Tutorial - DIY Love Message Board (Silhouette Cameo and Adhesive Vinyl)

I originally posted a photo of this love message board on the Valentine's Day blog post.  

The idea originally grew from this project I saw on pinterest which simply has a printed sentiment on patterned paper (you can totally do that without a fancy die cutting machine)!  But for mine, I went a tad bit fancier by cutting some adhesive vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo.  Here's how I did it.

1.  Buy a Frame.  I got this one with a weathered wood look from TJ Maxx for $8.  If we weren't living in such temporary accommodations, I'd probably swipe the frame my mother has with my hideous second grade photo.  

2.  Cut Patterned Paper to Fit Inside the Frame.  I used this adorable heart argyle paper from We R Memory Keepers.  While this paper is relatively busy, I would steer clear of anything too busy or dark.

3.  Cut a Sentiment out of Adhesive Vinyl.  I used a sentiment from Kerri Bradford's "All About You" digital shape set.  I simply opened the image in my Silhouette Studio software, loaded up my Cricut adhesive vinyl and cut away.  I personally found that setting the blade to a setting of "2" (versus the "1" that the software suggests) gave me a much cleaner cut.

4.  Adhere Transfer Tape onto the Cut Image.  Cut down your transfer tape to fit your cut image.  Peel the backing off and place the sticky side down onto the vinyl image.  (Remember to not throw away the backing though - I use my transfer tape about 3-4 times before I throw it out.)  Using transfer tape ensures that your image doesn't get all warped while "transferring" it from the vinyl backing to whatever surface you are adhering it to.  I would also use a popsicle stick or credit card to burnish that tape well onto the image just to make sure it's completely on.

5.  Peel Off the Adhesive Vinyl Backing.  The stick side of the vinyl should now be facing up.  

6.  Transfer the Vinyl Image onto the Glass.  I first place the image down where I want it then burnish it to make sure that the vinyl is actually sticking to the glass where you want it.

Once you're sure that the image is adhered to the glass, slowly peel back the transfer tape.

Then... viola!!!  A beautiful vinyl image right on your frame!

To make "love" stand out a bit more, I cut out just that work in a coordinating colored paper and then taped it right on the vinyl.  

Seriously easy and this idea/ technique can be applied for so many different projects.  Think menu boards, decorated photo frames...possibilities are endless.  So stay calm and craft on.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Whatever the Weather {a scrapbook layout} and Project Life - Week 4

Whatever the Weather {a scrapbook layout}.  I finally got my hands on the year.o.graphy collection by Simple Stories.  This paper collection is just gorgeous and I love how easy it is to simply cut up and use for Project Life or year/ month-in-review pages.  For my first project using this delicious paper, I decided to go for a more traditional layout.

The inspiration behind this layout is one of Charlotte's favorite board books, Bear in Sunshine.  The story is about a bear who learns about all the different seasons and always finds a way to have fun regardless of the weather.  Specifically, one page of the story reads: "Whatever the weather, come snow, rain or sun, Bear always knows how to have lots of fun."  I thought this was the perfect title.

The title element sheet in the year.o.graphy collection includes these adorable stitched scenes that served as the perfect backdrop for the "snow, rain or sun" photos and words on the page.  

 

  

Because I wanted the photos to stand out, I covered the title strips with some vellum to slightly tone down the colors.  I also used the graphic and letter stickers from the collection kit throughout the layout.  Finally, I added some machine stitching over the letter stickers (yeah...might have gone a bit overboard there), string along the banner, glossy accents on the birds, and some buttons on the stickers.  

 Supplies:  Simple Stories (patterned paper, letter stickers, stickers); Buttons (My Mind's Eye); Brads (Crate Paper); Other Letter Stickers (Sassafras, American Crafts, October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket).

Project Life - Week 4.  I'm still loving Project Life and how fulfilling it feels to be documenting our everyday memories.  This week I kept everything pretty simple since the layout was so photo heavy, relying on washi tape flags and journaling stickers from my January Counterfeit Kit.

Week 4 Highlights.  Tet, the lunar new year.  Silhouette Cameo.  Charlotte's first potty.  Fort Adams.


As always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 100 Update:  47 down, 53 to go.  

