One project finished... check!

I have had these artboards for an embarrassingly long time (they are discontinued now if that says anything), and I finally got around to doing something with them. I saw a neat picture where they had "inspiration" boards in their office.



Basically the clipboards were places to clip up anything inspiring, whether it was colors or an ad, whatever, so they could remember and use it in a project. LOVED IT! I decided to do the same thing.

I used a color scheme that would go well with the office, and I wanted them to be "pretty" even if nothing was clipped onto them. So I went with some creative/inspiration quotes to dress them up:

INSPIRE - "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

DREAM - "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." ~Arthur C. Clarke

IMAGINE - "The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless." ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

CREATE - "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~Scott Adams

I still can't believe they are finished. :-) It gives me hope for other unfinished projects. HA!

Dani

Questions about purchasing the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection with this month's specials!

I've had several questions about whether or not the purchase of the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection counts towards this month's specials. The short answer is a resounding, "YES!"

The longer answer is I will break down everything you can get with the purchase of a Cricut Art Philosophy collection this month, taking into consideration this month's specials.

First, the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection includes...

... the actual Cricut cartridge itself, of course! It comes with 700 images: font, shapes, 3-D items, and more.

The collection is also bundled with three stamp sets:







Every shape on each of these three stamp sets has a corresponding image on the cartridge, for quick and easy stamping on a perfectly sized cut-out. Not only that, but the setting needed to cut the shape the correct size is also listed right on the stamp's carrier sheet. Easy peasy!

But the collection doesn't stop there! There are also three 9"x12" Dimensional Elements sheets included as well:







You can not only just cut and stamp with ease, you can also cut, stamp and then cover Dimensional Elements in a snap. :-)

Not that it isn't simply awesome to have the cartridge with the bundled stamp sets and dimensional elements coordinate perfectly, but throughout the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book there are also numerous other stamp images which also work with the Art Philosophy cartridge. Bonus!!! If you see a stamp image surrounded by a red outline, you will know there is a matching shape on your Cricut cartridge. Here is an example of a stamp set that does just that:



This is the stamp set Hooray Bouquet. If you look closely, you can see that all six flower shapes have a red outline around them. So I know that I can utilize my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to easily cut out shapes for all of those stamped images. And, once again, the carrier sheet lists the setting that I need to cut the shape the right size. Here is a card I made with this set and our new Roxie papers:



I wanted a subtle tone on tone striping design in the back, so I layered strips of Kraft cardstock on top of our Desert Sand cardstock. The sentiment is also from the same set. Normally cutting out three flowers like this could be a little bit time-consuming, but with the Cricut cartridge... they were all cut in a snap. I simply stamped right on my base shape, added some embellishments, and voila! My card was finished. LOVE THIS!

The Cricut Art Philosophy collection is only $99*! That's the cartridge, stamp sets and dimensional elements all in one easy collection. It has a retail value of $124.69, so you are already getting a discount of over $25 in the bundled price. But, you can take advantage of even more this month!

The purchase of the Art Philosophy collection automatically qualifies you to get the stamp of the month for only an additional $5* (retail value $17.95). September's stamp of the month set is Limited Edition, a set of 21 stamps with vintage images, tags, sentiments and more.



Second, the purchase of the Art Philosophy collection also automatically qualifies you to receive this month's special in celebration of National Stamping Month... FREE* (retail value $35.90)! You can receive the exclusive My Acrylix Pair-A-Phrase double stamp set, our first ever double stamp set, simply by purchasing the Art Philosophy collection.





So this month, with the simple purchase of the $99 Cricut Art Philosophy Collection and an additional $5 for September's stamp of the month, Limited Edition, as well as the free Pair-A-Phrase double stamp set, you will spend $104* (actual retail value $178.54) -- a savings of over $70! You will receive the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, 6 (six!) stamp sets and 3 dimensional element sheets. Wow! You can hardly purchase 6 stamp sets of that size for that price, let alone with the cartridge and dimensional elements too. This is a GREAT deal.

Make sure to order your Cricut Art Philosophy collection this month before the special is over!

*All prices listed are subtotals, before any s/h or tax is added.

