28 Jun 2016

FREE Design of the Week - Thank You Notes Kit - with PixScan Stickers

This week's FREE design of the Week is a printable thank you card.  My full post is on the Silhouette UK Blog today where I've made a gift box including a set of cards and envelopes and a sheet of stickers that can be used to decorate the cards.




In the post I show you how to quickly make a batch of cards, the presentation box and a full
tutorial on how to make the set of stickers from pattered paper using your scanner and PixScan mat.






These are the cards without decoration - just a vellum panel and regular white vinyl lettering.




Here's the finished box (Lori Whitlock's A2 Card and Envelope Box #41611) complete with cards and envelopes. The stickers are on a sheet mounted on the underside of the lid. The wording was more white vinyl using additional wording in Lori Whitlock's Friendly font (#50945) and decorated with some of the PixScan stickers. 




I made the stickers using pattered paper, the PixScan Mat and (my new discovery) double sided adhesive sheets.  The full tutorial on how to make then using your scanner is over on the Silhouette UK Blog.





I can also recommend watching Graphtec GB's video Silhouette Studio - PixScan with a Scanner


This is a really useful technique and can be used to make embellishments for all sorts of paper craft projects. Do check it out!





Don't forget to download the design from the Silhouette Design Store while it's still free. If you make something with the file, do join in the Silhouette UK Weekly Challenge too!







23 Jun 2016

Giant Paper Clips and Other Teacher Gifts

Hiya,

Giant paper clips and other teacher gifts feature in my latest post on the Silhouette UK blog today.
These are the gifts that teachers (especially Secondary school teachers) REALLY need!





You'll have to pop over to Silhouette blog to read the details, but there's definitely some printable magnetic paper in use, and a new cutting combination of vinyl and magnetic paper together effectively making your vinyl magnetic (I love sharing a new media combination) which opens up a whole host of new crafting possibilities!

I'm so in love with the magnetic giant paper clips (designed by Sarah Hurley #45163) by the way!


I hope the post will inspire you to make something different for the teachers in your lives - they are sure to appreciate it!



DESIGNS USED:

15 Jun 2016

Little Miss Crabby

I love this recent single SVG release from Sanqunetti Design - Little Miss Crabby words and cheeky crab.  I adapted the colours subtly to make it a little more 'girly' and cut it from heat transfer vinyl and added it to this little beach bag.




The crab's leg needed a tiny bit of subtracting to made sure that the decal was a single layer with no overlap - I think that it always looks better close up that way.







The cutting file is available from Sanqunetti Design and comes in in SVG, DXF, JPG with a PDF guide, along with a single companion design (King of the Castle) which would look great on a boy's beach bag. 









Hope you have fun with these. I'll be entering this one into Silhouette Challenges #38. This challenge closes on 30th June 2016. Why not enter one of your Silhouette makes this month?


13 Jun 2016

Make decorative panels for your 3D projects - a folk art jar


Hi! I have a blog post on the Silhouette UK Blog today - a tutorial on how to make decorative panels for your 3D projects

It also uses
Faux Leather Paper to make durable 3D items AND
Heat Transfer Material pressed onto Faux Leather Paper.

Faux leather paper makes 3D items much stronger and more durable. Items last longer and are more practical for regular use. I used Lori Whitlock's Curvy Container (Design id #123167) as it has such lovely lines.

Heat transfer material can be cut into very intricate shapes and irons beautifully onto the faux leather paper. I made decorative panels for the curve container using an existing cutout design, by using the container's panels as a template. I used this lovely folk art flower cutout design from the Silhouette Design Store by Emily Dyer (Design id #59889).

The tutorial ion the blog is a step-by-step on how to make the panels - I call the technique "Modifying a pattern to fit a shape", the shape here being the jar side panel. The technique can be used with many of the store's backgrounds, stencils, masks and cutouts. I hope you find it useful.







I love combining files together to make something unique.

Here are some of the steps to make the jar. I used a heat press, but an iron will do the job too - you just have to have a surface that you can press hard onto (your ironing board may not be up to the task)







The faux leather quite a strong material and needs a good adhesive to stick it. I like to use the Beacon Fabri-Tac. It has a quick grab and some wiggle time (not as much as 3-in-1, but it is stronger and maintains some flexibility too).





There you have it - a pretty and useful storage jar!



Do pop over to the blog and try it out!

SILHOUETTE DESIGNS USED:







2 Jun 2016

Custom Wedding Stamp - Silhouette Mint

Today I have another project and tutorial for you on the Silhouette UK Blog using the Silhouette Mint. In an earlier post I showed how to make a stamp using a complete design from the Silhouette Design Store. In this tutorial I show you how to make a custom design combining two files and a shape which is then personalised with the bride and groom's initials.





The stamp can be used to decorate a multitude of wedding related items. As the ink is a pigment type it will stamp on a variety of surfaces and isn't limited to card and paper.

Initially the bride used the stamp to embellish her invitation envelopes. She also plans to use the stamp to decorate her wedding breakfast napkins and napkin rings and I'm sure she'll find many more uses for it.




Although this stamp was designed for a wedding, the same method could be used to personalise stamps to decorate items for all manner of parties and events.

Do have a go - its easier than you'd think!