The crafting and DIY world was rocked this year when the Cricut Explore was released. Jess and I got to see it in action when we were in Salt Lake City back in the spring. I was approached by Cricut and asked to be part of their Cricut Design Space Star competition- basically a big group of DIY bloggers seeing what creative things we can create each month using our Cricut Explore. For this month the challenge theme was fashion/gear… Dangit! That’s not really my wheelhouse… I’m not much of a fashionista (in fact my style is kinda weird by most accounts), but I figured I’d try to DIY my very favorite accessory- A leather cuff bracelet.
I’ll be honest, this wasn’t my first design plan… actually this was my Plan C (A & B were major flops!) It was really late at night, I was downright cranky (yup, once in a while I get cranky) and after 2 failed ideas I just designed something that reflected how I was feeling right at the moment… BLAH. But, the next morning, after waking up with a fresh, cranky-free outlook, I decided that I loved my new bracelet, because let’s be honest, sometimes you just feel Blah- and that’s okay. Life isn’t always ponies and rainbows. I also liked the idea that it’s kind of snarky and will be perfect with just jeans and a tee- what some people would consider a blah outfit.
Here’s how it all went down…
Materials:
Leather for cuff
Thin leather cording
Utility Knife
Sandpaper
I cut a 2.5″ x 9″ strip of leather using my utility knife. I placed the leather strip on my cutting mat and got to work in the Cricut Design Space. I used good old Bebas font and made crosses by combining two rectangle shapes.
The leather I was using was really thick and I don’t own a deep cut blade yet (it can cut thick leather and thin wood!), so I opted for the Gold Metallic pen to create my design. I love the outline style of the letters and crosses.
Once it was drawn, I used a drill and screw to put four small holes on each end of the bracelet. I measured it on my wrist first, so that I knew where I wanted my closure. I threaded my thin, gold cording through the holes and left enough slack that I can loosen it and tighten it and tie a small knot. I like the unique look of the leather cord closure and it works like a charm!
I also wanted to age my cuff a bit on the edges, so I used some 120 grit sandpaper to rough it up.
Making this cuff was SO easy (well, once I was done messing up plan A and B) and I’m excited to make a bunch more for fall! Next time I might wait until I’m not in a cranky mood and I’ll see what styles I can whip up! Ha!
Now, I’m not alone in this Design Challenge- I’m a part of an awesome team of DIYers. My Cricut Design Space Star™ team (“Lucky 13” aka #CricutDesignTeam13) consists of MJ of Pars Caeli, Sarah and Jessica of Pretty Providence, Melissa of The Sweet Escape, Sadie Jane of Simply Sadie Jane, Crystal of Sew Creative Blog, Katie of That Girl Katie, Celina of Petit A Petit and Family, Andrea of Andrea’s Notebook, and last but certainly not least Erin & Tricia of Suburban Bitches.
Lucky 13 team in the Cricut Design Space Star™ team:
1. Booties, Earrings, and Hearts from Andrea of Andrea’s Notebook
2. Children’s shirt and gold sandals from Celina of Petit A Petit and Family
3. Cut out leather purse with cross lining from Erin & Tricia of Suburban Bitches
4. Leather cuff from Monica of East Coast Creative (THAT’s ME!)
5. Easy DIY hashtag t-shirts from Sarah and Jessica of Pretty Providence
6. DIY umbrella and Pineapple Scarf from MJ of Pars Caeli
7. Leopard leggings and tank from Sadie Jane of Simply Sadie Jane
8. Laptop decals from Crystal of Sew Creative Blog
Each of us created a project for this month and we all have a little something in common… Gold! Our team decided that Gold is the New Black – so we all had to incorporate some gold in our projects. Make sure you go check out their projects too- I was kinda blown away by some of them!
I may receive prizes in exchange for any winning projects. Even though I’m not being directly compensated for these posts, I am under consideration for a prize with Cricut Design Space Star. All opinions and BLAH, cranky nights are 100% my own.
[…] they did an incredible job for the Gold is the New Black theme, did you guys see the awesome leather cuff Monica made? Her teammate Erin from Suburban Bitches’ pink cut out clutch even made it to the […]
Love it! Did the ink spear at all?
So you used a gold metallic pen? Not the gold metallic marker? I tried using the pen on scrap leather and didn’t work like I wanted it to. Btw, I am in love with this project! Thank you!
Hmm… I think it might have been the pen. And after I touched up a bit by hand, but it didn’t need too many touchups. I just wanted the test to be nice and bold!
-Mon