Home Decor with Contact Paper and the Cricut

As soon as the Summer In Paris Cricut cartridge came out, I knew I had to have it just so I could use it with vinyl to decorate my living room which is Paris themed. I had read on a message board that Contact paper worked just as well as the vinyl, was much cheaper, and could be found at the dollar store. I looked at our local dollar store, but they only had rolls in polka dots and a bad light colored wood grain print! I also looked at Target, but they had the same designs. I was looking for a chocolate brown, and finally found a roll at Ace Hardware. It's also a wood grain, but darker and when it's cut into detailed designs it actually has a cool look to it. I wasn't sure what settings to put my Cricut on, so I looked online. There was a lot of different information so I just chose one to be a starting point. It worked on the very first try perfectly! Start with a fresh blade, set the depth to 6, speed 3 and pressure 2. Put the contact paper on the mat with the backing to the mat and vinyl side up. At this setting it cuts just right through the vinyl but leaves the backing intact. The Eiffel Tower and "Bienvenue" were cut from the Summer in Paris cartridge, and the fleur de lis were cut from the Wild Card cartridge.