A Lil' Card Lovin'

So for my post today I am just going to share a couple of cute cards.  Simple?  Well....one of them is. :) But both are great for weddings, holiday's etc.  And the second works well for a gift card holder. Anyways.  Here's a lil' card inspiration and then tutelage for you.

First card, I just used my eBosser on a plain sheet of white paper, cut a lil' black strip for the bottom, and then used my Silhouette sketch pens to write the Mr. & Mrs. using a free font I got offline called Riesling.  I really like this particular font.  I cut out a very small heart using a scrap of some of my double-sided adhesive and there you have it.  Super simple and yet very cute!  Perfect for a wedding. If you don't have an eBosser, try using a pearl or patterned white paper.  Yay.

Okay, so onto the second one.

I'm just telling you ahead of time--stick with me on this one. This cute card/giftcard holder looks more tricky to make than it really is, but I think you're really going to want to pay close attention to the pictures, as it is easier to show than tell, so to speak.  Just keep in mind, once you get this down you can use this for any holiday, birthday, etc.  People will think you're awesome and should probably move on to being an origami professional.  So let's jump on into folding... (after a picture of the finished product, of course.)

The card doubles as a gift-card holder with it's nifty pocket.

First, you need to start with a 8x10 inch sheet of double-sided print paper.

Picture frame message board

Who doesn't love finding little love notes around the house addressed to them?  And almost everyone has those little "to-do" note pads that they keep around the kitchen, office, bedroom, etc. to write down quick notes, missed calls, or just random reminders.  White boards are obviously pretty popular for just such needs as well.  Well this easy to make alternative is better than a white-board, because it's cuter :), but works just the same.

It's simple.  All you need is an old picture frame that still has it's glass-- I picked this one up at the thrift store-- and some scrapbook papers.  For this particular one, I also added a piece of ribbon and some rhinestones for a little bit more detailing.  

After choosing my papers I cut out this tree using my Cricut and the Wall Decor and More cartridge. I've said it before and I'll likely say it again, I love that cartridge.  If you don't have it yet, check out our website and finally succumb.  

"Let's Stick Together" Valentines

It's that time of year again--where kids are making adorable little valentine boxes and passing out valentines to friends, classmates, etc.  I still remember all the candies and how much I loved getting all those valentine's cards.

Unfortunately, I actually really dislike those conversation hearts that are so prevalently attached to said valentine cards.  What I did always love as a child was when I got stickers. Yes, stickers.  I loved putting them in my "sticker book."  It hardly even mattered what the stickers were, so long as I could put them in my cool book.  And I'm sure my Mom loved it when I showed her EVERY SINGLE ONE that I added in. :)  (Maybe not eeevery one.)  Really, she loved that I got something other than candy. :) This next simple Valentine would have met both our needs. 

In these next few posts I'll share a few last minute Valentine card ideas for you, if you are still in need, in.  

Wooden Valentine's Day Crafts

So, every year as February rolls around I find myself wondering what the punctuation is for...this upcoming holiday.  :)  Valentine's Day, such as in the Day of St. Valentine?  Or, is it Valentines' Day, as in the day for Valentines (sweethearts)?  Or, is it just Valentines Day, as I see so often?  Well...I finally looked it up online and what I found was that both the first and last are appropriate...depending on what you want it to mean. ha.  Guess that answers that.  Anyways.  On to crafting!

This week I just have a few ideas for some simple wood-block Valentine's crafts.   Each is pretty self-explanatory just by looking at it, but hey, I've got to write something, right? :) Feel free to just look at the pictures, but know we have

This first one is just rectangle block painted red with white vinyl "be mine" applied on top.  I added a small ribbon tied around it all just to finish it off.  The "be mine" phrase can be found on the Silhouette online store (along with a lot of other cute looking versions).

I sanded around the edges first...

 ...and then did some sanding around the edges afterwards as well just for a little extra.  The end!  Takes only as long as it takes for the paint to dry.  Easy, right?  (You can certainly just use sand the edges by hand using sandpaper.)

For the next project you need four square blocks, two colors of paint, and some patterned scrapbook paper.  I painted my "x" blocks brown, and my "o" blocks (or "heart" blocks) red.  Then did alternating colored papers (red and brown based) cut just a few millimeters smaller than the size of the blocks. Use Mod Podge to adhere the paper: first apply it on the back of the paper (or front of the block), press out any air bubbles, and wait for it to dry.   Once it is dry, cover it with a layer of Mod Podge on top to seal it off.  It will dry clear.  Next, cut out two "x's" and two hearts (to use as "o's") using a basic unifying colored vinyl.  Place one on each block, tie a ribbon around the four blocs, and voila!  A lovely and simple valentine craft and decoration for you home.  Great idea to make and give to friends.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Or, Valentines Day!  Or...Valentines' Day.  Or...Day of love! :) xoxo.

Countdown to Kisses Advent Calendar

With it almost being time for Valentine's Day, I thought this wonderful little advent calendar would be a fun addition to your loving decor for the holiday.

