Final Water Bottles and New Jar Jewelry

Hello Friends!

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend. All my plans worked out so I got to visit and spend time with people I love. Awesome!

I worked on these yesterday. I started them here but was out of printable vinyl so I couldn't complete them. I got my vinyl shipment yesterday so I got to finalize the design and finish them in the afternoon.

I print these labels on the highest level - photo - quality. They print out beautifully, even on my inkjet printer, and the ink is dry almost immediately. None of the ink lifts when I cut them so they work wonderfully for cutting on the Silhouette.

I completely disassembled (also known as peeling all vinyl off) and put these bottles back together; I wanted a less random pattern. I love the final, final product - so cute!

I also made these little lovelies. I found the small wooden shapes at Michael's, in the glassware section. The package was labeled 'jar jewelry'. I think that means they're supposed to be tied around mason jars but I painted them white, sanded them a bit, and monogrammed them with vinyl.

I'm thinking: cool key chains, backpack tags, purse tags, luggage tags or even pendants for necklaces. They come 10 to a package and they're so easy to make so they'd work perfectly as little gifts for people you love, large and small.

 

If you haven't got a Silhouette cutter, you can still use printable vinyl! All you need is a design and some scissors or a craft punch. Print your design on the vinyl, cut or punch out your design, peel the back from the vinyl and adhere it to your project.

 

You should try it - I think you'd be surprised how easy it is!

 

~ M ~

Two Gifts for Three Girls

Hello Friends!

Here comes the weekend! It's going to be a busy one so I'm jumping right in today.

I made these bottles today. Well, I didn't make the bottles, but I decorated them.

They're for triplets, all little girls who play soccer. Their name labels are not final yet - I ran out of printable vinyl so I made paper templates to act as space savers and arranged the soccer balls around the templates. I taped the names with scotch tape so they look a little funny in the pictures.

The names are not quite the right color and they printed in a weird way. I'm so glad I've learned to print test samples on paper before I print on the more expensive vinyl. I'll fix the color issue when I do the final print and share pictures when they're all done.

I also made, for the same 3 girls, little personalized candy jars.

I created the template for these labels on this site, then downloaded the images to my computer and modified the template a little more by changing the center image to a heart.

I found these candy jars at the Dollar Store, believe it or not. I had a similar one at home but hadn't been able to match it. When I came across these, I knew they'd work just as well as the one I had at home. And for such a reasonable price, too.

 

I love these little jars. I've filled them with all kinds of assorted candy and gum. They're almost as sweet as the little girls who will receive them!

Speaking of sweet, have a sweet weekend. I'm planning on visiting with some people I love. I hope you're planning the same!

 

~ M ~ 

Rustic Chic Canister Labels

Hello Friends!

Do you remember this label, from here? It was the first of my new canister labels, and here is the second of two (so far). I'll be making more - for pasta, rice, beans, brown sugar, etc.

I'd labeled these canisters before; I painted a chalkboard square on each of them, but I found that it was difficult to write on smaller containers with chalk and the chalk rubbed off easily. A change was needed...

I know I'm becoming really repetitious but here it is again - I made these labels from printable vinyl and cut them on the Silhouette. They're great for kitchen jars; they're water resistant so they can be hand-washed without damaging the labels.

I wanted a rustic look so I chose a distressed and vintage (looking) font and a chalkboard background, as well. The shape is even a little irregular - all small details that add to the desired imperfect look of the finished product. Just what I had in mind!

 

Every day I find new ways to use my Silhouette Cameo and for so many different projects: home design, cards, gifts, organization, office products. It's kind of amazing, especially because it's so easy for a home crafter to use.

 

One of the best things about being creative now is the abundance of information about whatever your creative pursuit might be. There are so many YouTube videos, Facebook groups, and manufacturer and vendor web sites that it's easy to find answers to almost any question you'd have.

If you're thinking about trying something new, start learning now. With so much free information available, you'll know exactly what to do when it comes time to make your first project!

~ M ~

Kitchen Aid Mixer Update

Hello Friends!

Can you believe we're more than half way through summer already?! I hope yours is going well and that you're having all kinds of fun.

I had fun today...sprucing up my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love this mixer - so functional and sturdy and solid. I didn't think I could love it more until I got a look at a few pictures from Pinterest. That got me inspired!

Although I couldn't find the exact picture, I saw another mixer with cherries on it and - given my love of red and the general happy nature of cherries - that's the design I went with.

