Tiny Tags from the Gnome Card by Simply Crafty SVGs

I never seem to have enough tags for my Christmas gifts and like to try a new style every year. This year I've used the gnome topper from the delightful Gnome Card SVG file from Simply Crafty SVGs.  It's fun and economical to use the topper from a card design, not only are you able to have matching cards and gift tags, but you get more use from the files that you purchase.

MODIFICATIONS:
To make this little guy I used most of the pieces from the gnome topper and added a few 'extras'.  I slightly increased the size of the gnome backing piece by making a small offset (to cut from metallic card), and then made separate 'feet' by duplicating and stretching the nose piece sideways slightly (to cut from black). Then I made all the pieces proportionately smaller and added a small circle to make a hole for some twine. Even in the smaller size the pieces all cut perfectly.

ASSEMBLY:
The pieces were quick to assemble, and were given some extra dimension with the selective use of some 3D foam pads. I added a teeny wee star left over from another project and threaded baker's twine through the hole. With some I added an additional scalloped circle behind. This makes the little gnome 'pop' and gives room to write a longer holiday greeting on the reverse.

I think this little guy looks great with the white and gold paper that I've chosen to wrap my gifts in this year. I might make a few more now with glittery beards and change out some of the colours. Why not try it and see what variations you can come up with?

Merry Christmas!

Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine
Instagram: @CraftingQuine




Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Gnome Card


Other Digital Files: 
Scallop and Plain Circle Frames by Sarah Hurley (Studio or SVG)

Top Hat Table Place Settings

This month I've been playing with the fab Smiling Jack-O-Lantern SVG file from Simply Crafty SVGs. I know, I'm too late for halloween, but I love the little hat cut file that's included with this file, and its too good not to make use of in some other way. I've found that its so versatile for lots of occasions and uses. I’m sharing the few variations that I’ve made here, but this top hat can be made in other colours and with other decorations, and be used throughout the year.

I think that this little hat is the perfect size for place settings. My first set will be used on my Christmas table. It's so easy to add a little label with guest's names.

I made a hat band by taking the hat base, and proportionately increasing its size a tiny bit. I just added a few other cut file elements and a few tiny die cuts, and ensured that all the decorations were attached to the hat band, and not to the hat. That makes it an easy job to change out the band and decorations to use the place settings again for a completely different occasion.

By adding these elements to cocktail sticks the decorations can be used with the hat, or for other purposes too. These cocktail sticks were coloured using a metallic 'Sharpie' marker.

Now here is a version in lighter colour that looks completely different. With appropriate decorations wouldn't these look elegant on a wedding table?

I'm sure that you can think of many more variations. I hope you'll enjoy using this file as much as I have.

Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine
Instagram: @CraftingQuine




Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Jack-O-Lantern


Other Digital Files: 
Holly Sprig by Deborah Stine (Studio or SVG)
New Year Cut Out Card (topper) by Alaa (Studio or SVG)
New Year Baby Peeking Card (elements) by Snapdragon Snippets (Studio or SVG)
Square Gift Box with Bow (bow) by Lori Whitlock (Studio or SVG)

Making Cards Interactive - Using the Boat Step Card from simply Crafty SVGs

I love transforming regular card files into interactive cards. This week I've taken the Boat Step Card from Simply Crafty SVGs and added a swing feature, so that the boat rocks on the card. I've also 'winter-ised' it, adding a wintry sky, snowflakes and tiny polar bear. With other small changes this card could be customised for many occasions, and any season. How dramatic would it looks with a star-lit night sky, or a dramatic sunset? Of course, it could also be used as a Christmas or New Year's Card.

Materials Used:
Grey Heavyweight Smooth Cardstock
Duck Egg, Aqua, Teal, Grey, White & Red Medium weight Textured Cardstock
Silver Pearl Cardstock (optional)
Scrap of White Pearl Paper
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Foam Adhesive Tape and/or Pads
Flat-topped Brad
Small Coin
Silver & White Acrylic Paints & Brush
Silver Sketch Pen
Star and Snowflake Embellishments (Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes die set)
Silhouette Cameo

Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Boat Step Card
Simply Crafty SVGs FREE Box Envelope for A2 Card

Other Digital Files: 
Polar Bear by Silhouette (Studio or SVG)

Adapting the File Pieces
Piece 1. The boat will have more room to rock mounted on a flat background, rather than a step, so a new card base was made by welding two shapes the same size as the card back.
Piece 2. Without the step a full length background panel is needed. This was made as an internal offset of the one half of the card back (prior to welding).
Piece 3. An additional back wave layer is needed for mounting the mechanism. It is an elongated version of the biggest wave, made by point editing the two bottom corners and moving them away from the wave edges as a group (holding down shift when the four edit points are selected).
The other pieces were cut as per the file.

Making the Boat
Follow the designer's instructions on the video for assembling the boat, but not the lifesaver/lifebuoy. The video is available from the file's page in the store, or on the designer's YouTube channel. Once the boat is complete, cut away most of the base part, leaving a long tab in the centre.

