If you want to see how I made the art in the DIY Blogger House nursery, you’re in the right place.

Lara of Less Cake {more frosting} and I collaborated on this nursery.  When you get a couple of Sound of Music dorks together working on a room, you’re just asking for some sort of movie reference.  And, since clothes made out of curtains don’t make sense in a room that’s not for an actual baby (or ever), artwork it was. 

Lara showed me Copeland’s Colorful Nursery from Project Nursery and we knew we HAD to use that phrase.  And, we knew we wanted BIG.  We looked at canvases, but my signature project budget was running low.  We thought about painting it on the wall, but I was worried about a) screwing up and b) having to spend that much time in the house that last week.  So, inspired by the amazing artwork in Mandi’s entryway, we went with plywood.

I picked up this piece (4’ X 4’, thin…maybe 1/4”, pre-cut) at Lowe’s for about $14.  I went through the entire stack before settling.  I liked the movement of the grain.

Then, I took Lara a Diet Coke and she came up with a sketch/design.

I separated the design in my Silhouette Studio software, and cut the script-y font out of vinyl using my CAMEO.  I applied the vinyl to the board and painted 2 coats using regular old cheap acrylic craft paint.  Then I peeled off the vinyl.

You’ll notice that I jacked up the colors.  Oops.  It still turned out awesome, right?

Once that was dry, I cut the print font out of vinyl with my CAMEO and applied that to the board.  The white paint needed 3 coats, but that may be due to the fact that it had been in the basement for like 5 years.

It needed just a little bit more *something*, so I went with 2 coats of a gloss poly,

sanding between coats (and taking awesome cell phone pics in my garage in the dark).

The total cost for this was right around $20.

And, because I love you, I’m sharing the Silhouette Studio file for your cutting pleasure. 

Sound of Music Art

The scale is HUGE/sized for our 4’ X 4’ board but it can all be cut on 12” vinyl in your CAMEO.

It’s time for another Silhouette promotion!  This one involves vinyl, which is probably the thing I cut most with my machine.  Check my next post for how I used vinyl as a stencil to make the Sound of Music nursery art in the DIY Blogger House, but for now here are the details on the promotion and a giveaway!

Don’t have a CAMEO yet?

Go here to take advantage of that deal.

You can find the vinyl here.

Now onto the reason you’re all really here. 

Want to win a CAMEO plus white vinyl, black vinyl, and transfer tape?

(I know you do!)

One lucky Crap I’ve Made reader will win her (or his) very own Silhouette CAMEO™ + vinyl bundle

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment on this post.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

Follow the Silhouette blog.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) saying that you did.

Follow Silhouette on Pinterest.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

***3 possible entries per person***

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Wednesday, August 29th at noon MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Be sure to check back because I’ll be updating this post with other giveaways in blog land as I come across them!

The nursery in the DIY Blogger House was inspired by this fabric

by Patty Young.  (She is DELIGHTFUL.  I took a class from her last year at The Creative Connection and it was for sure one of the highlights of my trip.)  It’s Moorish Tile in white from her Andalucia collection for Michael Miller.

I picked up a bunch of awesome fabrics from Fabric.com.  (I’m not affiliated with them in anyway, just letting you know where I got my stuff.)  They have an awesome feature on their site where you can add fabrics to an inspiration board to see them all together before you make your purchase.  I built on the colors in the Moorish Tile fabric and came up with this:

I didn’t end up using all of the fabrics on the board, but it was my online version of stacking a million bolts in my cart before I make a final decision at my local fabric store. 

I made pillows out of the Michael Miller Ta Dot Lagoon and the Premier Prints Zig Zag Chartreuse, but I wanted something unique for the other pillow.  I decided to enlarge part of the design in the Moorish Tile pattern and paint a pillow.

Because I’m not that coordinated, I cut a freezer paper stencil.

Because I’m lazy, I used my CAMEO.

