the blind leading the blind...

This is my first real tutorial, so bear with me! If anything is unclear ( there is a huge possibiity that that will happen) just let me know.

I will say this is to make a valentine, but the truth is, I'm still not sure what I'll be doing with mine. It may end up framed as a V-day decoration.

Begin by cutting the "leading" from the  Valentine Cricut cartridge-  Lovestruck.
I'm pretty sure I cut this at 6 in.

 

I used Coredinations cardstock for this, because I love the deep grey, but I don't suggest this for this cut, as the layers of the cardstock tend to tear apart easily. 

Mist the shape using silver  Glimmer mist. I found it helped to press it under newsprint and some heavy books to keep it flat while it dried.

**The next step is to cut a background using a good marker paper ON YOUR CRICUT. I use Prism simply smooth with my copics. **( I'm not used to my cricut yet, and forgot I could easily cut the blackout shape to go behind my lace cut, so I cut my paper to fit by hand after colouring)

Apply a bit of temporary adhesive to the back of the cherub piece to glue it to the backing. ( I used a Zig pen and let it dry before sticking it to the backing.)

 

Trace each opening with a light pencil, then remove the cherub to begin colouring.

Don't worry about perfect colouring, the cherub overlay will cover all the lines later, along with the messy bits. The goal is to create a darker rim around each piece with a lighter center. I kept the darker colours toward the bottom edges of each area. I can't list the colours I used, because I'm all over the place when I colour, but you don't need my list anyway. Try different lights and medium darks, and add in darker colours until you get a look you like. Remember to get the best effect, you want to work on a small area at a time, while your ink is still wet. I had a bit of an accident with a brown marker on the cherub's arm, but I managed to clean it up fairly well with my blender.

It'll look really messy and you'll be doubting me by this point, but trust me, it'll come together when you add back on the overlay. 

Reapply a permanent glue this time to the back of the cherub shape. ( I used the zig pen again, but stuck it down while it was still wet.)

This is where I cut my white paper to match the grey cardstock shape. (You will have been wiser, and cut yours in the beginning with the cricut!) 

You could stop here, but I decided to add a frame on mine using the From My Kitchen cartridge.  I cut 2 ovals from patterned paper. ( p68 Ovals Shadow)the black one at 5 1/2" and the pink  at 6". layer these, and glue on your masterpiece. 

Now for the surprise... ( this is especially for Bella!)

I decided to try the trial version of SCAL that I had on my computer with my Cricut the other night. I didn't have any SVG files, so I decided to import an image and trace the outline for fun.

The result?

Yep- that's using an outline cut from a digital  The Greeting Farm stamp. ( Her head is 5 1/2" across ladies!!)

I can't share the file with you, because of copyright issues, but if you have any of these digis, it was super easy to create! If you don't have any, they are only 3$ and an be found at the link above. 

Thanks for making it to the end of this very long post!

Erin