Monarch Butterfly Garland - Free Silhouette File

Hello Friends!

Actually, I probably should have called that picture Monday cheat since this post was meant to be up on Friday afternoon and here it is Monday. I've been working on so many projects at once...I'm afraid this one was neglected so it's the last post and official end of Butterfly Week...on Monday!

This butterfly is slightly different than the other monarch butterflies - I removed some of the finer detail around the edges so that the smaller size would cut cleanly and with few problems. I also used a different pattern to fill this butterfly but I stuck with the black-and-white color scheme.

 

I called this project a garland, though I'm not sure it meets the technical criteria for a garland, among which I think is 'something hanging'. Obviously these butterflies are hanging from nothing; I taped them to the face of the fireplace using washi tape (just enough 'stick' but not too much); I like the free form look of the butterflies without any twine or ribbon.

Although there is less detail in this smaller size, I think there's still enough to identify them as monarch butterflies. These pictures don't quite do this paper version justice - I think I like these danaus plexippus' almost as much as the real thing!

Here's the '.studio' file to download for you Silhouette peeps.

~ M ~

Monarch Butterfly Card

Hello Friends!

 

Just a very quick note today - and I mean that! I promised you files by Thursday at the latest and here it is Thursday at the latest. Just under the wire...

 

This is the third version of a monarch butterfly project; a card that's pretty in pink (or whatever color you decide to use!). Cut on the Silhouette Cameo, there are actually two files that are required to make this project. So simple: the base card is white cardstock and the overlay - the pink shape - is a cardstock I found at Target awhile ago. I attached the overlay with a piece of foam tape in the center. That's pretty simple, isn't it?

Love, love this card. It might get my vote for favorite project of the week tomorrow. Of course, that depends on what tomorrow's project is! Any guesses?

 

Here are the files for you...hope you get a chance to make a few of these cards:

butterfly detail .studio file

butterfly card .studio file

 

~ M ~

Anniversary Monogram Tile

Hello Friends!

 

Well...I have had a very frustrating week! Everything seems to be upside down and inside out...not in a major way but certainly in my creative world. Lots of attempts, lots of things falling short, lots of tossing out and doing over.

 

For all of the frustration, at least I'm learning a lot! I worked on this project today, creating an anniversary monogram with a tile (scrounged from my neighbor!) and vinyl cut on the Silhouette.

 

The tile is 12x12 so it's fairly large and a little heavy. It has no hanging hardware and I'm not sure I'd want to hang one of these - the back would almost certainly scratch the wall. Standing it in a plate stand is the perfect way to display it.

I bought this font already split (the split is where the name and date are filled in). It's great for monogramming because of the ornate detail. Some of the very small elements were difficult to keep intact when transferring the vinyl from the cutting mat to the tile. I had to jump through a few hoops to get it together. Not perfect but perfection is overrated anyway...right?!

I also created a houndstooth alphabet for everyone to use (monogram or otherwise) - I'm attaching both .jpg and .png files to this post so anyone can download it and use it for luggage tags, cards, or gift tags. It's a high resolution file so the letters can be resized fairly easily. Try it out!

Here are all of the goodies for download - I hope you're able to use them!

Houndstooth .jpg file

Houndstooth .png file

Scalloped heart .studio file

 

Stay tuned.

 

~ M ~

Water Slide Decals: Getting Better All the Time

Hello Friends!

 

What's new with everyone? I'm so glad Monday is here - I'm feeling particularly productive today. It's probably because I cleaned my studio this morning. It looked like a tornado had been through here over the weekend.

 

I found some cool jars - basically mason jars without any branding - at the dollar store and knew they'd make perfect soap dispensers. Not exactly original, but I dislike the plastic bottle of hand soap sitting on my counter as much as the next girl does.

 

I found the dispenser tops at Michael's about a week ago. I bought two (less than $5 each), one for each plastic dispenser at home. They came with a mason jar lid insert so you don't have to drill a hole through the insert yourself.

 

The jars came with gold-colored inserts and bands; the inserts for the dispensers were silver so I decided a little white spray paint was in order to take care of the unmatched pieces. After they were painted, I put them on the jars and I had 'mason' jar soap dispensers - done and done! Except...I decided I'd like the dispensers to be labeled. So I got busy, designed quick and simple labels and printed them on water slide decal paper. I applied the decals to the jars this morning and now...the soap dispensers are done.

