Tutorial--Making a Word into A Heart on Silhouette Studio

Hey everyone! There have been a lot of requests for different words or names made into a heart on one of my Silhouette groups, so I thought I would do a quick tutorial. This is really my first Silhouette tutorial, so if you have any questions, please ask.



This is the heart I use. Find one that works well for you. I found that this one works better than trying to use a fancy heart.



I'm using the font Impact at size 144 to start. You can use other fonts, but I found this one easiest to get started with. After you've typed your word, ungroup all the letters. Do not release compound path as this will make the middles of your letters ungroup as well. Using ungroup will just ungroup the letters from each other.



Manipulate all the letters so they overlap the heart. I use the corner stretching and the top/bottom and side stretching. This takes a little adjusting. Don't worry about making sure all points over lap the heart at this time, we'll fix that next.



Duplicate your heart. Now you have the extra one and the one around your word.



Highlight your word and your original heart and then select crop from your modify tool box. You should get something that resembles the above picture. Then line up your duplicated heart so it lines up flush with the crop (I forgot to take a screen shot of this step).



Now zoom into your image and work through your letters. Double click on them so you are able to manipulate the points. Pull each letters points so they are flush with the heart. Like in the next picture.



I actually pull my points just past the heart and you'll see why in a second.



Okay, now you've got a big ol' mess that looks like this. I've also duplicated my heart again, just in case. You're going to highlight it all again and hit crop again.



And that's it. If you need to, you can drag your heart over and play with the points again to get the look you want. Like I said, if you have any questions, please message me. I hope this tutorial was easy to follow.

And if you're coming here looking to just purchase this done in vinyl, visit my facebook.

Easter Items

Easter is March 31st this year! The Sensory Emporium is offering some super super cute Easter items this year.

Item 1--Easter Buckets



Each bucket measures 11.5"x9.25"x4.5" and comes with metal handles adorned with ribbons and custom vinyl. Don't let my ideas limit you; I can do any name, color, or silhouette on your bucket. Buckets come in Pink, Blue, Green or Yellow. Each one is 100% customizable. Buckets are $12 each +shipping. You can add decoration to the other side as well for an additional $2.

These buckets make cute toy storage after Easter as well. Below are some other silhouette images to give you ideas. But don't let those options limit you, custom orders are always welcome.



Item 2: Carrots for the Easter Bunny Plate


You leave cookies for Santa right? Well why not start a new tradition of leaving carrots for the Easter Bunny? Each one comes customized with your child or childrens' names. You can also customize the colors. If you have a different idea for an image on the plate, contact me and I will see what I can do. Custom orders are always welcome.

Visit etsy today and use the code Valentine2013 for 10% off your entire order. Good through 2/22/2013

Project Inspiration--Travel Journal

Let me start by saying this journal was not my original idea. However, I can't find where I originally saw the tutorial. Once I read it, I decided to do it my own way. But as soon as I see the original post again, I will link it.

I made all of the embellishments using my Silhouette Cameo and Pen Holder for Cameo/SD

Supplies:
Silhouette Cameo (not necessary)
The Sensory Emporium Pen Holder (Optional as well)
Embellishments
Clamp Envelopes (Large size)



I used my pen holder with a Gelly Roll Gel Pen or Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Marker to create all of the embellishments seen in the picture above. I would be happy to share any of these files if you email me at thesensoryemporium@hotmail.com



I also used my pen holder and cameo for all of these embellishments. Also showing in this picture is the envelopes I got. I would recommend as an after thought to get the ones that do not have glue on the flap.



Fold your envelopes in half and punch with a hole punch. I just put my hole punch in as far as I could and punched on the fold line.



I alternate the folder opening such as this. That way when you put all your treasures you find on your vacation, your bulking up both sides, not just one side. This will probably make more sense when I get back from my vacation and post the finished finished journal.



Measure the side of your folder that does not have the clasp and cut your scrapbook paper to size. Glue to the folder with the outside edges matching up. Add your embellishments where ever you see fit. I also fold the extra journal pieces in half and alternate those throughout the journal. I save all my extra embellishments (Mickey heads, Princess Silhouettes and Quotes) for when I have my pictures back.



