Hang On!

Hello? Are you there?

 

Oh wait - I bet that 's what YOU'RE asking!

 

Yes, I'm here. Working on a few things, still, before the reveal (notice anything different?). I hope you can all hang in a few hours (days?) more. And I hope you'll like the new look.

 

To make up for my tardiness, I'm going to have an extra giveaway or two - more good stuff to go around.

 

See you soon!

 

~ M ~

Times They Are a-Changin'

Hello friends! 

It's been a few days since I've been here and boy, have I been busy! I've been working on so many projects and new techniques. I've learned a lot and I've been thinking about making some changes around here.

Here are a few peeks at what I've been working on:

 

 

 

Now it's time to make some changes here. I'll be off for a week but I'll be back next Tuesday with a new look and some other fun changes here at Paisley Press Global Headquarters.

 

Have a great week and please don't forget to come back in a week - Tuesday, August 18th - for a new look, fun changes and, oh yeah...my first official giveaway!

~ M ~

Vinyl'd Cutting Board - Version 1

Hello Friends!

 

Oh my heavens, what a crafting day it's been. Quite frustrating, actually, but that's the way the creative life is. It all started out so well...and then it took a turn.

I wanted to decorate some small cutting boards. I knew I wanted a doily-like pattern so I logged into the Silhouette store and found two designs I liked pretty quickly - one for a round cutting board and one for a square.

I downloaded my selected designs, resized them for my projects and cut them on the Silhouette. After they were cut, I weeded out the vinyl that was not part of the design and transferred the designs to transfer tape.

I applied the first design (the black one) to the cutting board and it was completely off center. And here's the thing about this vinyl...it's pretty unforgiving. Once stuck, you can pull it up again if you want to. But it's not pretty. I didn't even want to take a picture!

With hopes high, I tried to use a different method of application for the second (red) one. And it? Was a tiny bit more successful. But not enough to make it, you know, good. It was folded on itself and bumpy and...a fail!

So I struck out on both projects today...like I said, frustrating. But I'm not giving up. It's the nature of the creative beast.

 

This may not ever be my favorite medium but I'm determined to figure out a way to make it work. I'm not going to let this vinyl get the better of me! 

 

~ M ~

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 ~