Showing posts with label Silhouette On Line Store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Silhouette On Line Store. Show all posts

Monday, December 10, 2018

2018 Christmas Cards


I haven't been posting a lot, but I have been busy making things including my 2018 Christmas cards. I'm old school and while I know there are all kinds of cool things you can order online I still like making my cards. 

I was a little frustrated this year ( and have seen other card makers and paper crafters express similar frustration) that both Michaels and JoAnn had very paltry supplies to choose from. Usually there are several paper stacks and coordinating embellishments but both stores disappointed this year. I was able to find two stacks by Recollections that I liked and who am I kidding? Like all crafters, I had "stash" from prior years. Not the point Mr. Chocolate so don't even start. 

This year, I incorporated adhesive foils in my card making. I like to spread the love so I used my Cameo 3 to cut my Cricut adhesive foils :) 


For this one, I went with a monochromatic approach using SEI white on white papers, silver glitter paper, silver metallic foil and iridescent sequins. Sized and cut the "dot tree" (Silhouette Online Store) and then layered onto a metallic white panel, then glitter panel and SEI panel as shown. Finish with iridescent sequins. 


Since I can never settle on one card to make, I usually make a few different ones. This year, I made three different versions. For the second one, I used black cardstock as the base card, and then cut my focal using metallic gold foil (Cricut) , layered onto black cardstock, trimmed closely and then layered using foam tape onto red velvet paper panel, matted with black and onto coordinating papers. Finished with iridescent sequins and red self adhesive rhinestones. 


For the third card, I cut a snowglobe image ( Silhouette Online Store) from the gold foil and like the ornament card, layered onto cardstock, trimmed, layered onto white and silver panel as shown and then used panels cut from the Recollections pack I did find this year. Again finished with iridescent sequins. 



While I might have been cranky that my favorite stores didn't have the selection I wanted and I am happy with the papers I did find, c'mon, we're creatives...less is not more. More is more!! 



Monday, September 11, 2017

Peacock Feather Anniversary Card and Envelope Art


Hard to believe that my oldest (as in number of years we've been friends...since 7th grade) is celebrating her 30th Anniversary! They got engaged before I left for a study abroad program in college and got married shortly after I came back the following year so I missed a lot of the wedding planning. I don't have pics but let me tell you, she was DIY before DIY was what it is now. 

She made her wedding dress, our bridesmaids dresses, the groom's tux, her mom's dress... basically EVERYTHING. Each of us bridesmaids wore a different jewel tone color and they used peacock feathers in the bouquets. 

I wanted to capture elements of day in their Anniversary card. 


I found a peacock feather design in the Silhouette online store that I downloaded and cut from gold adhesive foil. 


I dreaded weeding these because I hate weeding. Love vinyl. Hate weeding. Did I mention how I hate weeding? Fortunately these weren't as bad as I feared. 

I layered these on different colors of cardstock and trimmed. 


Layered onto coordinating papers as shown using foam dots, and then finished with self adhesive rhinestones. 

I also wanted the envelope to be special. One of the reasons I started playing with hand lettering is because I wanted to make the envelopes as special as I hope the cards are . 


I did a simple laurel wreath and mixed faux calligraphy and printed lettering styles. Fortunately the Post Office didn't get snippy with me and it arrived just fine! 

Equally exciting is that this time next year, my friends will be recovering from their daughter who's getting married 2 days prior to their 31st Anniversary. Cannot wait to see what she does for her daughter's wedding!




Saturday, June 30, 2012

London Olympics Mod Podge and Vinyl Canvas

London Olympics Canvas

So I know it’s almost the Fourth of July which seems like a weird time to be doing a project with a London theme given the whole  declaring independence from England thing. I’m nothing if not ironic!

But, this Summer also marks the London hosted Olympics and we are very excited to watch. Will Michael Phelps make history ? Will the world’s fastest athletes break records on the track? Will the US Women’s gymnastics team medal again?

We were at World Market recently and they had a bunch of British themed art pieces in honor of the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee ( I still want to know what she keeps in that purse).

Since going to London for the Games isn’t in the picture, I decided to bring a little bit of the Olympics here

Goodwill Canvas

16x20 canvas from Goodwill on a 50% off red tag day. $1.99. Score!

Painted Canvas

Painted with tan acrylic paint. I knew  I was going for an aged look so this was not about precision or perfection. 

Is there nothing you can’t use PicMonkey for? I found an image of a British flag at The Graphics Fairy, uploaded it to PicMonkey and “monkeyed” around with it until I was satisfied. I wanted it big, so I cropped/printed it in two halves. I re-sized each half to the same dimensions and printed each half out. Crown image is also  courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

LONDON 2012

Downloaded images of Big Ben, the Olympic rings, torch, and London Phone Booth from the Silhouette online store, and cut out in red, black and gold vinyl.  I also edged my flag  in washi tape:

London Canvas Antique Mod Podge

Used Antique Matte Mod Podge to cover my focal piece. Mr. C opined that it still needed to be aged up some more ( not that I hadn't already thought that but see what happens when you have your husband watch Craft Wars with you?)  so I splotched ( professional crafting term) some antique gold paint on the vinyl pieces, then went over the whole thing with a dark grey glaze. Brush on. Wipe off.

