Time to be my Valentine

I was at the Dollar Tree the other day and saw a bag of candy watches for sale.  They were so cute I just had to get them and I figured I could think of a cute quote to go with them for my daughters Valentines day cards.  So I got home and started searching Pinterest for any ideas. I found one that I liked and made one similar.  I love how they turned out and can't wait for Valentines day!

If you like it as well, here is a free printable for you. I printed it out, but you can use your Silhouette sketch pens just as easy! It is a Silhouette file, so it will only work if you have a Silhouette machine- sorry!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzH2BKX11qUFeUprNjhxYU9vMjQ/edit

Quote Friday: Live with Gratitude

This quote comes as one more on gratitude, after having spent a wonderful Thanksgiving among friends and family yesterday.  It comes from a speech, and right before this quote Thomas S. Monson shares a wonderful story of one Gordon Green, found in a Reader's Digest in 1956.  Thomas S. Monson paraphrases and quotes from that story, and I thought I'd share it with you all, in the spirit of Thanksgiving. :)  Enjoy:

Family Book of Thanks

So, I heard of this idea awhile back: creating a Book of Thanks for your family (and guests) to record something they are grateful for each Thanksgiving.  Take a group shot of everyone at your Thanksgiving feast each year, save room for it on a

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings (Lincoln's Proclamation)

Have a little humble history and thanks with your holiday meal, by sharing quotes from Lincoln or Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamations setting forth this great holiday of remembrance.  

Do a little remembering of your own.

Napkin rings.  As a college student, I have just had little use for them.  When do I hold dinner parties that consist of much more than pizza?  Okay. So I'm not that stereotypical; I actually really like having people over for dinner, and love a nice spread (ever see my Cheese Party post?).  But because I have a hard time limiting my guest list, still share most things with roommates (so keep my good dishes, etc, boxed away), and because I'm usually trying to cram all those people into my small living room to sit around a card table, a folding kitchen table, and my couches--my dinners usually end up looking something like this: 

DIY: Pottery Barn Knock-off "Give Thanks" Holiday Glitter Banner

You bet I will. 

So, a few weeks ago I had some time to kill at the mall as I waited for my roommate to get out of a movie.  I wandered through the usual clothing shops out of habit, but then found I spent most of my time perusing the decor in Pottery Barn Kids.  Ugh.  I really love some of the Pottery Barn styles.  Unfortunately, I don't generally tend to love the Pottery Barn prices.  Ouch.  Especially on a budget.

Halloween Craft Project for Kids

Did you just remember that you signed up to do a craft project for your child's Halloween party and have no clue what to do? Or, just looking for a fun craft to do with your kids?  Well, here is a Halloween craft that you can do that is simple and it turns out really cute.

I have seen this idea floating around on Pinterest for a while and I have also done it in my classroom when I was an elementary teacher.  All you have to do is

Halloween Apothecary Jar

Well, this post is sort of an addendum to my "Spooky" Dollar Store Potions/Halloween Table Decor Books post, which I shared a few weeks back.  (And which I kind of love.)  Just wanted to show that you can also do the wet paper towel technique (see that previous post) to create neat looking jars to also add to your Halloween decor.

Spooky Halloween Apothecary Jar

The method for the jar was the same as the base layer for the books.  Namely, cover it with a wet 1-ply napkin or paper

Pixy Stix Witch Halloween Card or Party Invitation

This card or invite combines the festiveness of Halloween with one of the other things so loved about this holiday: CANDY. :)  

Using Pixie Stix Candies from the dollar store, some obliging bark from a branch in my backyard, some cardstock, glue dots, and my Silhouette--I was able to make these tasty lil' cards in no time at all. 

Don't send out Halloween cards?  I think these are even better used as the front of an invitation to a Halloween Party.  

DIY Vinyl Window Cling

Feeling like your house is lacking in holiday decorating?  Mine sure was.  So I broke out my Silhouette, found these cute Halloween shapes and cut them out of vinyl.  Once that was done, I simply placed them in my front windows and just like that, the outside of my house looked 'decorated'.  This project only took me 5 minutes to do and when Halloween is over, all I have to do is peel the vinyl off and throw it away! My type of holiday clean up.

DIY: Dollar Store "Spooky" Potions and Spells Halloween Table Books

Well, wow, if that wasn't the longest title for a post ever.  Good thing it is for such an AWESOMELY  amazing, you're-gonna-love-me project!!  I am seriously, seriously...obsessed with this project and how it turned out.  Like...I want to show everyone I see.  And it was so cheap and surprisingly simple.  So, please, without further ado let me share them with you!

DIY Affordable Halloween Door Decoration

Well, the Halloween posts aren't stopping yet! (I even have a few more to come this week.)  Here's a stylish but easy door hanger that I made, on the cheap.  If you have some of the supplies on hand, you can make this, like I did, for under $3. This is a great base idea for a door decoration for any holiday.

All you need is:

* A platter, old picture frame, etc. (Mine is a plastic platter I picked up at WalMart for $2.47.)

* A piece of scrapbook paper

* Mod Podge, glue, or sealant

* Silhouette Double Sided Adhesive sheets (Optional--can just use more scrapbook paper.)

* Glitter and paint brush

* Vinyl (Again, optional.  Can also just use scrapbook paper, but if you use all paper you will most certainly need a sealant.)

* Finishing Spray (like polyurethane spray, or Krylon Matte Finish Spray)

* Ribbon

Here's how to:

How-to Make Stencils, and "Spooky" Halloween, Sugar-Dusted Brownies

Um...cute, right?  (I mean, spooky.) These things are perfect for any Halloween shin-dig you've got going on--fun family function, whatever!  All you need are brownies (or cookies, cake, etc.), powdered sugar, a piece of cardstock, and your Silhouette machine.

