February 13, 2019

DIY Memory Frame Gift with Cricut BrightPad

DIY Memory Frame Gift

The anniversary of my dad’s passing is coming up, and even after nearly seven years, this season of life is raw and painful some days. My sister recently found a little flower card my dad sent my mom…it was a handwritten I love you card, and both my sister and I teared up when we saw it. I have been wanting to make my sister a Memory Frame gift for a while, and I knew this would somehow be part of the gift.

Make a cut file from handwriting:

When we found the card, I quickly snapped a pic of it with my phone, knowing I would eventually make a sweet memorial keepsake for my sister. When I was ready, I printed the card up and traced my dad’s handwriting onto a clean sheet of printer paper. I was able to easily trace it with my Cricut BrightPad. Tracing the original allowed me to clean up some of the text, and make it easier to cut.

Once I had a clean copy, I scanned it, and uploaded it to Cricut Design Space, and edited out the background. It was super easy and took just a couple of minutes. Then, I was ready to create the sweetest sentimental memory frame for my sister.

About the Cricut BrightPad™:

Cricut’s BrightPad™ has been a total glitter iron on game changer! Now my sweet niece can have all the glitter shirts her heart desires.The BrightPad™ is the {literally} brilliant crafting companion that illuminates projects for MUCH easier crafting and a lot less eye strain. The BrightPad can used for tracing, weeding, quilting, and more. I love that it’s light, thin, and durable making storage and portability a breeze. It’s perfect for weeding vinyl or iron-on! The designs are illuminated for quick and easy work. The BrightPad makes crafting more enjoyable with its adjustable, evenly lit surface, you won’t have to worry about too much or too little light any more! Use BrightPad as your workspace, and make crafting simple. For use with US power outlets only.

BrightPad™ Features:

Bright, uniform LED light
5 brightness settings
- Brightness settings, from lowest to highest, are at approximately 400, 1300, 2200, 3100, and 4000 lumens respectively
Lightweight, portable, and durable
9 in. x 11.5 in. lit area
Nonslip base
6 ft. USB power cord (must be plugged in during use; does not contain a rechargeable battery)

*”Hardness” refers to a material’s resistance to being scratched. The higher the number on the hardness scale, the more scratch-resistant the material. The surface material of most other light box products on the market reaches only a 3.5H on the hardness scale.

Supplies:

Printer Paper

Handwritten Message

Photo

Step 1:

Print and trace handwritten text using the BrightPad.

Step 2:

Scan and upload the traces text. Edit out the background during the upload, and save.

Step 3:

Place the uploaded image in DesignSpace and size to fit your frame. I placed the vinyl on the matte inside the frame, so it was fairly small.

Step 4:

Cut the vinyl and weed the excess.

Step 5:

Use transfer tape to apply the vinyl text to the frame or matte.

Step 6:

Print a photo of your loved one and place in the frame.

I was able to create this beautiful keepsake photo for my sister in less than thirty minutes. I love it so much, I plan on making a few more personalized picture frames for my boys and niece and nephew. I’m also hunting for some of my Mimi’s handwriting so I can make similar personalized photo frames.