March 18, 2014

Valentine Cards with the Silhouette

I know this post is maybe a little late, but hey it might give you ideas for next year...lol! 

I was a little stuck for ideas on what to make Hubby, instead of just one card I thought I could give him several this year...hehehe!  I happened to be shopping in the Silhouette Online Store when I saw several cut files and wordart files that I liked... so I bought them all!

Heart Flourish Gatefold Card - this one is just a straight cut file approx 3.75in or 9.5cm square which is a super cute size.

 
To dress up the inside I used the print and cut feature on the Silhouette by printing the wordart Love You onto a piece of Carta Bella's Beautiful Moments 6x6 paper.  This paper was cut just slightly smaller then the back of the note card. 

 
Same process with this card, only this time the cut file was - Baroque Heart Gatefold Card (#43317)
 
 
The Love Us swirl (#37548) is by Loni Stevens

Then I wanted to do something with this wordart Valentines Subway Art (#55082), but seriously I was not going to cut and stick each word onto a card!  Print and Cut feature I love you!!!


The inside got the same treatment but just a print no cutting...lol!  Valentine Subway Art (#38429) when sized to fit made a 4.25x5.75in or 10.5x15cm card... which is a good size to post here in Australia :)

The final card I made was a 5x7in or 13x18cm the Be My Valentine Title (#55200) was a Print and Cut job that I found very fiddly and the colours were not quite what I was expecting but I made the best of it.  The Hearts (#55083) below the title are the negative of the cut file, all placed on a bit of foam to make them pop off the page.  With of course a bit of Distress Ink - Spun Sugar around the edge.

For the inside of this card, I was not inclined to cut the Love You Forever Title (#55199) so instead used the print and cut feature again!  Did I mention that I love this feature on the Silhouette...hahaha!  Because we are super sappy when it comes to Valentine's Day I included a photo collage of the two of us!


To say Hubs was impressed with his Cards would be an understatement, I think he thought I forgot!  These really were quick to put together, I encourage anyone with a Silhouette to have a go at the Print and Cut feature... it really is so easy and fun!

Have a great day!

March 10, 2014

Make Your Own Burp Cloths!

As the youngest granbaby has a tendency to spit up quite a bit, my daughter was delighted when I said I would make some burp cloths.  A pinterest inspired sewing project that is fairly easy and quick to put together. 


I found two posts on how to make these one here: http://www.petitelemon.com/blog/2011/03/28/how-to-make-a-burp-cloth/ and one here: http://littleredhousedesigns.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/baby-shower-gift-1.html.  Pre-folded cloth diapers are mentioned as the base for the burp cloths, something I couldn't find here in Australia so I used cotton towelling instead.

I have a huge stash of materials, so I like to have a look in the piles of fabric before buying more...lol.  After digging around I found some cotton towelling I bought by the metre... apparently it is very hard to find now a days, shows you how long it has been sitting in the cupboard.  Plus I came up with a bit of flannelette, some lace and ribbon.

My burp cloths are...
1 - 15x15in piece of cotton towel
1 -  7x15in piece of cotton towel for the padding in the middle
1 -  7x16in piece of flannelette for the top
2 - 16in pieces of ribbon, lace, twill etc

I played a bit with folding the towel in the middle to make the padding in the centre.  This first cloth is three layers thick, which I think is just one layer too much!


Looks lovely all folded up, but not very flexible... so onto attempt no. 2.


Burp Cloth No.2  - Method...
Step 1. Position the 7x15in piece of cotton towel in the centre of the 15x15in piece of cotton towel.  Zigzag stitch the pieces together on the long edges.  This is now the BASE of your burp cloth
Step 2. Overlock the edge of the base piece. 
Step 3. Iron under .5in on the short edges of the flannelette.  Position the flannelette in the centre of the base piece of cotton towel and pin in place.
Step 4. Position the ribbon and/or lace over the raw edges of the flannelette, so the flannelette edge is roughly in the middle and pin in place.  Don't forget to turn under the .5in allowance on the ends of the ribbon.
Step 5. Sew up both sides of the ribbon and across the top and bottom edges of the flannelette.  The lace and ribbon were attached using a triple stitch, along with a walking foot on my sewing machine to help feed the thick materials through.

