New Halloween Sign with this weeks Free Images

So… I've finally got my computer set up and my Expression 2 up to date and working. It's so nice to have it connected to a computer again. I am so totally lost without Cricut Craft Room. I love that program so much.

So here is this weeks project I made using the Free Images. I'd like to try and make a new project every week with the Free Cuts. It's really a nice program that Cricut offers and lets you try out cartridges without having to buy them.

I took this little frame that I got from Goodwill for $1 to make a cute little Halloween frame. I took the glass out because I couldn't get a decent pic without all the glare. And again… still using my phone camera. It's hard to get really good pics.

This weeks Free Images are from the cartridge Classroom: October & November. I was so surprised that when I did a google search and a search on Pinterest and even on Cricuts projects page that there really weren't any projects. I need to find out how to do a link party going so that I can see what everyone else can do with this free cut.

Click on the first image to take you to the Free Images page and click on the second pic to take you to this cartridges Digital Handbook. I will try to find out tonight how to do the link party. Maybe we can see some of your  projects.

I created this project in Cricut Craft Room but it would be very simple to do straight from your Cricut. My frame is 8x10. One tip I'll give is that I used the ghosts from the Project tab and cut them apart for the Happy Halloween title. This way I could make them a separate color.

Can't wait to make my next project. May be making some more signs. Not sure yet. What would you guys like to see?

I've had fun the last two days making these projects. So glad to have my room set up! :)

Are there any Imagine users out there?

Just a quick post today. While getting my new craft room sorted I paused for a while last night to do some quick projects. I also had some company over and I was showing them Cricut Craft Room and how it worked. I noticed something odd. While I haven't hooked my Imagine up and updated it yet I noticed some cartridges that weren't familiar to me in my "My Cartridges" filter. I thought it was interesting and noticed another but figured they were part of the free images of the week.

So today… I get on and I do more of a search. There are SEVENTEEN cartridges in "My Cartridges" that I've never linked. What's up with that? Where did they come from? I wondered if they were free because they've discontinued it but not all the cartridges are there. Does anyone have any info about this?

Oh… and here are the signs I made last night. Bad lighting. Used my phone. But I love how they turned out. Will be doing a tutorial on them soon.

I just love how these guys turned out.

Please let me know if you have any info on those cartridges. I LOVE some of them. A few are ones I would  have loved to have bought. If they are a limited time I want to get some things made. :)

Have a great day!

Fun Projects with Cricut Craft Room and Vinyl

Yesterday I posted about this week's Free Cut in Cricut Craft Room. You know how much I love CCR. I wanted to share some signs I made not too long ago. I made quite a few for Christmas gifts. I love making them. I get to use my Cricut, CCR and play in my wood shop. Can't go wrong there! :)

So here are a few that I did.

Along with My Cricut Closet I also do woodworking. It's something that I've always dreamed of doing and just been able to accomplish over the last year. It's a lot of fun... and even more fun when I get to use my Cricut on my wood projects.

To start I had a 1x3 poplar board that someone gave me for FREE. (Gotta love that!). I cut several pieces down to a size that looked appealing to me. No special measurements. Plus I had a few scraps laying around that I also used. I spray painted them all black. The larger pic "something good's...." was an old cabinet door that I trimmed down.

(I shared this pic in a previous post... but I hadn't completed all the signs)

I used Cricut Craft Room to type up the words I wanted to use. I have a video on using text in CCR. While this video was made a while ago and some features have been updated in CCR... the basics are still the same. Here's a link.

So using CCR I added my text and welded the letters together for the cursive words... Faith, Hope, Love, Joy. I used Gypsy Font for those. For PRAY and FAMILY I used Close to My Heart - Art Philosophy. That is truly one of my favorite cartridges. LOVE IT! I also used Art Philosophy for the longer saying. I used CCR to place my text on the mat the way I wanted it to look on the board. 

Ok. So you may be wondering what I did here. This was a special order for a Christmas present for one of my friends. She called me up and asked me if I could make a sign saying this. It was something special to her and her mom. Her grandpa used to sing it to her mom and to her. I created a new file and started by using Cricut Craft Room Basics. She had given me an idea of how big she wanted the sign. So I added a square at the dimensions she requested and colored that Layer black. I then added  a second layer with my text and colored it white. I did this so I could see what it would look like. 

Next I played with it. Originally I just added the whole saying as one text block. Then I started over and added each word as it's own text block and moved them around resizing them till I had what I wanted. 

Next step... after getting all the text the way I wanted them... I cut them using my Cricut Expression 2 and some Vinyl. They came out just as I wanted them to. 

So all the white lettered signs were done with the Vinyl. I applied the vinyl and then used some Mod Podge to seal it so that they would not come off down the road. I used the transfer sheets to get them aligned. Also... when I couldn't find my transfer paper I had a roll of clear contact paper that worked just as well. 

The red words were done differently. I love the look of the vinyl but I also wanted to try something else as well. After removing the letters I kept the negative and I used these as stencils to paint on the other blocks. Worked great. Now you could certainly do some sanding and make them look distressed, but I chose to leave them as they were. The painting took a little longer but it was still super easy. 

The "Family" sign I added an extra step. After painting it black I used some red spray paint and painted it a deep red over the black and then lightly sanded it randomly and added black vinyl letters. I like the way it turned out. Here is a closer shot of it, as well as some more pics. 

Just one last note. I mentioned which fonts I used for each of these. If you look at them and think that they don't really look like those fonts... I squished and stretched and manipulated the text in CCR. So they may look a bit different. Just another feature about CCR that I love. You can manipulate images and text until you get the look that you want. :)

Hope you enjoyed these and that it inspired you to make some vinyl signs of your own. As always.. I'd love for you to share your creations with me.