MAGNETIC ADVENT CALENDAR

Don't you just LOVE getting free designs?!!!  Silhouette is so good to us, don't you think?  I'm loving the 12 days of free designs till Christmas.  I love this design today.  There are so many things you can do with it.  I debated doing a fun Christmas pillow or some wall art but then I had an idea that made me super excited....a magnetic advent calendar for my fridge!  Here's what I did.....

That open sleigh was just begging to have presents in it!  So I filled it up.  :)  Here is a quick step by step...

• After I opened the design I filled it with a fun pattern and made the cut lines black and thicker.   I also did this with the words and placed them where I wanted them.
• TURN OFF THE CUT LINES ON THE WORDS!  You do not want to forget this step or you will cut them right out.
• I picked a fun Christmas tree design and presents as well and added the pattern.
• Then I found a font I liked, typed all of the numbers I needed (do them all separately so you can move them around).
• Fill the numbers with the color white.  Right click on the number and select "Bring to Front".  Then place them on top of the present designs.
• AGAIN TURN OFF THE CUT LINES ON THE NUMBERS!
• Turn on the registration marks.
• Now it's easy...just print the designs on magnet paper and cut them out!  I got the whole thing cut out with just 2 sheets of paper.

I am in love with the print and cut feature on the Silhouette.  It is so amazing and makes doing projects so stinkin' easy!

My vision with this advent calendar is that at the beginning of the month all of the presents started out in the sleigh.  Then each day we move a present under the tree.  So the kiddos will know it's Christmas when all of the presents make it under the tree.  I loved the anticipation of Christmas as a child.  I think that this advent calendar would have made me so excited everyday to imagine more presents under the tree.  It also would have given my parents more ammo to get me to do good so Santa would come.  ;)

You can hang this on the fridge as I did or you could even do it on a cookie sheet if you want to.  Then you could put it in any room you want to in your house.

Designs used:

Oh what fun (Free Design) on 12/20/14

red polka dots pattern background

retro christmas trees

The present design I believe was an exclusive design that came with the advent calendar frame.

LD Christmas Carol Font

50's small dot pattern

The green polka dot present pattern and the yellow polka dot pattern were patterns that came with my Cameo.

Rhinestone Kit Giveaway and Silhouette Design Team Blog Hop!!!

I'm super excited for my post today!  I get to highlight one of my favorite Silhouette products and also do a giveaway!!!  We as the Silhouette Design Team are also doing a blog hop!  So you can see what all of our favorites are and enter to win a lot of prizes!!!

I chose the Rhinestone Starter Kit because it is so amazing!  I love things that sparkle, but have you ever tried to do a rhinestone design with a single rhinestone setter?  It takes FOREVER!  So when I got my Silhouette Cameo last year for Christmas I was so excited to discover that I could make rhinestone templates.  I love these for so many reasons....  I love that I can make one template and use it again and again.  I love that it is so quick and easy to use.  I love that there is a transfer paper that helps me line up the design just right on my project and can be ironed.  The whole process is wonderful!  I chose this one also so that one lucky winner can also fall in love with the Rhinestone Starter Kit, and hopefully I will inspire the rest of you to try it out as well.  :)

Ok, how cute is this rhinestone Christmas light design on this little T-shirt?!  I like to make things for my daughter that not everyone else will be wearing.  Using my Silhouette always helps me accomplish this.

I know it may take a little bit of time to weed out the holes on the template velvet if you don't get it pulled off quickly, but this finished result is totally worth it!  It may sound a little weird, but sometimes I enjoy weeding out my designs.  It's just fun to see it come to life I guess.

And yes...the shirt is way cuter on.  I may also think that I have the cutest daughter in the whole world!!!  Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

Your next blog in our blog hop is...Cari Locken
Incase you missed the one right before me here's her link as well....Nicole Nowosad

What would you make if you won this Rhinestone Starter Kit?  I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

Enter here for a chance to win the Rhinestone Starter Kit!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DIY VINYL BIN LABELS

I love using graphic designs to decorate whenever I can.  I have a bunch of fabric covered bins in my house and I love finding fun ways to label them with Silhouette’s adhesive vinyl.  I love using the adhesive vinyl because then if I change my mind about what I want to use the bin for I can easily change the vinyl label as well.

