BBQ Master Gift Box

Hiya, I've just completed this fun BBQ gift box using the Chef Hat Gift Box from Simply Crafty SVGs. It's a great little gift box for Dad on Father's Day or for any other BBQ Master in your life. The box is the perfect size for jar of spicy BBQ rub, or small bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce.

The gift box is decorated with elements from the BBQ Box Card Set. This set has two fabulous box cards that would be great to give along with the chef hat box.

Materials Used:
American Crafts Medium Weight Textured Cardstock
Silver Metallic Cardstock
Brown Wood-Effect Cardstock
Black and white Patterned Paper
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Silhouette Cameo + Designer Edition Software (or other digital cutting machine such as Cricut, Pazzles, Scan-n-Cut etc.)

Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Chef Hat Gift Box
Simply Crafty SVGs BBQ Box Card Set

ADAPTATIONS

BBQ Tools
The tools came from the Box Card set. They are SO DINKY - I love them!

BBQ Master Sign
The 'BBQ Master' sign was also from the Box Card set. I cut two and adhered them together for extra strength. I also made a little reinforcement bar by scoring and folding a small scrap a few times, and adhering that behind the words. You could skip this, but I think it gave the letters a little more rigidity.

Chef Hat Box
I followed the instructions for the box from the linked Simply Crafty SVG's YouTube video. I just adding some extra dimension to the 'button' on the top by making it a little more domed with a ball-ended flower-shaping tool. Using a foam adhesive pad to adhere it supports the button in the centre making the shape more permanent.

Base 
I used a black and white paper with a diamond checkered pattern to cover the base, resembling the pattern on chef's pants/trousers.

Now I'm hoping for some more BBQ-ing weather - it can't always be relied upon in North east Scotland!

Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine
Instagram: @CraftingQuine



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

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

Geometric 3D Christmas Tree Box

Hi there! Today I'm sharing a sophisticated Christmas decoration using a versatile cutting file from Simply Crafty SVGs.  I've used the Christmas Tree Box, a 3-dimensional tree that can be used as a special gift box, or simply used as a pretty decoration.

I love metallics, and I love geometric patterns,  and when I saw this fabulous decorative paper I couldn't resist trying out an alternative holiday colour scheme of blush pink and rose gold. It's from the DCWV Lively Geos 12" x 12" paper stack. I used a Silhouette Cameo 3, and the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition of the software to cut all the pieces for the box. However, the SVG files can be used with other desktop cutting machines and software (details here).

Materials Used:
Walnut Bazzill Textured Cardstock
Octagon Patterned Paper from DCWV Lively Geo 12 x 12 Stack
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Galaxy Gold Brilliance Dew Drop Ink Pad
Copper Jingle Bells from Paperchase
Silhouette Cameo or other digital die-cutter


Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Christmas tree Box


Cutting the Pieces

This file is very economical in paper use; I rearranged and rotated the pieces a little and cut all the pieces from two sheets of 12-inch square walnut cardstock and one sheet of 12-inch square patterned paper.


Constructing the Box

Sandy of Simply Crafty SVGs has made a fab assembly video for this box. In order to add gold ink to all the fold lines, I assembled the box before adding the decorative panels.

Decorating the Box

The tear-drop shape of the ink pad  makes it easy to apply gold ink to all the folds.  This gives the box the appearance of being gold all over once the panels are attached. I loved that my clumsy over-inking would be covered too!

I also inked the edges of the decorative panels to hide the white edges.

I applied the panels a little higher than suggested in the video so that they were centred. They seemed to fit just fine that way.

The box was finished off with a string of copper jungle bells tied around the base of the first tier. With hindsight, I'd have hung them individually from the top tier before I attaching the tiers together. I'll certainly do that next time I make one.

I'm looking forward to adding this to my Christmas decor  - sorry friends, this one's staying at home with me!



Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine



Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Christmas Tree Box

Light Up Santa Pants Box from Simply Crafty SVGs

Hiya, This week I've had such fun playing with the Santa Pants Box SVG File by Simply Crafty SVGs. I enjoyed it so much that I made two versions: a regular Santa one, and an Elvis version.

