Compass Valentine

This week at Fantabulous Cricut, we are challenging you to make use of your neglected cartridges.  I have a few cartridges that are still in their original packaging and (as I've mentioned before) one of my goals this year is to use what I've got.  However, for this challenge, I opted to go with My World - a cartridge that has been opened but used only once and is not yet on my sidebar's labels list.  Papers are designer cardstock from a set I got at Costco, a piece from Michaels' open stock, and metallic silver cardstock. 

(Sorry for the bit of glare.  The compass was SO difficult to photograph.)

I made this card for my husband.  I used My World to cut the compass.  I cut the shadow and two cuts of the main image using the blackout feature.  Then, on another layer, I hid the contours for the outer cuts and used a gel pen holder in my Cricut to draw the face of the compass.  I was a bit disappointed, and had to do this five times - still with rather unsatisfactory results as most contours were not being drawn.  I tried a number of different methods and finally ended up hand-drawing a good portion of the compass' face.  However, with all the inking on the card, I decided that the uneven lines added to the charm of the overall look.

I also cut a circle silhouette from George and Basic Shapes using the same metallic cardstock which I had used for the shadow.  I cut a full circle out of transparency too.  These were positioned over the top layer of the compass to give it the look of a glass cover.  I adhered these with small little pop dots.  The needle of the compass was cut from Gypsy Wanderings and I used markers and ink to colour a tiny brad to match.  I am so pleased with how the compass turned out!

I cut the heart and its shadow from a single piece of designer cardstock using George and Basic shapes and inked the edges to give some separation.  After adhering the heart to its shadow, I ran it through the Cuttlebug using the script embossing folder.  I did a bit more inking over the embossed script as well.

I also cut N, E, S, and W to use in the corners of the card and cut them from the same designer cardstock I had used for the compass needle and heart.  These were cut from Plantin' Schoolbook and were inked.  Initially, I had the N in the top left corner but then remembered my days of orienteering back at summer camp and realized that the needle of a compass always points north!  As the needle is pointing to the heart, I quickly changed things to make sure everything was just right.

I added a little heart charm tied to black hemp and positioned it behind the compass.  A few silver gems were also added to finish off the card.

For the inside of the card, I created the sentiment in Microsoft Word.  I did a bit of inking on the paper and finished things off by added some photo corners punched with an EK Success punch.

Head over to Fantabulous Cricut and show us what you can do with those dusty cartridges! I would love to see what you can create!

Challenges:

Crop Stop: square with a die cut
Frosted Designs: use transparency
***I'm also entering this at Sweet Magnolia Rose's first blog hop challenge.  Anything goes! Head on over and enter your project too!***