Pebbles Americana Layout with Silhouette PixScan Tutorial

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of Snippets of Mendi. I receive financial compensation and material product from American Crafts to develop my craft posts, but all ideas and opinions are my own.

Hello there!  How was your Fourth of July weekend?  I'm popping in today to share a patriotic layout using Pebbles beautiful Americana collection which I shared awhile back on the Pebbles blog.

This has to be one of my all time favorite collections from Pebbles.  I just love the color palette and all of the great patterns and embellishments!


I thought it would be really fun to take one of the flower print patterned paper from the collection and cut the flowers out to form a floral border on my page.

To hand cut all the flowers would take quite a bit of time and patience so I decided to break out my Silhouette PixScan mat which allows you to take a photo of what you want to cut out and then find the outline of the printed shapes.  

Rather than explain it in entirely with lengthy steps and screen shots I chose to make a video sharing my process which you can also view at YouTube.  I know it's been a super long time since I've done one of these so I was feeling pretty rusty.  ;)




While I won't go into all the details here, I will say that I started by clicking on the PixScan Icon within the newest Silhouette software (third icon from the top right) and then I clicked on the import from file button on the far right.  From there I clicked on Camera Calibration and loaded Show Test Calibration Card which I printed out using a standard printer.  This test is made up of a series of small dots.  I then took a photo of the test paper with my camera, trying to physically crop in as close as possible with my lens.  It also helps for this photo to be as bright as possible so I decided to then edit it for brightness and contrast (making sure not to play with the sizing).

I then cut down my floral patterned paper to 12" x 6" and adhered it to the top right-hand corner of my mat.  From there I took another photo of my entire mat with the paper, making sure all the registration marks were showing in my photo.  You can then edit your photo for brightness if you wish, but it is very important to not play with the dimensions because the two photos must be identical in that respect or it will not properly load your photo of the patterned paper.  The last step in this sequence is to Import PixScan Image from File (or scanner).


From there you can use the trace features to find the outlines of your patterned paper that is now on the screen within the Silhouette software.  By using the PixScan photo it already knows to look for the registration marks when you go to cut which is pretty awesome.

One last thing that I struggled with at first is it is extremely important to use the loading mark on your machine base by placing your mat just to the right of that guideline.  If you fail to do this (like I did for several tries) it won't be able to find the registration marks to proceed with the cuts.  

Here is a peek at what my paper looked like after cutting out.  Pretty wonderful, right?

Look at all these lovely flowers I was able to cut out in just a few minutes time!  Oh the creative possibilities... I can't wait to turn more of my favorite papers into embellishments on my upcoming projects!  I hope I've inspire you to look at your patterned papers in a brand new way! 

Here's one last look at how I arranged the flowers on my layout.  I love that I have plenty left and ready for upcoming projects.  :)

Unfortunately the Americana collection is becoming pretty hard to come by outside of Etsy or Ebay, but I was still able to find a few of the supplies at the following stores...

Before I go I wanted to pass on a cool promo code.  Scrapbook.com is offering free shipping for orders over $60 through July 10th at 11:59 pm PST using the code JULYSHIP.  :)

Supplies Used (available at Scrapbook.com):

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Supplies Used (available at Simon Says Stamp):

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

A Silhouette Tutorial: How to create Stitching Templates

Today I'm so excited to be sharing a new Silhouette trick on Lori Whitlock's blog where I showcase how you can create stitching templates using all your favorite cutting files!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE to add touches of hand stitching on my projects!  I adore the homemade look it gives my cards and layouts! Well, I have been brainstorming for awhile now trying to figure out the easiest way to do this on the Silhouette and I think I finally found a way that is both quick and easy.  Best of all I love that it allows me to execute hand-stitching with perfectly spaced stitches every time!  And better yet it doesn't require extra money to buy and store special stitching templates--I have everything I need just using a few of my favorite cutting files of Lori's.

One thing I forgot to point out in my tutorial is that when you do create a stitching template, it's very important to size your shape to the size you want it before adding your holes.  If you decide to shrink it down or enlarge it later, it will affect the size of your stitching holes and you may not get the same results.

To illustrate how I created my stitching template I created a video tutorial.  If you'd like to skip the preparation for the rest of the card and to go straight to the stitching template tutorial portion, fast forward to the 5:50 mark.  ;)



To create my card today I used the following cutting files available for purchase at Lori's shop and also in the Silhouette Store:

• 4 Easter Set (butterfly)
• Spring Borders (grass)
• Hot Air Balloon Card (clouds)
• 8.5x11 Backgrounds Shapes (Silhouette Store only)
• 3 Flowers (Silhouette Store only)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope I've inspired you to give hand-stitching a try using this fun technique.  :)

A Lori Whitlock Silhouette Tutorial: How to Thicken Fonts

Today I'm excited to have another video tutorial up on Lori Whitlock's blog.  I don't know about you, but I've found when I'm shrinking cutting files down in size there are many times when the shapes become too thin to cut from cardstock without shredding.  To get around this I have found some tricks for thickening my fonts and shapes.  This is also a super handy trick for creating a "bold" font when that option is not available in the Silhouette software.  ;)

To illustrate my tutorial I created this little Birdie Birthday card using several thin shapes and fonts (along with the adorable Echo Park Hello Summer collection) designed by Lori Whitlock.

