Crafting: July 2010 Archives

Scrap booking has become big- HUGE- these days. It is a wonderful pastime that can bring friends and families together. Giving a gift like a scrapbook is one of the best presents you can give and great for any occasion. But scrapbooking can be consuming. There are stamps, papers, dies, glitter, fonts, etc to purchase to make your scrapbook awesome. Or you can buy a Cricut, which will eliminate the need for hundreds of dies, fonts and stamps.

I have a feeling though that if you are this far into this article, you are already all for the Cricut. I know I fell in love one sleepless night years ago when I first spied the Cricut infomercial. According to the infomercial the Cricut is not just for scrapbooking but for general crafting and this is too true. Sure, you can whip up a card in no time but that is not just it. Let me guide you through a few of the many Cricut treasures the internet holds.

Let me first show you my article on making paper magnets with your Cricut. It is so easy that it can be your first craft project with your Cricut. I used this method to populate a tree I painted on top of magnetic paint in my daughter's room. I intended to make tons of fabric leaves for this tree but then I received my Cricut for Christmas and the project was finished in no time. I then stepped it up to birds and flowers, because any good tree needs both.

Next, I found a video tutorial from Above Rubies Studio for making name plaques that looks like a lot of fun. It involves painting but no artistic skill really needed. You will also need some vinyl to be cut with your Cricut. The host describes many gift ideas to broaden the range of this craft.

Custom Crops shows up how to make a really beautiful glass soap jar for your guests. This video even includes showing your how to decorate your soap on top of decorating the jar. I spied a second video tutorial by Custom Crops that walks you through making awesome sugar/salt scrubs and gussying them up as spiffy presents. A third video lead me to the sudden urge to make a bunting banner. These ladies are the go-to girls for non-traditional Cricut crafts and I recommend you check out all their videos (very well made too).

I hope this article has encouraged some crafters who are not scrap bookers to look at the Cricut in a new light. I don't really scrapbook but I love my Cricut. It is handy for all of the above as well as cutting out stencils, appliqués and letters. I also hope that I have allowed some scrap bookers to try something new or to get excited about their Cricut all over again.