Heart Attacks - My First Silhouette Craft

So my amazing DH bought me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas - wow, I am a serious fan!! So far, it has been so fun!

First - what's a Silhouette?  Several of my friends asked the same question when I was telling them how excited I was about it.  This is a cutting machine.  Basically it will cut out whatever I ask it to cut out.

So, for my first project, I made Heart Attacks to mail to my grandparents, my friend stationed in Baghdad, and one of my cousins in college. I got a gift card for their on-line shop and downloaded the girl with heart design into my Silhouette.  You can see how the machine cuts out parts.


I then had to take the pieces and glue them together - this created several different girls.

Note: If you are a Silhouette user, I found organizing the designs into separate color files allowed me to get the dresses, hair, etc... in the colors I wanted.  I fill the paper up since it seems each piece of paper can only go through the cutter once.  I ended up with extra pieces, but I just kept them for another day.

Then, I downloaded a cool font off the internet.  I found this font on Pinterest but really you can use any font.  The Silhouette will cut out almost every font - but it helps if it's not too "delicate" - the thinner, the harder it is to remove from the Silhouette mat without damaging it.  (As I said, I am still a beginner).

I then had the Silhouette cut hearts out of tons of different papers - different sizes and styles.  I just downloaded one sheet of heart designs from Silhouette, broke it apart, and then manipulated the hearts to fit.  I used 12x12, 8x10, and 8" squared papers.  Double-sided paper works best for this type of project.

I bought these heart envelopes at my local post office.  Packed it all up and off my "heart attacks" to bring a little cheer to someone's day.

Hug T-Shirt - Bringing Joy to Another

For the holidays, I wanted to make something for my nephew's other grandma.  She had a rough year and I wanted to give her something sentimental.  But I am not the greatest crafter , so I came up with the idea of a "hug t-shirt" - basically what it's like when a child hugs you.

So I had my nephew (her grandson) hug my husband and I traced my nephew's outline - the hands, the face, etc...with chalk.  And then I used puffy paint for the actual outline.  I then added his name to the front of it.

I think it came out cute.  I hope it brings a little joy to her life. 

Halloween Decorations - One Last Post for 2011

Here's a breakdown of some of the items I used to decorate for Halloween this year.  I'll provide links to directions and fun information below each one.

Feel free to follow my Halloween Craft pins on Pinterest to see what I might make for next year.   You can see other decorations I made in other posts - monsters, banners, and more.

Containers with Harry Potter Labels

I found these Harry Potter labels - a free printable.  I took some old jars - the ones on the end are made from liquid coffee creamer containers.  The second from the left is made from dry coffee creamer and the other was an old salsa jar.  The first container was just painted, then the label glued on, and then a second coat added with some brush strokes over the edge of the labels. The second container of "slug repellent" was too fun - I took antiquing medium and painted over the jar. I let it dry, attached the label and then added a few rough strokes on top - like it had overflowed.  Looked disgusting, which is perfect for Halloween

Eyeball pumpkin - first attempt.

Pumpkins are such a great medium - your only limit is your imagination.  The blue-eyed side looked a bit odd - finally decided that the blue area was too big.  So I just turned it around and tried again.  You can see the difference in the green.  Much better..either end works!  See the photo at the end of this post to see what is looked like on our front porch.

Eyeball Pumpkin

Pantyhose Covered Pumpkin

I had a pair of lacy pantyhose that I got a runner in, so I held onto the good leg until Halloween, just to make this lacy pumpkin.  I balled the top of the hose up and tied it into a knot.  This made a topper for the pumpkin - looks pretty cute, I think.

A few bats on the mirror reflect the big sweeping bat decoration area.

Mask Covered Pumpkin

Two of My Pumpkins

Our China Cabinet with added Halloween pieces - a painted craft pumpkin with our initials, a witch's hat propped up on top, a sign hung casually on the door handle. And the white you see on the right side - that's the ghost that I strung across one of our windows.  So easy and a big impact.

Halloween Garland

I made this Halloween Garland to hang over the island separating our kitchen and dining room. I got the idea from Pinterest and found free downloadable templates.  I added black strings to the top.  The photo isn't great - because the opening is in the middle of our house, I had my DH hold a table cloth behind it to block the light and junk on the other side of the countertop. 

A few bats on the mirror reflect the big sweeping bat decoration area.

Bats swooping across our walls and ceiling

These bats are great. I got the idea from Pinterest and then tracked down a bat template.  Cut the bats out of black scrapbook paper and bent the wings slightly.  Arranging them in a swooping motion is what really made the decoration pop - I got more compliments on this than anything else.

Our milk jugs for outside.  Drew simple faces on these..you can see them in the front stoop photo below. I filled them with water and a glow stick...added a little fun to our stoop. They didn't glow as brightly as I had hoped.