Ask if you have any questions!
Dani

More Cricut art!

I have been having a lot of fun creating art with my new Cricut Expressions and CTMH's new Cricut cartridge collection, Art Philosophy, as well as all our lovely new paper packs. Since my very first Cricut card shared was using September's Stamp of the Month set, Limited Edition, it seems fitting to share yet one more with that set since this is officially September now! YIKES!

This card is focusing on color with a Kraft background and Sky, Pear, Lagoon and a touch of Sunset for a pop of color. I used the new Art Philosophy cartridge to cut out the letters "fun". Clean and simple.



The Art Philosophy collection also comes with three D-size stamp sets (Philosophy Tags, Philosophy Celebration, and Philosophy Seasons), and 3 Dimensional Elements sheets (Tags, Mixed Shapes, and Banners) which work perfectly, of course, with the Art Philosophy cartridge! I had to play around with EVERYTHING! :-) I'm going to share my favorite card made with each of our new paper packs and the new Art Philosophy collection.

Here is a card that I made with our new Mischief papers, adding some red for a splash of color. I used the Cricut cartridge to cut the large scallops on the bottom of the card, the scalloped circle and banner edges off each side. I also used two of the stamp sets from the collection, Tags for the sentiment and Celebration for the banner edges. It looks like it took a long time to put together, but it was quick and easy to do with the Art Philosophy cartridge!



While sometimes clean and simple is just what I'm looking for, other times I just seem to want to play with as many embellishments as I can dressing up the card. :-) This card is using our new Roxie papers, which is my current favorite new paper pack. I used the cartridge to cut out the frame for the sentiment as well as the beautiful 3-D flowers in the bottom right corner. I have stitching, ribbon, butterflies, opaques and brads all on one card! The sentiment is another one from the Tags stamp set in the collection as well.



This one was for Dee. She kept wanting me to make something with the cupcake stamp in the Celebration stamp set. So... a birthday card was born, using the new Typeset papers. In addition to the cupcake stamp, I also used the banner, star as well as the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from the same stamp set. I used 3-D Foam Adhesive for some dimension with the cupcake, as well as making it easy to use a new Foundry Pin Clip to attach the star.



I don't know why, since the Fourth of July has come and gone a while now this year... but for some reason, I kept seeing a patriotic card with the star and heart in the Seasons set. :-) I used the red and blue prints from the new Believe paper packet (which just illustrates that you CAN use Christmas paper for other events quite easily). I cut small scallop strips to make the background, as well as the hearts, star and sentiment accent.



Here is another quick and simple one, using the new Dreamin' papers. I cut out the petals for the flower and the scallop circle with the Cricut. The sentiment strip on the bottom is one of the new Zip Strip Borders; there are three different designs in each paper pack.



The flower in the Seasons set was just screaming to be used too, so I put it with our Elemental papers with some stitching going for a quilt-like effect. I was able to cut out the flowers, large scallop accents and the sentiment "hi" with the cartridge. How easy is that?



Going back to the clean and simple design, I created this adorable little card with our new Sonoma papers. I cut out the tree branch, leaves, bird and wings with the cartridge. The sentiments are from the Seasons stamp set included in the collection too. Just love this!



And last, but not least, is our new Wonderland paper packet. I have to say this paper is gorgeous, even if winter is my least favorite season. I used the cricut to cut out the trees from the Seasons set and the sentiment accent. Aren't they cute? I love the polka dots. I also used one of the new Zip Strip borders with this set, making a mock ribbon towards the bottom and accenting it with one of our new Rhinestone Designer Brads. You really can't ever have enough bling, right?



For those of you who already purchased the Art Philosophy collection, I hope this gives you some more ideas. And for those of you who haven't yet... what are you waiting for? This cartridge is filled with 700 images and not only coordinates with the three stamp sets in the collection, but also with numerous other stamp images throughout the idea book. Whenever you see a stamp image surrounded by a red outline, you will know there's a matching shape on the Cricut cartridge. Since our stamps are clear acrylic, you can easily cut out your shape with the setting indicated on the sheet and stamp your image right where you need it to be. Can't be any easier than that! :-) If you still don't have one, get your Art Philosophy collection today!

Dani