Silhouette Blog

Mondays...

2012-02-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! Call me crazy, but I like Monday mornings. Especially today. We've got a fun week ahead! You see, last Friday we moved into our new office. This means I get to organize/decorate my new space, and share it with you. *smile* Lot's of fun/practical project posts ahead! First stop, the blogola. {my term of endearment for the blog} This is where I spend a good majority of my time, so I figured I would start my decorating here. I hope the new design will make it just as easy for you to stay connected and to find what you are looking for.

Before I run, a quick project for the day...

Over the weekend I was reminded of one of my favorite poems called "I carry your heart with me" by E. E. Cummings. It is a fitting one for this week I think. *smile* It was the inspiration for today's card.

Shapes:
4_hearts_C01074_20509
artisan_label_set_C00178_41853
echo_park_labels_C00202_48353

Fan Feature

2012-02-10T08:00:00.009-07:00

Today's fan feature is from Jennifer at live.life.create.art. She used some of her favorite shapes in the online store to create this shadow box as a gift for her in-laws. Such a fun idea! :)

You can check out her blog to see what she had to say about the project and to browse the gobs and gobs of other fun projects she's created with her CAMEO. Thanks for the inspiration Jennifer!

Personalize...with vinyl

2012-02-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have days when you feel like crafting, but don't feel like making a mess? When I have those days, vinyl is my go to! With the CAMEO it doesn't take long to create a quote for your wall, or subway art for your craft space, and it is such a quick and easy way to personalize just about anything. Take this cute little chair I found at IKEA for example. It is darling as is, but a lot more fun with Braxton's name and his current obsession, dinosaurs! In a few months when he is loving monster trucks, or race cars instead, I can quickly change it up by replacing the dinosaur with a new shape from the online store. All that without a mess... *smile*

What are you creating with vinyl these days? Feel free to show it off by posting a photo to our Flickr group! I'd love to see what you've been up to.

Shape:

dinosaur_C00024_28466

Tic-Tac-Toe

2012-02-08T08:00:00.035-07:00

Have you browsed the online store lately? With so many shapes to chose from, it's a great place for inspiration! I recently came across this fun tic-tac-toe shape, which actually inspired today's project. It is super cute as is, but I wanted to put a Valentine's spin on it. So, instead of the traditional x's and o's I used the heart for my game pieces.

Because all of my shapes were going to be cut out of fabric, my first step was to iron on the sewable interfacing. Then, I placed the fabric on my mat and loaded it in the machine. Next is probably my favorite part of most projects, when I click "send to Silhouette" and "cut page". My CAMEO really does most of the work. I love that about it! Anyway, once all of my fabric pieces were cut, it was pretty easy to assemble. The criss cross is ironed/stitched on to a piece of black felt and placed in an 8 x 10 frame. Then each heart was stitched and stuffed with batting. I also attached a small piece of velcro to the back of the hearts so that they would stay in place during play, or while being displayed. Voila!...Valentine's tic-tac-toe.

Have a happy Wednesday everyone!

FREE shape of the week

2012-02-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

rhinestone_heart_C03089_1

How does that saying go... "flowers are a girl's best friend"? Well, they might not be my best friend, but it wouldn't make me sad or anything if I received them. *wink* In fact, if I were home more often to enjoy them, I'd probably buy fresh flowers just because. I have actually been eying these miniature roses at the store for the last several weeks, and today's project gave me an excuse to buy them. I must say, they are perfect for this little can I've gussied up! It was a quick makeover that involved a little spray paint, some sand paper for distressing, and my favorite part...rhinestones for a little pop of color and shine. Today's free shape made creating my rhinestone heart easy peasy. If you haven't tried the rhinestone templates yet, you can find a great tutorial to get you started here.

Fabric Ink and a little patience...

2012-02-06T08:00:00.022-07:00

Hi everyone! Did you enjoy your weekend? How about the Super Bowl? I have a couple confessions to make this morning. First, I didn't watch the Super Bowl, not even for the commercials. *gasp* I know, I know, I probably missed out on things people will be talking about for weeks to come, but I brought back a cold from CHA, so I enjoyed some much needed sleep instead. *smile* I'm sure I will get caught up on what happened soon enough. Second confession has to do with crafting. I am a little impatient when it comes to crafts. I tend to stay away from anything that has a drying time of more than .5 seconds. :) Anyone else with me there? Let me tell you, I have been missing out! Before heading off to CHA I decided to put my patience to the test with a little fabric ink project. As you can see, I used several colors of ink {even mixed a few to get a custom colors} which meant I had to do this project in layers. Normally, doing a project in layers would translate to 'way too long for my short attention span'. But, I discovered a trick. Hopefully this will help anyone else in my same patience challenged boat. *smile* Instead of cutting all of my stencils out at the same time, I cut one, placed it on my fabric, then applied the fabric ink. Then, while that layer was drying, I was staying busy cutting out the next stencil. The time really flew by! I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, so I will probably be inking in layers again sooner than later. I found a process that works for me, so I am a happy girl!

Shapes:

bird_C00017_23851

tree_branch_C0269

3d_ruffle_flower_C02598_1

I love you because... chalkboard

2012-02-01T08:00:00.014-07:00

Happy Wednesday! Today's project is Valentine decor friendly, but would be fun to keep up all year long as well. With the chalkboard vinyl you can easily change the message as often as you'd like.

This vinyl is so easy to work with. Knowing that for this project I would be working with just the negative space of the design, I started by drawing an 8 x 10 rectangle that would fit the frame I chose. Then, I typed and placed the phrase towards the top of the rectangle leaving space to write below it.

Once the image was cut, I removed the vinyl around my rectangle and weeded out the letters leaving just the negative space.

Next, I applied the transfer paper to the entire image. This makes placing it directly where you want it a breeze!

Then, I applied the vinyl to a piece of craft cardstock that I had cut to 8 x 10, and popped it into my frame. I love how it turned out! Funny thing, it took me longer to figure out what I was going to write than it did for me to put the project together. Writing on a new chalkboard for the first time is a lot of pressure, ok? *smile*

Shapes:
3d_paper_rose_C00248_21585

FREE shape of the week

2012-01-31T07:35:00.001-07:00

heart_ticket_C03088_1

Hi there! Here is another quick gift idea.. this one using the cute free shape of the week and the print and cut feature. I created a coupon book for the kiddos, one that could easily be changed up a bit to give to that special someone.

Shapes:

doily_C01016_20509

3_way_ornate_frame_C00532_19210

You are the soda to my pop!

2012-01-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday from sunny California. *smile* I am off to the show, but wanted to share a quick gift idea before I go... Most people don't know this about me, but I {heart} Valentine's Day! It's a time when cheesy phrases to show someone you care are not only acceptable, but becoming more the norm. It's fantastic! This is what I'm giving away this year...

On the topic of unique valentines, a couple of years ago when the ipod was the in thing, I helped a friend make ipods out conversation hearts boxes. Her daughter took them to all of her friends at school. It was a lot of work for her mom, but she must have been the coolest kid in class that day! What are 'your kids' making for their friends for Valentine's Day this year?

Shapes:
award_ribbon_pinwheel_C00996_20509
scalloped_heart_cute_kiss_C01280_20387
6_banner_set_C01130_20509