This month's Facebook Silhouette Challenge..........

This is my second time doing the Silhouette Facebook challenge.  I love being a part of this group.  Because of some wonderful ladies on this group, I was encouraged to do a fundraiser for my friend Jessica.  Jessica was part of one of the many families that lost everything to the horrific tornados that went over Carney, OK two weeks ago.  Because of this fundraiser I raised enough to order Jessica a Silhouette Portrait.  If I get more donations, I will get her supplies to go with her handy dandy Portrait.  I can't wait to see the smile on her face.  THANKS LADIES!!!

This months project was done using vinyl again (sorry)  I love vinyl.  I've kept it pretty simple so far.  There are many other things that I want to do with vinyl like layering, HTV (heat transfer vinyl), etc.

Of course I used my Cameo to cut this cute bird cage I bought from the Silhouette store.  I bought this plate from a second hand store.  I don't get to go very often, but this is one of the things I always look for.  I think this plate cost me a quarter.  How awesome is that.  I did get one at a "junk" store the other day and paid $5.00 for it.  I thought that was high, but is an unusual shape.   The plate holder I got at our local craft store for half off.

Supplies used: 

Plate - second hand store

Vinyl - craft store

Transfer tape - Silhouette store

black ribbon- craft store

plate holder - craft store

Not Pictured - glue gun

After cutting the bird house on my cameo I took the excess vinyl off

I then cut around the image and the "weeded" the small pieces out with a tool I purchased from the silhouette store.

After weeding out the excess I then applied the transfer tape and smoothed it out with a Pampered Chef scrapper.  I couldn't find my tool I got from the Silhouette store and I have several of these from stones I bought.  An old credit card will do the same.  I've have tried using contact paper and it just is not the same.  It was a big pain in the rear.  Transfer tape is more expensive but so worth it.  Contact paper just isn't sticky enough for me.  I have heard that it works for others.  I just don't have the patience for it. 

I then positioned on the plate and smoothed it out with the scraper

Remove the transfer paper and VOLIA!

 

I then added my embellishments.  I hot glued the bow on.

 

The pearl is from Stampin' Up! It already has adhesive on it.

I bought the plate stand at my local craft store when it was 50% off.  I'm going to put it in my craft room (if it ever really becomes MY craft room)

 

What's a bird cage without a bird?  I just didn't think about it when I made it, so it's just photoshopped in.   

 

The last two pictures are just me just being silly!........

DIY Business Cards {Silhouette Tutorial} by Create & Babble

Make Your Own "Rubber" Stamps by Coley's Corner

Where Home Is: A Gift for a Military Family by Suburble

This Month's Facebook Silhouette Challenge by Tanya's Creative Space

3D Tea Gift Box Download by Creative Turn

File Cabinet Makeover by Super Sweet Life

Jewelry Box Creation by Joy & Gladness of Heart

Retro Chair Silhouette by Tried & True

Toddler Train T-Shirt by The Thinking Closet

First Silhouette Project! 3-2-1 Blastoff Shirt by de Jong Dream House

Placecard & Card Medley by An Elegant Touch

Using my Silhouette in the Shower (Bathroom Organization) by Whole New Leaf

Pretty & Personal Birthday Bundle by The House on Hillbrook

Hello Everyone!!......

First I just want to say "THANK YOU!" for your prayers and donations.  I was able to get my friend, Jessica a Silhouette Portrait, it's ordered and will be here soon  THANKS AGAIN!!   I will continue to take donations to get her stuff to go with her new machine.  I can't wait to give it to her.  They are still cleaning up as well as many others.  This tornado season has been horrible.  I'm so ready for it do be over and DONE!!!

With all the bad weather I have a lot of time away from my computer.  I've been staying off so lighting won't mess it up or sitting here waiting for sirens to go off  to go into our storm shelter.  So this project is brought to you with BIG smiles because it means a break in the weather. 

Regina from The Cutting Café  has really been on a roll designing some really great cutting files for our cutting enjoyment.  I really love Regina's style.  You can use a cutting machine (I have a Silhouette ~ love it) or something as simple as a pair of scissors. 