London Olympics Sketchedy

Still can’t leave PicMonkey alone so used the Sketchedy frame option to age up the picture of my aged up Olympic canvas.

The games may be in London, but Maison du Chocolat will be rooting for team USA!







Monday, June 18, 2012

Expressions Vinyl Birthday Giveaway!

Expressions Vinyl Birthday

Expressions Vinyl is celebrating their birthday this week and I was very excited when they contacted me to play with some of their newest products as part of the celebration. I was even MORE excited when they said that one of my readers would get a chance to receive a similar box of goodies of their own.

I couldn’t wait to see what was inside the box when it arrived and they didn’t disappoint with a ginormous selection of their newest vinyls which included some incredible glitters, metallics, reflectives, frosted and even glow in the dark! Some sheets were 12x12 but most were 12x24.

They are also now carrying acrylic tumblers and sent a couple of those to play with along with a tote bag. Here’s some of the fun I had!

Vinyl Tumbler

Mr. Chocolate loves cars, transportation, maps etc. I got the idea to make him a Route 66 tumbler he could use for iced drinks this Summer. I used the Expressions Vinyl in Mist Rainbow and Black and downloaded the sign from the Silhouette online store.

P6105116

Not to be left out, College Boy, who is a huge Superhero and Comic geek ( his preferred term!) got a Batman tumbler , images also downloaded from the SIlhouette online store:

Batman Tumbler

I just had decide what to make for me!

Also included in the box of goodies was a re-usable fabric tote bag. We’ve been hanging out at lots of used bookstores lately and in trying to be greener, I try to bring my own bags when I remember.

I got the idea to make a book themed book bag. Since my Cricut Expression has been feeling neglected, I used it to cut the images and used the Wall Décor and More cartridge:
Expressions Vinyl Tote

I’m lazy…didn’t even iron the tote.

For this I used more of the Mist Rainbow vinyl along with two colors of Glitter Ultra Cast: Blue and Mint.

Knowledge Tote

I also cut a key and the word “Knowledge”  ( I’m so corny…get it Books…learning…knowledge is key”.  Go ahead and groan. I did).

And, not content to leave simple enough alone, I freehand cut some layered flowers from drop cloth scraps and embellished them w/ buttons.

This vinyl is so easy to work with and cuts equally nicely on either the Silhouette Cameo or Cricut Expression. Expressions Vinyl is great because they have a settings guide on their website for digital cutters. Even if you don’t have a machine, you can easily draw an image or trace a template on the back and cut by hand.

OK now for the bestest part! 

Expressions is giving one of my readers a chance to win the same box of goodies they sent me ! 2 Tumblers, a tote and a selection of awesome vinyl.  They will have a lot of fun things going on this week so you want to be sure and check out their site and FB page!

The giveaway will run from today, June 18 through June 24 with the winner announced June 25. To enter: 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good Luck!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Monthly Post for Expressions Vinyl: Paris Inspired Bath Sign

I was so excited when the folks at Expressions Vinyl invited me to contribute to their blog. I'll be posting a project over there once a month! This is the first project I shared last week .


Paris Sign

 I love using old frames for projects and found this bead board looking frame at Goodwill. It was in great shape and I could have left it alone but what fun is that? I definitely had to "vintage it up" a bit.


Paris Bath Sign

I thought I had light yellow paint but since I didn’t, I lightened up some bright yellow by adding white paint. Painted my frame with a coat of that, then dry brushed over it with white paint. Instant re-purposed shabby chic frame!

Paris Bath Sign Frame

Now for  the fun part! Along with my Eiffel Tower, I downloaded this fabulous laurel leaf image from the Silhouette online store:

Sillhoutte Laurel

Sized in the Silhoutte design studio software and then cut it from metallic silver Expressions vinyl. I love love love the metallic vinyl from Expressions. Did I mention love?

Vinyl Laurel (2)

Except when trying to photograph it on a sunny day. This pic doesn't do the metallic goodness justice.  But you get the idea. I even saved the center of the laurel wreath to use on something else. Waste not, want not.

I decided I’d do our monogram, so I cut out the letter “C” and then the letters to spell “Le Bain” ( The Bath) , Paris, a flourish,  and the Eiffel tower using Expressions black vinyl.

Vinyl Paris Bath Sign

Paris Bath Sign Vinyl

I applied all of the vinyl to the glass. What’s that behind the glass?  A piece of fabric drop cloth from the HW store!
Paris Bath Sign Dropcloth

Since I was going for a shabby look, I wasn’t concerned about ironing the fabric. OK like that was going to happen anyway. HA!

Paris Bath Sign Vinyl

Lesson learned…I should have placed the monogram over the laurel in the design software before cutting either out. I think this would have positioned things better but I’m still mastering my Silhouette Cameo and that's one of the best things about the design software. Just didn't think of it soon enough.  Guess I'll just have to make more vinyl projects :) 

Now when I’m in the bathroom, I can pretend the bathroom is in an artist’s loft in Paris. Of course I also have a big box of French chocolates in that scenario.  A girl can dream.

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