FREE cutting file - Accessory Trays

Hiya, over on the Silhouette UK Blog this weekend I have a project to help organise all those invaluable Silhouette bits and pieces that accumulate when you use your machine. I used the Two Compartment Candy Box by Lori Whitlock, added some custom-designed accessory trays, and decorated the outside with panels cut from Silhouette Wood Effect Vinyl. I included a FREE accessory tray file too to keep blades, penholders and sketch pens all in one place.

You can also download the FREE Accessory Trays cut file here. The file is in .GSD format which can be opened with any edition of the Silhouette Studio software. From the Silhouette program select File > Open, then navigate to the downloaded file and click OK.

There are two versions in the file, one is taller than the other. The taller one is for sketch pens, to bring the coloured tops closer to the top. It also has more holes which are a fraction larger. The shorter one accommodates all the blades and is sized to allow the AutoBlade enough headroom, as it is taller than the others.

You can mix and match the holes, just Ungroup each version (select one, right mouse click, select Ungroup) and duplicate or swap the sets of holes.

You can also adjust the size and spacing of the holes.

To adjust the size, duplicate a set of holes, move it to one side and adjust all the circles simultaneously (hold down Shift, Alt, Cmd on a Mac and move one of the corner sizing handles either in or out). If you increase the size, check that they still fit within the square part of the tray. If not, you can adjust the spacing, as shown below.

To adjust the spacing, duplicate as above and ungroup the set of holes (select, right click, Ungroup, then Ungroup again). Using the Drawing Tools, draw a square over the existing dotted lines and then move it over the duplicate set of ungrouped dots.

If you need to make the holes larger than the above method allows (if they overlap the edges) then select one of the holes, open the Transform panel, and adjust the with and height as required (I chose 1" to accommodate a Stickles bottle).

Delete the remaining holes and using the Replicate panel, select the remaining hole and make a row of three.

Then space them evenly within the square by clicking on the Horizontal Spacing in the Transform panel.

Then group and then duplicate the row using column of three in the Replicate panel.

Then space the holes evenly using the vertical option in the Transform panel.

When you are happy with the spacing delete the square, group holes, and move them back to the tray, deleting or moving the original set.

For the ideal storage of Stickles and similar sized bottles, the legs will need to be shorter (even shorter than the short-legged version). You can adjust the height either up or down by using point editing of the points on the end of each leg. I'll save that explanation for another post. If you are in need of it meantime, let me know and I'll expedite it!

I hope you'll find this useful.


Happy New Year!




Designs used:

FREE Papercraft Hanger SVG File to use with the Leaf Wall Art Shadow Boxes

Hello, this week I've been playing with corrugated paper to make these Leaf Wall Art Shadow Boxes.  I have a post over on the Silhouette UK Blog describing how to cut the corrugated paper, with instructions on how to put together this set of shadow boxes.

I like to share a little extra something over here on my own blog when I can. This week I have a FREE cutting file for a hanger to mount these shadow boxes, or any light papercraft project, to the wall. The file is in SVG format, so can be used with most digital paper cutting machines; Silhouette (with Designer edition), Cricut, Scan n' Cut, etc. The file is free to use for all non-commercial uses, all I ask in return is that you become a follower of my blog or Instagram feed.

Download the FREE file here

For crafters who do not have a cutting machine, the file is also available as a FREE printable template in PDF format here.  

Once the hangers are cut out, fold them on the centre score line and adhere the two halves together. Fold on the remaining score line and adhere the square part to the back of your paper craft project.

I constructed the shadow boxes so that there is a void in the back to accommodate a hanger and a hook and still allow the boxes to hang flush to the wall. The boxes can be hung on the wall once the adhesive is dry. Traditional picture hooks will work, and small 'command' hooks will work too. The one pictured is possibly a little too small, but I've run out of my favourite size.

This is the design I used to make the Leaf Shadow Boxes (an SVG file from the Silhouette Design Store).


These are the Silhouette products that I used.


Here are the other products used/recommended.




I'd love to hear how you use this hanger. Do post a comment here, or on my other social media if you find it handy.

Classic Car Trunk - Wedding Card

Hiya, This week I've been having some fun with the Classic Car Trunk Card from Simply Crafty SVGs. This is such a versatile design, great for male or car enthusiast's birthdays, Father's day, and 'get well' occasions (I HAVE to make a 'hope you're back on the road soon' card with this file)! I also thought it would make a fun wedding card, representing the 'going away' vehicle. Being a classic vehicle it would be great for 'vintage' couples. There are so many opportunities for adding text and customisations, and I've shared a few of them here today.

Here's the original design, you can purchase it from Simply Crafty SVGs here. The file comes with a vintage van too - perfect for hipster weddings!

Materials Used:
White Pearl Silver Cardstock
Bronze Metallic Cardstock
Black Lightweight Cardstock or Paper
Bronze Vinyl
White Pearlescent Vellum
White Copy Paper & Printer
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Damask Embossing Folder
Silhouette Cameo, or other cutting machine
Strong Liquid Adhesive
Dimensional Adhesive Pads

Digital Files Used:
Classic Car Trunk Card Set from Simply Crafty SVGs
Stick Figures Bride & Groom by Snapdragon Snippets
Ed's Market Narrow Slant Font by Laura Worthington
Tin Cans by Janet Packer (free download)


THE BASIC CARD SHAPE 

Tyres/Tires. I welded tyres on to the basic card to both the front and back fold pieces. I wanted to raise up the vehicle up a little to allow some space for decorations to hang from the fender/bumper. It is a tradition in the UK to hang noisemakers like tin cans, and sometimes old boots, to the wedding going away vehicle. I'm not sure if its the same in the US and other countries. Either way, it allows for some fun additions.

