Bicycle Die Cards

I found this fiddly bicycle image and decided to test the limits of the used blade on my Silhouette Cameo. I was surprised that most of them came out beautifully, even using my cheapo Michaels' Recollections brand cardstock! So I had fun making a few bicycle-themed cards.

I worked mainly from my scrap paper containers. I was happy with how nicely they turned out!

Because the bicycle is so thin and fiddly, I planned to use my Xyron sticker maker to attach them. Alas, I forgot to check the measurements before cutting them. They were too big. So I found a Beacon spray adhesive and used that. It was a little messy, but it worked wonderfully and dried clear. Bonus: The little residue that ended up on the front from overspray dried completely smooth with no tacky residue.

Most of these papers are scraps from making pretty composition book journals from $5 Michaels Hot Buy paper pads.

As you can tell, I'm very partial to my lace border punch. I'm so thrilled to have found another one so many years later!

And that's all for this week! I have more Silhouette projects to share - perhaps next week.

1/19/19 Weekly Tags

I showed you some cards I made in the last post. Now I'm going to show you some gift tags I made this week. I like to add something pretty to my packages so they don't look so boring, but storebought tags are usually bland. I was happy to finally be able to cut the shape I wanted and decorate them with paper and embellishments from my scrap bins.

My daughter is a coffee addict (we like to call it a "committed relationship"). She inspired me to create these coffee-themed tags. I left some room to at least write a name. I write pretty small, so I can probably write a little greeting on them, too.

I really like these little paper bows. I could have created them on my Silhouette Cameo, but I used my We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board. It was really easy, especially with the paper scraps I was working with.

I picked up these rhinestones at Dollar Tree this week. I saw them and realized I haven't worked with rhinestones in a few years. I really like them! They're just the right touch for the center of the bows.

I fussy-cut some things out of scraps of the busy writing-themed paper from a recent $5 Michaels paper pad to create most of these. It was really easy, or I wouldn't have done it. I don't have a lot of patience for fussy-cutting, which is one of the reasons I got my Silhouette.

Lastly, I did manage one masculine tag. I only had a small bit of this measuring tape paper leftover, and it worked well with the die cut gear. Now that I think of it, I do have washi tape in a measuring tape design. I may have to make some more masculine tags ...

I really enjoyed making these tags! I'll be putting them to good use as I give our church ladies a small handmade gift (an altered composition notebook this year) for their birthdays.

My First Cards in Years

It's been a few years since I've made any cards. I got some time this past week to play around with my new-to-me Silhouette Cameo, so I thought I'd share my first rusty attempts at cardmaking.

I mostly have a need for birthday cards for our church people. A lot of the men in our congregation are (or were) hunters, so this buck silhouette was the perfect starting point for a birthday card. I got the idea for using the "Make a Wish" sentiment from Pinterest, and I thought it was especially appropriate for a buck with a rack this size.

I mimicked the nailheads on the wood paper with a regular old brown marker. I was pretty surprised at how well they blended in.

I could have thrown away the negative space from the buck silhouette diecut, but I had the idea to use it on another card. This was the result.

This truck stamp and die came from a Christmas stamp set. If you look, you can see the "Christmas lights" on the side of the truck. I figured it wouldn't be overly noticeable if I didn't point it out, so I hope I'm right. Choosing a truck color other than red helps, too.

I goofed on this card. After stamping the sentiment, I pulled it straight off - and then it slipped out of my hands. Of course it landed ink side down. Because the paper is so busy with tire tracks, I'm hoping it's not too noticeable. Or maybe it will look like a drop shadow. Yes, let's go with that last one. Note to self: Don't glue down the paper before stamping a sentiment onto it. You never know what might happen.

This one is pretty simple. It just came together from scraps, and I liked how it turned out.

I'm not anticipating sending this one to a guy, but it came together because I noticed how the two paper scraps looked like a table and wallpaper background together. That reminded me of the coffee cups I had pieced together awhile back, so I pulled one out and made the card while I was still thinking about it.

So, there you have it - my first cards in years. I really enjoyed it and may make a semi-regular blog feature of the "cards of the week".

Christmas Gifts: Personalized Mugs

While I was shopping with my sister and mother this Christmas season, my sister mentioned that she would like to make personalized t-shirts for her kids but couldn't figure out the software that came with her electronic die cutting machine. I immediately picked up on this. I didn't realize she had an electronic die cutting machine. I offered to figure it out for her, since I'd love to play around with it.

It turns out she has a Silhouette Cameo! How did I not know this for several years?! (And the software was really easy to figure out. She just had the original software that came with the Cameo, which is several years old now. The newest version is very user-friendly.)

After working with her Cameo long enough to make four t-shirts, I knew I wanted one. However, I'm not in the habit of dropping $200-300 on something without researching it for months. I noticed several used Cameos (the original version) on eBay for around $100-125. That price point was a lot more appealing to me. Besides, my sister has the original Cameo, and I liked hers.

As I did the research across the three versions of the Cameo, I discovered that they can all basically DO the same things. The main differences are in how they connect to your computer. Since I don't mind using a USB cord between my laptop and Cameo, I decided on the original Cameo. It saved me half the price of the Cameo 3 on sale. (It's 1/3 of the regular price of the Cameo 3.)

You can expect to see more projects that utilize it, since I have all kinds of ideas up my sleeve.

After the shirts I made for her kids, these coffee mugs were my next project. I wanted to make something inexpensive but meaningful for my brother, my sister, and her husband. We don't always exchange gifts, and they aren't ever extravagant, but I wanted to give them something. As I looked at different mug designs, the first two jumped out at me for my brother and brother-in-law. I came up with the last one - the one for my sister - all by myself.

My brother is a bit of a "tech geek". This comes in handy when my electronics act up. He's saved my electronics (and tons of money) on more than one occasion. Since we both remember working with DOS in our younger years, and since we're both familiar with the Dick and Jane books that kids used to learn to read on, I knew he'd get a kick out of this. I was right. He loved it!

This was for my brother-in-law, an avid hunter. He really does love my sister and is a great husband to her, but I knew he'd find this amusing. I was right. He loved it, too!

Here's the other side of this one:

Lastly, I was inspired by my own "Keep Calm and Carry On" mug. My sister's first name is Carrie, so I just made a play on words:

I thought it was pretty clever, and she really liked it, too! As we inch further into our midlife years, she's going to need this reminder!

If you're going to make mugs like this, just remember to use the "permanent" vinyl. It's supposed to last for 6 years of outdoor use, so it's obviously not completely permanent. But it's about as good as it gets. Just don't run them through the dishwasher or let them soak in water overnight. Both of those scenarios could make the vinyl peel off. Some people have had no problem with the dishwasher, but I don't want to take any chances.