Everyday Cricut Guest Design Day 1

I'm so very excited to be the Guest Designer this week at Everyday Cricut.  It's like a dream come true as I've been a follower of the site for a very long time.  I'm so very thankful that Joy and Melanie have given me the opportunity to share my papercrafting passion with their followers.  I hope I'll have lots of new visitors to my blog and I'll give you all some inspiration and ideas to carry into your own designs.  Since Valentine's Day is less than a month away all of my projects this week will be Valentine themed.  For my first project of the week I'll be showing you a home decor project.  However, I'd also like to say that this would work as a scrapbook page by substituting a photo where I have my image cut from A Child's Year.  It would make a great layout for a wedding album, too.  Sit back, relax and grab your favorite beverage because this is a rather lengthy post.

I'll list all the supplies I used at the end of my post.  This project started with a chipboard frame that I found at my local scrapbook store.  I decided to flip it to the back since I wanted to use some dimensional elements and I could then place them inside the frame.  I started by tracing the shape of the frame onto a piece of 12x12 paper.for my background.  Starting in the left hand corner and working clockwise--I started with 12 mini spools that I wrapped with red jute and layed out in the shape of a heart. 

For my next element I wanted to make a banner to drape across the right corner of the frame to incorporate the word LOVE.  I found the banner with the sweet scalloped bottom on the Cricut Lite Sugar and Spice cartridge.  I cut the banner pieces at 2".  I wanted a dainty, feminine looking alphabet and thought that the letters on the Cricut Lite Lovely Floral cartridge would be perfect.  I also found the pretty scalloped oval to place behind the letters on the same cartridge.  The ovals were cut at 1.25" and the letters at 1". I attached the banners with red and white twine then tied the twine around a decorative mini clothespin at each end. 

In the right hand corner I placed a white doily and made a rosette to place on top of it.  I cut a 1.5" strip of patterned paper then used a scalloped border punch on one side before using my MS Scoreboard for pleating.  For the top layer I made a flower using the Cricut Lite Bloom cartridge.  This flower is in the fourth row, last key in the row, the flower with six petals.  My flower has eight layers cut at .75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.25 and 2.5".  I distressed the edges of each petal before attaching them and added a pearl brad to the center.

The last cut element on my project is from A Child's Year.  This cut is in the first row, key number 3.  I simply cut it from red cardstock and then placed it in a frame I cut from the Elegant Edges cartridge (row 3, key 8 with oblong and shift keys pressed). 

At the bottom of the frame I added four rows of trim--a row of lace, two strips of patterned paper and red polka dot ribbon.

I thank you for your patience and for seeing this long post through to the end.  I hope you'll leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite element is on this project.  Tomorrow I have some Valentine cards to share with you that are perfect for kids, whether it be your own, your grandchildren or your children's classmates.  I hope you'll join me tomorrow to see them.

List of products and supplies:

Cricut Cartridges-Bloom, Lovely Floral, Sugar 'n Spice, A Child's Year

Chipboard Frame-Beyond the Page by TPC Studio

Cardstock-Bazzill

Patterned Papers, Mini Clothespins-Pebbles

White Lace Doily-Martha Stewart

Mini Spools

Red Jute

Red and White Twine

Lace, Polka Dot Ribbon-Hobby Lobby