I showed you last week how to trace a design using your Silhouette.  That’s where I started.  I traced the image of the fabric, but then I had to make a couple of modifications.  My trace of the design looked like this:

That’s absolutely fine, but I wanted it cleaner and with less stuff around the edges.  I wanted to focus on the center part.  So, I made the trace bigger (click and drag on the corner) and rotated it the direction I wanted it to be (the green dot at the top of the design allows you to rotate).  Then I right clicked and selected “Release Compound Path”.

This makes the image a bunch of separate cuts and lets you delete the floater pieces that you don’t want.  I deleted all the floaters and was left with this:

Getting closer!  I opened my Eraser menu after that (over on the left, under the add text button) and erased the parts of the design that I didn’t want.

At this point I would recommend selecting the entire design and right clicking and then selecting “Group”.  This way your whole image sticks together and stays the same size.

Now I just needed to fill in the missing pieces.  I used the “Draw Freehand” option to do that.  It’s right above the add text button.  You can see it highlighted in the image above, but it’s tiny.

Draw in one of the missing lines.  It doesn’t have to be great.  Mine started out like this:

If you double click on the line you just drew, it will bring up the point editing menu.

It will allow you to maneuver the end points of the line you drew over onto the lines in the design as well as modify the curves.  Just play with it a little!  And, if you screw up, use the undo function and try again.  Once you’ve got it how you like it, select the whole design and right click and select “Group” again.

Repeat for the other 3 sides.

Nice, right?  I had a 14” pillow form, so I wanted this design as close to 12 X 12 as possible.  I stretched it all the way to the edges of the cut area.

To cut freezer paper with your Silhouette, put the shiny side up and reverse your image (if necessary…it wasn’t really necessary on this).  Choose the normal paper settings and then slow it down just a little.

I ironed the design to some white cotton duck that I had on hand and then filled it in with craft paint mixed with a textile medium (so it doesn’t get crispy or crack).  The paint colors I used were Granny Smith from Martha Stewart Crafts and Ocean Breeze from Craft Smart.  They were picked strictly for how well they matched the Moorish Tile.

And the finishing touch?  Some pom pom trim from our friends over at Pick Your Plum.

I kind of love it.

I bought the 2 bottles of craft paint for this project and our designer Brian provided me with the pillow form ($1.99 from IKEA) but I had everything else on hand.  I think this is a great inexpensive way to add a custom one-of-a-kind pillow to your space.

I have the Designer Edition software, but you can do this in the regular version as well.  Just wanted you to know why some things might look a little different on my screen than on yours.

The first thing you need to do is find the image you want to trace.  Save it to your computer.  You can trace anything, but blocky graphic type things work best.  (Next week I’ll be showing you how I traced  some fabric and enlarged the motif to make a painted pillow.)  For purposes of this example, we’re going with the local high school logo.

Go to the "File” menu in the upper left hand corner and choose “Open”.

The box that comes up with default to Silhouette Studio files only. This will not help you.    You need to go to the box at the bottom and select all files.

Find your image and select it and then open the trace menu (indicated by the poorly drawn red circle in the image below).

Next you’ll want to “Select Trace Area” (the top option on the trace menu).  This allows you to draw a grey shaded box around the portion of your image you want to trace.  If you want to trace the whole thing, you don’t have to be especially careful.

Parts of the image will turn yellow.  This will be the part that is traced.  Mess around with the sliders until everything you want traced is yellow.  On a blocky black and white image, I have the best luck with clicking the “Low Pass Filter” box and unclicking the “High Pass Filter”.

Click “Trace” up near the top, and you’re done!

You can then move and delete the original image and resize/modify your trace as necessary.

Easy, right?

If you’re here to buy a CAMEO + 2 rolls of vinyl and transfer tape for $269.99, go here and use code “CRAP”.

If you’re here to get 40% off any and all Silhouette vinyl, go here and use code “CRAP”.

To see two other projects I made with the vinyl Silhouette sent me this month, check out my Mother’s Day sign and my DIY Vintage sign tutorials.