At first glance there seem to be a lot of pieces, but most of them fit together in the same way, and the designer, Sandy, has made a fabulous video that guides you through every step. I made both using my Silhouette Cameo and the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software, but any changes I made could be replicated in other cutting software and with other machines.

For the Santa version I made very few changes, but I've shown the ones that I did make below, in case you'd like to do the same.


Materials Used:
Red and Black Medium-weight Bazzill Cardstock
Red Glitter Paper from UK supplier, Syntego)
Black Sign Vinyl
Gold Mirror Card
White Glitter Fabric
Beacon 3 in 1 Craft Adhesive
Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Glaze
String of White LED Lights
Bradawl/Pokey Tool/Hole Punch
Silhouette Cameo


Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Santa Pants Box SVG File


Scaling Up the SVG File
I made the whole box a little larger. To do this I opened one of the files in the software, and then used Merge to bring in each of the other files. I then placed the biggest on the mat, selected all the files, and increased the size proportionally until the chosen one filled the 12"x12" cutting mat entirely (holding down the shift key when dragging one of the corner handles). This increased the size of the finished box (with braces/suspenders) from 8.25" to 9", and it made it somewhat easier to install the LEDs (needing more candies to fill it though)!


Sketching rather than Cutting the Numbers
To aid assembly Sandy has numbered all the leg pieces in the order in which they should be attached. I'm an impatient crafter so I changed the line colour of the numbers and, using Cut by Line Colour, I drew the numbers on with a sketch pen. I used a speed of 10 to do this, so it was sketched almost as fast as I could have drawn them.

Base Alignment
Once all the leg pieces were attached I found it helpful, when adhering the base piece, to use a second, slightly smaller piece under the flaps to hold a more regular shape (made using the Internal Offset function). My glue has a good amount of wiggle time, so I added glue to both base pieces (to stick to the top and the bottom of the tags), and wiggled it around until I had a good alignment.

Here are the pants before any panels are attached, and with the base pieces in place.

Glitter Panels
I cut the pants panels from red glitter paper. I chose paper over a thicker card, as it moulds more easily to the shaped base and consequently is easier to adhere. The glitter is encapsulated into the paper surface, which means there is minimal shedding (and mess), and the panels adhere more easily. Additionally, it is better for your blade and cutting mat then regular glitter cardstock.


Buttons
Real buttons would be great to use on the box, but I didn't have any black ones in the correct size. I cut extra button pieces so that each button was made from four pieces stacked and adhered together. I finished off with a coating of glaze to make them shiny. In this pic the glaze is still wet and looks a bit cloudy, they did dry to be beautifully shiny though.

Making the Belt Shiny
Once I had my buttons ready, I thought that the belt should really be shiny too. In this picture the bottom belt piece is cut from card, and in the upper one I've covered the card with a layer of adhesive sign vinyl. I think I like it much better.

Golden Buckle
The belt buckle was cut from gold mirror card. I found a scrap from some packaging that was perfect excepting it was a little thin. To counter this I cut a second buckle from spare card and adhered the two together.


Adding Glittery Cuffs
I first cut the cuff pieces from card, and then used them as pattern pieces to cut the white glitter fabric. It is really thick, too thick and irregular to cut on my Silhouette, but cut easily with scissors. Other materials that would be great for the cuffs are faux fur, or simple glittered cardstock. However, I had this fabric in my stash, so thought I'd make use of it.

Adding Lights
I made holes for the bulbs for a short string of battery-operated LED lights around the fabric pieces for the base of the trouser legs.  After adhering them with Fabric adhesive, I made matching holes in the assembled pants using a pokey tool, and then a knitting needle.

The lights were pushed  through from the inside of the pants legs, so they partially protruded through the holes (this works fine, as long as the holes are tight, fractionally smaller than the lights).

Oh, and here's Elvis version. I hummed 'Suspicious Minds' the entire time I was assembling this one!

Here is a link to the Elvis buckle (a freebie cutting file in SVG format).

I hope you find these as much fun as I did. Do subscribe if you'd like to regularly read my hints and tips for Simply Crafty SVGS and others files. I also have tutorials and inspiration posts, and occasionally have a FREEBIE file too.

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?

