‘Tis the season…

to make craft projects for your loved ones!

I made the chalkboard from a photo frame. I removed the glass and painted the backboard with a couple of coats of blackboard paint.  The lettering was adapted from a file on the Silhouette store by s.e.i  and cut from vinyl.  I hot glued a button to the side of the frame after attaching twine and chalk.

The card was simply a heart shaped cutout laid over stripes of Washi tape

I didn’t make the daffodils – © Mother Nature.

valentines_chalkboard

Birthday challenge

This is my first foray into the creative world of the Silhouette Challenge.   This month’s theme was fabric and you’ll find links to 43 inspirational projects below mine.   Go visit them all!

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It’s always a bit scary photographing a sewing project and seeing all the imperfections close up, but although this is no work of breathtaking skill it was made with love.  This was for my granddaughter’s first birthday. At Christmas I made her a card with her favourite dog and a photo of her underneath the flap.  Peep-po is such a cool game for a nearly one year old!   For her birthday I wanted to try a similar theme but something a little more robust so I came up with this tiny play quilt.

I cut the letters with the Silhouette Cameo using plain old iron-on interface to back the fabric with varying degrees of success, but after several attempts managed to get what I needed.  The cartoon dog image was printed and cut from iron-on t shirt transfer paper.  I then used the same outline (flipped) to cut the shape out of iron-on interfacing.  I lined up the printed image and the interfacing face and ironed them both onto the dark brown faux suede, so the image was transferred straight to the interfacing.  I know this is not the conventional way to transfer (I didn’t have any white fabric that was suitable to hand!) but I gave this a try and it seems to work.

For the square in the centre, underneath the padded dog,  I used the same technique to add a photo of the birthday girl.

I sewed the squares together, added batting and backing, quilted using stitch-in-the-ditch and bound the edges.  I attached the centre pull-up square with velcro so it would pull off easily rather than rip!

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Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!

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  1. No-Sew Valentine’s Day Pillows by A Tossed Salad Life
  2. No-Sew Interchangeable Fabric Bunting by unOriginal Mom
  3. Monogrammed Burlap Garden Flag by The Turquoise Home
  4. Crawl, Walk, Bike by It’s Always Craft Time
  5. Freezer Paper Stenciled Tote Bags by Weekend Craft
  6. DIY Bleach Spray Shirt by Practically Functional
  7. Stenciling Sherlock by Please Excuse My Craftermath…
  8. Felt Star Wands by Cutesy Crafts
  9. Yoda Kid’s T-Shirt by Architecture of a Mom
  10. Mark Your Territory- Dog Flags by Black and White Obsession
  11. Nautical Pillows by Lil’ Mrs. Tori
  12. Big Sister Gift & Silhouette Cut File by Creative Ramblings
  13. Nerdy Baby Onesies + Free Cut File by Essentially Eclectic
  14. Easy Easter Bunny Onesie – Silhouette Cameo Craft by Adventures in All Things Food & Family
  15. Fabric Envelopes for LEARNING LETTERS! (& cut file) by From Wine to Whine
  16. “Good Morning, Sunshine!” Memo Board by Tried & True
  17. Hearts-A-Lot Burlap Pillow Cover by My Paper Craze
  18. Baby Quilt by Dragonfly & Lily Pads
  19. Surprise Holiday Banner by Whats Next Ma
  20. “Team Betty” Tote Bag by The Thinking Closet
  21. DIY Sock Minion by Create it. Go!
  22. Pretty Up Some Organza Bags by Getsilvered
  23. Easy Heart Appliqued Onsies by Create & Babble
  24. Bleach Pen Gel & Freezer Paper Stencils Made with the Silhouette Machine by Bringing Creativity 2 Life
  25. Valentines Baby Onesie & Boy’s Shirt + Free Cut Files by The Frill of Life
  26. Valentine’s OWL Always Love You T-shirt by My Favorite Finds
  27. DIY Screen Printed Curtains by Chicken Scratch NY
  28. Fabric Painted Quilted Wall Hanging by Terri Johnson Creates
  29. Glitter Iron-On Top by Simply Kelly Designs
  30. DIY Monogrammed T-shirts with Silhouette Heat Transfer Material by Pitter and Glink
  31. Birthday Challenge by Fadville
  32. Machine Applique with SIlhouette Cameo by The Sensory Emporium
  33. Fabric Applique Valentine’s Day T-Shirt by DailyDwelling
  34. “Cute as Cupid” shirt by crafts, cakes, and cats
  35. Sew Cute Applique by Life After Laundry
  36. Rhino Onesie by It Happens in a Blink
  37. Upcycled Birchbox Cameo Accesory Organizer by Cupcakes&Crowbars
  38. Customizing textiles with Heat Transfer Vinyl (working title) by feto soap
  39. Easy Fabric Art by McCall Manor
  40. Lady Bug Tote Bag with Silhouette Rhinestones by Ginger Snap Crafts
  41. Mommy and Em’s Coordinated Aprons by TitiCrafty
  42. Canvas sketch project and a share by Clever Someday
  43. Foxy Lady Pajamas by Mabey She Made It
  44. Teddy Bear by Work in Progress

 

Paper village

I love this clever paper village from Asbee Design.  I made a slew of them and they looked cute at Christmas on the black mantelpiece lit with LED tea lights.  I didn’t put them away with the rest of the decorations.  Paper villages are not just for Christmas!

Edit: I hadn’t seen the tutorial before I made mine so didn’t use wax paper over the windows which makes a lot of sense.  Next time!

papervillage

 

First we had each other

firstwehadeachother

This was my first attempt at using vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo.  I wanted to make something a little different for my stepson and daughter-in-law’s anniversary, the first with a new baby.

The typography ‘first we had each other’ had caught my eye on the Silhouette online store (designed by Lori Whitlock).  After much trial and error I found a suitable photo of my gorgeous granddaughter that would look good as just a white image.

In Photoshop I converted the image to black and white.  I then made an adjustment layer using the threshold setting and used the slider until the photo was recognisable and not too broken up at the edges.  I cut it out thinking that this would just be a test and further tweaking would be needed but to my surprise when I tried it on black card it looked great.

This effect should also be possible to achieve using the online photo editing site http://pixlr.com/editor/.  Upload a photo, convert to black and white and in the Adjustment menu choose Threshold and play around with the levels.