I tried to make these files available on Etsy, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to make a .svg file. If anyone can help me out, please let me know!
Showing posts with label silhouette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silhouette. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
A Very Hungry Caterpillar banner with FREE Silhouette cut files
I recently made a Very Hungry Caterpillar banner for a baby shower I threw. I developed and cut all the shapes using my Silhouette, and found it took a while! Instead of reinventing the wheel, feel free to email me and I will happily send you my cut files and instructions for making your own banner.
I tried to make these files available on Etsy, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to make a .svg file. If anyone can help me out, please let me know!
I tried to make these files available on Etsy, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to make a .svg file. If anyone can help me out, please let me know!
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Cutting Cricut glitter iron-on vinyl with a Silhouette Cameo
My daughter requested a mermaid party for her birthday this year, and I had so much fun making it special for her! I knew she'd love wearing a special birthday outfit, so I made a glittery mermaid shirt and gathered skirt out of mermaid fabric.
I have a Silhouette Cameo (a fun little machine that cuts custom shapes), but I could only find Cricut glitter heat transfer vinyl at Michael's. I figured it would be similar enough to be able to use in my Silhouette Cameo. WARNING! The pre-set Silhouette settings are wayyyy off! I immediately ruined my cut board and about half my vinyl. Lesson learned...do a small test cut first!
To save you the same heartache, here are the settings I used:
Ratchet depth: 3
Cut Speed: 4
Thickness: 10
Double Cut: Yes
It was super easy to weed, didn't cut through the vinyl backing, and definitely didn't ruin another cut board.
To make the mermaid, I Googled for images of mermaids. I wanted a mermaid that was pretty but not sexy. I used Silhouette Studio to trace the mermaid and make a cut file. Then I cut her out of Cricut iron-on glitter using the cut settings above. I ironed the mermaid onto a plain white shirt, and voila! Special party shirt!!!
For reference, the shirt is a size 3, and the mermaid is 7" tall.
I have a Silhouette Cameo (a fun little machine that cuts custom shapes), but I could only find Cricut glitter heat transfer vinyl at Michael's. I figured it would be similar enough to be able to use in my Silhouette Cameo. WARNING! The pre-set Silhouette settings are wayyyy off! I immediately ruined my cut board and about half my vinyl. Lesson learned...do a small test cut first!
To save you the same heartache, here are the settings I used:
Ratchet depth: 3
Cut Speed: 4
Thickness: 10
Double Cut: Yes
It was super easy to weed, didn't cut through the vinyl backing, and definitely didn't ruin another cut board.
To make the mermaid, I Googled for images of mermaids. I wanted a mermaid that was pretty but not sexy. I used Silhouette Studio to trace the mermaid and make a cut file. Then I cut her out of Cricut iron-on glitter using the cut settings above. I ironed the mermaid onto a plain white shirt, and voila! Special party shirt!!!
For reference, the shirt is a size 3, and the mermaid is 7" tall.
Friday, May 26, 2017
A Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower
This past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law. It was themed after Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I was very thankful to have my other sister-in-law and friends of the Mom-to-be helping me with this. We divided up duties, and I got to do all the decor! Thanks to Pinterest, I found several cute ideas I was able to copy.
We invited guests with these cute on-theme invitations.
I made this Hungry Caterpillar welcome banner using cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo to hang behind the chair where she would open gifts. I even found a font similar to the one used in the book! The red circles are 8" and the green circles are 6".
The paper lantern caterpillars are made using 10" red lanterns for the heads and 8" mismatched green lanterns for the bodies. I found the most affordable lanterns at the Paper Lantern Store. These sizes are fine for a smaller space, but I wish I had used larger ones for these large rooms. I used command hooks (3 lb. strength) to attach the caterpillars the ceilings so I wouldn't have to poke holes with tacks. The lanterns are strung onto fishing line. I used cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo for the face pieces and feet!
I made the giant fruits by painting large swoops of paint onto posterboard (a glass of wine helped me be extra swoopy with my brush strokes, lol). I used the paintbrush I normally use for painting trim and baseboards, and several colors of acrylic paint I had on hand. After making all the swoops, I flipped the posterboard over and drew out the fruits, then cut them out. I traced a roll of blue painters tape for the holes. These were a great way to make large decor for a big room.
The diaper cake is made from about 60 Size 2 Earth's Best diapers (because they're plain white, the larger size helps make the cake larger, and I just really love this brand). I used Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny for the book layer, and clipped them together with paperclips. I managed to find Hungry Caterpillar ribbon to wrap them up, and topped them off with a few Eric Carle toys! I tried accessorizing the cake with mini versions of baby toiletries, but it looked too busy.
We asked the guests to sign a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as well as address an envelope for the Mom-to-be to use for her thank you notes. With 45 guests worth of thank you notes to write, she needs all the help she can get!
We also asked guests to bring a book to build the baby's library! I think he's going to be quite literate! The quilt is made from an Eric Carle 10 Little Rubber Ducks panel.
A family member made this amazing caterpillar cupcake display!