Check out my video tutorial below on how you too can solve this common Silhouette cutting dilemma.



To create my card today I used the following shapes available in Lori Whitlock's shop:

• 4 Ribbon Slides
• Dot Sketch Font
• Valentines Borders 2
• Birthday Handwritten Script by Kolette Hall (Silhouette store only)
• Lori Whitlock Bird (Silhouette store only)

Thanks so much for stopping by.  :)

A Lori Whitlock Silhouette Video Tutorial using Shaped Text

I have a tutorial up today on Lori Whitlock's blog.  I'm super excited to be sharing a Silhouette technique that I've been having a lot of fun using lately on all sorts of cards and layouts:  Creating journaling and sentiments around the edge of a circle using Silhouette's print and cut features!

However when preparing for today, I realized the hard way that this print and cut technique really works best when using circles that fit within the registration marks so for those of you that have a 12x12 printer, that means your circles can be up to 10.5" wide and sadly for me (whose wide format printer recently bit the dust) that meant I was limited to a circle 7.2" wide.  I had planned a layout using a 11.5" circle which meant as hard as I was trying to find a way around it, I needed to set that aside for another day and come up with a new project that would be easier to share with all of you.

As an alternative I settled on a fun spinner style birthday card for my nephew which can double as a rainy day activity spinner (or with the addition of numbers can be a great game piece for any game a child can dream up).  I think this would also be darling for chores too (although I'm not sure children would agree).  ;)

My papers are from Lori's fun new 6x6 "That's My Boy" paper pad which she designed for Echo Park.

Without further ado, here's my video tutorial sharing how I created it:



I layered 3 of the black arrows together to give it extra stiffness and make it easier to flick for spinning.  I also enlarged the center holes a bit and made sure to not tighten my brad too tight so that it can spin freely.

To complete my card I cut a second circle for the card back, sliced off a portion of the bottom (to help it sit up straight) and scored along the top to adhere to the back of the spinner.  Before adhering them together though I decided to run it through my printer to add a quick sentiment to tie everything together.

For today's project I used the following cutting files available in Lori's shop:

• 4x6 and 3x4 Life Template Set C
• Friendly Font

I also used this same print and cut technique for a layout I previously shared HERE.  I tell ya, this could become addicting!!!  Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a look.  :)

A Silhouette Video Tutorial & Fall Reflections Card

Are you like me?  Do you have a growing collection of SVG files which you've acquired from outside the Silhouette store?  While it is fairly easy to import them into your Silhouette library, I found myself really missing the color thumbnails that come with the shapes purchased directly from the Silhouette store.

I'm happy to say that with a little creativity I was able to find a couple different ways around this which have solved this problem and made a huge difference for me when I'm searching for the perfect shape from within my personal library!  Today I thought I would share my little tricks with you... (make sure to click on the gear in the bottom right-hand corner and select 1080p to view the video at the highest resolution).



And no blog post seems complete without a project to share so I decided to create a card with the cutting files used in today's video.

This card was created with the beautiful Reflections: Fall collection which Lori designed for Echo Park.  For my pocket, I used Lori's folder cutting file by stitching down the sides and inserting a journaling card from the collection for a fun interactive element.

As a last minute addition, I've received a recent question about how I organize my library so I thought I would share my system.  I went ahead and took some screen shots to show you the categories I created for sorting.  While I frequently use the search bar to search for my cutting files, it's also super nice to have one big folder where all of my Christmas themed shapes are stored (or any other theme, season or holiday).

Several years ago I had an unlimited download subscription to the Silhouette store so I acquired a ton of files and it definitely took some time to organize, but it's a great thing to do while enjoying TV (or even catching up on episodes on the net at the same time).  One trick I've learned to speed up the process is scrolling through a long list of shapes and holding down the CTRL key while selecting the shapes for a specific category (and then hovering your cursor over to the folder and dropping them all in at once or in small groups). As another note, some of my folders that show a "+" sign have additional sub-folders within that are revealed when you click on the folder.  You can see by my number of "recent downloads" from the past 1-1/2 years that I haven't caught up on organizing my files for awhile.  Maybe it's time I catch up on this.  ;)

You can be notified of my future video tutorials by subscribing to my You-Tube channel or following me on my blog.  I hope you've found the tutorial helpful and I appreciate you stopping by.

A Lori Whitlock Custom Chalkboard Print & Cut Tutorial

I'm excited to have another Silhouette video tutorial to share with you today which I created for Lori Whitlock's blog!

