Make Wine Glass Charms with Silhouette Shrink Plastic

Hiya, I have a tutorial on how to design and make wine glass charms from Silhouette Shrink Plastic on the Silhouette UK Blog today.

I describe how to design the charms in the Silhouette Studio software and how to cut them with a Silhouette Cameo 3.  The post includes instructions on how to shrink and assemble them.

The charms were designed using the Leaf Sprig Garland Border by Nic Squirrell and the Sweet Pea font by Rivka Wilkins.

It includes lots of additional hints and tips such as how to edit names and titles whilst retaining the chosen formatting, and ideas on how to individualise each charm.

For the tutorial I made wedding wine charms but they could be made for any occasion: parties, family gatherings, and other celebrations.

They turned out great, and I hope you'll try them too.

Fall Crow Card and Place Cards

I love making shaped greetings cards and, using the Silhouette Studio software, it is easy to make other shaped papercraft items too. In this post I'll show you how I made shaped place cards for my Thanksgiving table.

The Thanksgiving card and place cards were made using the new SVG release from Sanqunetti Design - Fall Crow SVG.


Supplies Used

Silhouette Cameo® 3 and Colour Printer
Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition (or higher)
White printable medium-weight Cardstock
Googly Eyes
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive


Instructions

To make the place cards, I made an offset from a small version of the crow and cut the offset horizontally across the centre using the software's Knife tool (using the Outline setting, rather than the Solid default).  The upper half of the crow offset was then positioned level with the centre line of a place card-sized rectangle.

Fold lines were added at the centre line either side of the offset.

A complete crow image was then centred within the outline and a patterned background added behind (minus the crow's eye).

Next a rounded rectangle with a coloured outline was added with family names centred inside.

The whole design was then placed within a Print & Cut window, together with a copy and some (optional) separate elements.

It was then a simple matter of printing the design as shown on a home printer, and sending the printed card through the Silhouette Cameo to cut out.

To finish, each cutout place card was folded and the the google eyes added. Optional elements were added too.

The fall crow cutting file is available from the Sanqunetti Design website and at Judy's Etsy store.


Of course, I couldn't resist making a matching paper-pieced greeting card too. Isn't he cute!

Alcohol Ink and Vellum Butterfly Card - Faux Stained Glass Technique

Hiya,  I'm featuring a card using one of my favourite card-making techniques on the the Silhouette UK Blog today - faux stained glass!  The Silhouette cuts great frames to show off the pattern variations and rich colours of decorated vellum paper.  I've adapted the card design so that  light can pass through and display the inked vellum to best effect. I used self-adhesive cardstock to give a clean, smear-free finish.

To make the card I used the following:


Butterfly Card #124784 file download by StudioIlustrado

Butterfly Mother's Day Card #59805 for the little butterflies

Silhouette® Cameo 3

Pearlescent vellum from Create & Craft

Tim Holtz Alcohol inks & blending solution

Black medium-weight cardstock

Liquid craft glue

Black Silhouette Adhesive Cardstock

On the full post you'll find details on:

• Preparing the vellum,
• Adapting the card base,
• Making an independent frame for the stained-glass,
• Aligning the vellum insert, and
• Finishing touches.

Oh, and don't forget to use the vellum scraps from around the butterfly to make smaller butterflies to use for other projects. Even the bits rescued from the bin!
 

I hope you'll try this out - the stained glass effect is beautiful in real life.

Chalkboard Birdhouse

Hiya, Janet here with my first ever Design Team post for Simply Crafty SVGs. Today I have a fun little chalkboard birdhouse made by combining the Bird House Box and the Holiday Lamp Post. It's made almost entirely from black cardstock and decorated with white gel pen. I've included details on how you can make this 'hybrid'. I used a Silhouette Cameo® 3, but of course these svg files can be used with other desktop die cutting machines (details here).


MATERIALS:
Black AC Textured Cardstock
White Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen
Black & White Baker's Twine
Black & White Patterned Paper
(Shine Bright from Kaisercraft)
Black & White Paper Straw
Beacon 3-in-1 Glue
Silhouette Pen Holder
Silhouette Cameo


Adding a Perch

Prior to cutting add holes to the birdhouse file to allow a perch (paper straw) to pass through from front to back. Also added corresponding holes to the front and back panels. It is easy to match them up by measuring the diameter of the straw and drawing a circle in the software of the same size. Then temporarily position the panels in place on the main piece on the virtual cutting mat, and copy the hole to the correct position on all of the pieces.  Make it an integral part of the design by selecting each part and one copy of the hole, and then making each into a compound path.

Decorating the Birdhouse

The main birdhouse makes extensive use of the Silhouette Cameo's sketch facility to draw the decoration using the Silhouette Pen Holder and my favourite white gel pen with designs from the Silhouette Design Store (listed below).

The Cameo 3 has a dual carriage and so can use a pen to sketch in one holder with the AutoBlade in the other. I usually do the sketching first with a pause to let the pen dry before continuing to do the cut - no smudges that way!

Constructing the Birdhouse

The construction part is straightforward as Sandy includes a set of instructions in pdf format with each of her files.

I also recommend following Sandy's advice for crease lines, and use a shallow continuous cut instead of the dashed lines (these files are supplied with both). 

Using textured cardstock gives a variety of surfaces; use the rougher side facing out for the main parts, and the alternate with the smoother side for the sketch work on the panels.

Making the Stand

Use the pole and base pieces from the Holiday Lamp Post to make a stand for the birdhouse. A pinstripe line can be added to the pieces by using the polygon line drawing tool, adding a line just inside the outer faces. Then use the sketch function to sketch the lines before cutting out the pieces.