My other sister-in-law developed a delicious menu: yogurt bar, croissant bar (she MADE them at the house which made the house smell so yummy) with egg salad and chicken salad, pinwheel sandwiches, mini muffins, Duck Donuts, and a popcorn bar. She complemented the spread with a cocktail we named Peach Sparklers, which were made from peach puree, orange juice, and champagne.
Friends of the Mom-to-be created a draw-your-own bingo board where guests first filled out items they thought might get opened, then marked off squares as the gifts were unwrapped. They also broke up the gift portion of the shower with two games, one with nursery rhymes and one with children's books.
I really couldn't be happier with how the shower came together! It was cute, had great food, and fun activities. But most of all, it brought together this amazing community of women who are super excited to welcome this sweet baby into the world.
Hopefully some of these ideas come in handy if you're planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower or Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday!
This post may contain affiliate links.
We invited guests with these cute on-theme invitations.
I made this Hungry Caterpillar welcome banner using cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo to hang behind the chair where she would open gifts. I even found a font similar to the one used in the book! The red circles are 8" and the green circles are 6".
The paper lantern caterpillars are made using 10" red lanterns for the heads and 8" mismatched green lanterns for the bodies. I found the most affordable lanterns at the Paper Lantern Store. These sizes are fine for a smaller space, but I wish I had used larger ones for these large rooms. I used command hooks (3 lb. strength) to attach the caterpillars the ceilings so I wouldn't have to poke holes with tacks. The lanterns are strung onto fishing line. I used cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo for the face pieces and feet!
I made the giant fruits by painting large swoops of paint onto posterboard (a glass of wine helped me be extra swoopy with my brush strokes, lol). I used the paintbrush I normally use for painting trim and baseboards, and several colors of acrylic paint I had on hand. After making all the swoops, I flipped the posterboard over and drew out the fruits, then cut them out. I traced a roll of blue painters tape for the holes. These were a great way to make large decor for a big room.
The diaper cake is made from about 60 Size 2 Earth's Best diapers (because they're plain white, the larger size helps make the cake larger, and I just really love this brand). I used Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny for the book layer, and clipped them together with paperclips. I managed to find Hungry Caterpillar ribbon to wrap them up, and topped them off with a few Eric Carle toys! I tried accessorizing the cake with mini versions of baby toiletries, but it looked too busy.
We asked the guests to sign a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as well as address an envelope for the Mom-to-be to use for her thank you notes. With 45 guests worth of thank you notes to write, she needs all the help she can get!
We also asked guests to bring a book to build the baby's library! I think he's going to be quite literate! The quilt is made from an Eric Carle 10 Little Rubber Ducks panel.
My other sister-in-law developed a delicious menu: yogurt bar, croissant bar (she MADE them at the house which made the house smell so yummy) with egg salad and chicken salad, pinwheel sandwiches, mini muffins, Duck Donuts, and a popcorn bar. She complemented the spread with a cocktail we named Peach Sparklers, which were made from peach puree, orange juice, and champagne.
Friends of the Mom-to-be created a draw-your-own bingo board where guests first filled out items they thought might get opened, then marked off squares as the gifts were unwrapped. They also broke up the gift portion of the shower with two games, one with nursery rhymes and one with children's books.
I really couldn't be happier with how the shower came together! It was cute, had great food, and fun activities. But most of all, it brought together this amazing community of women who are super excited to welcome this sweet baby into the world.
Hopefully some of these ideas come in handy if you're planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower or Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Stencil a Wall for Under $5
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Stenciling seems to be quite popular these days! As I've been redesigning my craft room closet, I just couldn't settle for white walls - they're not fun enough for my creative space.
I thought about painting the closet pink, painting stripes, painting chevron, all sorts of things. Finally I decided to stencil giant flowers in it!
I googled around and found a few promising stencils, but at $25-$40 not including shipping, they were a little steep for a closet project. Time to get creative!
If my Silhouette Cameo
machine is good for making silhouettes, why not stencils? I found some heavy plastic folders that I imagined would have a similar texture to stencils. Combine the two, and ta da!I rendered my image using the Silhouette software, and cut the folder using a #8 setting. It took forever, but it came out pretty nice! There were a few hangnails on it, so I smoothed them out by melting them (quickly brushing a flame over them).
I sprayed a repositionable adhesive on the back so it would make a good connection on the wall.
After positioning the stencil, I loaded a small foam roller with a dab of craft paint and rolled it gently over the stencil.
I carefully removed the stencil, put it in a new location and repeated the steps. Occasionally I rinsed the stencil and applied a new coat of adhesive.
After a while the stencil got too gunked up with glue, so I made a second one to start fresh. If anyone has tips for getting adhesive off plastic, please share!
If you're particular about the edges of your image, I wouldn't suggest stenciling. Most of mine bled a little bit, and some a lot. I touched up any big issues with white wall paint, and I'm pretty happy with the results! Where the paint bled looks kind of like batik fabric to me - perfect for my craft room.
All in all, stenciling the closet with chrysanthemums was pretty darn easy! Free folders, $2 for two colors of acrylic craft paint, and a few hours of work. I already had the foam roller and the Silhouette, which would obviously add cost to your project. But you could use an exacto knife instead.
I'm happy I didn't stick with plain white walls. The flowers are so fun!
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