Exploring Summer in Paris!

Do you ever see a cart and think I would never use it or maybe there is just one or two dies that you just must have?   That is pretty much how I felt about Summer in Paris, the cart, that came in my Cricut/Gypsy bundle last summer.  I'm not a girly girl, into super frilly things and this cart is frilly.   It is also a challenge.  In fact, Provo Craft issued a huge challenge right on the back; "Images should be cut at 5.5" or larger for best results."  Really?  Did you have to put that on the box?

I like a good challenge and the hot air balloon really caught my attention.   I have a bunch of photos from a big Hot Air Balloon Festival and I was thinking the cut without the frilly stuff would make a great journaling block.   It's still a challenge.   SIP 2, Laurie 0.  I gave up for now!

What I have learned so far:

• You can definitely cut smaller than 5.5" and get a pretty decent cut.
• Definitely make a practice cut.   I have been using The Paper Company Textured Value Packs and not sure on the heavier cardstock that I picked up at Joann's when it was on sale.   My cut settings for both papers are Blade 4, Pressure 3, Speed 1, and I cut twice.
• With heavier cardstock, you do need a sticky mat.  I thought I would be smart and use a new mat.   Big mistake.  It took forever to get the little tiny pieces off the mat.  Sticky enough to hold the paper (tape the edges down if necessary) but not so sticky that you would rather throw the mat away than clean off all those itty bitty pieces that are going in the trash anyway. 
• The plain cuts by themselves are really cute.   Have fun with patterned paper, scissors and bling if that's more your style.

Learning the Gypsy!

After borrowing my sister's Expression to make Baby Shower Decorations, I really wanted to get one of my own.   Instead I got a Baby Bug and Gypsy Bundle at Best Buy!   At the time I didn't know what the Gypsy was all about and didn't think I needed it.   Like everything else I dove right in and slowly learned what this tiny little piece of technology was all about and today, I feel pretty confident that I still have a lot to learn!  Despite the limitations of the Baby Bug, I am still able to do quite a bit with a few cartridges and my wonderful Gypsy!

So what can I make with my Gypsy?  

It was easy too!   I used A Child's Year and the tree and grass are from Gypsy Wanderings.

 The next one was even easier because I only used one layer.

Ok so how did I do this and what did I learn.    Notice in the green cut how the outer edges doesn't fit the card.   I selected the silhouette rectangle on George and Basic Shapes and set the size at 4 x 5.25 inches and it cut at 4 x 4 7/8ths instead.   What I learned is it is always good to use cheap paper and to pay attention to the outer frame on the selected die cut.   I set the rectangle at 5.75 x 4.44 inches on the brown cut and it is close enough.    Next I selected the tree from Christmas Cards, hid the horse and buggy and then manipulated the size of the tree to get the size I thought I wanted.   Next, I added, the fishing boy from A Child's Year and resized it.   Ok so one of the best features of the Gypsy is the Weld Feature.   I simply highlighted the 3 objects and hit the weld button.  Then cut it.  Now I just need to turn it into a card.   I'm thinking a Father's Day Card. 

You can do this too!   Just find the shapes you would like to use and have fun!