 
After making the first few test burp cloths, I realized I would need more material to make the real thing for my daughter.  As I couldn't find towelling by the metre I bought 75x150cm bath sheets from Target, this will yield 5 burp cloths 15x15in. 
 
They only thing I would change is either sewing a piece of bias binding around the edge of the base or turning under a seam.  My Daughter uses at least two cloths everyday and with the constant washing the edges are getting a bit tatty.
 
This was another quick sewing project that I had fun making, with the end result being rather cute!  I recommend giving it a try, they make sweet Baby Shower gifts.

Have a great day!

March 07, 2014

Project Life June 2013 plus a FREEBIE!!!

I am still going with Project Life....woohoo! 

So far I have finished June and most of July 2013, my intent is to finish last year before I start this year... and I'm doing it *grin*.

I am finally using more die cuts and embellishments on my pages and loving the look.  Lots of hearts on these  two pages!


Die cuts look awesome!


Flairs attached to the outside of the pocket are a great addition!


Plus brads and tags look terrific!


 



Have a great day!

March 06, 2014

Dies, Bling and Flower Card!

 
 One of my Sisters Birthday was this week so here is a card I created for her.  You can't really see but these is a lot of glitter on the card which makes it so pretty!


I cased this card from Flowers, Ribbons and Pearls Blog HERE.

Materials Used:
Spellbinders 5x7 Elegant Labels 4
Spellbinders Gold Labels Four
Spellbinders Floral Ovals
Couture Creations Tied Together Embossing Folder
Diamond Stickles
American Crafts Cardstock

Have a great day!

March 04, 2014

Make Your Own Label using the Silhouette!

I figured as I was sewing again it was time I updated my clothing label!  This was the original I had printed professionally, some oh fifteen years ago... hmmmm time for an update right!

 
So I whipped up a logo in photoshop and opened it in my Silhouette program.  Don't forget to mirror your image so it prints backwards.

 
I printed it onto the Silhouette Iron On Transfer paper using my ink jet printer and ran it through the Silhouette to cut. 

 
Once my new look labels were all printed and cut, it was time to heat up the iron.  First of all I removed the excess iron-on material from the backing using the hook tool, then I cut the labels and backing into strips for easier ironing.

 
I used a satin ribbon 19mm or .75in wide to iron the labels onto.   Read the instructions carefully on how to iron the transfer on...seriously... I am so impatient, I just want to rip that backing off as soon as I have finished ironing and that is usually when I blow it and muck up the transfer!  MUST.WAIT. till it is cool before taking the backing off...hahahaha.  If you follow the instructions this is what you get... awesome looking labels!!!
 

 
To finish off the labels I used my pinking shears to cut the edges.  How cute are these...
 

 
This was so easy to do and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new look labels... and with that I am off to sew at least one label onto something...lol!

Have a great day!

March 03, 2014

Sewing Bibs!

 
Well the sewing machines have well and truly been dusted off and put to use... let the sewing adventures begin!

I felt it was time I made something for at least one of my three granddaughters.  Seeing as it has been forever since I last sewed, bibs seemed like a good easy project to start with.

I found some patterns on etsy that were sooo cute... I just loved the Apple, Pear and Pumpkin!

 
If you would like your own copy, you can get them from Precious Patterns HERE
WARNING: This shop has way too many super adorable patterns...lol!
 
It took me a bit to find all the right materials... fusible fleece/cotton batting is not so common in the stores near me but I did find it in the end.  The patterns were so easy to follow, even the instruction on how to put the binding around the neck.
I must admit I wasn't a fan of the brown bais around the neck for every bib.  As there were limited colours to choose from in my local material stores, I made my own in the colours I thought I would like more.  Yes I made my own... I went digging around in my bit and bobs and found a bais binding tool... who remembers these, hahahahaha!
 
 
A couple of tricks I used to make sewing the bias easier.... 1. Iron the binding in half before you sew.  2. Unfold the ends of the bais.  Fold in half right sides facing and sew the ends, then turn back through. 
 
You should now have a neatly sewn end.  3. Place a piece of tear-away under the bias as you sew it together (I found this gave the sewing machine feed dogs something to grip both sides and I ended up with straighter stitching.)
 
 
Once I had completed the first three patterns I then went on to make a couple of my own designs, a Strawberry and a Grape... well it's grape shaped...hehehe! 
 

There you go, super easy and so adorable!  On that note I'm off to sew a couple more.

Have a great day!