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.  :)

Hot Pink, Black & White Cards using Canvas Embellishments

Happy Monday!  Today I thought I would share a couple cards I made last year for a specific call looking for ways to use basic supplies.  In this case the supply was CANVAS!  :)  I don't know about you, but I adore Hot Pink, black and white together (perhaps I'm still a Barbie girl at heart).  ;)

I don't generally love being messy in my crafting though and I definitely gravitate towards a cleaner look, but every once I'm inspired to combine both.  For these cards I got out some raw, plain pieces of canvas (purchased in a roll at a local craft store and then cut out small squares to dye with ink.  After experimenting I ended up using my Ranger Craft Mat with several drops of Distress Ink Reinkers and a little water and dabbing 3 or 4-inch squares of canvas in them.  I speed up the drying process with my heat gun and then cut them with some of my Sizzix originals & BIGZ dies (I also tried die-cutting and then inking which gave a more shabby chic look with frayed edges so if you lean that way I would totally give that a try).

My first card uses a couple Papertrey Ink items in my stash including their Modern Wood Mats Stamps, a sentiment from their Natural Beauties Stamp Set (from Stamp-A-Faire 2012).  I cut my canvas flower & leaves using a couple ancient small green Sizzix originals dies (they are both readily available on ebay so if you are interested they are item numbers 38-0704 and 38-0224).  Even though they're older than dirt, I still cherish these dies--They are such versatile shapes and I love that they can cut through so many extra thick materials like wood veneer, leather, corrugated sheets, felt and heavy canvas!

For my second card, I took my inking one step further and layered a Hero Arts Old Letter Writing background stamp over my canvas butterfly which I cut out using Stampin' Up's exclusive Sizzix Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die.  I then paired it with Echo Park's Be Mine papers, a sentiment from Papetrey Ink's Buttefly Dreams stamp Set and their Victorian Lace and Pinking Shears border dies.

I hope you will give this fun technique a try.  It totally takes you back to playing messy in grade school.  Just one parting tip before I go--Don't forget to take a moment to put on some rubber gloves before you start.  I didn't and my hands were stained hot pink for days.  LOL!  :)

A Couple of Paper Crafts Magazine Cards to Share

Today I have some cards to share that are way overdue.  Both of these were created for different past Paper Crafts issues.  This first one I am really blushing about my tardiness because it was from the September 2013 special issue called Paper Crafts Handmade Cards.

I created this one for a call on playing with fabrics and canvases in a unique way.  For my card I colored some fabric Thickers with my Copic markers in a rainbow pattern and paired it with some rainbow arrows cut from Bo Bunny paper using this Arrow cutting file by Lori Whitlock (which I lengthened by welding to a rectangle of the same width).  I finished off my sentiment using the Saying Hello by Ali Edwards stamp set by Technique Tuesday.

My second card was part of Paper Crafts Practical Solutions For Paper Crafters: Volume 2 special issue.  I created this one using a variety of Doodlebug Petite Prints and some Doodlebug / Hampton Art rubber cling stamps called Home Sweet Home.  The call that inspired this card asked for projects using up tiny leftover scraps of paper.  Love that holding onto my precious scraps finally paid off.  ;)

To give my little houses more dimension I stamp them in black ink for the house and roof and then again with VersaMark and white embossing powder on kraft and yellow cardstock.  I like how mixing it up gave the doors and windows the appearance of being framed in white trim.  :)

Thanks so much for hanging with me today.  :)

An Echo Park That's My Boy School Themed layout

I'm happy to be sharing a layout on Lori Whitlock's blog today.  I couldn't wait to play more with Lori's newest paper collection "That's My Boy" paper pad which she designed for Echo Park!  Since I don't have boys of my own I used many of the basic patterns from the collection to create a colorful back-to-school layout.  

For my number border, I cut out an extra size 6 in a contrasting navy to emphasize the fact that she was entering 6th grade.  If that wasn't enough, I added a little arrow to complete my visual triangle.  For my title, I used a chalkboard style die cut, but omitted the chalkboard and enlarged the coordinating apple.