For this weeks project we got to pick from the following sets:
DIAPER SHAPED CARD or BABY BOTTLE TREAT BOX 1 OR 2 OR BABY BOTTLE SHAPED CARD 1 OR 2 cutting file.  I used the Baby Bottle 2 template-cutting file. 

 

 

 

I used cardstock from Stampin' UP! and my silhouette cameo to cut out this cute baby bottle card.  I embellished with a button and some ribbon I got from Stampin' Up! some time ago.

 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out everyone's projects that will be posted on The Cutting Café Blog tomorrow.  Leave a comment there for a chance to win some great sets.

 

 

Doing an Online Craft Fundraiser to help a friend (victim) of the recent tornadoes

Okay, here it goes. With the encouragement from Lauren and Cindy, two of my friends from the Silhouette Challenge FB group, I have decided to order My friend in Carney that lost EVERYTHING to a tornado the day before the big Moore one, a Silhouette Portrait. She loved scrapbooking, making gifts and cards. I know this is not on her mind right now. But when things calm down, hopefully her love for crafting will return. Soooooo.....
 
Here is the fundraiser...they're are a few of us (so far) that are going to go in and donate money to get her a portrait that is on special by this Friday. If you are interested..I have a donate button that is through paypal. Lauren has tried it and it worked.  woooohoooo!     So what do you say....want to help me make one victim from this devestating tornado enjoy what she loves to do again some day.
Thanks~ This is my first time doing something like this...so please bare with me!!!
Any funds raised over the amount of the portrait will go to a Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's gift card.  I will let everyone know the totals and where it will go. 

Memorial Day news......

Hello Everyone!!  I hope that everyone is having a safe Memorial Day weekend.  My husband and I went to Carney, OK to help the victims of last Sunday's tornado.  It was the one the day before the Moore, OK one.  I can't begin to tell you the devestation there.  Some friends (and others) lost EVERYTHING they had.  It was so nice to see sooooo many people coming together to help this community.  Carney is just 8 miles from our home, so close. 

 

The family we helped yesterday lost it ALL...They lost their home, cars, business, craft room, horses, etc.  I know this is not even on her mind right now and it's not a necessity, but I would like to do a craft fundraiser of some sort.  Maybe get like Hobby Lobby or JoAnn gift cards.  I know she would love this.  Right now she has no storage as well, it was taken in the storm as well.  If anyone would like to help, send me an email.  I still have to work out the details (because I have never done anything like this)  I have time to work on it.

 

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and I would like to THANK all of our Service Men and Women for all that they do!!

 

With Memorial Day comes lots of great sales.  One of the sales I would like to share with you is from The Cutting Cafe!!!   It's a great sale and you don't want to miss out!!!!! 

 

 



CYBER MONDAY SALE FOR MAY 27TH 2013 - ANY 5 SETS FOR $5.00 DOLLARS OR 10 SETS FOR $10.00

Hello friends.............

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

We would like to thank all of our Service Men and Women today...WE SALUTE YOU TODAY, TOMORROW AND FOREVER

This card is for you!

Keep Calm and........

Today's post is not been easy to do.  I know I try to say possitive on my post, but I'm having trouble staying focused.  For the last couple of days we have been having some really bad tornados, One being listed as the largest ever.  My family is safe, but we know several that have lost homes. And I just can't stop thinking of the children that have been lost and trapped inside the school.  So If you have time, just say alittle prayer for families that have lost homes and or relatives in this horrific storm.

I love all the Keep Calm sayings that are going around.  Of course one of my favorite is Keep Calm and craft on.  I could do that all day if I had the time.  But for todays post I decided to do one that says Keep Calm and shoot for the stars.  I have to brag on my niece, Caleigh. She inspired me for this one.  She just received 11 awards and 3 trophies in school.  I  think she is shooting for those stars.  I am sooooo very proud of her.  She is a very sweet, smart, beautiful, talented little girl and I love her soooo much along with her mom, dad (my brother) and my handsome, sweet, smart, talented Godchild (her brother), Blaise!!

So for my card I used:

KEEP CALM AND REACH FOR THE STARS PRINTABLE SET

*Sneak Peek*

*Sneak Peek*

 This KEEP CALM AND REACH FOR THE STARS printable set features 10 different images in both black and white and color.