The cherries are made from printed vinyl and as I said yesterday, they're semi-permanent and water-resistant once applied (they can be peeled off if you work at it for awhile). I didn't follow a specific plan when I applied them, just turned the mixer around as I went to make sure they weren't too close together.

I printed and cut 26 cherry decals and ended up using 16 of them...so far. I needed to walk away before I added more; I was afraid I'd end up with wall-to-wall cherries.

Although it's done for now, I'm pretty sure I'll make a few more additions before I call it completely finished. I'm thinking something to do with polka dots...

I'm so happy I spruced up my mixer. It's such a small thing but certainly adds a pop of cheer to my kitchen décor.

~ M ~

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 Pillow

Hello Friends!

I told you I'd be back with another monarch butterfly project. This time, it's a pillow. A toss pillow, a throw pillow, a decorative pillow...call it what you'd like!

 

I, like most people who love interior design, also love a good pillow. A good pillow is such a workhorse; it can change the look of a room, it can brighten up a room, it can help reinforce a theme or a color scheme. The same pillow can even be used in different rooms. And when you get tired of that old pillow, don't get rid of it. Recycle it - put a new cover on it and put that pillow back to work!

 

I made this project with a combination of techniques and products: the butterfly design, iron on t-shirt transfers, my Silhouette Cameo, fabric I already had on hand, an iron, and a sewing machine.
I enlarged the black and white monarch butterfly and printed it on t-shirt transfer paper. I let the ink set for a few minutes while I cut my fabric to size (this is a 16" pillow, I cut it a bit snug at 16.5 inches but it worked...barely) and ironed it. Then I cut the paper design using the Silhouette.

 

I found the vertical center of the pillow, turned the printed side of the transfer paper down and centered it, then ironed away. It took very little time for the transfer to 'take' - maybe about 2-3 minutes. After the fabric was cool, I peeled off the paper back. I finished up with the sewing and then...a pillow was born.

 

I would have liked the butterfly to have been a pinch bigger but I was limited to about an 8x10 print area - cutting limitations of the paper size and the machine. With a large format printer, the media (paper, sticker paper, etc.) would be larger so the available cutting size would be, as well. Maybe I need to put a large format printer on my Christmas list. Who knows what might be possible then?

 

Files tomorrow!

 

~ M ~

Pattern-On-Pattern Please!

Hello Friends!

 

 

In keeping with all of the monogram talk around here, lately, I have a fast and easy way to add a cute, quick, and custom touch to your home - and it just happens to be a monogram.

 

I cut this with my Silhouette but I would have been able to do it almost as easily without it - I'll tell you how in a minute. For this project, I entered a 'B' in the type design tool, enlarged it to the size I wanted, filled it with a houndstooth pattern and then sent it to cut. After that was done, I trimmed the backing paper down to fit inside the frame and taped the letter, with two-sided tape, to the backing paper, centering it first. I placed the paper down on the glass, put the backing on the frame and put it up on the mantel for a glamour shot!

Pattern-on-pattern design and decorating isn't for everyone - I know it feels way too busy to some people. I love it, but it SO has to be the right mix to work. These colors go well together - a classic combination - and neither one of the patterns is overbearing. This project took me no more than 5 minutes; you could make several of these monograms in an afternoon, hang them on the wall, and have a custom collection of artwork that not only adds a personal touch, but costs about $25 for everything.

 

Here's how to do it: Get paper: wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, book pages, cardstock. The Dollar Store has lots of wrapping paper for, you guessed it, $1 a roll. You could mix and match patterns, use the same backing for each one and change out the design for the monogram...get creative with yourself. Get frames: thrift stores, garage sales, rummage sales. They can be as little as $1-2 dollars at a thrift store. I suggest, for one wall, 5-7 frames. Get a can of spray paint: You'll need it to spray your frames all one color; I'd do all of mine in matte black. This helps the monogram - or artwork - stand out and become more of the focus. Cut your letters: print your letter in several different fonts and cut them out. Trace the letters on the back of the paper you want to cut - be sure to flip them before you cut - and cut them out. Cut your backing paper to fit your frames, assemble your custom monograms, and hang them on the wall. Pat yourself on the back!

 

 

The picture above is a cheat sheet for some fonts that I have on my machine. They have decorative characters and I can't begin to remember what each character is and in what font it lives. I printed these out, labeled them with the font name and then wrote, for each character, the associated key on the keyboard. Now I can put them in a binder and use them as quick reference for designing.

 

I hope to post tomorrow - check in if you find a quiet spot in your 4th of July celebration. Enjoy the day!

 

~ 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 ~