I have a lot of bins I could decorate, but I started out with these two.  I love doing nails and knitting.  Both of these hobbies create a mess that I have to organize.  So I went on a search of the Silhouette design store to find designs that would inspire me.  I found this cute nail polish designand this awesome knitting ball design.  They turned out really fun.  My daughter LOVES them, or at least loves playing in them.  

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Designs used:

• knitting
• mirror and nail polish

DIY FABRIC INK / FABRIC APPLIQUE PILLOW COVER

Love is on my mind this month as my husband and I just hit our 5th wedding anniversary.  I decided to make a cute pillow with this love point desing to remember this milestone.  I LOVE using the sewable fabric interfacing and it goes great on pillows!

Here are a few tips for you today, one on working with multiple layers of sewable fabric interfacing and another on stencil vinyl.

After I cut out the design I decided to sew the heart onto the circle first so I wouldn’t have all of the fabric from the pillow to fuss with in the sewing machine.  Since I had already removed the paper backing to cut the fabric I needed to make sure I didn’t iron the design to my ironing board.  So I found the paper from the back of the circle and placed the designs on that to heat the heart to the circle.

I let the fabric cool then I sewed around the heart with the paper still attached.  Doing this helped keep the plasticy part of the interfacing from sticking to the machine while I sewed.  Then just tear the paper away when you are finished with that step.  I did this to sew the heart onto the circle, then again to sew the circle to the point.

The second tip I have is for using the stencil vinyl and fabric paint.  Sometimes it is hard to see the design you have cut because it is clear vinyl with clear transfer tape.  So I like to trace around the design with a marker to make it easier to line up on the fabric I am using.

I hope you enjoyed this project and that it will inspire you to create something fun as well!

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Designs used:

echo park love point

love (double-sided adhesive starter kit shape)

LDJ Flirt font

DIY RHINESTONE TEE

I am so in love with the rhinestone kit from Silhouette! It makes doing a rhinestone project so stinking easy.  For this project I used the metallic rhinestones, they give a bit of a studded feel to the project.  For some reason I wanted the studded feel to go along with my daughters cute little pink boots (which I am super jealous of, why, oh why don’t they make them in adult sizes!)

A little tip I have for using the rhinestone template material is to follow the directions and pull the material off quickly from the backing it is on when it is cut.  This will save you a lot of time trying to weed out sticky little circles.  Seriously though, if you do this right you can have a rhinestone project finished in less than 10 minutes, which is something you could never say if you have to heat each rhinestone individually.

Here is my cute little daughter sporting her new Tee, along with one of her besties.

DIY HALLOWEEN VASE

Halloween is coming up!  I wanted to add a new Halloween decoration to my kitchen and this vase was just calling out me.  

I found a fun Boo design in the Silhouette design store that I just had to use.  So I used my Silhouette to cut it out of vinyl and using the transfer paper applied it to the front of the vase. I also wanted to add some depth to the design so I found the spider web design and applied that vinyl piece to the inside of the back of the vase.  It was a little tricky to get in there because this vase is so narrow, but it was totally worth it! 

 I will enjoy the vase all season, and if I need it for something else later the vinyl can be removed.  I love that also because I'm really not a fan of storing seasonal decor all year, so this way I can just make my normal decor double as seasonal decor when needed.

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DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME

October 8, 2014

I had a hard time deciding what to dress my daughter up as for Halloween.  I decided to make her the "Cutest Baby in the World" because everytime we ask her if she is the cutest baby in the world she dramaticly shakes her head yes.  It makes me laugh every time.  I thought it would be funny if people see the little sash on her and ask her if she is the cutest baby in the world because she will surprise them when she responds.  So I made her a little puffy dress and a sash to tie it all together.

To make the cute little sash I just cut a piece of 2" ribbon to fit her just right.   Then all I had to do is use my Silhouette, a cute little font, and some heat transfer material.  The Silhouette made the sash the easiest party of making this whole costume!