So, I mentioned yesterday in the glitter glasses post that we are huge fans of Zenni Optical.  Macy recently started wearing glasses and was sorely disappointed in the color selection at the eye doctor.  I was sorely disappointed in the pricing.  So, we gave Zenni a try.  We were extremely happy and have since placed another order.  Or two.

The one thing we don’t love about Zenni?  All the cases come like this,

which is fine if you only have a pair or two.  But when you have 11?  (Did I just admit that?)You are frantically opening case after case after case in search of the orange glasses and you needed to leave for orchestra 2 minutes ago.

So, I sat down with my Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition software (you could totally do this in the regular version, to) and made some labels.

And now?

***I am not affiliated with Zenni Optical in any way.  They made my new glasses wearer much happier about wearing glasses.  And that makes me happy.***

And, because several people have asked, we upgrade to poly-carbonate lenses and anti-glare coating, which adds about $15/pair.  Sometimes they have buy 2 get one free sales.  The bottom line for me is that 11 pairs of glasses from Zenni = less than one pair from the eye doctor.

+

1 roll 12-inch Black Premium Vinyl

1 roll 12-inch White Premium Vinyl

1 roll 12-inch Transfer Paper

=

$269.99

Go here to add the bundle to your cart and use code “CRAP” to take advantage of the savings.  This promo runs through May 16th.

If you already have a Silhouette, you can get 40% off all vinyl using the same link and code “CRAP”!

WANT TO TAKE YOUR CHANCES AND TRY TO WIN ONE?  HERE’S WHAT COULD BE IN IT FOR YOU:

One lucky Crap I’ve Made reader will win her (or his) very own Silhouette CAMEO™

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment on this post.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

Follow the Silhouette blog.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) saying that you did.

Follow Silhouette on Pinterest.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

***3 possible entries per person***

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Monday, May 14th at noon MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

I’ve already showed you one of the things I made with the roll of vinyl Silhouette sent me this month:

Vintage sign tutorial here.

I’ll have my latest vinyl project for you tomorrow.  I’ll also be updating this post with links to the other giveaways going on in blog land as I become aware of them, so be sure to check back!

Infarrantly Creative

Skip to My Lou

Crap I’ve Made

I Heart Naptime

House of Hepworths

Craftaholics Anonymous

I do.

Do you love the price of old metal signs?

I do not.

Plus, what are the odds that it’ll be just the right size and color?  Not good, friends…not good.

So, when I had the idea to put one on Macy’s pallet headboard, I knew I’d have to DIY it.

My first stop was the ducting section at Lowe’s.

They sell metal sheets elsewhere in the store (near the plexi glass), but they’re about 2-3 times as much.  Is it “nicer” metal?  Probably, but we don’t need nice for this project.

The sheet measured 24” X 36”, but I wanted a slightly different size.  I cut about 2.5” off one of the long sides so my piece was 21.5” X 36”. You can score with a razor blade/utility knife and then snap the metal along the line, but it takes some SERIOUS patience and massive amounts of scoring.  I went the quick route and used tin snips (WEAR GLOVES) and then used a file to smooth the edge (WEAR GLOVES).

I liked the look of a metal border, so I taped off the edges and then I applied some yellow paint.  I used Jonquil from the new Martha Stewart Crafts by Plaid line.  That paint works on pretty much any surface, including metal.  You don’t need a great coat, because you’re going to sand it and beat it up.  Make sure it’s mostly covered, though.  Peel off the tape and sand.  I used an electric sander with 220 grit.  If you’re doing it by hand, you could use rougher paper (lower grit #).  Here’s a shot after I had sanded:

I put the tape back on and applied some vinyl, cut with my Silhouette CAMEO™, in the center in the shape of a vintage Chevrolet logo.

I traced the center part manually in the Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition software and then used the font “Hood Ornament” to add the lettering.  It’s not quite the same font that Chevy actually used, but only true car dorks would know that.

Once the vinyl was applied, I put on a coat of Martha Stewart Crafts by Plaid paint in carrot.