Vinyl Pumpkin

Want an easy way to decorate your pumpkin this year, or a way to achieve a different look?  Try this simple one!

No need to spend the extra cash to buy one of those more expensive white pumpkins.  Instead, just

Halloween Photo Props

So recently my sister was in charge of a Fall Festival activity in her neighborhood. This activity is apparently a big deal, with pony rides, pumpkin carvings, and of course: candy.    This year they decided to tap into the Photo Booth craze that has been hitting the wedding scene, where guests are provided props to use as they get their picture(s) taken. They are then given a copy of the photo(s) to take home with them, while the host is also usually printed a copy for their memories.  It's great fun. And in this case, a terrrrifyingly fitting and good idea. ;)

Cute Easter Gift Idea

Looking for a cute and simple Easter gift idea? I know I was!  Then I remembered that Silhouette's free shape of the week has an Easter basket on it and this idea was formed.  I had seen this idea on Pinterest and wanted to recreate it.
My favorite Easter eggs are Reeses, but you can use whatever kind of eggs you want.  I also could have used the print and cut feature on my Silhouette, but I was feeling lazy- go figure.  Once I had my tag, I put some chocolate eggs in a basket along with some plastic ones and delivered my gift to my neighbor.  So there you have it, a simple and quick Easter gift idea.

Candy Center Flowers

Saw this idea on Pinterest and had to make some of my own.



They take about...mmm...2 minutes to make, so they are a perfect last addition for your Easter decorations.  I love the idea of leaving these candy-filled Spring flowers trailing down the stairs on Easter Morning, or surrounding your child's Easter basket,  nestled in the grass outside amid your egg hunt,  or, I especially love the idea of creating a variety of flowers like these and scattering them down the table runner for your Easter meal.

These candy-filled flowers are simple and a nice touch to your Easter-fare.

Silhouette Cotton Canvas Easter Tags

So I love the Victorian feel to many decorations now-a-days.  Stuck in the past.  Right?  Sort of. Not in every way.  The images and styles just brings back a feel of nostalgia... for a time I never lived in and one that lacked many of the conveniences I now enjoy.  But STILL.  Some of the feel is just romantic and lovely. That feeling for nostalgia and for beauty is what I wanted to tap into, even if just faintly, when I went to make some quick Easter tags.  I did this primarily through just two mediums--the images themselves, and the material used.  

I certainly could have added a lot more opulence to these to get that feel, but 1. no time, and 2...didn't really care to.  So if you want to add a lace or ribbon edging, or some gold fabric paint around the edges, and make the cut more intricate, go right ahead.  Now that I've tried the cotton canvas I am wanting to experiment more with it. But this first little experiment proved to me that I really love the stuff, and that it is far easier to use (and prints better) than I had ever expected.

To make these tags, all you really need is:

Silhouette Printable Cotton Canvas

Ribbon or twine

Milk bottles on the door again, like the old days.  Just this time, filled with candy. :)

The printable cotton canvas is super easy to use...just like the print and cut function with a piece of paper, except this time it is with a thin canvas.  

"Egg"cellent Easter Card

Remember how I told you not to throw away your scraps from your Easter banner?  (See this post: Fabric Easter Banner.) Well here's why.

Did you know that your Silhouette interfacing can be used to adhere fabric to cardstock? Yep.  Not just to adhere fabric to fabric.  Seems like it would make sense, since this was primarily a scrapbooking or paper crafting die-cutting machine.  But yet, this stuff is great! So, with all those extra little scraps and edges you had left over from your banner making....

Put these scraps to good use!

...you can make a simple and delightful Easter holiday card.

Make this "egg"cellent card with fabric or paper scraps.

Supposing you didn't make a cute Easter banner like in our last post, or supposing you (gasp!) accidentally threw away all your little scraps, you can easily replace the fabric with paper scraps, and just use glue to adhere it instead.  But I think it's easier with the fabric because you can adhere it all in one fell swoop of the iron.  Yep.  Fell swoop.  Irons do that?  Yes.  They do.

Here's your step-by-step instructions.

Fabric Easter Banner

Well my...this post has been a long time in coming.  I have been meaning to share this lovely lil' swag banner with you all weeks ago.  To make up for it, I'll do another post later today of what you should do with the scraps/edges of your fabric from this post--so don't throw them away! :)  Trust me.  An easy use for them. (Check out the follow-up post HERE.)  But for now, here's a little something you can do with your Silhouette interfacing and a little fabric to "Springify" you home for Easter.

Happy Easter banner that makes me happy.

Materials Needed:

* 11 Fabric squares or scraps, about 4x5 inches each (to be safe) (supposing you want a different colored egg for each pendant)

* 1/3 yard of cream colored burlap (for pendants)

* 1x1 foot square of cream colored fabric (for letters)

* Silhouette clean cut fabric interfacing (sewable is fine also)

* Ribbon to hang it from

* Permanent Fabric Glue, like Crafter's Pick (found at Hobby Lobby, etc.  Just be sure it says that it dries clear.)

Stencil Vinyl: Shirt and Mug

Or, shirt with a mug-face wearing it. ;)

Okay, so being real.  Here are a few projects I made this weekend using some of our Silhouette Stencil Vinyl.  Have fun.

Sharpie Mug




First, I'm sure you've seen the whole "write on ceramics with a Sharpie and bake it" craze that was all over Pinterest.  Well, I think it was a craze because it was 1: cheap, 2: easy, and 3: cute.  I have wanted to do it for a while, and finally decided to try it out.  But first, I read up some tips on it to be sure that it really worked and that I was doing it right.