As I explained in this post. Vacation is the perfect time for crafting. I love my Silhouette but the process is actually quite labor intensive. It can take me about an hour to make a card. Mostly because I need to pull out the machine and all my supplies and papers and get the creative juices flowing!
What I have been trying to do is make multiples. It may take me an hour to produce one card, but it only takes an hour and a half to exponentially increase that. I got all my supplies out to make a card for Ross's birthday.
Ta da! Too lazy to move extraneous things out of the photo. Once I had that squared away I made some more, to store away for a quick grab when they are needed.
And then I got scrap crazy and made a day of it. Ross is studying away for his Step 2 CK exam so I just talk to myself, watch Netflix, and craft.
It feels good to have a batch of cards made. I love doing it, but I feel like I never have any ready when I really need them.
Summer vacation means fun trips but also some alone time with my crafts. It means you simply have more hours in the day. And when it comes to crafting, that is all I need. Time.
June and Cassie's wedding celebrations really gave me a push to use in Silhouette in a variety of ways. First at the Bridal Shower, and beyond (below)!
Envelope and embellishment for the beach themed gift we gave as siblings.
Wedding cake card, so happy to finally use this pattern that has been sitting in my library for 7 months now. I knew it would come in handy.
Also, I wanted to learn how to reversible knit for this amazing scarf pattern I saw on Ravelry. It is intense but it is the coolest thing I maybe have ever seen in my life. I would list it but it just might be a Christmas gift if I can pull it off. I wanted to learn to knit, so I did.
I need to practice, but I think that's a pretty good start!
Inspired by cats and Teo, I made this little cross stitch scrap. Maybe someday it will find it's way on a scrap of fabric to live it's life as a bookmark. I'm fairly please with the way it turned out.
"You've cat to be kitten me right meow!" Is pretty much my response to the idea that my summer vacation is over and I have to start work again.
If you were to say, "Girls Night!" I can almost promise you that the first people you'd think of would not be the women in my family. I don't mean that in a bad way. But you can count the combined number of mani/pedis for this group on about 2 fingers. We aren't pampered people.
So of course I thought pampering would be the perfect way to bond and hang out as girls in the midst of wedding preparations.
Italian sodas.
Engagement ring donuts (thanks for the help Silhouette).
Foot soaks and nail polish.
Movies and facials. I blocked out a certain someone because although I think she is the most beautiful human ever, I would hate for her to be displeased. :)
It was a chill night and fun to hang while the guys had fun at the movies.
When I have a vision, it is going to happen. And never before have I had such a complete plan and vision than for my little sister's bridal shower! That may sound so dramatic but it is a very exciting time you see.
My best friend Brigette did an absolutely amazing job with my bridal shower years ago. She is also a woman with a plan and vision, most particularly when it comes to the planning and execution of parties. I drew from her strength and ambition on this one.
I thought an "Up" (Disney Pixar movie) would be a great inspiration for the party. It's all about love, traveling, and adventure (yes we are overlooking the tragic first five minutes of the movie).
Balloons, bright colors, and maps were quickly in order. Here's my crafting progress so far.
I've been crocheting these cute little balloons. I like all the color they bring in. I think I will put them in a vase with some candies for a table decoration.
I continue to be obsessed with my Silhouette machine, the main reason I wanted to write this post. I'm getting the hang of it but I know there is still so much more I am missing. Here is the process of cutting and assembling different labels for all the toppings for the yogurt bar.
As nerdy as this sounds, it is pretty fun to watch the machine do it's work. Here is a little video.
Recently I added a "pix scan" mat to my Silhouette supplies. I used it for the project above as well as this one. I found this Up! house printable on this blog. It's super cool and I am grateful for talented people who make stuff for free. You inspire me! Since the printable is very detailed, I thought I would let me pix scan do the work. Here is that process.
It wasn't exact, but I also didn't calibrate it and it was still good enough for me. I am working on the assembly. I think it would be fun to have some balloons coming out of the top and use it for another decoration.
This next project I'm super proud of. Using a template I re-sized and engineered this insert to hold a cupcake as a favor for our party guests.
The cupcakes were drama in and of themselves. But I will spare you and just share some pictures of the finished products. They turned out maybe too adorable.
Oh and also, when Ross is enlisted in a project, he takes it very seriously.
I've been going a little overboard with the decorations and staying up past 1am almost every night this week. It's hard to be so creative and have so many good ideas. :) But everything is coming together very nicely. I am excited for it all to come together.
Last November I treated myself to a Silhouette Cameo electronic cutting machine. I've had my eye on it for years now, and I only became more determined to own one. They always have killer deals on Black Friday, so I kept my ear to the ground, determined to find the best deal.
Needless to say, I did. And I made it happen.
I was a little hesitant to use it at first. I found great joy in just staring at it in awe from across the room. After a little pushing from Ross, I experimented with it. Definitely a learning curve with all the trial and error, but here are some fun things that I have made so far.
Happy Birthday Card- Putting all my floral paper to good use.
Graduation Thank You Card- Color scheme turned out perfect.
This one is a little more fancy. It is an "explosion box." It folds up into a box and when you take the lid off it unfolds. Awesome for a group because there is lots of space to write.
Happy Birthday Pop-up card. This one had some little pieces that needed to be just right. I am learning the importance of a good and manageable glue.
Happy Birthday swing-out card. Once you get your head wrapped around the design, it isn't too bad. Pretty clever design.
I've been having a lot of fun so far and I'm excited to keep learning. It seems like the possibilities are endless.