Today's card and video show several fun tricks and tips, but it's primary focus is sharing how to take one of Lori's many versatile shapes and personalizing it to create your own customized "print & cut" file.  The creative variations using this basic idea are endless which is really exciting!



I decided for my card it would be fun to make a chalkboard themed speech bubble to match the feel of her "Here & Now" collection using her everyday shapes, sentiments and digital papers.

To create my project I used the following cutting files designed by Lori:
Quote Bubbles Set
Sentiments
7 Labels
Heart Owl
Patriotic Icons (Ice Cream Cone)
Heart Flowers (Pom Pom--Silhouette Store Only)

The chalkboard paper can be purchased at Jessica Sprague:
Here & Now Paper Pack #1

To see more of Lori's fun shapes visit her online store found HERE or tour her vast Silhouette portfolio found HERE.

Please note that I actually created this video back in early August before Lori added new birthday shapes to her store.  She now sells a Birthday Hat available HERE.  Since creating this I have also noticed there has also been an explosion of tutorials on the web that are very close to this very topic so for that I apologize... ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by!   :)

A 4th of July Layout and Silhouette Video Tutorial

I hope you guys are all enjoying a wonderful 4th of July!  It's always been one of my favorite holidays so I feel privileged to be able to share a festive layout and video tutorial on Lori Whitlock's blog today using papers from Pebbles Let Freedom Ring collection.

As I state below in my video, I actually created this 8x8 layout for my Mother-in-law as part of her Christmas gift last year and saved it until now to share.  The only trouble is I didn't know then that it would be my turn to share a tutorial so I've tried my best to pull from my project a few of my favorite tips and tricks that I'm hoping will manage to teach a few of you something new.   ;)

I love layering my diecuts, embellishing them with rhinestones and stitching on them to create texture and add interest so I did a little bit of all these on my layout here.

To create my layout I used the following cutting files designed by Lori Whitlock:
Patriotic Icons
Summer Fun Titles
Banner Flag Set
8 Tabs
2 Borders (Silhouette Store only)
Dot Star (Silhouette Store only)

Without further ado, here is my feeble attempt at a tutorial...  ;)



There you have it.  Sorry it cut off there at the end.  I couldn't figure out how to lengthen my goodbyes without doing it over again and I was getting sleepy.  ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your Independence Day or if you're reading this the day after, I hope it was a good one!  :)

A Lori Whitlock Butterfly Layout with Video Tutorial

Hi there!

It's my turn to share a step-by-step tutorial on Lori Whitlock's blog so today I thought I would share one of my new favorite techniques that I utilized on this fun layout about my daughter from last Halloween (although I think this butterfly would work so well for Spring and Summer projects too).

The focus of my layout (and my tutorial today) is this beautiful butterfly cutting file which I enlarged to take center stage on my layout.

I cut the, title, tabs and journaling block using Lori's cutting files.  After I was done cutting I ran them through my printer on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper using temporary adhesive.

The borders, flourish and smaller butterflies were also designed by Lori.  For my pink butterfly, I layered the intricate cuts using black vinyl and for the smallest butterflies I omitted the top layer.

I took a screen shot of what my layout looked like with my project all planned out as well as showing how I arranged the butterfly pieces to make the most of my cardstock when cutting them out.

And finally, here's my video (please forgive me in advance for saying "um" a few hundred times).  ;)



To complete my layout I used the following cutting files designed by Lori Whitlock:
Butterfly
You Are Sentiments
Journaling Shapes
Flourish Set 3
3 Borders
Borders (Silhouette Store only)
7 Borders, Tabs & Corners (Silhouette Store only)
Butterfly (Silhouette Store only)

Thanks so much for stopping by for a peek!  I hope my video was helpful and easy to understand.  ;)

 

A Lori Whitlock Rainbow Hexagon Card

It's my new favorite day of the week!  I have the privilege of getting to share another Lori Whitlock project which is being featured over on her blog today!  Yay!   I also have overcome a fear of mine and put together my ever first video tutorial to go along with my project!  Woo-Hoo!  So are you ready to see what I've made?

I altered Lori's Hexagon Card cutting file to form my card background pattern along with one of my all time favorite paper lines:  Echo Park's Summer Days collection (also designed by Lori).

And here's my video explaining how I achieved that.  Please go easy on me.  I am still learning to experiment with the sound concerning voice levels and minimizing background noise with the cheap microphone I have.  Also after a lot of fussing over saving my video in different formats and ratios, I finally got it to work on you tube (without it being completely fuzzy or having a warped image), but you must click on that little gear shape in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and click either the 720p or 1080p HD option.  For all you veterans out there, I welcome your pointers.  ;)

I hope the video helps you to better understand how I used Lori's file with a twist to create my card.  I think with great basic shapes and a little creativity, you can really get a lot of mileage and different looks from a single cutting file!  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  :)