I came up with a new type of file for Sure Cuts A Lot that I've never seen before. It took quite a bit of doing to get it to work (I have to thank the extraordinarily talented Penny Duncan for figuring out what was wrong with the original!), and I wanted to show it to you tonight because I've been so excited about the entire concept!

I love spinners and have a few hanging around the yard, but they're quite expensive for the larger metal ones. Well, I decided to try to make my own, using SCAL and my Expression, and it came out just as I wanted it to! See what I mean by "spinner" in the photo below! (It's actually a little bent out of shape, I held one of the petals back while holding it up so you could see the face better.)

This project requires a stiffer kind of paper. I used laminated vellum, left over from my angel wing album and subsequent experiments using laminated sheets in the Cricut. I should've used a couple more layers of laminate, I think, as it is a tiny bit flimsy, and it didn't hold the creases as well as I would've liked. But since this one will be used indoors it doesn't matter too much. And I can always make more! :)

As you may be able to tell from the photo below, it's quite transparent, with the vellum inside. And shiny, too, which really adds to the effect. That's what I love about the metal one I have outside...as it spins, each layer shines in turn, seeming to grow in size. You can see what I mean at the bottom, where you'll find my little video, showing my laminated creation and also my metal one!

Below you'll see a closeup of the sun spinner I created. I love the detail on the eyes and mouth, although it's a bit difficult to see here. I see that I left a tiny piece of plastic in his eye, oops! I emphasized the details by taking a blunt tool and bending the laminate back a bit. The detail lines came out quite finely in the .scut file, especially with a smaller cut like this one, so I decided to open them up a bit to let the light shine through.

The really beautiful feature of this file is that it can be mailed to someone flat, and they can bend the 'petals' (for lack of a better word!) back into shape. I could've used a tiny bit of tape to hold the largest ones on mine in place, but a sturdy paper wouldn't require it. I love the shine the laminate gives it! (In the photos above it looks a little splotchy in places, that is from some small clumps of glitter in between the sheets of laminate. I also used alcohol inks and some may be the silver mixative, which is a bit opaque.) I can also see using a shiny two sided paper to make these, or just gluing two shiny sheets together back to back after they've been cut out (one reversed).

The photo below shows the spinner laying flat on a sheet of paper. I added one of my larger polymer clay cabechons to the bottom of it for demonstration purposes because it was very windy outside when I was taking the video, and it needed the weight. But it is a perfect place to add some bling and more danglies for some added pizzazz! You can see a bit of the shine on the laminate near the bottom, it was quite sunny on my table when I took the photo!

And now we come to the small video I made this afternoon, showing my little sun blowing around next to it's metal big brother under a tree in my backyard. (Mine is the blue one on the left, of course.) The metal one is bigger but sitting further back on the tree they're dangling from.

Keep in mind that I used an 8.5" x 11" sheet of laminated paper to make this. It could easily be made larger with other paper. I don't know if there would be any interest, but I've put so much time into this project that I'd have to charge for this one if anyone wants it - only a dollar, though! It will keep DH a little quieter bout the cost of my sCraproom collection...I wouldn't ask for anything normally, except there's been a lot of grumbling lately...! Theoretically, it will keep him quiet, at least!

I have added a Paypal button for this item in the upper right of the page. Not sure how to put it in this post! Just click the link if you would like to buy a copy securely through Paypal! You don't even need to have an actual Paypal account, I don't believe, to use it. Feel free to contact me if you have any problems!!!

At any rate, let me know what you think! As always, thanks for looking and come back...after you go cut something! :)