I can't tell you how happy I was to finally get a picture of my daughter boarding a school bus for the first time!  We have always lived within walking distance of her schools, but with a recent move we finally lived far enough away to ride the bus and as a scrapbooker dying to play with adorable "bus" themed embellishments for all these years, I was overjoyed.  :)

To create today's layout I used the following cutting files available for purchase in Lori's shop:

• Back To School Board
• Back To School Icons
• Number Border
• 12 Arrows

I hope I've inspired you to look at boy themed collections with fresh eyes for both genders.  :)

Lawn Fawn Easter & All Occasion Cards

I'm back today with a couple more Lawn Fawn Cards.  :)

I thought it would be fun to combine the jar from summertime charm with the jelly bean and other images from the Happy Easter set.  To speed things up and reduce the amount of time I would spend cleaning the jellybean stamp, you'll see that the arrangement of the jelly beans in the same for all three jars.  ;)  I was originally planning on making three identical cards to have on hand, but in the end I thought they looked pretty cute all lined up on one card.

For my next card I challenged myself to use as many of the images in the set as possible by creating my own patterned paper for the background by stamping the dog accessories on the diagonal with a tone-on-tone look.  This one came together really quickly and was a lot of fun to make!  My hardest decision was deciding which adorable pup to use, but in the end this little guy was facing the right direction so he won out.  :)

To created today's cards I used the following stamp sets by Lawn Fawn:

• Happy Easter
• Summertime Charm
• Critters In The Burbs (grass)
• Critters At The Dog Park

Thanks again for stopping by.  Hope you have a fun & sunny weekend!  :)

Oodles of Doodlebug Springtime Layouts and Cards

I'm so excited to be sharing some projects over at Doodlebug's blog today from what I think just might be my all time favorite Doodlebug collection ever called Springtime!  To me it epitomizes everything I love about Doodlebug!

First up, I have a layout to share.  As soon as I saw the rainbow gingham print, I knew I had to go in search for some old photos of my daughter wearing a dress in almost the exact same print.  I tried my best to capture all the rainbows and happiness this collection embodies!

I die cut a rainbow on my Silhouette using a mix of different cutting files and cut my clouds from cardstock with a slightly larger vellum shadow.  I wanted to emphasize the translucent quality, but also still hide the bottom of my rainbow and this totally did the trick!

Next up is another layout, this time using the darling new Springtime Mini Garland.  Love the detail in the darling flowers and leaves--It was almost too cute to cut into!

I set out to create a flower border to extend the flowers in my photo.  For a subtle touch I layered some Limeade Sprinkle Vellum for my grass and poked holes and stitched on Limeade bakers twine for my stems.

For my title I used the word "Spring" from the Springtime Icon Cardstock Stickers, but my "P" was getting lost on the background so I went old-school and mounted them on white cardstock and fussy cut a small shadow around each letter (totally brought back memories).  ;)

I also couldn't wait to play with the Mini Kites Craft Kit so I created a quick little Easter card using one of Doodlebug's Slim Filagree Cards along with sprinkles for my knots and more adorable icon stickers.  Isn't that little bunny sticker completely irresistible?!

For my last project I made a bridal shower card using a Tangerine Polka-dot card base.  I love how these umbrellas will work for Spring themes as well as for Baby and Bridal showers!

I hope you fall as head over heals for this collection as I have!  I found it completely intoxicating and have had a hard time pulling myself away from it!  :)

Lawn Fawn Encouragement & Birthday Cards

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!  :)

This week I thought I would finally share some Lawn Fawn Cards I created back in December for Lawn Fawn's annual catalog contest.  I adore my Lawn Fawn stamps, but sadly I sometimes don't find the time to play with them as much as I would like so this challenge was all the inspiration I needed to pull them out and have some fun!

This first card actually ended up winning for one of the categories (blushing).  It's such an honor and I was super excited that part of my prize was getting one their latest adorable catalogs in my hands!  It's like a little Lawn Fawn idea book!  :)

For both of these cards I used another investment that I haven't had much time to play with lately which is my Copic markers and airbrush!  I totally fell in love with them all over again and had my hubby eyeing the airbrush compressor for some of his own fine scale modeling projects.  ;)

To create these cards I used the following Lawn Fawn stamp sets:

• Bannerific
• Blue Skies
• Hats Off To You
• Critters In The Sea
• Cruising Through Life

I'm so excited for tomorrow when I will finally be able to share some fun new Doodlebug projects I have been working on (I'm seriously giddy about this particular collection)!!!  Until then, I hope you have an awesome Monday!  :)

A Doodlebug Kraft In Color Happy Rainbow Card

Are you guys having a good week?  Is the sun starting to thaw things out in your neck of the woods?  We finally have seen some sun here in the Pacific Northwest and it's amazing what a spirit booster it is!!!