Make the swing/rock mechanism
Decide where you want the boat to pivot from and punch a hole. This should be placed somewhere close to the vertical centre line. This boat has a convenient lifesaver/lifebuoy. If it did not, the pivot point would have been lower, as it otherwise needs to be covered by the front wave layer.

Attach the coin/weight high enough that it doesn't swing below the front wave layer. Make a mark on the new back (biggest) wave layer where the boat will be attached, then punch a hole.

Attach the boat to the large wave with a flat-topped brad, leaving it loose enough to still swing. (Not shown) To help the boat rock smoothly, place two sticky pads either side of the brad on the reverse of the boat, leaving the liner on top surface (without exposing the sticky top).  To limit the amount of swing/rock, place similar pads either side of the coin. Check that all tape will be hidden by the front wave.

Place adhesive foam tape on the rear of the large wave, leaving the protective layer on for the time being.

Place more adhesive tape to sit behind the front wave. Here I added an extension to the tab, so that I could rock the boat on a video clip without having to tip the card. If you decided to do this, I'd recommend that a semi circle is cut from the base of the front wave so that the tab can be shorter (otherwise it won't stand well).

Attach the front wave, and then attach the complete boat/wave set to the prepared card background. Mine is splattered with silver and white acrylic paint, dry embosssing would be an alternative.

To disguise the brad, the waste circle from the lifesaver was stuck to the top and then the assembled lifesaver/lifebuoy stuck on top of that.

Other finishing touches included some tiny die-cut silver stars, a die-cut snowflake, a greeting in silver sketch pen, and a tiny, tiny, polar bear. The bear is cut from glimmer paper, and the edges coloured with a blue marker.

I hope you'll have a go at making your cards interactive. It takes a little trial and error, but so worth it for such a fun result.

These are the files I used (including the free envelope file). Just click on the photo to visit the page in Simply Crafty SVGs online store.



Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine

Beer Crate Big Rig Box Card re-using Packaging

Hiya! Inspiration can come from some weird and wonderful places, and this week's card inspiration was no exception.  I had a card to make for a beer-loving friend, and wondered how I could incorporate the gorgeous impressionistic landscape design from the packaging of one of our favourite beers. A quick browse around the Simply Crafty SVG shop, and I found the perfect SVG cutting file - the Big Rig Box Card.

I made up the card with a few little changes, and I've detailed these below in case you'd like to make one too. The instructions here refer to the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software, but could easily be adapted for other die cutting software and machines such as the Cricut.

Materials Used:
Cardboard Packaging
Black, Grey, Yellow, Brown & Light Green Medium weight Textured Cardstock
Yellow Pearl Cardstock
Red Paper Scrap
Double-sided Decorative Card/Paper (for the envelope)
Beacon 3-in-1 Craft Adhesive
Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops in English Mustard
Plaid Embossing Folder & Embossing Machine (Cuttlebug)
Bronze Metallic Sketch Pen (Silhouette)
Bronze Metallic Marker Pen (Sharpie)
Silhouette Cameo or other Digital DieCutting Machine

Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Big Rig Box Card
Simply Crafty SVGs Beer Bottle Card

Other Font Files: 
Ariel Bold font (pre-installed)
Lettering Delights Simple Italic sketch font

Colors
I picked out some matching colours of cardstock from my stash. Most of these are American Crafts medium-weight textured cardstock. I also added some pale yellow pearl card stock (not pictured).

Assembly
I cut the pieces from the various cardstocks, using the yellow pearl in place of the metallic cardstock recommended by the designer. The designer has provided a YouTube video with instructions, and I followed these changing out the decorative panels. The pieces fit together perfectly, so it was a fun and easy assembly process.

Decorative Panels
One long and one short panel were cut from a trimmed piece of the packaging, which I secured to the cutting mat with additional washi tape, as it was somewhat thicker than regular cardstock. I placed it upside down because I wanted to cut a piece from the lower part of the picture, and it was easier to align that way.

Additional Decorations
I cut out the word 'beer' in Ariel font from the front fender/bumper then backed it with a second one in a contrasting colour. I cut the brewery's emblem out of the packaging too. I didn't have the embossing folder suggested in the assembly video, but made do by using the striped parts of a plaid embossing folder.

Bottles
I used a bottle and the simple cap piece from the Beer Bottle Card. I copied them into the rig file, then reduced it in size, replicated it several times, then overlapped them slightly. Then I welded them together and cut two identical strips of bottles.

The bottle tops were drawn on with a bronze metallic marker pen, and then the bottle strips were adhered to the insides of the rig.

Sentiment
The final decorative panel was cut from the smooth side of a piece of textured cardstock and I used a Silhouette sketch pen to write a sentiment on it. The headlights were made more dimensional with the addition of some yellow crystal drops and allowed to dry completely (overnight). As an afterthought I added plain black circles of cardstock on the reverse of the wheels.

Envelope
The more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed my big faux-pas. I first cut the envelope at the original size, and once the bottles were added to the rig it was too small to fit the card in. I simply cut another one (the polka-dotted one), but stretched it length-wise prior to cutting to be tall enough hold the rig and its load!

Here is the finished card with an uncut box. I think the recipient will like this one and I hope you do too!

