Menu Planner

I didn't get my link in in time to be part of the January blog challenge, however I still wanted to make something and share all the other fantastic blogs.  This month's theme was Organization. January is a good time to get your house in order; in fact, it was probably one of your New Years Resolutions.  I've been working on organizing our menu planning for a while now and this project has been in the back of my mind for just as long.

What you'll need:

*Cookie Sheet (mine is from Dollar Tree)

*Vinyl Days of the week

*Pockets (I made mine)

*Cards with all your meals

 

Mind didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it.  A little bit of poor planning plus planning before I had the cookie sheet.  Oops! But it is functional for now.  Eventually the food cards will get a makeover and the pockets probably will too.  But never the less, here it is:

 

I used magnets made with aquarium rocks and scrapbook paper, but you could also glue cloths pins to the board.  I also used magnet strips on the back to hang on my fridge.

Check out some other project inspiration and organization ideas from the rest of the silhouette bloggers!

1. DIY Window Shutter Mail Organizer by Weekend Craft
2. Kids' Art Wall by Tried & True
3. Organizing Silhouette and Craft Supplies by The Happier Homemaker
4. Simple Recipe Organization by It's Always Craft Time
5. Put a Label on it! Herb Names for Plant Stakes by Get Silvered
6. Super Simple Linen Closet Labels by Two Purple Couches
7. Beware of the Animals Vinyl Toy Box by A Tossed Salad Life
8. Child desk accessories by Architecture of a Mom
9. Organizing & the Important of Labels by The Turquoise Home
10. Index Card Organizer for Easier Meal Planning by Chicken Scratch NY
11. Create Craft Room Labels by Dragonfly & Lilypads
12. Simple Storage Solution for your Christmas Ornaments by Vintage News Junkie
13. Organize this: DIY Planner Covers, Tags & Dividers (made with Cereal Boxes) by Black and White Obsession
14. How to Make a Cut File into a Print & Cut by Create & Babble
15. Simple Chest Freezer Organizational Board by Nearly Handmade
16. Vinyl Your Kitchen Canisters! by From Wine to Whine
17. Nursery Closet Dividers & Silhouette Cut File by Creative Ramblings
18. Make Custom Box Templates with a Silhouette for Drawer Organization by One Dog Woof
19. Organizing the Craft Room by What's Next Ma
20. Vinyl Wall Calendar by Crafts Cakes and Cats
21. Personalized Toy Storage Bins by Lil' Mrs. Tori
22. Personalized Routine Chart by Work in Progress
23. Blog Planner Sheet Dividers + Free Cut Files by TitiCrafty by Camila
24. Simple Project Calendar by Little Blue's Room
25. Dry Erase Photo Frame Menu Board + Free Cut File by Essentially Eclectic
26. Receipt Organization with Free Cut File by The Thinking Closet
27. Cute and Easy Labels by Life After Laundry
28. "What's For Dinner?" Menu Planning Board by unOriginal Mom
29. Mixing Organization and Function: An Easy Conversion Chart by My Paper Craze
30. Why do my cookies taste so bad? A lesson in baking. by The Life and Times of a TAP
31. Custom Drawer Dividers by Please Excuse My Craftermath...
32. The evolution of my labeling system by feto soap
33. Ikea Drawer labels by McCall Manor
34. Glass Etched Vinegar  & Oil bottles by Terri Johnson Creates
35. Organize It: Bathroom Closet by The House on Hillbrook
36. Ombre Butterfly Magnet Board by Sowdering About



 

E's 2nd Birthday Party

I love my cameo, there is no hiding it. When I can make all the decorations for my children's birthday parties at a very low cost, I have more to spend on other things. So without further ado, I present Emma's Under the Sea Birthday Party.

 These were her invitations. Yes they are cricut whales, but I loved them too much!

 

Embroidery is my new adventure.  This is the first appliqued shirt I did. I think it turned out pretty good for a first try.

The birthday girl's banner!