After I peeled off the tape and vinyl:

And then I sanded some more.  Once I was happy with it, I mounted it to the headboard with a screw in each corner.

I will probably go back and put a clear coat on it, but it’s cold today and I’m a wuss. 

Like, (proud mom brag alert) she’s taking 8th grade honors math next year and skipping the whole 7th grade math scene completely.

And, last Thursday, she participated in the Math Olympics.

The plan was for her to wear a dorky math related t-shirt.  So, after much Google-ing and debate (“5 out of 4 people don’t understand fractions”, “No, I will not do your math”, etc.), we made one with my Silhouette CAMEO™ and a heat transfer starter kit.

If you haven’t tried the heat transfer yet, you really should…you’ll be hooked.  The hilarious t-shirt possibilities alone make it worth your while.  (Remember when I made myself one that said “WORST MOM EVER”?  He he he.)

What did we decide on?

The font I used is Arial.  The font size is different on each line.

To save you some work, I’ve uploaded it for you here.  Don’t forget to reverse the image before cutting it out of heat transfer!

When it came right down to it, she wussed out

and wore something completely normal instead.

I said the OUTFIT was completely normal.  She, obviously, is not (takes after her mother). 

In case you forgot, I’m giving away a CAMEO and a heat transfer starter kit.  Go here to enter.

If you’re not feeling like a winner, you can pick up a Silhouette CAMEO™ PLUS a heat transfer starter kit for $269.99 through April 10th.  Go here to add the bundle to your cart and use code “CRAP” to take advantage of the savings.  Already have a Silhouette?  Pick up the heat transfer starter kit for $24.99 or take 40% off of all other heat transfer material.  Use code “CRAP” for that as well!

Way to get the week/month started off awesome, right?

First of all, here’s the promotion if you don’t think you’re going to win:

+

=

$269.99

Go here to add the bundle to your cart and use code “CRAP” to take advantage of the savings.  This promo runs through April 10th.

If you already have a Silhouette, you can get the heat transfer starter kit for $24.99 and/or take 40% off of all other heat transfer material using the same link and code “CRAP”!

WANT TO TAKE YOUR CHANCES AND TRY TO WIN ONE?  HERE’S WHAT COULD BE IN IT FOR YOU:

One lucky Crap I’ve Made reader will win her (or his) very own Silhouette CAMEO™ PLUS a heat transfer starter kit!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment on this post.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

Follow the Silhouette blog.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) saying that you did.

Follow Silhouette on Pinterest.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

***3 possible entries per person***

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Sunday, April 8th at noon MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Want to see what I made?

I’ll have the details for you tomorrow (plus a free download if you want to make it yourself).  I’ll also be updating this post with links to the other giveaways going on in blog land as I become aware of them, so be sure to check back!

Infarrantly Creative

I Heart Naptime

The Idea Room

Crafting Chicks

Whipperberry

Craftaholics Anonymous

UCreate

Eighteen25

SugarDoodle

House of Hepworths

I promised the how to on the paint job from the mailbox I used in yesterday’s post, so, without further ado…

The first thing you’ll want to do is remove the flag from the mailbox.  Mine had a nice little pin to pull out and the flag came right off.

Next you need dots.  Lots and lots of dots.  I used vinyl and cut them with my Silhouette CAMEO™ and my Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition software, but you could easily trace and cut them by hand or even use a large punch.  Because I bought an oversized mailbox, I wanted my circles big…1.5”.  I made one and then used Object > Replicate > Fill page in my software to fill my vinyl.  A 9” by 24” piece gave me enough 1.5 dots for my whole mailbox.

I drew a pencil line down the top of my mailbox and found the center.  I placed my first dot there.  I then spaced the dots 2 1/4” apart (from edge to edge) along the top of the box.

To make the next row, I drew a line 2 1/2” from the bottom edge of the dots and placed the bottom of the next row right up next to that line.

I centered a row of dots down the front and back of the mailbox with the same spacing, and then filled in the ends the same way.