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DIY HALLOWEEN BANNER

I love banners and I love making them even more!  I’m not always great at decorating for every holiday, but with one simple banner in my entry way I feel like it can make my whole house feel festive for any given holiday.  When I found these Halloween key designs I just knew that they needed to be my next banner project!  How cute are they?!!!

I loved the designs so much that I wanted to keep things simple and really show the design, but just cardstock seemed a little too simple for some reason.  So I decided to join together two Silhouette products to make the banner more fun.   I used the adhesive cardstock for my first product and then the glitter and technique from the double sided adhesive kit for my second product.

• Cut the designs in a variety of sizes and colors out of the adhesive cardstock.
• Apply the glitter liberally to the adhesive side of the designs.

• Use the brush from the starter kit to make sure the glitter is applied evenly.

• Shake off excess glitter.
• Line up the keys to get the layout you want.

• Attach keys to a yarn using sewing thread.
• Hang the banner and enjoy it throughout the holiday season!

It’s as easy as that!  I love having the contrast of the glitter and the cardstock as the keys spin around when they are hung.

VINYL MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE WALL

My husband and I have been trying to get back into a good exercise routine lately.  Some mornings it is really hard to get up when the alarm goes off at 6AM.  I have been collecting motivational quotes for a while thinking that at some point I would display them somewhere fun where I can see them everyday.  I tried to pick quotes that could motivate me in life and with my workouts.  Well, when I rolled over to shut off the alarm this morning I looked at the blank wall behind my bedroom door and I knew that was where my quotes needed to go.  It is a perfect place because when the door is open nobody would even know that they are back there and that would be the first place I look in the morning.

After I cut all of the quotes out, I used painters tape to tape them to the wall so I could have a good idea of placement before I started to apply the vinyl to the wall.

I am in love with the way this turned out!  I leave my workout clothes right below it and it servers as a great reminder to me of the goals I have set.

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Shapes used:

• SNF Applauce
• LD Socialite
• LW Headline
• SNF Miss Molly
• LD Baskin Sundae
• LD Free Spirit
• MK Thick Type
• LD Teensel
• Apple Font

DIY FABRIC BEADS

As a little girl I loved making paper bead necklaces with my sisters out of magazine paper.  I was so happy when I found that there was a cut file in the Silhouette online store for paper beads!  I wanted to make some for my 1 year old daughter.  She LOVES necklaces and loves putting them on herself.  I knew that if I made these out of paper they would be a soggy mess in minutes because she would put them in her mouth.  So to solve this problem I made them out of fabric.

I used the sewable fabric interfacing to cut my fabric cleanly.  Then I used a little wood cuticle pusher that I had on hand to roll the fabric beads around.  I used a little bit of double-sided tape to hold the beads together, but you could also use hot glue or any of your favorite fabric glues.  String them together with embroidery floss or yarn.  There you have it!  A simple fun bracelet and necklace perfect for a  toddler (or for a girl of any age really).

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Shapes used:

• paper bead set
• paper bead pattern set 1

PRODUCTS USED:

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DIY VINYL WALL ART

Who doesn’t love a little vinyl wall art?  It can be so much fun!  I love that with the Silhouette it is so easy to make. Their vinyl is great to work with and can be removed easily when you are ready for something new.

For this project I wanted to make labels for the towels that hang on hooks in our bathroom.

Here’s how its done…

• Find some lovely shapes from the online store, download them, and cut them from adhesive vinyl.
• Weed out the spare vinyl from the design with the handy little hook tool.

• I cut out the words with white vinyl and applied them to the colored vinyl shapes before placing them on the wall.
• Transfer the vinyl design to the wall using transfer paper and a scraper.

See, it is so easy and fun!  You can do any type of design that fits your house.  I like things a little more modern/contemporary so this mix of designs worked perfectly for me.  I am kind of nerdy and I loved making the “hand towel” shape.

Have fun creating your own vinyl art.  The possibilities are endless!!!

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Shapes used:

• Man with tie
• Polka dot woman
• His and hers
• Hand
• LD free spirit font

PRODUCTS USED:

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