Kids Craft Area at Our Halloween Party

Tulle Lights

Tulle Lights

 I set up a kids craft area at our party. We bought the butterfly shaped masks from Michael's.  We cut out 50 basic masks from colored foam. We provided Halloween themed foam stickers.  The kids loved it.  Gave them something to do and they got an personalized party favor. It also kept them from being underfoot every minute of the party.  I hung up purple lights, but thought they looked a little plain.  So I took strips of tulle fabric (about 7 to 10 inches each) and tied them next to each light.  After I got one on each side of every light, I just kept going - adding more and more.  I actually think they could use a bit more.  I bought four yards of black tulle and only got about halfway through it before the party.  But, I think it makes the lights more interesting and fun.
 

Our Front Window during the day

Inspired by this pin, I made these on a whim with black construction paper.  Just cut out a shape that appears like a monster.  Don't make the details too small -- it will get lost.  I used a white Styrofoam plate for the white eye and purple tissue paper for the two eyes.  We put a string of Christmas lights behind them.  Next year, I'd like to get orange lights.

Our Front Window at night

Our Front Stoop...see the pumpkins, milk jugs and the tombstone on the right.  You can also see the monster in the window.

Ghosts in the trees

My final outdoor decorations were ghosts in the trees.  I took small kitchen trash bags, cut off the end with the strings/handles, and stuffed them with newspaper.  I then took a twisty tie and added one to the top of each ghost - word to the wise, be sure to put it through the plastic and some of the newspaper or it will tear in the wind.




Hope you enjoyed these photos of our decorations.  I didn't capture every detail and I really want to do more outside items for next year.  I'll be watching Pinterest for ideas.

Monster Craft..New Orleans Inspired & Elvis Inspired

I actually made three monsters this year for Halloween.  These two were my favorites.  I hope you enjoy them.  Here you can see an overview of our Halloween decorations and fun food.








All you need are milk jugs -- which you can paint any color...you can see I painted this one red.  No special paint - but each needed at least two coats.  Some others needed three coats.

You can make eyes out of many items - this sparkle paper was fun and it made it fun.  I also gathered jewelry and beads to use.  It really can be made of almost everything.  

You can cut a variety of mouth shapes...I left the handles on them to make them easier to move around.

My "Elvis" Inspired Monster..A little attitude with the hair.  Note the "backwoods hick home" below - my husband made the house for our wedding, but thought the furniture outside made it funny for Halloween.

New Orleans Inspired Monster

Another Halloween Paper Craft Banner

I made another Halloween banner.  I think this is number 4.  I may be going a bit crazy.  They are just so fun!

This time, I decided to just try to use the paper I had and play with the idea of a banner/garland.

So, I have a pack of small Halloween scrap paper.  I pulled out all the purple and green pages and cut triangles off the bottom.  I think went into other Halloween scrap paper and cut out little symbols and signs - "Creatures of Night", etc...  I thought I would do something with the triangle leftovers, but decided they just looked bizarre.

So, I played with all the cut out pieces laid out on a table.   Eventually after rearranging and rearranging, I found a combination I liked.  Each banner piece got a small black strip with an identical triangle cut out of the bottom and I put a black strip across the top of each piece - this gave the banner some continuity.  Then I took the scrap triangles from the bigger pieces and cut out a square which I glued behind the black piece. I mixed it up so the bottom piece was different from the big one.

I took the individual signs/symbols and cut them out closely.  Then, I used a foam square to mount them.  I added a few paper spiders to some of the web banner pieces.

I have to say I actually love the banner!  I used an exacto knife to make the slits for the ribbon to slide through.  The fabric ribbon makes it much nicer than the curling ribbon I used before.

Enjoy!

Menu Board for the Kitchen

A newer craft project...I ordered some dry erase contact paper from Amazon. I thought it would be a great item to use for a menu board on the side of one of my kitchen cabinet.   But, I had issues.

FYI - If you leave the writing on the board too long, it really doesn't come off.

I looked into ways to first clean the paper I already hung. I tried several of the remedies from Wikihow.  I tried the Magic Eraser - that took care of some of it.  I also tried hand sanitizer.  And I tried toothpaste and vinegar.  Honestly, the best idea was going over the old marks with a dry erase marker and then wiping it off.  I got it mostly clean.  And I tried to cover what I could with the letters I made. 

Once that was ready, I started making my menu board pieces.  First I printed out on regular paper the letters - M E N U M T W T F S S.

Then, I cut out red circles and placed the letters on top.

But they looked a little sad.

So I thought glittery foam is never wrong.  I cut two circles slightly smaller than the red circles out.

And I used two sided tape to attach MENU to the top of the contact paper.

And then I placed the days of the week down the side -- no glittery foam board for them. But, I did used foam squares to attach them to the contact paper so they added a little extra dimension.

And overall, it works.  I probably should have actually measured out the days of the week and evenly spaced them.  But I like it.

Maybe when I get a Cricut or Silhouette Cameo, the letters will be a little easier to make items with.  I strongly hinted at my husband how much I really want the Cameo.  We'll see.

