Creative Possibilities

Hello Friends!

 

 

I had such a fun weekend. I tried several new things with my Silhouette and everything went so well...all sorts of new creative possibilities are on the horizon. (Before I begin, I just want to apologize for the quality of some of my pictures...in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to photograph my projects on a white background!)

The first thing I worked on was a heat transfer vinyl project. It was both easy and challenging, and I was really happy with my first attempt. I'll write another post on heat transfer vinyl soon; it really needs it's own entry to cover all the details.

 

 

Next, I did a fabric cutting project. I'd tried to cut fabric with my Silhouette before and hadn't been successful at all. It turned into a huge mess and I turned into a frustrated crafter.

 

 

When you cut fabric on a Silhouette machine, backing material is required to stabilize the fabric. The first time I tried fabric, I bought a backing that was recommended by several people online rather than the one I always used (and had on hand). That was a mistake! The fabric didn't cut all the way through, the backing stuck all over my mat, I had to stop the machine halfway through cutting...I cleaned everything up and walked away.

Saturday, I was ready to give it another try. I used my usual (reliable) backing to stabilize the fabric; it's iron-on with a paper back. I ironed one side to the fabric and then placed the fabric, paper backing side down, on my cutting mat. I used a brayer to make sure the fabric was attached well to the mat, loaded it into the Silhouette and cut away. It was perfect - both the large 'B' and the letters for 'relax' cut cleanly and easily. Success! I already have plans for these letters, of course.

 

Today I tried an adhesive vinyl project. - a really simple one.

 

I found these mugs at Target this weekend for relatively cheap. I've been wanting to try the adhesive vinyl for awhile but was so spooked after the whole fabric-cutting incident that I've stuck with only paper, cardstock and label stock since then. Not any more!

 

Given that this was my first attempt, I chose a plain, straight font. I put the vinyl, which has a paper backing, on the mat. I loaded the mat then sent the command to cut and took the mat out when the machine was done. Originally it was hard to tell where the cut lines were but I got it all 'weeded' out and got the vinyl attached to the mugs correctly.

 

I put the vinyl on the front of the mugs rather than the side. It looks slightly wonky but, again, I'm just learning as I go. I'm happy with this, too, but there's definitely room for improvement. I'm looking forward to some major new projects now that I have all of these new Silhouette skillz! :)

 

And that mess above? That will be dealt with immediately!

 

Stay tuned.

 

~ M ~

 

 

Monogram This!

  Hello Friends!

 

 

This is what I made today...a monogrammed plate.

 

It was so easy but, like a lot of things, I had to think about it for a little  long while before I jumped in. Let's just say I've had these supplies for awhile. Anyway... I bought the plate from Target and the pen from Amazon. The stencil I made on my Silhouette.

 

I decided, since I was doing this craft for the first time, that I'd start with something fairly simple; I chose a monogram. I found one on my laptop that I liked and cut it out on the Silhouette from removable label stock. I peeled the back off of the label and centered the letter on the plate, smoothing out wrinkles and making sure the label was firmly attached before tracing around it.

 

I used a pencil to trace around the letter, pressing firmly and going over it a few times to make sure the line was visible. Then I removed the sticker and  drew over the line with the paint pen. After the entire outline was done, I went back and filled the letter in. I had to press the tip of the pen down occasionally to refill it. It's better to keep the tip of the pen filled so that you only have to do one 'coat' of paint. I found this out the hard way when I had to do multiple coats because I let my pen tip get a little dry. It makes for an uneven surface when finished!

 

I'll follow the directions to finish this plate: let it air dry for 24 hours and then bake it at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. This sets the paint and makes it dishwasher-safe. I hope the baking process will also smooth out the finish a little. Since I'm only using the plate decoratively, I'm not worried about washing it but I'd still like it to have the most durable finish possible.

This monogram project was so fun...although between you and me, it makes me a little crazy that the letter isn't perfectly straight! I'll make sure to remedy that next time...I'm already hatching plans to paint and draw on lots of other things soon!

Stay tuned...

~ M ~

Happy

Hello Friends!

 

Happy seems to be a recurring theme with me lately. I love feeling happy; I love, especially, when others feel happy. Have you heard Pharell's song Happy? It's so cool! Probably because it seems to make people happy when they hear it. Even the Cheerful Cherub has something to say about happiness:

 

Although the wisdom of the Cherub might seem trite to some, I agree that happiness is best found within. If only for the reason that you're with yourself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you can' t be happy with yourself, you're going to spend a lot of time with someone you don't like!

Anyway, I digress..

 

In keeping with the happiness theme, I designed a typographic Happy poster for you to download and print. I'm really happy (!) with it and loved the version that I made for my studio: printed in red ink on pink polka dot scrapbook paper, cut down to 8.5x11 inches to fit through my printer.
 

 

I printed one in black on blue damask cardstock to see if I'd like it; I do. The design fits in an 8x10 frame so you'll have to trim your 8.5x11 media to fit. Use whatever color or design of paper/cardstock you like; if you have photo-editing software, you can even change the text color to suit your preference.

 

 

As I said, I'm hanging mine in my studio. Where will you hang yours?

Black 8x10 Happy

Red 8x10 Happy

 

More to come.

~ M ~