Happy Valentine's Day - Ten Crafty Projects

I've been crafting up a storm this Valentine's Day and wanted to share all the adorable cards, tags and projects I've been making for Vanlikethecar Designs!!

1.  Chanel-Inspired Valentine.  My friend request a card for his Chanel-loving wife so I wanted to somehow mimic those gorgeous quilted Chanel bags.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye); Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (Lawn Fawn, Inkadinkadoo); Digital Files (Silhouette Online Store).

2.  Marine Corps Valentine.  This valentine was custom ordered for a Marine Corps dad from his Navy daughter.  The flag and Marine Corps seal are both hand stamped, hand colored and then covered in glossy accents for a three dimensional look.

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Bazzil); Stamps (Unity); Other (Glossy Accents).

3.  Conversation Hearts Pop-Up Valentines.  I love the look of long cards that fit inside a business envelope.  These are embellished with a rainbow of conversation hearts and have a pop up greeting on the inside.

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Martha Stewart); Baker's Twine (Twinery); Digital Files (Silhouette Online Store).

4.  Love Bites Valentine.  This is a shape card for a little boy who loves sharks.  I initially wanted to place the heart banner on the outside but it didn't look right for some reason.  So I placed it on the inside along with some letter stickers saying "Love Bites."

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Martha Stewart); Stamps (A*Muse); Letter Stickers (Echo Park); Digital Files (Hero Arts).

5.  Curious George Loves You.  My daughter is a Curious George fanatic so I made this cute little card to look like Curious George is holding a banner holding her name.  Super simple but I think she'll love it.

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (Lawn Fawn). 

6.  I Cereal-ously Like You Valentine Tags.  This was inspired by something a friend saw on Pinterest and she wanted to make them for her daughter's preschool classmates.  I couldn't resist also making some for Charlotte.

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Georgia Pacific); Embossing Folder (Provocraft); Digital Files (Silhouette Online Store). 

7.  I Like You a Ton Valentine Tags.  These are some cute tags for a friend to add to her son's treat bags.

Supplies:  Cardstock (Georgia Pacific, Martha Stewart); Baker's Twine (Twinery); Digital Files (Lettering Delights). 

8.  I Like You to the Core Valentine Tags.  I made these tags for Charlotte's classmates.  I wrapped a bag of apple chips in the lunch bag and just tied it all together with some green yarn.  

Supplies:  Cardstock (Georgia Pacific); Digital Files (Lettering Delights). 

9.  Candy Boxes and Tags.  These are the little candy boxes I made and filled with homemade chocolates for Charlotte's teachers.  For the tags, I simply hand stamped some cute images/ sentiments onto shipping tags and colored them in.

Supplies:  Shipping Tags (Avery); Stamps (A*Muse); Cardstock (Recollections; Martha Stewart); Digital Files (Loni Stevens). 

10.  I Love You Frame.  And finally, here is a frame I made for Justin and I.  Since you can use dry erase markers on glass, Justin and I write reasons why we love each other on the frame every day.  It's a good way for us to keep things in perspective.  I will post a tutorial on how to make your own soon.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers); Vinyl (Silhouette); Digital Files (Kerri Bradford).

Whew...that was a lot of crafting for Valentine's Day!!!  Thank you again for all the support and for dropping by.

Project 100 Update:  46 down, 54 to go.  There were three conversation heart cards and I'm counting each candy box as a separate project.  

Tutotrial - DIY Iron On Transfer T-Shirt

Since coming back to Rhode Island after two glorious weeks in San Diego for the Christmas holiday, the first thing Charlotte asks for in the morning is her cousin.  Where's Vivi, she asks me?  When the phone rings, she asks, "Vivi?"  It's really heart-breaking.  She is just obsessed with her older cousin and I so wish we could go back home so they could play together again.

So, inspired by this adorable cousin friendship, I decided to make Charlotte this photo t-shirt using some iron-on transfer sheets.

 

Want to make your own?  It's SUPER simple and fun.  First off, you'll need the following supplies:  

• iron-on transfer sheets (there are a lot of different brands on the market so shop around)
• ink jet printer
• white t-shirt
• iron

1.  Design your t-shirt image.  I created my design using Adobe Photoshop but I'm sure any program will work.  I simply embellished a photo of the cousins with a digital border frame that says "friends."  I resized the image to fit onto Charlotte's t-shirt and then flipped the whole image horizontally.  This creates a mirror image. 