Once all the dots were in place, I had a kid run her finger around all the edges to make sure that the vinyl was sealed tightly.  Then, I headed for the garage with a can of Valspar Gloss Exotic Sea.  (Random side note:  I’m enjoying the new Valspar spray paint cans immensely.  The big old trigger button makes the painting much more comfortable.)

My favorite “duh” spray painting tip is to always start with your item upside down.  Get all the bottom edges painted nicely first.  I gave the whole mailbox a couple of coats and then peeled off the vinyl.  I used the hook tool from Silhouette, but again…not necessary.

Put the flag back on and you’re good to go (chains and bird perches optional)!  I’m totally wishing my mailbox wasn’t brick right about now.

Check back tomorrow for a seriously awesome deal on the Silhouette CAMEO™ and the Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition software.

The nice folks at Silhouette offered to let me give away another Cameo and I jumped at the chance…I know how many of you are dying to get your hands on one.

The Cameo is the new and improved personal craft cutter from Silhouette.  The Cameo connects to your computer allowing you to cut fonts and images in cardstock, vinyl, heat transfer material, fabric, etc.  I was a HUGE fan of the Silhouette SD and I wondered just how much better the Cameo could be.  The answer:  WAY WAY WAY better.  In addition to the bigger cutting area, it’s quieter.  The blade adjustment is easier and you don’t have to worry about losing the little caps.  Your media loads SO much easier and there’s a pause button.  The display is lighted, in case you like to craft in the dark. 

If you’re not feeling lucky and NEED to get your hands on one, here are the details on the current Silhouette promotion:

Fabric Ink Starter Kit

Silhouette Cameo + Fabric Ink Starter Kit for $299 using code “CRAP”.  This promotion is valid December 29th thru January 5th.  You can wait and see if you win or you can order now.  Supplies for this month’s promo are limited.  (Add the machine and the kit to your cart separately and then use the code at check out.)  If you already have a machine (The SD or the Cameo) and just want to get your hands on some of the ink, code “CRAP” gets you 20% off any of the ink supplies (starter kit included).

WANT TO TAKE YOUR CHANCES AND TRY TO WIN ONE?  HERE’S WHAT COULD BE IN IT FOR YOU:

One lucky Crap I’ve Made reader will win her (or his) very own Cameo!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment on this post.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

“Like” Silhouette on Facebook.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) saying that you did.

Follow Silhouette on Pinterest.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

***3 possible entries per person***

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Tuesday, January 3rd at noon MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

I’ll have a fabric ink project for you in the next couple of days.  If you want to see it in action before then, you can go here.  I’ll also be updating this post with links to the other giveaways going on in blog land as I become aware of them, so be sure to check back!

Infarrantly Creative

Tatertots & Jello

Today’s Creative Blog

Crap I’ve Made (You are here!)

Skip to My Lou

The Idea Room

Craftaholics Anonymous

My Repurposed Life

Whipper Berry

All Things Thrifty

Eighteen 25

Brown Paper Packages

Sew Dang Cute

Shanty 2 Chic

I Heart Naptime

Tip Junkie

Oopsey Daisy

House of Hepworths

Lil Blue Boo

You’ve seen the fabulous pillows made from feed sacks all over the internet, right?  Pottery Barn had some made from coffee bags, even.  I love them, but I don’t happen to have an abundance of feed sacks sitting around.  OK, I don’t have any feed sacks sitting around and I don’t know where to get them either.  So, I came up with this project to satisfy my love of the feed sack.  Desperation is the mother of invention, right?  And, this tutorial *might* even be better than the real deal because you can totally personalize a faux sack.  What are the odds that you’d find an actual feed bag with your last name (or Santa or whatever) on it?  (Hint: none.)

(I went the Santa route, since I originally developed this project for the A Swell Noel series over at Positively Splendid, but this technique would work for any image/lettering.)

