DIY Valentines Day Cards - As little as 5 Steps Using Cricut Machine

I'm not sure if I announced it on here or not, but my all time favorite Christmas present that I received a few weeks ago would have to be my new Cricut machine! (I've always wanted one! - thanks hubby!) The options with it are seriously endless! My mind has been non-stop thinking of the countless directions I can go both for new items in the shop as well as DIY projects! Needless to say, the Cricut Craft room has become my 2nd home lately! side note: If you have a cricut and haven't downloaded the craft room - you MUST! It is SO worth it!!
Every week in the Cricut Craft Room a different cartridge is featured as "Free For a Week." This week (January 13-20, 2014) the free cartridge (which automatically appears in your 'My Cartridges' in the craft room) is 'Spring Holiday Cards.' Not one to pass up free cuts, and also one who looks for just about any excuse to use my Cricut, it seemed the perfect time to print out Valentines Day cards for my son's preschool class! His class has 8 kids plus his teacher, so printing out 8 Valentines Day cards using the 'Spring Holiday Cards' cartridge, assembling them and having them ready to go took about 20 minutes! (Honestly the majority of that time was spent re-sizing and assembling the cards in the Craft Room - so I will provide the dimensions I used and save anyone who would like to use them the time of doing so!) I was able to size them to fit all 8 cards so that they could be cut out using as little as 2 - 12x12" papers - essentially you could cut out 8 cards under $2.00, or for FREE if you happen to have some scrapbook paper that could be used like I did! 

How to Create your V-Day Cards:

 

What You'll Need:

• Cricut Machine, Cricut Mat, Computer and Cricut Craft Room ready to go!
• 2 sheets (possibly 3 depending on colors chosen - see Step 5 below) of 12x12" scrapbook paper 
  **2 - 12x12" sheets will make 8 3x4" V-Day Cards
• Cartridges:
• Spring Holiday Cards (Free in the Cricut Craft Room the week of 1/13/14 - 1/20/14)
• Cricut Craft Room Basics (Optional if creating layer 3, Free to all craft room users)

Layer 1

(In the picture below this is the rose patterned paper)
(KMC Tip: This is selected thru the tabs along the top of your Cricut Craft room; using layers each a different color allows you to better visualize what you'll be printing at a time as well as what your finished product will look like.  Be sure when you get to your print screen to only choose the layer you'd like printed on that particular page!)

Step 1 - Choose the background for the cards from those available on the cartridge - I choose Bckgrnd5, sized them to 3" x 4" and rotated them so that 8 fit on my 12x12 page . (KMCTip: Because of the detail on the card itself (especially the lettering) I wouldn't recommend going much smaller as it might not cut very nice, but you could always choose to go bigger if you'd like!) 
Step 2 - Select the paper you'd like for the backing of your cards, load it into your Cricut, adjust your settings depending on what material the paper you're using is, select the layer you're printing (in this case layer 1) and let the Cricut work its magic!

Layer 2

(In the picture below this is the solid pink paper)

Step 3 - For layer Choose the design you'd like for the front of your card, or choose multiple if you'd like to have a variety. Rotate the 8 card fronts so they all fit on the sheet.  I choose Valntne1, and sized them to 2.6"x3.4" so that they would fit nicely onto the backing and into the convenient corner slits that have been cut out for your on your first layer.

Step 4 - Select the paper you'd like, load it into your Cricut, adjust your settings depending on what material the paper you're using is, select the layer you're printing (in this case layer 2) and let the Cricut work its magic!

Optional Layer 3

(In the picture below this is what makes the lettering and heart design white)

Step 5 - Depending on the color/pattern of paper that you used you may find that your contrast isn't great enough to make the letters really stand out. If this is the case, choose a third sheet of paper with significant contrast to your Layer 2 (I choose white) and select one of the rectangles off of the Cricut Craft Room Basics Cartridge, size it to 2.6"x3.4" and rotate the 8 cards so they all fit on the sheet.  Load the paper into your cricut, adjust your settings, select the layer you're printing (layer 3) and let the Cricut work its magic!

Assembly

Step 6 - Layer 1 is the backing for your card, Layer 2 will go on top of this and the 4 corners should be slid thru the crescent shaped slits the Cricut has cut out on Layer 1 to hold it in place, making 1 V-Day Card.
**If you did Layer 3 this will go behind Layer 2 and on top of Layer 1 to help the letters and design 'pop' better.

 

If you make a V-Day card we'd love to see it! Post a picture in the comments below!

Also - you can order a color coordinating 'Be Mine' wine glass (available both in stemless or regular) at http://www.etsy.com/shop/kendallmariescrafts

**Choose the chocolate option if you'd like your glass to arrive with Hershey kisses inside ready to be gifted!

 

Kendall Marie's Crafts