2.  Print your image.  When you print your image onto the iron-on transfer sheet, make sure you change the printer settings according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Then trim very closely around your image.  (NOTE: I DO NOT recommend the brand of Iron-on Transfers photographed below.  It works fine but I noticed that it fades a bit after the first wash.)

3.  Iron your image onto the T-shirt.  Once you figure out where you want your image on the t-shirt, place the image face down and iron it on!  It is seriously that easy.  I personally set my iron to the cotton setting and ironed back and forth for about 3 minutes.  Just check the manufacturer instructions.

4.  Wear and Enjoy!  Viola.  Just like that, you have a totally custom t-shirt to show off to all your family and friends.  Charlotte kept point to her shirt and saying, "Vivi.  That's Vivi."  So ridiculously cute.  I showed my sister and since she loved it so much, I made another matching shirt for Vivi too.  :)

I also used this same technique to make Charlotte's birthday shirt to perfectly match her invites and birthday banner a few months back.

Hope this shows that you don't need a fancy die-cutting machine or a ton of crafting supplies to go DIY.  As always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 100 Update:  33 down, 67 to go.  Since I already had these iron-on sheets and they utilized my digital scrapbooking files, I'm counting the two cousin t-shirts as two projects. 

Project Life - Week 3

Here is my Project Life spread for Week 3 (January 16-22).  To embellish the photos and journaling spots, I used a lot of word and image die cuts (cut from my Silhouette Cameo).  I really love how they look, especially when placed directly on the photos.  No additional inserts this week. 

Week 3 Highlights.  Charlotte's toy kitchen from Pappy and Grammy.  My Take 12 layout featured in both the Ella Publishing blog and at Two Peas in a Bucket.  First snow.  Uncle Doug's visit (with yes, another 10 pounds of lobster). 

Project 100 Update:  31 down, 69 to go.

The One With Some Cards

It seems like the scrapbooking has taken a break this week for some card making.  Lots of things to celebrate - babies, engagements, birthdays...

1.  Addie B Designs Baby Cards.  Here are three custom ordered baby cards inspired by those amazing baby bibs, burp clothes and head bands made by Addie B Designs.  

"Welcome Baby Violet" Card.  Supplies:  Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye); Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (Lawn Fawn); Letter Stickers (Cosmo Cricket); Floss (We R Memory Keepers); Die Cuts and Flower Embellishment (Sassafras); Digital Files (Lettering Delights).

"Hey Little Miss" Card.  Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Imaginesce, My Mind's Eye); Cardstock (American Crafts, Walmart); Stamps (Lawn Fawn, Unity Stamps); Letter Stickers (October Afternoon, Echo Park); Floss (We R Memory Keepers); Brads (Oriental Trading Company); Digital Files (Lettering Delights).

"Welcome" Headband Card.  Don't those gorgeous headbands also make the perfect card embellishment!  Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Imaginesce); Cardstock (American Crafts).

2.  "Engaged" Card.  This is a simple, happy engagement card with some bold Valentine's Day  colors inspired by this card.  Since these cards were so easy to make using my new Silhouette Cameo, I went ahead and made three! 

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts); Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft - Swiss Dots); Digital Files (Silhouette Store - Jamie Koay).

5.  "Happy Birthday, Captain" Card.  Finally, here is a sailing-themed birthday card specifically requested by Justin.  The concept is that you're looking through a porthole to see the boat sailing away.  

Supplies:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Walmart; Core-dinations; Bazzil; Martha Stewart); Stamps (My Cute Stamps); Digital Files (Silhouette Store - American Crafts, SnapDragon Snippets LLC).

Whew!  That was a lot of cards!!  Thanks again for stopping by and for all the support with this blog and the new etsy store.  It means the world to me.  And just for kicks, here's a little peek at how we ship our homemade creations to people all over the country!  

This was our shipment of Owl Hair Clip Greeting Cards to my fabulous friend (and founder of Beyond Jack and Jill) in California.

And here is our custom designed snowflake banner ready for baby Fiona's birthday celebration in Maryland!

Project 100 Update:  30 down, 70 to go.