Once the pole and stand are constructed and attached to each other use the base from the lantern part to attach them to the birdhouse.  Simply use the knife tool to 'remove' the mounting base from the lantern.

Push the tabs at the top of the constructed pole piece through the hexagonal hole, bend them over and adhere them to the mounting base. When it is firmly stuck, adhere the new top to the underside of the birdhouse.


Adding the Bird

Save the waste circles cut from the birdhouse and adhere them to the ends of the trimmed straw. Then cut a slit in the straw with a serrated knife. Carefully trim the legs off the bird's body and push the bird into the slit. A blob of adhesive behind the bird ensures that the bird stays in place. Once dry push the perch through the holes in the assembled birdhouse and add more adhesive at the entry points to keep the perch in place and the bird upright.

Feather Embellishments

Sketch and cut two sets of feathers, one the mirror image of the other. Make an additional set with a slit at the quill end, so that the feathers can be layered back-to-back with a piece of twine entrapped between the layers.

Finally tie the feathers onto the perch to hang below the birdhouse ...

... and that completes the chalkboard birdhouse.

It's such fun to combine files to make something unique. I hope you'll try it.

Bye for now,
Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGS

Blog: https://CraftingQuine.blogspot.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftingquine



Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Bird House Box
Holiday Lamp Post

Additional Silhouette Files:
Leaf & Flower Border Set (Nic Squirrell) #87418
Late Summer Border (Nic Squirrell) #146669 
Monogram Circle frame (Lori Whitlock) #192922 
Patterned Bird (Nic Squirrell) #65418
Wild Bird Feathers (Nic Squirrell) #151820 
 

Felt Cushion

Hello,
Today I have a new post over on the Silhouette UK Blog. Its all about cutting felt on the Silhouette CAMEO® 3 with a stabiliser backing. I used the cut design to decorate a blank cushion cover using a cute cactus design by Doodlebug Designs from the Silhouette Design Store.


I added details with a bit of hand sewing.

In a previous post I used my Silhouette Curio™ to cut felt without stabiliser.  You can read the post about the Needle Case I made here.

Have fun cutting felt - give it try!

Print and Cut New Year Party Printables

Hello,  I have a new post over on the Silhouette UK Blog today. It features some ready to print New Year's Printable files. By simply using the Silhouette software's ability to Print and Cut I've created  items to make the party table and guests look super festive!

I used these files from the Silhouette Design Store:

New Year Bottle Kit by Amy Robison (#53314)
New Year Party Kit by Amy Robison (#53315)


My tutorial additionally shows how to update the year so that this file can be used year after year.

With a laser printer you could have all these items glowing with gold foil too!

My favourite item is the mini envelope, cut from vellum, and filled with gold circle confetti.

May you have a HAPPY HOGMANAY and a very, VERY,  HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Here's hoping 2017 will be your best crafting year yet!

FREE Design of the Week - Autumn Leaf Cushion

Hiya,

My apologies! Despite setting myself the challenge of making something with each of the FREE Designs of the Week from the Silhouette Design Store I failed my own challenge! What can I say, I've been busy with lovely things (like my daughter's wonderful wedding), but have also been procrastinating a little too!

Anyway, this week's FREE file is a Geometric Autumn Leaf which I've turned into a new cushion for my sofa.

What You'll Need:
Plain Black Cotton Cushion Cover (Clever Baggers)
Copper Pearl Metallic Heat Transfer Vinyl (MDP)
Teflon Sheet
Iron or Heat Press


Method:

• The only change made to the design was to remove the cutout from the leaf's stem.  I released the design's compound path, deleting the stem cutout and then re-making the compound path.
• The design was then cut from vinyl placed shiny side onto the mat.  There was no need to mirror this design as it was symmetrical and contained no text.
• The cut settings I used on my Silhouette Cameo One were Blade 3, Speed 5, Pressure 8. 
• I haven't used this type of HTV before but it cut and weeded beautifully. 
• I pressed the blank cushion first to move any moisture from the fabric. 
• The decal was pressed using an iron (I love that MDP include instructions for iron as well as heat press) with my Teflon sheet between the decal and the iron. 
• Just a few seconds pressing down hard and the design was stuck.
• I peeled off the backing sheet and gave the design a final press through the Teflon sheet.
• Job done!

The Geometric Autumn Leaf design is available free in the Silhouette Design store for one week from 1st November 2016.

If you haven't yet used heat transfer vinyl why not try this out as your first project?

I'm really enjoying the lovely creative makes coming through my Instagram feed just now. Why not follow along?

Cameo 3 - a new arrival

Today I have welcomed a new baby into our home. I thought you might like a quick peek at some photos. She's so pretty!

The Cameo 3 is a little wider and a little deeper than the Cameo 1 (I don't have a Cameo 2 to compare it with).

 

This is what comes in the box, including that self adjusting blade.

I was reminded to follow the set up instructions that have been published online on the Silhouette America website to get your machine up and running. The address is on that big teal label in the first picture. You have the opportunity to register your machine and it takes you through the order in which you should do things.

Installation went smoothly, I won't bore you with details, but this is my first cut on my favourite cutting and printing cardstock (medium weight).

This was cut with that self adjusting blade. I used the recommended settings for cardstock, although I'd have set it deeper and with more pressure on my old machine. However, it cut beautifully - no complaints!  Now I need to go off and play! 

Are you planning to purchase a Cameo 3? Have you got one? What are your first impressions? Do post comments ... I'd love to hear how you get on.

Why not subscribe to my blog to keep up to with the Cameo 3 (links on the right).

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