 

I've been semi-obsessed with monograms lately, too. I was mixing different patterns and colors and thought, as long as I was making decals for the Dollar Store jars, I'd practice with color at the same time. I was really pleasantly surprised - I love how the decal worked on this plate. I don't love the design, or even the colors of the design, but I love how easy it was to apply and how well it works if you don't fuss with the decal too much!

 

 

Like with most things that I want to be good at, I find that the more I practice at crafting anything, the better I get, the more comfortable I get, the quicker I get, and the more satisfied I become. If you're interested in pursuing something creative, take your time, be easy on yourself, and don't quit. It's worth it.

 

And the files (you thought I forgot)! I only have files for Silhouette peeps but the cake plate bunting, the Freedom banner and the cupcake picks are here:

 

Freedom Banner 1

Freedom Banner 2

Cake Bunting

Cupcake Picks

Stay tuned

~ M ~

Stars, Stripes, and Freedom

Hello Friends!

 

 

Wow, have I been busy! Lots of catching up to do here at Paisley Press so I'm just jumping in. Organization, design, redesign and more red, white and blue coming your way.

 

Remember this? I took care of that mess in no time; the picture above is the after. I'm much happier with this clean and easy-to-access storage 'system'. Organization, although tedious at times, is always so worth it in the end! Don't you think so?

In that same post, I created my first project with adhesive vinyl: two acrylic mugs. The more I looked at them, the more I thought they needed to be redone. So I stripped the vinyl off the mugs and created a few new designs.

After the designs are cut, the excess vinyl in the design needs to be removed before the vinyl is transferred. I, however, removed the actual monogram itself. Whaaaaat? Epic fail! Needless to say, I recut the design and left the monogram intact while removing all of the extraneous bits.

Once all of the extra vinyl was removed, I used clear contact paper to transfer the vinyl to the mugs. Using white cardstock in the mugs to take these pictures shows the completed designs much better than trying to photograph them empty. So much happier with the new looks! 

 

Now it's time to bring on the 4th of July! I designed new cupcake flags, bunting tags and a Freedom banner that are all starred and striped to celebrate the holiday in style.

The bunting tags are just separate cardstock shapes that I cut out and then attached to the cake plate with two-sided tape. They aren't perfectly spaced or perfectly even but I love the way they dress up the plate. I covered the edges with plain white ribbon to give the bunting a finished look.

The cupcake picks are the same as the bunting - just longer and two-sided so they're patriotic from every angle. Again, so easy to make, just cut and glue and these picks are ready for dressing up any cupcake that comes their way.

The Freedom garland was created using the same stars-and-stripes pattern as the bunting and picks - they're all coordinated for decorating ease. Using my go-to baker's twine and glittered red clothespins are just the finishing touches needed to put this little garland over the top.

 

Don't be too disappointed but I don't have files to share today! I have a few issues with my file sharing platform so I'll get those straightened out and make the files available as soon as possible. I'm even going to work on it tomorrow - hopefully I can resolve it quickly!

 

Stay tuned.

 

~ M ~

Little Birds

Hello Friends!

If you've followed me at all, you know I really like garlands. But did you know that garlands can be used for so much more than draping mantels?

 

Found here on Pinterest



How about hung from a headboard in a child's bedroom? Draped over the mirror in a bathroom? Hung from a bookshelf? Strung across an entryway? Any one of those places would work great, and, I'm sure, several more that I haven't thought of.

 

Found here on Pinterest

Garlands can be made from so many things - fabric, cardstock, crepe paper, book pages, sheet music or even photographs. As with most creative things, you're only limited by your creativity and ingenuity and maybe, a pair of scissors.

 

The shape I made today is a little bird I designed for hanging beak-to-beak and tail-to-tail. I love them in yellow but make yours in your favorite color - I'm pretty sure having these little birds hanging around will make you happy. The '.studio' file is at the end of this post.

 

I'm going to a flea market this Saturday! I haven't been to one in so long, I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep Friday night. I'm not in much of a buying mode - I'm trying to downsize in every area of our lives - but just looking at everything and learning it's history is so fun for me. It's a visual feast for my creative eyes. 

Okay, I've got to run...working on some flowers for tomorrow's post! Here's the file for the sweet birds. I hope you make one for you and one for a friend. Enjoy!

Stay tuned.

~ M ~