Sassy Dude... Create your own shape card...

Hey Ya'll,

Sassy Dude here from Cricut Couple.  Today, I had really great intentions, but for some reason, I can't get a correct answer from Provocraft on how to be able to update my machines or pull files from my Gypsy, so let's do a little lesson in welding, since I can't share the simple file with you.  Hee! Hee!  This is a really fun scarecrow card that I created with the Gypsy and it's actually really simple.  The hard part is having a design in your head and knowing your cartridge library enough to find shapes to pull it off.  Hee! Hee!  Fortunately, I kind of knew what I needed.  The hardest part was finding the hat.

 Here is what the finished card looks like from the front.

 I used these four cartridges for the card and all shapes.

 To start with, you have to cut shapes that are going to be the layers you add on the front of the card.  The following are the cuts you will need.

The hat is from Paper Dolls for Everyday.  Cut 2 at a height of 8.50 (this is an accessory layer, so you really have to blow it up big).  You will need one for the hat (denim paper) and one for the hat ribbon (leather look paper).  For the hat ribbon, cut the hat and then use a craft knife or scissors to remove this piece from the overall cut.

The circle is from CTMH AP and cut at a height of 4.00.  I used cream colored card stock.

The bandana is from Old West and cut at a height of 4.30.  I used bandana card stock.

The hay is from Pop Up Neighborhood.  This is a circle exclusive cart, so if you don't have it, there is a grassy type piece on Pooh and Friends that would work too.  For the P.U.N. cuts, you need two at a height of 3.90 and one at a height of 4.60.  These are cut from a golden card stock (dark yellow).

 Add a layer with your Gypsy and copy one of all shapes over to the next page.  Then you need to contour out the inner cuts on the bandana and hat.  Place them all together and then weld them.

 This is what the welded piece looks like.  Basically, this is giving you, not only the shape of the card, but also giving you a base layer for assembling your card.

 Finally, add a 3rd layer to your Gypsy file and pick a card base to use for your inside sentiment.  For this one, I used Close to my Heart Art Philosophy for this oval card shape.  You can use it as the file is, but I like to contour the score cuts out and score with a bone folder.

 You can see here how the card will open up.  You can also add to the Gypsy file and cut an extra oval, slightly smaller, out of he cream card stock for a sentiment mat.

 I inked everything for this with cocoa ink.  I also used colored pencils to give the hay a little more color and detail.  For the face of the scarecrow, I hand did the face with black sharpie.  I then used markers for the nose and freckles.  I also used a little tomato colored chalk to add a little blush.  I used the beautiful May 2012 CTMH Stamp of the Month set for the sunflower.  I simply stamped it with black archival ink and then colored it in with my colored pencils.  You can see in this angled picture how I used liquid glass on the eyes and center of the sunflower.

So... Looking straight on, this is the finished project.  I really love the way he turned out and had so much fun seeing the original thought come together.  I have to admit, I am pretty proud of this one.  Hee! Hee!  I hope you all will fire up that Gypsy and play with some shape card ideas.  This really does sound complicated, but the entire card took about 15 minutes to layout on the gypsy, probably 15 minutes to cut and about 15 to assemble.  I think I am going to make several of these this fall.

The finished card is pretty large, so if you like smaller cards, you will probably want to lay everything out with the measurements provided first to get the feel of it and then shrink things down a little bit to get the size that you want.

Again, I am so sorry that I don't have a gypsy file to share with you.  If I can get these machines to start getting along again, I will repost and share the file.  I will also e-mail it to Sheila so that she has a copy to share with you too.

So... think about something fun where you can really manipulate other shapes into a fun design!  It's really worth the work and lots and lots of fun!  I would love to know what you think about this card today and thanks so much for my friend Sheila for letting me play over in Sassy Land today!  If you have time, we would love for you to hop over to our blog for a visit!  Cricut Couple Blog