The images are approx.

 2.5 by 3 inches.

The set also comes with a matching envelope.

The envelope template comes in SVG, MTC, PDF and WPC format.

The Printables come PDF and JPEG format.

Hope you enjoy the card. 

Don't forget to stop by The Cutting Cafe! 

Leave a comment to win FREE sets from the store!

Happy Crafting!!!

 

 

Shhh....Baby Sleeping tutorial

I'm pretty excited and just have to share.....My very first tutorial for   Peppermint Creative has been posted on the Peppermint Creative Blog. 

 

Yeah....New Vectors at Peppermint Creative.  I love vectors and of course I already have some new ones picked out.  They are GREAT if you have a cutting machine (my favorite is the Silhouette Cameo...I'd like to get a portrait) and like to make projects with vinyl. 

 

Commercial Vectors on sale 20% off right now at Peppermint Creative until  May 22nd.  Check out the NEW RELEASES! 

 

 

 

This is the vector that I used for my tutorial

 



 

Shhh......Baby Sleeping
By: Tanya Alley

Supplies Used:

• Commercial Vectors – Baby Sleeping Word Art
• Fun with Felt – Flower Mix
• Silhouette Cameo with Silhouette Studio Software
• White Vinyl
• Transfer tape
• Weeding Tool
• Scraper (or old gift/credit card)
• Spray Paint
• Wooden Door Hanger
• White Ribbon
• White Yarn
• Button
• Hot Glue

Step 1: Spray paint the door hanger and let it completely dry.
Step 2: After cutting the vinyl out with the Silhouette Cameo, “weed” out the excess vinyl. Weeding is the process of removing extra vinyl bits around the graphic. You can use a special weeding tool to make the job easier without damaging or tearing your finished artwork.

Step 3: Apply transfer tape over your graphic.
Step 4: Using the scraper press down the tape and make sure that it is smoothed out and sticking to the vinyl.
Step 5: Once this vinyl is completely stuck to the transfer tape, apply it to your dried door hanger.
Step 6: Use the scrapper again to apply it to the hanger. Remove transfer tape.

Step 5: Embellish with button and bow.

Another fun idea is to use the vinyl lettering as a mask and create your sign using paint.

Paint your sign with acrylic paint in the colour you want your letters to be. Let it dry completely and apply the vinyl letters.

Paint over the entire sign in the colour you want to sign to be. Once that has dried completely, use your weeding tool to remove the letters to reveal the yellow paint below.

Hope this post sparked some creative ideas in you.
Happy Crafting!
Tanya

I Love You A Latte..........

(Not real sure why this post isn't layed out correct~ it's a mess and I can't correct it~Sorry)

I can't believe I actually finished my project for The Cutting Cafe.  I had one problem after another.  First, the silhouette studio kept freezing me up and I kept having to start over.  It happened, not one, not two, but three times.  Yes, I said THREE!  My husband said, "That's why you are suppose to save your work!"  Yep, I know that, It wouldn't let me before it would freeze up again!  Oh, the next problem was cutting.  I've had a few issues in the past with cutting, but not like this.  It would cut each image at least 6 times and still not cut all the way through the paper.  Oh well, I finally got it done!

    Do you like coffee?  I like it more now than I use to.  Today I had two BIG cups (I usually only have one, but I had to wake up).   I haven't had alot of fancy coffees or lattes.  Heck I'm not even sure what a latte really consist of.  When Regina at  The Cutting Cafe designed this adorable cutting file I immdiately had a idea of what I wanted to do with it.......One was use the saying "I Love You A Latte" 

For my project this week I used:

COFFEE CUP SHAPED CARD 2 template - cutting file is approx. 4 by 5.25

The set comes with 9 sentiments (will punch out using a 1.5 inch circle punch), 4 misc images and an inside pocket to hold a gift card.

  This is the sentiments that comes with the set.

I hope you like my card!

I used my Silhouette Studio to cut out the SVG files that come with this set.  I really enjoyed making this card despite all the problems I had with my Cameo and the Studio progam.

Additional supplies:  Craft cardstock, white cardstock, double sided tape and red ribbon

Go to The Cutting Cafe Blog to see the rest of the design team's projects.  Don't forget to leave a comment to win free sets.  Every week Regina has a winner for free sets out of the store, she's sweet that way!!!