For the side with the clasp, I trim a little of the extra paper off the edge and then punch a hole where the clasp is. That way I use up most of the ugly color folder without having to trim around the clasp.



Now you may have to go back through and repunch the holes in the folder. Or you can wait till you have all your paper on and then punch the holes. Up to you. As an afterthought, I really think waiting to punch the holes until after you have the paper glued on would be much much easier! Also, don't punch the hole of the journal pages the same way, you'll have to wait and see how they center in your journal. Cut a piece of jute or ribbon to bind your journal. I cut mine extra long so I could tie it closed.



And there you have it. A nice travel journal to collect all of your napkins, maps, misc. treasures you collect on your vacation, as well as a nice place to journal about things you don't want to forget.

A Little About Me

I see my views increasing daily and that's truly exciting! So I thought maybe my readers would like to know a little about who I am and what it is that I do. Well for starters, my name is Brooke and I'm a stay at home mom/small business owner. I have two kids.

B is 3.5 and my crazy little dude. He pretty much inspired my business and gave me my start.

E is just over 1 and she is my wild child! She could climb a three story building and jump and laugh the whole way.
Both of my children are my whole world and I sell my crafts so that I can be their whole world as well. Life is too short to miss a single moment of their lives.

Another major influence in my business is my wonderful husband, M. He inspires and supports me fully. We met in middle school when I was 12 and he was 14. He's been the love of my life ever since. But I won't go into the mushy details on that story.

I started The Sensory Emporium because I made a ton of baby toys for my son and friends, family and strangers were always commenting on how cute they were. Soon I also started making things for friends and decided that maybe I should start selling things. The start was rough, I didn't sell much, if anything and I realized I wasn't using the right fabrics and other materials.

I started selling mainly kids toys, ribbon blankets, ribbon balls and boo boo buddies. This expanded into diaper bags, burp cloths,and t-shirts. Recently I received a Silhouette Cameo for my birthday and that's when I really started expanding. I realized I didn't want to just sell stuff for kids, but I wanted to sell things that were visually appealing for moms and gift giving. So The Sensory Emporium expanded even further into custom vinyl and custom stenciled pillows. I can't wait to see what it expands into next.

I love to create. I love to imagine. And I love to bring my customers happiness with the products they receive. It's taken a lot of falls and mistakes to be able to bring you the quality products I offer today. And I'm thankful to every single person who has supported me in one way or another on this journey. I hope I continue to pick up passengers on this trek to building a business. Please visit me on etsy and "like" me on facebook

The Sensory Emporium's Pen Holder Tutorial

Happy Monday everyone! I've had a few people request that I do a photo tutorial on how to use your The Sensory Emporium's Pen Holder. So here it is. I do not have a popsicle stick, which is one way you can check for the correct depth for your different pens, so I'm going to show you on the two pens I use the most often. First is the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Markers. The pen holder was made for these. They will always be perfectly centered in the pen holder and they are at just the right height, so there is no adjusting necessary.

Just slide the marker all the way into the holder, tighten the metal screw and you're ready to put it into your machine. The second type of pen I use most often is Gelly Roll brand gel pens. These ones are a little trickier, but they still work great in the holder.

See the first line above the tip of the pen, inside the gel pen? The next picture will show you a little bit better, but you line the bottom of your holder up with that line. It takes a few tries to get it just right.

There, you should be able to see it a little bit better. Again, tighten the screw and then pop into your holder like this:

Be sure to lock the pen holder in by turning the blue knob all the way to the right, just like you do when you use your blade. Now, for your settings on your program. Use the Sketch Pen setting.

Just click the sketch pen setting and then hit cut. That's it! Easy as can be and then you can draw all kinds of awesome stuff with your Silhouette Cameo.

Now I've also been asked to demonstrate how off center it might be if you use any other pen other than the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point. The truth is, it won't be that off as you can see in the following image. I drew a 3 inch circle and a 2.5 inch circle to be cut and a 2.75 inch circle to be drawn and here are the results:

From left to right, top to bottom they are a Ball Point Pen, Gelly Roll Pen, BIC Marker and Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Marker. To purchase a pen holder from me, please visit my etsy shop. **Stay tuned for an awesome post featuring finished products using the pen holder.**