Let me tell you, this banner was very difficult. I'm sure there is an easier way.  I cut half circles with a little tail..kind of a square half circle if that makes sense and glued them to a pennant shape. One of a kind, I'll never do this banner ever again!

Got the idea for the Octopus cupcakes from Family Circle magazine (I think).

Food cards made with the silhouette. A tutorial here.

 

For the amount of snow we got, it was a pretty good turn out. It was a cute little party for my cute little girl.

 Happy Birthday Sweet Emma.  I love you!

 

And just in case you're looking for ideas for a Under the Sea party, here are some of the finer details:

 

Menu:

Chicken of the Sea (Chicken Salad)

Deli Meat

Croissants

Fruit of the Sea (Fruit Salad)

Octoveggies and Dip (Vegetables and Dip)

Seaweed Dip and Sand dollars (Spinach dip and crackers)

Goldfish Bar

Fish Bait (Gummy Worms)

 

Party Favors:

Customized sand buckets

Embroidered beach towels

Bubbles

Rubber Ducky

 

Transfering Vinyl to Glass

I've noticed that a lot of people want to learn how to transfer vinyl, but haven't been able to find a good basic tutorial.  Well I can't promise mine will be good, but I hope it helps someone.  I'm going to show you how to transfer the scroll tree from the Silhouette Store (Design ID #6981) to a float frame. 

 

So here is the tree, all weeded and ready to go.  You're going to want to make sure you clean your glass really well.  Try not to touch the glass where the tree will go after you've cleaned it.  For two reasons, 1. The finger prints will be forever under your vinyl and 2. Vinyl doesn't like to stick to body oils and such.

I used clear contact paper as transfer paper. Some people don't like this. They have problems with a sticky residue left behind.  Any time this has happened to me, the sticky is easy to rub off with my finger.  I like contact paper.  I'm not a fan of real transfer paper. Anyway, I cut my transfer paper the size of the glass. In this case, 8x10.

 

Lay the contact paper over the design and try to center it as best as possible. 

 Rub down the contact paper onto the design. I use the handle of my scissors to rub over the design, some people use a credit card or the scraper from the SIL store.  You just want to make sure you go over your entire design so that it sticks to the transfer paper...

...like this. See how it has peeled off the backing paper and is now on your contact paper?

Now place the contact paper with your design onto the glass. This is why I cut my paper the size of the glass. Now I know it's going to be pretty centered on the glass.

Rub down again. This time I just use my fingers. Peel up a little and if it's now stuck to the glass instead of the transfer paper, then you're all set!  If it's having some trouble sticking, rub it down and let it set for a few hours. That will give the vinyl time to adhere and the adhesive to activate. 

Tada!  Beautiful, isn't it?  Family is also in the Silhouette store (Design ID #8560)

Reversible Recipe Holder/Block Frame

 I'm a scrap hoarder. I'll admit it. No shame!  I have scraps of fabric, scraps of wood, scraps of vinyl...you name it, I've probably got a scrap of it.  But my scrap pile adds up.  I have a small bin full of scrap vinyl.  So today I decided to scrap bust.  The wood is scrap too!

So recently I've been working on my family's meal planning.  Rewriting all of our recipe cards.  Getting the recipes off Pinterest and transferring them to my new plan...it's slow and a lot of work, but it's an attempt to organize. And of course I used my cameo to sketch the new recipe cards.

Okay, so lets get started.

 

I make these really cute wood frames with a clothes pin and a cute quote.  Well when I went and got wood cut the last time, this was the end of the board. He threw it in the scrap bucket and I was like, "Hey! I want that."  Well I didn't really have a use for it.  Until now. So it measures about 5.5x7 inches or so.  I painted it with Delta Ceramcoat Light Foliage Green. It matches my dining room and dishes.