SUPPLIES:

Canvas drop cloth, from the paint section.  You can get a 6’ X 9’ one for around $10.  That’d make A LOT of pillows.
Contact paper, vinyl, or freezer paper.  I used contact paper because it’s cheap and can easily be fed through my Silhouette.
Silkscreen ink.  I like Simply Screen by Plaid.
Sandpaper

HOW TO:

Cut your design or lettering out of your contact paper (or vinyl or freezer paper).  I used a Santa silhouette from the Silhouette download store and then cut it with my Silhouette (on vinyl settings but slowed down to a speed of 5 and a depth of 7).  You could easily do this with a craft knife as well.

Apply the contact paper to your drop cloth.  I cut an 18” X 18” square because my pillow form was 18”.

I used that green scraper thing to get a good tight seal around the edges.

I like to stick the vinyl backing under my fabric to keep the ink from bleeding through and getting on my table.

Apply silkscreen ink with a sponge brush.

I like to use a scrap of contact paper to squirt the ink out onto.

Once the ink is dry, you can peel off the contact paper.

Then, take some sandpaper to your design.

Keep sanding until it looks old and worn and like it’s been part of the canvas forever.

Assemble your pillow (I made a simple envelope back).

And you’re done.

The Cameo is the new and improved personal craft cutter from Silhouette.  The Cameo connects to your computer allowing you to cut fonts and images in cardstock, vinyl, heat transfer material, etc.  I was a HUGE fan of the Silhouette SD and I wondered just how much better the Cameo could be.  The answer:  WAY WAY WAY better.  In addition to the bigger cutting area, it’s quieter.  The blade adjustment is easier and you don’t have to worry about losing the little caps.  Your media loads SO much easier and there’s a pause button.  The display is lighted, in case you like to craft in the dark. 

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

One lucky Crap I’ve Made reader will win her (or his) very own Cameo!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment on this post.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

“Like” Silhouette on Facebook.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) saying that you did.

Follow Silhouette on Pinterest.  Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

***3 possible entries per person***

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Tuesday, November 22nd at 10pm MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Keller came home and announced that the biography he’d selected was for Steve Nash.  Um, OK?  The next sentence was “So you can just buy me a jersey or something…”  Sorry, no.  I love you but this is a book report.  I’m not spending that kind of $$$ for a book report costume.  I knew I had to get creative.

Supplies:

2 cheap-o t-shirts.  Mine came from Michael’s and were 2 for $5.  One was an adult size small and the other was an adult size XL.

Avery Personal Creations InkJet Iron-On Dark T-Shirt Transfers, White, Five Sheets per Pack (03279)
(I used 2 sheets out of the 5 sheet pack.)

You’re going to make the shorts from the XL shirt.  Fold it in half and use the existing hem to save yourself some time.  I traced a pair of Keller’s shorts and then just cut a little bigger for seam allowances.  (Who am I kidding?  This is a costume that will be worn for under 2 hours.  I didn’t trace.  I just cut.)

Be sure to include an extra 2” or so at the top for the waistband casing.  Sew the inner seams on each leg and then sew the crotch seam.  Make the waistband casing, insert some elastic and you’re done.  Seriously…5 minutes.

For the “jersey”, I cut both sleeves off the size small shirt about where the (really wobbly) yellow line is in the picture below.

I pressed them under along the seam and stitched them in place so they wouldn’t flip back out. You could hem the t-shirt at this point if you want, but I just made my kid tuck it in (back to that whole “wearing it for less than 2 hours” thing).

For the Suns logo, I used the print and cut feature in my Silhouette Studio software.  You can ABSOLUTELY do it without, you’d just cut out the shape with scissors.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  My Silhouette has made me lazy. 

Here’s a brief how to if you have a Silhouette and want to do it that way:

Find an image of your team’s logo.  Open it in Silhouette Studio.  Display your registration marks now so you don’t get all the way done and discover you made it like a millimeter too big.  Trust.  Once you’ve done that, you’re going to want to use the TRACE function (red arrow) and then select an area to be traced (green arrow).