Countdown to...Kisses. Valentine (and other) advent calendar

One of the great things about it, is that the "Kisses" word is also just hung, so you can reuse the board to countdown to whatever holiday you like!  Just change the word.  ("Christmas," "Thanksgiving," "Our Anniversary," etc.).  I love things I can get many uses out of.  Countdown to...perfection. ;)

Chalkboard Vinyl Placemats

Well, since I used Chalkboard Vinyl last week, I decided to do one more project with it today.  This is a super simple project that should take you all of 5 minutes to make.  And friends will be asking you where you got these at.  These placemats are great for kids (something they can play with while waiting for lunch, etc.), but are actually also fun for grown-up dinners.  I've seen them used as place-settings for Thanksgiving, with "I'm Thankful For:" written down one side, and everyone allowed and encouraged to write things down on them.  I've also had some friends over for dinner and used something similar to this as a fun thing to keep people entertained and conversing over topics around the table.  If you've ever been to Macaroni Grill--with their paper table cloths you are meant to color on (this is a nice restaraunt)--you'll get the idea.  But yes, fun for kids, and yet can be kicked up a notch for classier, yet fun, table settings as well.  So, without further ado, here's to making these very simple placemats.

Chalkboard vinyl placemats--great fun for the kids! Try colored chalk markers.

Chalkboard Vinyl-on-Magnet Paper To-Do List

Well hello!  It's been a few weeks, and I hope the holidays have left you happy and excited for this new year.  Here is a simple project to start out the new year and help keep you organized.  It's a magnetic chalkboard to-do list (etc.) made using just a few simple materials.

Materials Needed:

* Chalkboard Vinyl

* Silhouette Adhesive Magnet Paper

* Chalk!  --Chalk-markers work great for lists that you won't be erasing daily (they don't smudge as easily as regular chalk).

* Hole punch and twine or ribbon (optional)

* Embellishments (optional)

So, see!   Really only three items needed to do it basic! 

Window Snowflakes

Written by our guest writer: Devon Searle

As I was sitting in my car last night waiting for my husband to come out, I noticed how cute this stores windows looked. They had these huge white snowflakes on them and it make the windows looks so festive. It got me thinking "hey I want to do that to my windows". So this morning, I got out my Silhouette machine and got to work.  I searched in the Silhouette store under "snowflakes" and got tons of results.  I wanted just a simple snowflake and I found one that I liked titled "snowflakes". It came in a set of 3 different types of snowflakes.

I only loved one of the three snowflakes shaped for my windows so once I had the shape on my page, I highlighted it and un-grouped the set. Once this was done, I was able to delete the other two shapes.  From here, I sized the snowflake to the size I wanted, and duplicated it 3 times to fill up the page.

If I was feeling really festive, I would have made a bunch of huge snow flakes to put on all of my windows but, I just wanted to put them on the windows by my door.  You could also use Silhouettes frosted vinyl for a more sheer look (like how we did for the ghosts on Halloween), but I wanted white.

After I had them all cut out, I ran down stairs and put them on the window!  This whole project only took me a few minutes and it turned out adorable. So if you're looking for a quick way to decorate your house this season- this is it!

Christmas Gift Ideas for under $2.00

Today we have a guest contributor:  Devon Searle.  Thanks for sharing your crafting ideas, Devon!  We love them. Simple, cute, easy, affordable, and perfect for this season.
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Hello!  Well, with Christmas quickly approaching, I wanted to find some fast and inexpensive gifts that I could make to give to friends and neighbors.  So I pull out my trusty Silhouette machine and got  to work.

The first project cost me about $0.50 for the tile and $0.50 for the Three Wise Men Silhouette download.

They have a few different wise men images to choose from, and some even have sayings that go with them. I chose to cut out my own saying. All you have to do is pick the size tile that you want from your local hardware store and then cut and stick your vinyl on.  It took me about 5 minutes from start to finish to make these beautiful tiles.

My next quick gift is a custom ornament.  For this gift, you could put your neighbors last name, initials, any holiday shape, etc... the possibilities are endless. I choose to put "I am a Child of God" because I am making these ornaments for some young children at church. I got the saying from the Silhouette store by searching for: "I am a child of God". Depending on how big your ornament is will determine how big you want to make your saying. My saying turned out to be 2"x4.5".

To make the ornament, simply size your letters to fit the size of the ornament (I cut the shape out with paper first to see how the size looked. This way, I am not using the more expensive vinyl on something that might be too big or small.). Next, cut the shape out and peel off the excess vinyl.
  

  I choose to add transfer tape on top for ease of application.

 Then I placed it on the ornament.

Then I peeled off the transfer tape and I was done!

Once again, it only took me a few minutes to create this simple and fun gift. I found these clear, plastic ornaments at Walmart for $0.88 and the saying only cost me $0.50.  So for under $2.00 you could make these adorable gifts and people will never guess how little you spent making them! Happy gifting!

--Devon

Wedding Drink Table: Pucker Up!

Ahhh...weddings.  Everyone knows that with the advent of Pinterest all of our minds are constantly filled with images and ideas of fanciful and delightful decorations and ideas for weddings--everything from how to do our hair (up-do, or down?), apply our make-up, venues, and especially DIY decoration ideas. :)  (Or perhaps this is just me, what with my about one billion friends getting married these days, inundating their Pinterest boards with wedding ideas.)  But I love it.  Rather than miss the boat....;) I thought I'd share a few cute things that we did recently for my former roommate's wedding.  Specifically, I want to showcase one of the fun uses we had for our Silhouette Chipboard.  I know that it is the holidays, but who doesn't get to planning their wedding ideas months early?  So here it is.  Pucker up, love birds!

"Pucker up" swag/banner on lemonade drink stand for a wedding drinks' table

Items needed for banner/swag:
Silhouette Chipboard
Jute or ribbon
Hot glue gun
Silhouette Double-sided adhesive (optional)
Glitter (optional) (we have a variety of colors)