Artbooking Made Easy: Everyday Layouts

Have you ever felt that it is easy to capture big life events in a layout, but difficult to squeeze in the everyday moments? I have seen stunning scrapbook layouts celebrating sweet holiday gatherings, spooky Halloween costumes, and romantic anniversaries. We seem to be very adept at capturing life’s extraordinary moments, but what about the ordinary ones? I’ll be the first to say I would be extremely happy if I did more of that—more snapping of simple shots and putting together a layout in celebration of each one. Being surrounded by family and friends is what turns ordinary days into exceptional ones, and those moments deserve more attention.

The new Cricut® Artbooking cartridge is designed to complement those simple moments. Pulling from several different themes on the cartridge (there are 15 for layouts and 10 for mini albums), you can make some very fun—and very original—artwork. Mix and match pieces from ANY theme to concoct completely new ones. A little title rearranging here, some overlay interlacing there, and simple as that, you have a unique masterpiece!

See what I mean in this little Artbooking appetizer:

Perhaps it was more of an entrée! If you’re feeling up for dessert, take another look at some of the high-end artwork featured in the video, meant for your inspiration.

You probably didn’t expect the shapes on this page to come from a non-birthday themed key. The Travel mini album keys, found on pages 38 and 39 of the booklet, gave us the great arrow ribbon tails you see behind the journaling spot. Cut in both Crystal Blue and Honey, the shapes overlap nicely.

The balloon shapes were made by some creative stamping. These stamps aren’t balloons at all, but decorative circles that come from the Perfect Fit–Halloween stamp set (B1413) and Perfect Fit–Birthday stamp set (B1417). The tails that complete the circles to form the balloon shape are cuts from one of the Inspiration mini album keys on page 44. The artist who created this piece attached each tail with adhesive and wrapped them with colorful baker’s twine to give each ballon a string. She finished the cluster with another bow of baker’s twine.

On this “Smitten” layout, many pieces came from the Together layout keys on pages 60 and 61, meant for celebrating relationships. The keys are wonderful for layouts of a more romantic nature, but they are fitting on layouts celebrating so many other types of relationships. Here they highlight love for a pet; I can see them adorning a layout devoted to siblings, friendships, or hobbies.

Notice the “together” letters on the left page. These are actually the negative space cut from the “together” title found on page 60 of the booklet. Bunched together in a fun fashion and popped with 3-D foam tape, they look wonderful!

One of my favorite shapes on this layout is the trendy rosette shape that comes from page 60 of the booklet. Cut at varying sizes using the real dial size control, they are wonderful additions to this layout, don’t you think?

Like Monica encouraged, think outside the theme! Your creativity can take over the most ordinary of days and turn out splendid new layouts. You are going to love coming up with your own eclectic creations with this cartridge.

Recipes:
12" x 12" Capture the Details Layout
Make It from Your Heart® Vol. 2: Pattern 1
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection
B1413 My Acrylix® Perfect Fit—Halloween
B1417 My Acrylix® Perfect Fit—Birthday
M1033 My Acrylix® Heartfelt Birthday Wish
Z1806 Green & Blue Epoxy Bubbles
Z1702 Baker’s Twine Paradise Assortment
Colors: Honey, Indian Corn Blue, Pear, Crystal Blue, Outdoor Denim, Colonial White, kraft

12" x 12" Smitten Layout
Reflections: Main Frame—Back Drop™
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection (cartridge and stamps)
D1551 My Acrylix® Swirls Around
D1559 My Acrylix® Geometric Backgrounds
B1416 My Acrylix® Keyboard Uppercase
X7173B Babycakes Paper Packet
Z1754 Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment
Z1816 Durables Artisan Studs
Z1799 Silver Shimmer Trim
Z1864 Slate Striped Twist Ties
Z1883 Base & Bling Floral Accents
Z1888 My Crush™ Memories Assortment
Z1844 Color-Ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes
Colors: Pear, Smoothie, Slate, Whisper, White Daisy