Adjust your trace settings (bottom right hand side rectangle) until you get a good outline and then select the “TRACE OUTER EDGE” option (yellow arrow).

I’ve moved the logo out of the way so you can see what you just did a little more clearly.  You can leave it put if your eyes are better than mine.

That line will cut precisely along the edge of the logo.  I wanted a little white border, since my shirt was dark, so I used the “OFFSET” function.  It’s under the “OBJECT” menu in the upper left hand corner.  You can then change the thickness of the white border (blue arrow).

I still have the logo out of the way for the sake of tutorial clarity, but you’ll want to leave it put in real life.  The last step is to change the inner most line so that your Silhouette will not cut it.  You use the “CUT STYLE” menu (orange arrow) for this.

Change the inner line to “no cut” and leave the outer line as “cut”.  Here’s what your finished design will look like before you print it from Silhouette Studio.

Print it on the Avery transfer paper and then put it on a mat and run it through your Silhouette.  I used the medium cardstock settings.  Apply it to your shirt following the package directions.

Put your name and number on the back, if you want.

Not bad for around $8, right?

I wanted to try Silhouette’s sewable interfacing, too, so I could give you my thoughts on it.

I decided on a quick shirt for Campbell, since I’m positive he’ll continue his streak of demanding mom-made holiday wear.

The chick shapes came from the Silhouette online store.  The font is Aharoni.

The sewable interfacing definitely doesn’t cut as cleanly as the clean cut, BUT there still were not a whole lot of places where I had to trim strings…maybe 2 or 3?  And, honestly, even if I’d had to re-cut every single line with scissors it still would be faster than tracing and cutting manually.  Especially when I forget to mirror image stuff on the back when I’m doing it the old fashioned way and have to cut it more than once.

It was a good thickness for sewing and held stuff in place nicely.

So yeah.  I liked it.

I sewed the letters all messy (on purpose, with my free motion foot).  I’m not sure how I feel about them.

The March Silhouette promotion runs through Sunday.  Use code “CRAP” to get a machine, both kinds of interfacing, and a roll of white flocked heat transfer for $229.  Code “CRAP” will also get you 25% off the interfacing.

BC’s office is the only one in the building that has a window in the door.  Nice, right?  Not so much when EVERYONE in the place has to pass his office on their way to the bathroom.  And they all like to peek in.  I have it on good authority that he occasionally falls asleep at work, so he asked me to come up with some sort of window covering solution.  Here’s what we came up with:

First, we “frosted” the glass on the inside of his office door using clear contact paper and Windex.  There are a bunch of instructions floating around out there, so no tutorial on that, but the gist of it is that you spray both the window and the contact paper with Windex and then you smooth out the bubbles with a credit card and trim the edges with a razor blade.

The main limitation of this technique is that you can only “frost” stuff narrower than your contact paper.  We had to make a seam.  You can see it in this picture:

We put his name directly over the seam to camouflage that a bit.

Next, I imported the company logo into my Silhouette software and used the trace function.  I found a copycat font and retyped the smaller lettering, because it did NOT trace well.

I used Silhouette premium vinyl and applied the logo on the outside of the glass.

And now he can sleep in peace!

MARCH SILHOUETTE PROMOTION:

Silhouette SD, one of each fabric interfacing (clean cut & sewable) and a roll of white flocked heat transfer material for $229.

If you already have a Silhouette and want to try out the interfacing, you can get 25% off.

The March promotion will run from the 21st through the 27th.

Code “CRAP” will let you take advantage of either of the deals.

You’ve heard me talk about my insane neighbor Jami before, right? Hint: The Smelly Barn Adventure™. After 3 boys, Jami’s expecting her first girl, and I’m lucky enough to be sewing the bedding and helping her execute the awesome ideas she comes up with. (We joke that we’re going to buy land with a barn in the country and have sleep over craft retreats. She’ll come up with the ideas because she’s WAY more creative than me and I’ll figure out how to make them happen.)