 Oh, I almost forgot to post the picture of the problem I was having with my Silhouette Cameo.

It would cut each image at least 6 times and it still would cut all the way through.

I had some really bad cuts this time.  It was very frustrating.

This circle is a close up of the mess it was making....UGH! 

If you like this project or have suggestions on my cutting problems, please feel free to leave comments at the end of this post.

My first Silhouette Challenge Group project.......

Hello everyone.  This is my first time to post to the group.  I'm sooo darn excited.  I just hope my project is up to par. This project has been rolling around in my head for some time. 

I got a my Cameo about 6 mos. ago and it is by far my most favorite tool in my craft room.  I am on two design/creative teams right now and I have used my cameo for all projects but one (so far).  It's not that I don't like other mediums, It's just so darn easy to use my print and cut feature on the cameo.

For this project I used vinyl.  I love vinyl, you can put it on soooo much. You can make a project look so nice with it.  I really want to try other types of vinyl, like iron on vinyl or outdoor vinyl.  I did just do a project with the regular vinyl from the silhouette store on an outdoor metal chair for a friend's grandaughter.  I used a clear spray sealer because I don't have any outdoor vinyl right now.  I told her to let me know how that goes (for future projects).

So without futher adieu....here is my project.  Hope you enjoy....now on to see everyone else's projects....Whoo Hoooo!

I bought this frame years ago thru Stampin' UP!  I found it while cleaning out the garage attic.  Another wooohoo!! (for cleaning out the garage and finding this frame)  It's a white canvas type frame.  I came up with this little tutorial to show you the steps.


Step 1 - First I bought the Artisian Flourish image at the Silhouette online store.  I used Silhouette Studio and sized it to the desired size and cut it out with vinyl.  Be sure to check your settings for vinyl.  This way it doesn't cut all the way thru.  For the "The Alley Family"  I just played around until I got something I thought went with the medallion.  Most of my fonts I get for free at Dafont.com

Step 2 - I put a base coat of tan down.  This is the color that will show thru at the end when you remove the vinyl.  Make sure this coat is dried completely.

Step 3 - After "weeding" out your vinyl and applying transfer tape to it,  I eyeballed where I wanted it to go and layed it down.  Once down you will want to smooth it out with a scraper (even a credit card or a scraper that comes with your Pampered Chef stones will work) Make sure that the vinyl is down good. 

Step 4 - Top coat of paint.  I used black.  I completely covered my frame with the black.  Let dry, but still have a little tackiness to it. 

Step 5 - Take your "weed" tool, I got mine from the Silhouette Online store, (You can use and exacto knife if you don't have this tool) and remove all the vinyl pieces from your project.  At this stage you can do any touch ups with the paint if needed.  I didn't do this, but I read somewhere that once you put your vinyl on your project you can go over with modge podge and let dry.  This helps with having crisp lines.

Step 6 - Add any embellishments and of course your pictures.  My husband didn't like the picture of my youngest, well it isn't that he didn't like it, he just thought it was too big for the frame.

Hope you enjoyed my project! ~ Tanya 

Want to check out some more  Silhouette Projects?  Here's a collection of projects by my Silhouette Challenge buddies.

Spring Hoop Home Decor - Daily Dwelling

I Heart Labels: Flour & Sugar Jar Edition - The Thinking Closet

Bleeding Heart Card with Free Flower Download - Creative Turn

A Numbers Game - Learning Numbers with Your Preschooler - Lil Mrs. Tori

Personalized Garden Post & Grandma Book (Silhouette Mother's Day Presents) - Whole New Leaf

Girly Superhero Decor - Coley's Corner

"A Cup of Tea" Customizable Art Printable - Tried & True

The Lady in Hat "Thinking of You" Card - An Elegant Touch

Interested in joining us for our group posting event next month? We'd love to have you. Simply contact Lauren from The Thinking Closet by email.



WHOOO HOOOO.....Another Silhouette Portrait Giveaway

Head on over to The Thinking Closet for a chance to win the Silhouette Portrait. 

While you are there check out the promotions going on using The Thinking Closet code....see below