Pearl and Foil Egg House - using the Spring Egg-Centric House from Simply Crafty SVGs

SVG cutting files can be a great base for mixed media projects. The Spring Egg-Centric House from Simply Crafty SVGs is a prime example. It gives countless opportunities to decorate using all kinds of materials. I made up the base in regular heavyweight cardstock and then used super thick white watercolour paper for the roof, fence, panels and other decorative parts which I painted with pearl watercolours. The pearly sheen and ombre effect look super cool in real life.

Materials Used:
Yellow and Light Blue Heavyweight Smooth Cardstock
Heavyweight Watercolour Paper (300gsm)
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Dimensional Adhesive Pads
Kuretake Gansai Pearl Watercolours (USA/UK)
3/4" Flat Wash Brush
Versamark Ink
Gold Fine Embossing  Powder
Distress Oxide Inks (Cracked Pistachio, Salty Ocean)
Floral Rubber Stamps
WRMK Foil Quill
WRMK Gold Heat Activated Foil
Silhouette Cameo


Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Spring Egg-Centric House


Watercolor Panels
I taped some sheets of heavy-weight watercolour paper onto a board, and painted overlapping stripes of colour in blue, green, and yellow pearl watercolour paints.

Once they were thoroughly dry I removed them from the board and cut the decorative panels from the  sheets with my Silhouette Cameo. I then stamped some delicate floral designs on to cut panels with Distress Oxide inks.

I then applied the decorated panels to the assembled egg house base.

Embellishments
Before cutting the embellishments from the white watercolour paper I made internal offsets to the pieces in the Silhouette Studio software. Changing the colour of the inset lines in the software allowed me to first cut and then foil lines of gold onto the embellishments using the We R Memory Keepers Foil Quill.

Leaving the pieces attached to the cutting mat, I painted them with the pearl watercolours and allowed them to dry a little before removing them.

The pieces dried paler with a subtle sheen. The door panel (not shown) was stamped with versamark ink with a small floral design and then heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

When all the pieces were completely dry they were mounted onto the egg house using liquid adhesive and the shutters were attached with dimensional foam pads.

Roof
The roof pieces were treated in a similar way to the embellishments with two internal foiled offsets. They were then painted with yellow pearl paint and assembled once they had dried off.

The entire roof was then adhered to the house together with the fence, steps, base and panels.

The finished Egg-Centric House looks so pretty and delicate - I'm in love with the pearlescent sheen and will be sure to use the pearl paints to enhance more 3D files! Foiling onto the rough surface of the watercolour paper gives a more distressed look than would have been achieved using smooth cardstock.  In my next project I'll use smooth cardstock to show just how bright the foil shows up. The effect here is more subtle and suits the delicate look achieved with the pearl finish.

This is the file I used. Just click on the photo to visit the page in Simply Crafty SVGs online store.



Happy Crafting!
Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine



Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Spring Egg-Centric House

Which foils work with the Foil Quill?

The We R Memory Keepers Foil Quill must be the most hyped accessory for digital cutter machines in years! I don't always invest in new products quite so quickly, but I've been looking for a way to add foil to my projects for a long time and the WRMK  products that I already have are such great quality, I thought that it would be worth the investment. I wasn't wrong - I love this accessory!

By co-incidence at the same time that my Quill arrived I obtained a bag of mixed foils, so I've been able to test a few different types of foil with the Quill, and I thought I'd share my results with you here. This is not a comprehensive test of the all foils available in the UK, but might help those of you who already have some foil in your stash, and aren't sure if they will work or not. I'd read that the Quill should work on card with heat-activated foils, but not those that are toner activated. I didn't really know what type of foils I had, so I trying them out seemed a sensible move.

We R Memory Keepers Foil

The foil that comes free with the Quill is 6" wide by about 43" long (just guessing the length, as I'd used some of all three of the rolls that came with my Quill). The rolls you buy separately are wider at 12", I think (at the time of writing mine are still on back-order).