 

I wanted to give it a little patina. So I put a little of my accent color on a piece of paper (I got way too much, but I wanted you all to see the color).  You really only need about a dime size dot. I used this little dauber brush, dip it in the paint and dab all the excess off.  You want it to be pretty "dry"

That one little drop did the whole front of my board.  I brush it along the edges first because that is where I want it the darkest and then the front.  It blends a little better if you do it when the base color is still damp.

Now for the vinyl.  I want to show you all reverse weeding because this has saved me from a lot of tears and wasted vinyl.  These pictures are a little hard to see, but I'm going to talk you through it the best I can.

 Don't weed away the extra. Keep it all in tact.  Place your transfer paper over the entire thing and rub it so when you peel it away from the backing, it will all come with the transfer paper.

 This is a picture of the entire thing transferred to the transfer paper.  Now you can weed out the middles of your letters and pull away the extra.  What should be left is this:

So now your word or words are on the transfer paper and ready to go onto your project. 

I love this close up.  I love the beat up wood and the texture!

So here is my recipe holder.  But I knew I didn't want to have that displayed all the time.  I mean a lot of stuff I can cook from memory but others I can't. So I wanted something I could display full time. 

 

So on the back side, I did this.  Then as I'm getting ready to blog and finish up pictures I realized I don't have a recent family picture.  This is from my sister's wedding in February.

 

Want more Silhouette inspiration? Check out the blog hop below for more awesome projects!

 

 

 

 

1. 2013 Snowman Christmas Card by Please Excuse My Craftermath...
2. Christmas Hoop Art by Lil' Mrs. Tori
3. Silhouette Nativity Advent Candle Box by One Tough Mother
4. Christmas Party Photo Booth Props by unOriginal Mom
5. Another Stenciled Tea Towel by Cutesy Crafts
6. Silhouette Gift Tags by Rain on a Tin Roof
7. Snowflake Pin / Ornament by Coley's Corner
8. State Sign Couple Gift by It Happens in a Blink
9. Mason Jar Christmas Ornaments by Vintage News Junkie
10. Merry Christmas Wall Decor by One Artsy Mama
11. Deer Head Holiday Banner...featuring Santa's Reindeer by The Thinking Closet
12. Restore your UGGS (with PAINT) by From Wine to Whine
13. Monogrammed Snowflake Ornaments by Architecture of a Mom
14. Christmas Countdown Sign by The Girl Creative
15. Elf Chalk Sign: "The Best Way to Spread Christmas" by Weekend Craft
16. Glittery Christmas Subway Art by The Turquoise Home
17. Sketch Pen Labels by Sowdering About in Seattle
18. Snowflake NOEL Sign by My Favorite Finds
19. DIY Holiday Hostess Gift by Everyday Paper
20. Folding Nativity Backdrop by Chicken Scratch NY
21. Recycled Glass Jar Advent Calendar by Nearly Handmade
22. Reindeer Card: Double-Sided Print & Cut by GetSilvered
23. Personalized Block Ornament by Suburble
24. Paper Medallion Christmas Tree by Create & Babble
25. Mini Mid-Century Homes by Tried & True
26. Glitter and Vinyl Minecraft Christmas Ornament by A Tossed Salad Life
27. DIY Countdown to Christmas Refrigerator Style by My Paper Craze
28. Reversible Recipe Holder/Block Frame by The Sensory Emporium
29. DIY: Lettered Christmas Pillows by The House on Hillbrook
30. Simply Charming Christmas Ornaments by Life After Laundry
31. No Glitter was Worn by GiveMeAPaintbrush
32. Make Easy Ornaments from Paper Circles by Bringing Creativity to Life
33. Cutting Machine Embroidery Applique by Terri Johnson Creates
34. "Believe" Christmas Banner by Daily Dwelling
35. DIY Christmas Nativity Card by Pitter and Glink

 

Addressing Envelopes with your Silhouette Cameo

Are your hands cramping from addressing all those Christmas cards?  Every year we send out 40 cards and I get so tired of writing out every single address.  My hands cramp, I get bored and lets face it, my hand writing isn't always the best; especially when I'm tired.  So this year, I'm letting my cameo do the work and it's easier than you might think. I'm going to show you how and let you in on a little secret!