Birthday Treat...& Halloween Gift

So, one of my BFFs has an early October birthday.  I thought I would give her something cool to decorate her house for Halloween.  I had some leftover snakes from two cowboy birthday parties I helped throw this past summer, including on for her son.  And what do you do with leftover snakes?

Duh, you make a wreath.

I bought a grapevine wreath at Michael's  and picked up a few more rubber snakes from several places. Weirdly they can be hard to find. I used a grey metal paint and spray painted each of them in the grass in my yard.  I left a few in their "natural" color - that's the light blue and the two green ones.  I also didn't spray paint their tongues - I thought the itty bit of red made them more interesting.

After letting them dry, I spent forever weaving them onto the wreath.  I didn't want to use clips or ties.  So, they are actually woven through the grapevine shape.

I gave it to her a few days early.  And her kids love it.  While she doesn't love the snakes, she does like having a cool decoration for Halloween.

PinFail - Halloween Googley Eyed Frame

So I thought this frame idea from Pinterest was so great. And I thought I can do this.

No, I really cannot.  It just didn't look right. I even ripped some eyes off and tried placing them in different ways.  I then thought maybe if I layered the eyes...again, looks weird.

I bought a cheap frame from Michael's.  Should have splurged for one with glass.

And I started adding eyeballs.  I had eyeball stickers and glue on eyes.

And for some reason, the eyeballs didn't want to stick. I tried a couple of different glues.  So, finally I even tried glitter glue - the eyes got glue and glitter on top of each one. 

So I ripped off all the eyes and have started using them on other products. And I asked DH to please sand the top of the frame off, so I can try again.

Total PinFail - but it might because I didn't stick to just plain black and white eyes, plus I didn't start with the right glue.

I may try again, if I get all my other Halloween crafts done first.   Anyone else had success with making this frame?  It's nice to know that not all Pinterest items are as easy as they appear.

Pinterest Brunch - Harder is better, but not for paper.

And today was brunch with the girls.  I purchased an amazing cake from Occasionally Cake in Alexandria, Virginia.  Here's a picture of it.  Simple, but pretty.  It's a Bellini - Peach Cake with Champagne frosting.  Awesome is the only word for it.

 

I made this Bacon, Tomato, and Cheddar Breakfast Bake with Eggs, which I pinned on Pinterest.  The original recipe is from Food and Wine.  Everyone really liked it.

And here's our take on that recipe.

Ingredients

1 pound bakery wheat bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (16 cups)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sliced reduced sodium bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
One 28-ounce can whole Italian tomatoes—drained, chopped and patted dry
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 pound extra-sharp cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups) , low fat
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), low fat
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt
8 large eggs 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a large bowl, toss the bread with the olive oil and spread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, tossing once or twice, until the bread is golden and lightly crisp.  
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain; reserve 2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet. (We cooked half the bacon the microwave - because this took forever)   
3. Add the onion to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook until any liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. (We drained the can, but I didn't pat them dry or chopped them - this would have been a good idea.)  
4.  Return the toasted bread cubes to the bowl. Add the contents of the skillet, along with the bacon, shredded cheeses, chives and broth. Stir until the bread is evenly moistened. Season with salt. Spread the mixture in the baking dish and cover with lightly oiled foil.  
5. Bake the bread mixture in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is crispy, about 10 minutes longer. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and, using a ladle, press 6 indentations into the bread mixture. Crack an egg into each indentation. Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the egg whites are set. 

We thought the eggs still looked funny, so we broiled the top for about two minutes.  They were still awesome - just harder.

  Make Ahead The recipe can be prepared through Step 4 and refrigerated overnight.

What is looks like at Step 4

Hopefully, you'll enjoy this recipe.  It has a lot of cheese and bread, so maybe not the healthiest meal in town, but not too horrible with the wheat bread, decreased sodium bacon, and low fat cheese.

I also tried my hand at making a homemade birthday banner this week.  I used the circle templates and cutting/measuring board from Creative Memories, a scrapbook company.

I made enough for each letter of "Happy Birthday."


I made all the circles first, then using the same paper, I traced each of the letters I needed. 

I cut out each letter and tried to make sure it wasn't too matchy matchy. I like a more eclectic work.

 

Then I had to figure out how exactly to place them all together.  It would look silly to have the same color letter on the same color circle.  Because I didn't really plan it out, I had to cut out two more letters so as to avoid that issue.  Then I had to adhere them together.  At first I tried paper clue.  It was hard to do as if you use too much, it got runny and made it hard.  Let them dry for a few minutes.

 

 Finally I put a hole on the side of each letter and tried to tie them to each other one at a time. Quickly discovered trying to make the ties was hard and the letters wanted to flip over.  So, DH suggested running one long ribbon through them all.  It came out great.  Very festive for a birthday.

And it was great practice for the robot birthday banner I have to make two weeks from now.  It would be better if the holes were at the top I think.  So keep an eye out for the next banner and see if you think it makes a difference.