Lighthouse Memories Oval Cutter & More

          While many people rang in the New Year, I spent the first days of the New Year mesmerized by something new.  Something that would transform scrapbooking from a labor intensive task to a portal, in which my ideas could flow fast and easy.  I had now the means to send my imagination whizzing out of my mind and onto paper.  I found one of the true power tools in scrapbooking.  A tool that has many times been referred to as "The Purple Thing."  Its real name is the " Lighthouse Memories, Ovals & More Cutter" and when they say "more," they mean MORE. 

          There are other cutters on the market that allow you to cut circles, but the oval cutter can cut 12 different shapes or frames. In just a few seconds you can cut a circle, oval, or even a heart shape with the same, or for that matter, another shape cut in the middle.  After a few more seconds you can cut a matting to surround the frame. As you can see, I have used this technique to make the rain drops on my "Rainy Day" layout.

          The Lighthouse cutter comes with many things.  I have the basic set, consisting of the cutter, the circle and oval shapes (including the cut overlays for each), extra blades, the cutting board, an instruction booklet, and finally, a case to hold it all. Of course, I know what you're thinking, there is a lot more in that picture than what I just mentioned. I also have some extra shapes, seven to be exact, the triangle, square, diamond, pentagon, hexagon, heart, and teardrop, including instructions and overlays as well. However I am eagerly awaiting a bell shape and even more shapes on the way. The basic set offers a suggested retail price of $79.99, and each of the additional shapes are between $12.00 to $15.00. Sure, I know for the beginner to scrapbooking that sounds expensive, but let me assure you it is money well spent.

          I have made a whole bunch of neat shapes, and I am going to tell you how I did it. The woven rope circle that I made (shown in figure 1) was made using the diamond shape. I first selected four different colors that I wished to use in my woven rope circle, remember that the colors that you choose should compliment each other. Then I chose the size that I wanted my rope circle to be. This was easy because the Lighthouse cuter has registration marks that directly correspond with the marks on the templates that come with each shape. I used a size that was the second notch from the center. I found it to manageable, but still large enough for a reasonable sized picture. The key to making rope frames is to make all of the frames thin, because you have to interweave them. I found that one or two notches is enough, but not much more. Once you have cut out all of the diamonds, start to overlay them making cuts as necessary to weave them together. It took a few tries to create the rope you see here.  Using the Light house cutter is like any other scrapbooking tool, it takes some practice before you master it. 

          Now, on to my layout. It didn't take very long and that is what I liked about it. It was quick, easy and it turned out surprisingly well. I took the teardrop cutter and cut the dark blue drops first. I did this because I wanted to find a good size for my pictures. Remember to use the overlays.  I used the second setting from the inside to cut the outside of the dark blue drops. I then moved the cutter all the way to the center to cut out the inside of the dark blue drops. The light blue drops are half a setting larger than the dark ones. I cut those and voila, I was almost done. I used the centers from all of my drops to make the small drop in the middle. I had the ever so talented Helen (a member of The Creative Team) make the umbrella for me. The cloud I made myself with some gray card stock and a black pencil crayon. I used the overlays to position my pictures before I cut them, and then just glued it all in place. All in all it took me just a couple of minutes to make the layout.
          I have found that the sky is the limit when it comes to this oval cutter. If you can imagine it,  Lighthouse Memories', Ovals & More Cutter can help to make it a reality.