Danny's Cards Blog

I received my new Anna Griffin Bell Pop Out dies this week. I missed almost all of the Christmas in July work, so now here I am in August late to the parade. Thankfully, there are plenty of sketch challenges to get my inspiration going. Over on Atlantic Hearts , they provided a sketch that I thought I could work with. Here's the sketch in question: I went a different route than I usually go with a card like this. Normally, I would cut out squares and follow the sketch as closely as possible, but now that I own a Cricut Maker 3, I thought I would try something different. With Jingle Bells as my theme (because of the pop out), I decided to deboss my paper with my Maker 3 and then I found some bells I liked and cut them out and added a bow to give it a little dimension. Here's the end result: Of course, the real star of the show is in the inside of the card is the pop out. Here's a still of the pop out: But in case your curious, here's what the card looks like in action: T...

Update: While the competition wasn't heavily entered, I'll take my wins where I can get them, my card was a top pick on Try Stampin' on Tuesday. Over on Try Stampin' on Tuesday , they had one of the hardest challenges I've seen in a long while. The challenge involved either utilizing a particular sketch or making a bendy card. I'm one always up for a challenge, so a bendy card it is... the only problem... I had no idea where to begin. Here's the challenge they set up for us: I was convinced there would be some type of design already premade on Design Space that would allow me to make a bendy card of some kind, but there was no such luck. I took a look at Melody Lane's Patreon and Lori Whitlock's shop, and alas, no luck. This mean I had to work from scratch. Now granted, I could make the card using traditional techniques, but when I looked up tutorials, the whole process looked a little too intimidating for me. I knew this could be done on Design Spa...

Over on Hero Arts , they had a unique challenge which pushed designers to make an interactive card. I've made a number of interactive cards that have used an assortment of moveable items, springs and sparkles. But as my last few posts keep talking about, I'm trying to get the most out of my new Cricut Maker 3. Before I get into what I made, here was the challenge in question: So I upgraded from the Explore Air 2 to the Maker 3, and one of the reasons was all of the different blades. In truth, I haven't found a good reason to use all of the blades just yet, but one blade I've fallen in love with is the perforation blade. This blade can make small cuts so that you can pop open items or create raffle tickets. I'm in love with the blade, but I hadn't quite pushed into making a full blown card using the blade... that is, until now. I wanted to make a card where it would make sense with what you're revealing. I settled on the idea of a treasure chest. From there, ...

Update: This card was picked as Cupcake Inspirations Sweet Pick! Over on Cupcake Inspirations , the designers gave us a color challenge. As you may have seen from my last few posts, I'm obsessed with my Cricut Maker 3, so any new cards I've been making have been reliant on my new piece of hardware. The color challenge was as follows: I've sort of been on an animal kick. Something about the layering of animals with cardstock to create dimension always looks good to me. I talked about in my last post how I wanted to make an owl card but ultimately went with a llama instead. Today I got to live out my owl fantasy. I found an owl on Cricut Design Space but changed the colors to fit the challenge. I also wanted this to be way bigger than the tiny Twinchie card from yesterday . Here was the result: A simple but very effective card. What I love about this card is it's an "I love you" card with a much younger aesthetic. I could see giving this to a niece or nephew, j...

Over on AAA Birthday they had the most unusual challenge this week. The challenge involved using a twinchie. What's a twinchie you ask? They describe it as "a square, circle or hexagon up to 2" (5cm)."  Here's the challenge in question: I recently acquired my Cricut Maker 3, and so I've really taken time away from Stamping and Die Cutting to utilize my new Maker. I knew I wanted to layer some image of some kind. Originally I was thinking of a mandala-effect on an animal. I looked at owls and bears and frogs and a whole menagerie of other animals. But when I stumbled upon this llama I knew I had to do it. So here is my end result: The layering created an almost stamp like appearance. It's actually quite striking. Here's the card standing upright. I'm loving the return to a Cricut product to make cards that feel impossible otherwise. If you enjoy what you see, be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button at the top to see new posts. Please follow me on Inst...

Just over a month ago Cricut released the Cricut Mug Press. At first, the mug press seems potentially baffling: a heat transfer system that can make mug designs. But after just a month with my mug press, I'm obsessed. Unlike the Cricut Joy which took a few months for me to figure out why it was worthy of a purchased, the mug press immediately makes sense. But what makes it special? What does it do different? Let's find out. Going Beyond Vinyl If you own a Cricut, your probably no stranger to vinyl. I've put it on everything from wooden signs, to glassware, to mugs and even made a chess board and chess pieces. Vinyl is it's own level of fascinating. But vinyl is also tricky. It is often a multi-step process with weeding, transfer paper and a lot of crossed fingers and deep breathing. And none of that vinyl is machine washable. Mugs and glassware must all be hand-washed unless you want your beautiful designs to quickly become botched. But the Cricut Mug Press changes the ...

The grand reveal of Cricut's new foil system was exactly what people were looking for. When the We R Memory Keepers Foil quill system was released, it was seen as revolutionary. Foiling cards with lettering and mandalas quickly made even the most generic card look vibrant. But the system was also clunky. It took time to warm up, had three different pressure sensitive pens and the pressure applied was questionable leaving a less than desirable effect. For me, the We R Memories Foil Quill was nothing but a waste of money as the idea never quite translated to my cards correctly. Great in theory, but like other We R Memory  Keepers items, it misses the mark. Cricut promised us a new foil system without the need of heat and with new pressure technology. It sounds promising.  In practice, the release of the Foil Transfer Kit was a bit of a disaster. Obtaining the product seemed next to impossible except for the few who did get it. Cricut continues to have fulfillment issues with man...

This week I spent time working on Dutch Fold cards. While I saw many techniques, I didn't see any technique explicitly for the Cricut or Design Space, so I went to work and explored. Ultimately, I found a way to make them quite easily. Watch the video below to see how to make your cards. For further pictures and inspiration, scroll below. If you're thinking about making Dutch Fold cards, here's what the results look like. This is them lying flat: And here is what they look like propped up: And here's what they look like when they're opened up: Related posts: How to Design a Cricut Joy Card from Beginning to End Tutorial: Pinwheel Cards Card Designing with Maps and Ledgers Unboxing and Using Cardmaking  and Papercraft Magazine 204

After spending some significant time with the Cricut Joy, I've found some easy ways to make a Cricut Joy Cards that look as nice as the pre-made designs. This video goes over how to design this card from beginning to end using the Design Space software included with your Cricut. Some tips to remember: 1. Search for Cuts in Cricut Access. 2. Remember to attach your images. 3. Color Sync your cuts. 4. Remember to change your Card Mat to 5.5" by 4.25" Related Blog Posts: Cricut Joy Review 5 Essential Items for Card Makers Making a Layered Card on Design Space