Mini Bottle Boxes using the Exploding Wine Bottle Box by Simply Crafty SVGs

Hello.  Janet here with some unusual and useful gift boxes. I've used the SVG files for the Exploding Wine Bottle Box from Simply Crafty SVGs to make mini bottle boxes. The files are designed for a regular sized wine bottle, but I've reduced them to fit my mini bottles of fizz.

My bottles (bought in the UK) are 200 ml, similar bottles available in the USA, are 187 ml, and are roughly one quarter of the volume of a full size bottle. However, merely reducing the box to one quarter of the size would not fit the smaller bottle. The instructions that follow will show you how to adjust the file to fit almost any size of bottle.

I used the Silhouette Cameo and the Silhouette Studio software, but the file can be made with most cutting machines and software that can use SVG files. Check the FAQs for additional information.


Materials Used:
Black Heavyweight Cardstock
Printable Cardstock
Echo Park Fashionista Digital Papers
Black Grosgrain Ribbon
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive
Gift Tag
Baker's Twine
Clear Pearl Floral Sprays
Washi Tape
Silhouette Cameo


Files Used:
Simply Crafty SVGs Exploding Wine Box

Other Digital Files: 
Fashionista Paper Packs by Echo Park (pack #1 & #2)



Step 1: Open the Files
Open all the files in one window. The easiest way to do this is to open one of the files and then select File and Merge from the main menu, then to navigate to each of the other files in turn and click select.  This is a little time consuming, but places all the files in one tab so that they can easily be resized together. Select all the pieces, and group them.

Step 2: Measure your bottle
Measure the height and the diameter of the bottle at it's widest point. This is often the base, but if the bottle flairs out from the bottom then add extra to allow for it as best you can.


Step 3: Represent the Bottle in the Software
Draw a rectangle to represent the size of the bottle. It doesn't need to be bottle shaped, as long as it shows the height and the greatest width.  To easily make the rectangle the correct size, open the Transform panel and the Scale tab, enter the dimensions, and click apply.

Step 4: Adjust the file pieces
Rearrange one or more of the upper and lower side pieces as they would be joined when the box is assembled. Place the 'bottle' inside it. Select all the file pieces except the 'bottle'. Select one of the corner grab handles, and holding down the shift key (to keep the size proportionate) move the handle until the combined side piece is of a size where the bottle fits within it. Leave a little space around the bottle width to allow for the bottle to be added and removed easily. You can see in the diagram that the box is still a little tall. You could align the side flaps and slice off the excess using the Knife tool. I chose to cut them as they are, and to trim the excess with a paper trimmer later.

Step 5: Cut and Assemble
Cut the base pieces from black cardstock. Cut the panels from patterned card (mine were made using Print & Cut and digital pattern fills).  To read more about how to fill pieces with digital patterns, this link will take you to other projects where I've previously used Print & Cut. Follow the assembly instructions on the PDF document supplied with the files, or the YouTube video Sandy has made for this file.


Finishing Touches
If you have read any of my previous posts for Simply Crafty SVGs, you'll know that I like to make  adaptations and adjustments. Aside from the re-sizing, here are the other tweaks that I did to the boxes.

Additional Panels
I made additional panels for the lid and the lower part of the base, using the Offset feature.

Decorative Loop
I threaded a loop of grosgrain ribbon through a slit cut in the top of the finished lid. The ends were secured on the underside of the lid with strong liquid adhesive.

Gift Tag
I made some gift tags, with black and white baker's twine threaded through the top. The other ends of the twine were threaded through a hole punched in one of the side flaps.  On the rear of the side flap, the ends were knotted and trimmed.

Floral Sprays
I added some small clear pearl floral sprays, secured to the back of the bottle with some Washi tape (so they could later be peeled away without damaging the bottle label).

Here is the file I used to make the bottle boxes. Just click on the photo to visit the page in Simply Crafty SVGs online store.





As you can see, it is an easy job to resize the files to fit whatever bottles you choose to gift. My next challenge is to make boxes for miniature bottles. I'll post the results on Instagram when I do. Follow my account if you'd like to see how I get on.


Janet, DT Member Simply Crafty SVGs

Blog: Crafting Quine 
Instagram: @CraftingQuine



Simply Crafty SVG Files:
Exploding Wine Bottle Box