These are the files I used. Just click on the photo to visit the page in Simply Crafty SVGs online store.


Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine

Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Big Rig Box Card
Beer Bottle Card

Dog Paw Photo Box

This week I've used the Paw Box from Simply Crafty SVGs to make a fun dog paw photo memento box. I just made a photo montage of doggie pics and adhered them behind the decorative top layer. I used the Silhouette's Print & Cut to make a single paw-shaped piece, but individual photos would look just as good.

Materials Used:
Cream and Green Medium weight Textured Cardstock
Printable Photo Paper
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Beige Chalk Ink
Ink Jet Printer
Silhouette Cameo


Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Paw Box


Method:

1. Drag each photo in turn into the holes in a copy of the decorative paw layer.

2. Click on each picture in turn and fine tune its scale and position using the advanced fill tools.

3. Ungroup the entire piece and move the decorative piece away. Add an offset to the group of  pictures, ensuring the size of the new offset piece is smaller than the decorative piece. Release the compound path and remove that extra hole in the centre.

4. Now add the Print and Cut marks, duplicating the entire new piece and placing them within the cut line.

5. Use the colour picker to select a colour from the background of one of the photos and fill the space around the photos. This will disguise any errors in cutting.

6. Print out the sheet of photos, and then mount them on a cutting mat and allow the Silhouette to cut them out.

7. These cut perfectly, and fitted neatly behind the windows in the decorative paw piece.

8. Once the box is made up, it is a simple job at adhere this piece to the box lid. There is a video showing how to make up the box on the shop page for this file.

9. Now just place your gift or treats inside the box.

10. What a fun gift for a dog or its owner!

Just clicking on the photo will take you directly to the page in the Simply Crafty SVGs online store.



Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine



Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Paw Box

Christmas in July - Monochrome Christmas Tree Farm Box Card by Simply Crafty SVGs

Hiya, I'm back again after a short break, with a project for my favourite time of year - Christmas! I love that 'Christmas in July' gives us the opportunity to share Christmas projects so early in the year. For my 'Christmas in July' I've made a simplified version of Simply Crafty SVG's Christmas Tree Farm Box Card to make it easier to make in duplicate for sending out to friends and family.

I've reduced the cutting time on the card by cutting all the pieces from just one color of card; all the pieces in this project are cut from white textured cardstock. Yes, EVERYTHING, even the star and greeting sentiment on the background! All the pieces co-ordinate because I used just one ink pad, a Distress Oxide Ink pad in 'Peacock Feathers'. Of course, any single color of card can be used, and highlighted with an ink pad of your favourite color.

Here's a list of all the materials and the files I used.

Materials Used:
White Textured Cardstock
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink in Peacock Feathers
Blending tool or blending brush
Tonic Nuvo Jewel Drops Sea Breeze
Versamark Stamp Pad
Clear Embossing Powder
Holographic Embossing Powder
Heat Gun
Silhouette Cameo
Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software

Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Christmas Tree Farm Box Card

Other Digital Files: 
Merry Christmas Holly Wreath phrase by Skyla Design (Studio or SVG)


I've included a few more details on how I made the card:

White Textured Cardstock
I cut all the pieces from the files, omitting the interior back panel, the moon, and the light bulbs. Everything except the sentiment was cut with the textured side uppermost on the cutting mat, but the sentiment was cut with the card reversed to give a smoother finish. Note that the sentiment is from a different file.

Tinted Edges
With a blending brush (I used a make-up brush), I added a light tint with the distress ink around the top edges of the hill panels, and to front edges of the back piece of the card.

Ombré Trees
Using a blending brush, I was able to use the distress ink to add the color with an ombré effect to all the trees. I added the ink with an even coverage to the central Christmas Tree to make it stand out from the others.

Shiny White Trees (optional)
I added a gloss-look to the trees with versamark ink, clear embossing powder, and then applying heat from a heat gun. The effect was minimal, so I don't think I'd bother with this stage in future, and save myself even more time.

White Tree Lights
Rather than cut the tree lights in different colours and adhere them onto the string, I skipped cutting them all together and used some translucent gloss drops on the string where the bulbs would be. This gives a little dimension as well as some shine.

Glittery Star
The glittery star was made by colouring the smooth surface of the star with ink and then adding versamark ink and holographic embossing powder on top, before melting it on with a heat gun.

Background Sentiment
The background sentiment was reduced in size and then a small offset was added in the Silhouette software to make it easier to cut. It was cut out with the textured side of the card to the mat. The ink looks a darker shade on the smoother surface giving a greater contrast with the pale background, and matching the glittery star.

Assembly
Assembly using liquid craft adhesive was straight-forward, following the instructions that came with the file. The finished card folds flat to fit a standard A9 (US) size envelope. If you don't have this size envelope, you'll find one in the Basic Envelope Set (a FREE file, yay).

These are the Simply Crafty SVG files used. Just click on the photo to navigate to the item in Simply Crafty SVGs online store.

I hope you'll find these ideas for adapting the design useful. Let me know in the comments if you any suggestions of your own. Have fun!

Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine



Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Tree Farm Box Card
FREE Basic Envelope Set