Real Dial Size for desired size
• The sunburst with "This Week" is from set included with cartridge and cut at 1 3/4" as printed on carrier sheet
• Words in black are cut from font on the Artbooking cartridge

Ready Set Go layout:

• Artbooking page 69 (letter X), School Layout
• All Cricut elements are cut a 11" to keep proportional sizing
• Additional stamped elements from "School Years" set cut according to size printed on carrier sheet
• Uses the 9-square overlay
• Cover up parts of an overlay to change size/background color
• Use the open spaces for journaling, photos, stamped embellishments, etc.

First Day layout:

• All cut from elements on page 68 at 11"
• Cut title twice using brown or black for second and offset it under title for shadow effect
• Small letters from Keyboard Kraft Alphabet stickers, Z1825
• Grid overlay on 2nd page is actually the month calendar turned upside down