These past two weeks Doodlebug's blog has been sharing so many fun ways to use their newest "Kraft In Color" collection (if you haven't been following, you should totally check it out).  Today I have a little card I made for a local card making challenge using some more of it.  I had so much fun playing with the washi tape on the card I shared HERE that I thought I would try the same technique using the new striped washi tape assortment.  :)

My pennants were cut from the Kraft In Color 6x6 Paper Pad with "happy" spelled out using their Jack & Jill font stickers in Lily White.  I finished off my sentiment on my Silhouette using the font "Wendy Medium".

Just as this card says, I hope your day is happy!!!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  :)

Lori Whitlock's March Blog Hop ~ Armoire Shaped Card

Welcome to Lori Whitlock's March Blog Hop!  You should be arriving here from Corri's blog or if you're just joining in on the fun you can see the whole hop from the beginning at Lori's blog.

For today's project I couldn't wait to get my hands on Lori's newest shaped cards!  I think the hardest part for me was narrowing it down which one I was actually going to play with.  In the end I decided to combine two cards in one by using Lori's interactive doors on her Armoire Shaped Card with some Echo Park 6x6 Paper pads (Bundle of Joy Girl and Sweet Girl).

For the inside I shrunk down her Dress Shaped Card and only used the front pieces of the cutting file to create a couple of sweet dresses to hang inside my armoire.  To mix it up a bit I took my scissors and cut off the sleeves from one them.  I then found some miniature wire hangers in my stash to hang them from a little "rod".

To give my wardrobe doors room to close over the bulkiness of the dresses, I cut out a piece of thin Silhouette chipboard in the shape of the card front (removing the center portion where the doors were by adding a rectangle to cut out and remove that entire portion).

I hope you will take a look at all the new adorable cards Lori has recently added to her store!  To create today's project I used the following cutting files available for purchase in Lori's shop:

• Armoire Shaped Card
• Dress Shaped Card
• 7 Labels 3 (for sentiment tag)
• Damask Hearts (for 2 small hearts)

In honor of today's blog hop Lori gave us each a different digital tag to give away.  These are great for layering over your project life photos or for your digital scrapbook pages!  Lori will be giving away a different free file every day between now and our next blog hop in April so make sure to check back at her blog daily.  ;)

Download "The End" Freebie HERE - This shape is free today only.  ;)

She is also offering an awesome 30% off sale at her store now through March 16th!

You're next stop on the hop is Natalie's blog!  :)

Lori Whitlock

Brigit Mann
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa  (You are here)
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 

Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker  
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers 
Lisa Bell

Make sure to check out all the wonderful ideas on my fellow teammates blogs and leave them some love.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  :)

A Doodlebug Kraft In Color Disney Layout & Card

I am thrilled share some projects I made with Doodlebug's latest yummy collection, Kraft In Color which were featured on the Doodlebug blog yesterday!  What I love most about this collection is how versatile it is and how you can literally tailor your color scheme to fit any theme!!!

I really wanted to play with the new sequins and have them take center stage so I chose a simple design that would allow them to shine (no pun intended).  ;)

Make sure to check out my Doodlebug blog post HERE where I share a mini tutorial on how I created my title.  ;)

But before I go, I also have a quick little banner shaped card I created using the new Chevron Washi Tape Assortment.

I knew I wanted to set the washi tape at a diagonal and the banner shaped card took the guesswork out of figuring out what angle to place them at.  I simply cut my card front piece in half down the center and then set to work covering each side with the rainbow chevrons, folding over the excess to the back of the card front.  When I was done I created a center band cut from white cardstock to hide my seam and adhered everything to a coordinating card base cut from my Silhouette (any pennant shape will work for this--I simply stretched my dimensions to be A2 size, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2).

These new products are seriously so much fun and I love that there are infinite ways to use them!  I hope I have helped get your creative juices flowing.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.  :)