Do you see that freaking amazing wall treatment? We’ll talk about that in a few days. After I posted the preview of this project on Facebook, I received several emails asking about how she painted the furniture. We’ll talk about that, too. Be patient. Today’s just the name art.

Jami picked up a framed picture at the DI (thrift store) for a couple of dollars. She picked it based on the fact that the shape was good for spelling out a name. We pried the print out of the frame using butter knives and then flipped it over so that you couldn’t see the print through our white on white backing fabric. If your frame doesn’t have a print in it, you could cut some foam core or cardboard and accomplish the same thing. We applied the fabric to the print using spray adhesive.

We figured out what size we wanted our letters and cut a test run with the Silhouette on notebook paper. You could ABSOLUTELY do this project without a Silhouette, you’d just have to cut the letters by hand. And unless you named your kids something long (like Charlotte…thanks mom), it won’t take long.

Because I know people will ask, the fonts are:

L – Big Top
U – Mixed Up, it’s the capital U
C – Oliver
Y – BoyzRGross

Once we were happy with the size, we got out Silhouette’s new fabric interfacing. We used the clean cut (stronger adhesive, not machine sew-able) because this project isn’t going to need to be washed or handled and we wanted the stronger adhesive.

We applied it following the package directions and got cutting.

We had the Silhouette double cut the letters, just to be safe. Look how nicely it cut!

After we had all the letters cut, we positioned them on the backing fabric

and ironed them in place.

Then we folded the edges of the backing fabric around to the back and secured them in place (more spray adhesive).

Jami hot glued some jumbo ric rac along the groove in the frame.

And…

Then she called me back to say she’d hung it, so I went back for a couple more pictures.

(Thanks to our other fabulous neighbor, Decorator Wendy, this is where it’ll stay.)

MARCH SILHOUETTE PROMOTION:

Silhouette SD, one of each fabric interfacing (clean cut & sewable) and a roll of white flocked heat transfer material for $229.

If you already have a Silhouette and want to try out the interfacing, you can get 25% off.

The March promotion will run from the 21st through the 27th.

Code “CRAP” will let you take advantage of either of the deals.

We had impetigo.

And puking.

Fun, right?

I took an insanely awesome photography class from the amazing Emilie of Photo by Emilie. We got to practice on real people. Scary!

More on that later.

I also hit up a fun little consignment store called Abode. More on that later, too.

We made some Valentine boxes. Keller went the safe route with this bucket he decorated with stickers.

(His shirt is some heat transfer and a robot design from Silhouette.)

Macy went the insane route with this little beauty:

And then she started puking, so *I* got to take it to school and present it to her teacher this morning.

My 2 big kids made these sucker moustache Valentines from Family Fun.

Campbell decorated his box at school, but he NEEDED a shirt. So, we busted out the freezer paper and the Silhouette and some of my new favorite product, Tulip Soft Fabric Paint.

Got any big plans? I mean, bigger than taking care of sick kids and doing laundry…

So, you’ve taken advantage of one of the Silhouette deals and you’re LOVING your machine so much you can’t bear to put her in a drawer…what’s a girl to do?

Whip up a quick and easy dust cover, that’s what. And did I mention that you can make this out of a single fat quarter? ‘Cause you can!

Supplies:
Fat quarter
Silhouette Dust Cover pattern piece PDF (the bottom measurement will be 6 3/8″ when printed correctly)
Sewing machine with thread
About 15 minutes

Turn your fat quarter so that one of the 18” ends is at the bottom. Cut off 14″ so you have a piece that is 18” wide and 14” high (the bottom piece in this picture).

Fold the top piece in half and cut out the pattern piece. You’ll have 2 opposite end pieces

Place the end pieces even with the bottom edge of your fabric so that the short end (of the end pieces) points out and start pinning.

Pin all the way around the end pieces and then sew with a 1/2” seam.

Then you’ll want to hem the bottom of the dust cover 1/2” all the way around. I folded and pressed a scant 1/4” and then another 1/4”. Stitch hem in place.

Put it on your Silhouette and feel much better about leaving her out to admire.