So first you're going to want to design your envelopes in Silhouette Studio. I size my paper to the size of my envelope. My envelopes for my photo cards this year is about 4x8.  Then design your envelope with your return address and your loved one's address.

Now you can either type each address in individually or you can copy and paste from your computer. If you copy and paste, don't click on the text tool first. Just make sure nothing is selected and right click and paste. Font used is Daddy's Girl

So here is the secret.  I'm going to show you how to sketch these without unloading your mat!

Draw a 4x8 rectangle (or shape of your envelope) and arrange it around your addresses so it looks like what you want to sketch. Turn the cut line off on the rectangle.  Move it all down on your mat.  I have my design sitting on the 2 inch and 5 inch line.  You can see my virtual envelope in purple.  To see where to line it up, click on the page menu (highlighted above) and reveal cutting mat 100% (also highlighted).

Line your envelope up on your mat in the same spot as where it is in Studio.  Like this.  Please excuse my dirty mat, it gets used a lot and this is my paper mat.

I added some snow flakes, and moved my return address over a bit because I was afraid the pen would catch the edge of the envelope, but you get the idea.  Now, don't unload your mat.  Take this envelope off and put your new one on in the same spot.  Cut again with your next address!  How easy and quick is that!

Takes me about 20-30 seconds from start to finish. And, no hand cramps!  I may never write out an address again! 

Tip: Don't use super fancy fonts. I was told that the postal workers don't like that. So use a nice, easy to read font. For a list of fonts that appear to be single lines click here.

So I hope you enjoyed that little tutorial and can get through your Christmas cards in no time.  What's that? You don't have a pen holder yet? Click here to order one.

Card Display Garland

My son had a zoo theme for his 2nd birthday...he'll be 5 in May.  One of his decorations was this really cute garland with zoo animals on clothes pins and I hung a picture of him from each of the animals. I believe in reusing, so for the last 2 years, we've been using that garland to hang our yearly cards from.  I always had the intention of updating it...but here it is 2 years later...

And you know what?? Those are still cards from my daughters 1st birthday almost a year ago.  So while looking at that the other day, I decided that either A: I'm bored with hanging cards that way or B: I'm bored with it because I haven't updated it.  I decided that A wasn't quite it, so on to B.  Time to change it up.  I looked everywhere for foam shapes that would be good for all year round...didn't happen. So on to making my own.

For this project, I knew I wanted something that was going to last year round and I wanted to use my cameo to do it.  I didn't really feel like paper piecing, so sketching was my next option. 

Next I had to tear apart the zoo animals and decide what I wanted to put up instead.

I decided birds is kind of a running theme throughout my house, so some cute sketchy birds would be perfect!

Source:http://sweetclipart.com/cute-bird-line-art-17



I used this bird, traced him in Silhouette Studio and then duplicated him on top of himself a couple times to give him a more sketchy look and offset so I had a cut line. For a sketch and cut tutorial, click here.

 

Cute right?  I just love him!

 

Just for the purpose of this post, my daughter's birthday cards did go back up, but they will be coming back down soon.  Time for Christmas Cards!!!

 

Thank You

 

 

October 22nd marked the one year anniversary of my first pen holder sale on Etsy.  And I just want to say thanks to everyone who has purchased one or is thinking about purchasing one.

 

 

Since the day my son was born, all I have ever wanted to do was stay at home with him.  So I started creating stuff to provide a small extra income that would hopefully someday provide enough to buy his school clothes and allow us to do extra fun things or just to have lunch without having to tap into our single income budget.  Selling pen holders has not only allowed us to do all of that but it also allows me to grow my crafting business, which is my second love.  So thank you.  You think you just purchase a pen holder to do some fun crafting, but what you really purchase is opportunity for my family and me.