Settings:
I foiled some smooth navy American Crafts card using these settings on my Silhouette Cameo.

Results:
The results were great. It worked on the first setting I tried (reduced speed and force from the default sketch setting for textured cardstock) so it doesn't seem to be too particular. The result was shiny all over, even in application, with no skipping. I was impressed!

TODO Foil

The TODO foil looks very similar to the WRMK foil, possibly the gold is factionally more yellow. The WRMK is the narrower roll in the centre. The backing is almost identical in colour, but the rolls are narrower at 4 3/4" (12 cm x 5m). Mine came in a mixed pack of four coloured foils, gold, satin gold, satin silver and silver which costs about £12.99. The rolls are designed to be used with the TODO Hot Foil Press/Multi-Functional Crafting Machine.

I used the exact same settings, and the result was just about identical on card. So similar I couldn't tell the difference in a photo, so haven't included photos of the results.

Crafter's Companion Foil

The Crafter's Companion foil is the same width as the that comes with the WRMK kit at 6-inches, but is a slightly paler gold (the WRMK is on the right in this picture). The rolls cost about £3.99 for a 2 metre length roll. The backing on the gold is a red/pink colour. At the same settings the resulting foiling was almost the same, again with no skipping. I was so pleased about this as I have a whole heap of gorgeous colours to try. They seem to be readily available and come in some lovely colours.


Craft Dragon

These rolls are much narrower at 9 cm and the gold is a little paler - the WRMK foil is shown on the right for comparison. The backing is an opaque creamy-white. They come in a pack with two gold, two silver, one red and one green and are designed to be used with the Impress Hot Foil Machine.

Again the results were great, with even coverage, and no skipping. I'm not sure that these are available to buy any more, but worth using if you have some already in your stash.


KanBan

These were the narrowest rolls at 10 cm, but a really, really long roll. The foil has a flimsier feel and has a gold backing. The colour is just slightly lighter than the WRMK foil. This foil came in a kit with a set of adhesive peel-offs and I didn't expect that this would work at all. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The results were OK, not as even as the other foils, but great for practice!

As I acquire other foils I'll post my results, so do follow this blog if you'd like to read more. I'll be posting the finished card made with these pretty foiled butterflies along with some foil pen storage ideas.

Mini tropical Foil Leaf Canvases

Hiya, this week I have another quick and easy home decor project using the Silhouette Printable Gold Foil over on the Silhouette UK Blog. I decorated some mini canvases using some tropical leaf shapes by Amy Robison (#83624, #83618) from the Silhouette Design store.

Materials Used
Silhouette Printable Gold Foil Sticker Paper
Silhouette Cameo, or Portrait
4-pack of Mini Canvases (12.5cm x 12.5cm, 5" x 5")
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Clotted Cream
Mod Podge Matte Sealant
Foam Brush

My post includes instructions on how to cut the foil and decorate the canvases, and includes some information on using the Nesting Tool (available in Designer Edition and above). Do pop over there if you'd like to find out more about the project.

Foil and Vellum Bows and Boxes

Hiya, I've been making gift boxes this week in my favourite colour combination; Mint, Rose Gold and White. Love 'em!

I have a post over on the Silhouette UK Blog with information on cutting the Rose Gold Printable Sticker Sheets. I have two methods, so pop over if you'd like to read about how to use those techniques in your projects.

I used the foil to decorate these pretty Carousel Horse Box gift boxes by Nilmara Quintela from the Silhouette Design Store.

It is a quick and easy file to put together, great if you are making a number for party favours. The base is designed so that it doesn't need adhesive and the box is held closed with a short length of ribbon.  As I don't have bow-tying superpowers, I adapted the box so that it would stay closed without the ribbon. I also made these foil and vellum bows  to add a little more pizazz!

The bows I used are:
3D Bow file by Felicity Jane.
3D Layered Puckered Bow by Jamie Cripps.

I can't decided which one I like best, can you?