Bride and Groom. I resized the stick figures to be in scale with the vehicle, made small offsets, tilted them and welded the offsets to the front fold of the vehicle card.

Cutting and Assembly. The card was cut from white pearl card, and the tyres and stick figures from lightweight black card. The tyres and trimmed down stick figures were adhered to the card base before the vehicle topper was added.


VEHICLE TOPPER

Rear window. Instead of sticking the window to the vehicle, I decided it would give more interest to set the window behind the topper. I did this by subtracting the window from the vehicle shape in the software prior to cutting the vehicle body from pearl card.

Window. Initially I printed the "Just Married" text on blue vellum (as shown here). Once I started assembling the card I realised that it clashed horribly, so cut the writing from bronze metallic vinyl instead (and changed out the font to Ed's Market), attached it to pearlescent vellum, then mounted it behind the window opening.

Wheel Arches and Trunk. I experimented with a few embossing folders and settled on the Tim Holtz Damask one; it is floral-ish with our being overly feminine. The wheel aches need to be attached first, and then the fender/bumper. I attached the fender onto the wheel arches only, leaving a gap in the central section where decorations could hang later.

Trunk Mounting. Here's an opportunity to add an personal message. After rounding the corners of the truck, I attached it to the vehicle body using a hinge of copy paper. As well as working as a hinge, it provides a writing surface for a little handwritten message.

Trunk Handle. I drew out a number of identical rounded rectangles and adhered them on top of each other to form a handle. The original uses a brad, but I didn't have one in the correct colour, so make the handle instead.

Number/Licence Plate. This is the perfect place to add the names of the bride and groom. I printed mine on copy paper and trimmed it to fit. Here are the colour settings that matched my bronze card. I drew and cut an offset in bronze cardstock to make the plate stand out from the vehicle.

Rear Lights. I wasn't sure whether to cut the lights from red or bronze card. Once I'd got rid of the red writing in the rear window, it was apparent that the red lights would have to go too!

Bumper Decorations. All manner of items can be hung from the bumper, tin cans being the most traditional in the UK. Here is an inspiration photo from a lovely UK wedding blog - The Wedding of My Dreams.

Photo from The Wedding of My Dreams Blog

I made some mini cans to hang from the fender/bumper. A free SVG cut file is available to download from the link below the picture (for personal use only). I cut the base pieces in black and the plain decorative piece in vellum and linked them with baker's twine.

FREE file download SVG

I hope you like this fun variation. Do let me know if you make use of the free file.

Make this Dandelion Printable from Sarah Hurley's cut file

Hiya.  Over on the Silhouette UK Blog this week I have a tutorial showing how to produce a printable using this lovely free dandelion design cut file by Sarah Hurley. Sarah is a British designer, so its always exciting to see her new designs in the Silhouette Design Store.

The project uses this week's featured product - Silhouette Printable Glitter Sticker Paper. It has a fabulous glittery finish and is fantastic for printables. My post has step-by-step instructions for how to transform the cut file into a printable design using the Silhouette Studio software.

It includes how to do the following:

• Arrange the file pieces for printing
• Make a colour swatch
• Colour the file using the "Colour Picking' technique
• Refine the colours for this special media
• Prepare the print.

The Make a Wish file was free in the Silhouette Design Store at the time of writing this post.  I can't promise that it will still be free by the time you read this, but let's hope so. P.S. You don't need a Silhouette machine to make this - just the software, which is free to download here.


The last time I used the Glitter Sheets was to make these. I still regret that we had to use them (would rather have kept them for other years).

New Chalkboard Cardstock - Family Menu Chalkboard - with FREE Design Elements

Hiya,

You might have realised by now that I LOVE having the to opportunity to try out new products and this week I got to try a NEW Silhouette product in the UK - Silhouette Chalkboard Cardstock

This cardstock has a surface similar to that of the Silhouette Chalkboard Vinyl, but slightly smoother surface. Obviously, it is thicker (like medium-weight cardstock) and more rigid but similar in that it has a peel-off backing sheet covering a sticky adhesive surface. It was fun to play with - it is always good to try out a few different techniques before committing to a project. I really liked the effect of writing with gel pens, so used my Silhouette Pen Holder and Uni ball white gel pen to make a Family Menu Chalkboard. I made the permanent decorations with matte white vinyl so I wouldn't erase the days by mistake when I was being over-enthusiastic with erasing the meal listings.

So, if you'd like to make something similar with you Silhouette® CAMEO, Portrait or Curio, head on over to the Silhouette UK Blog for a tutorial and the low-down on this new product.

These are the items you'll need: 
Black Picture Frame (**)
Silhouette Chalkboard Cardstock
White Matte Adhesive Vinyl
Clear Transfer Material
White Marker Pen (Uni ball)
Silhouette Pen Holder
Downloaded Typewriter Key Font like LW Type Print
Downloaded Sketch Font like Rivka Wilkins' Madilyn Font
Downloaded Plain Font like LW Perfect Type Font


The Silhouette UK Blog links to a FREE file to make a modified header for your chalkboard.

The piece in the download just needs to be welded on to a rectangle matching the size of the top of your frame, all achieved very easily in the Silhouette Design software. As a bonus, the file format is GSD so may be used in other software too.


NOW, for readers of THIS blog I have a special gift for you! You can download an exclusive file of the additional Design Elements as shown in the wee picture below. They are also in GSD format, and are downloadable HERE.

(**) Note on the frame: I re-cycled an old certificate frame, originally with a bevelled edge. The rather unpleasant red-brown stain was covered with matte black acrylic paint and also turned around, to have the flat rear frame surface facing front.

I love chalkboard items and using this chalkboard cardstock is an easy way to obtain a very neat and effective look. I hope you'll try it.