I have a long list of things I want to do, make and create, but making time for them is tough. So, while we were in between guests last weekend, my OH popped out to the garden centre and I sat down with my (c/o) Cricut Explore, in a bid to personalise my iPad a bit. I had no excuses – the house was clean, the washing was done, food was in, Poppy was walked. I had an idea about what I wanted, well, a few actually. As time was of the essence, I went with the quick and easy option of using some of the images from the Cricut Design Room. I knew I wanted to cover the edge a bit and have some kind of repeating pattern on the back. Plus, I’d never cut the vinyl before, so it was a little bit of a test all round. I settled on a basic border and a rain cloud.

In the design room, you can set your canvas, but unfortunately, they don’t have the iPad Mini, which meant I had to set my own measurements (always a risk!) So the border isn’t perfect. What I’d really like is a border set in the design room, which includes the buttons and camera and cuts them out to. Mine didn’t and I didn’t have time to figure it out (so if you know how, please let me know!) so I just went with this. I love the cloud shape and raindrops – it’s very simple, which is fine for a first attempt. And the beauty of the vinyl is that it can be removed very easily and changed for something else when you fancy a change.

Using the vinyl was surprisingly easy. As I didn’t have a lot of time before our guests arrived, I used the same colour throughout but there are a number of colours available. Now I actually have something on my iPad, giving it a bit of protection, I want to work on something a bit more personal, maybe even designed by me!

Another thing I had on my list, was making some wall art, in the way of a slogan to go in my my office. I’ve been wracking my brains, trying to think of a quote or a slogan that isn’t too cheesy or too long, that will inspire me when I’m lacking in confidence. I’ve yet to find one! However, I did just want to have something small and quick on my computer – after all, I face it every day. This is what I went with:

Hey, I never said I was Shakespeare! (And yes, I realise it’s not straight!) But sometimes I just need a reminder not to give up, no matter how frustrated I am or lacking in self-confidence. It’ll do for now. If you’ve got any suggestions of quotes, phrases or slogans, then let me know!

Disclosure: I was sent the Cricut Explore to review, but as usual, all opinions are my own.