DIY: #Adulting Canvas Bag

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but all ideas and opinions are my own. :)

Everyone who knows me know that I am a fontaholic - to the point where my husband shakes his head everytime I we're out and I tell him 'I know that font!'. I definitely have more than a handful, and I play favorites every now and then. When I received a ton of fonts from Fontbundles.Net, Overture quickly became one of my flavors of the month. I had to whip up this bag for myself to hold my groceries (I know I've made a ton but one can never have enough, right?)

Why #adulting for my latest grocery bag? Well, it's a joke between my husband and I. The first time we had to buy toilet paper together, we were like 'We're so adulting right now'. So yeah, we say it now everytime we do some grocery-shopping. 

Supplies:

• Silhouette Portrait (optional, but highly recommended!)
• Flocked Heat Transfer Vinyl
• Glitter Heat Transfer Vinyl
• Large Canvas Bag
• Handwriting-Styled font (I used Overture fron Fontbundles.Net)

Iron your canvas bag. Take out the kinks and folded lines by using the 'Steam' option on your iron.

If you have a Silhouette, type your word onto Silhouette Studio, weld the letters together and size to your preferred width. I wanted a big print, so I sized mine around 12" wide. I also selected the no-mat option as I wasn't going to use a mat to cut my heat transfer. Feed the heat transfer material glossy side down, and then weed by removing the negative parts of the image when you are done. 

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SILHOUETTE:

You can still do this! Type your word onto Microsoft word, resize as big as how you would like your word to be, print and then cut around. Use this template and trace onto the heat transfer (making sure you are tracing on the right side of the heat transfer so your letters come out in the right direction).

I was feeling fancy so I used Flocked Heat Transfer Vinyl for my #adulting bag... and then it got even fancier when I added some more words in Gold Glitter Heat Transfer Vinyl!

I played around with the font on Adobe Illustrator and tweaked it so it to lay right with the other words. When you're done - lay out the words to see if they fit right. I love a good handwritten look and this definitely tickles my fancy!

Center it on the bag and iron or press. Peel off the backing and you are done!

I definitely love how this one turned out! Black and glitter gold go so well together and I am in love. The extra texture that the flocking brings to the table is just awesome - velvety to the touch. And of course, Overture is amazing! 

And a bonus for my readers only - get a discount when you buy any font or bundle on Fontbundles.Net with coupon code STRAWBERRY10! Check out weekly deals and freebies for fonts over at Fontbundles.Net (I totally love Crafter's Revolution that's expiring tomorrow - grab it while you can!). Are you a fontaholic?

 

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DIY Friendship Etched Pendants with the Silhouette Curio

This post is sponsored by Silhouette America but all opinions and ideas are my own. :)

One of my close friends from a few years back asked me if I could stamp some puzzle pendant pieces for her to give to her class friends before they all go off to college. The accommodating person that I am, I said yes, but then she wanted additional things on it - on the back of the pendants, she wanted a word on each pendant that would form a sentence when all the pendants are linked together. I loved the idea, but with the stamped letter in front, there was no way I would be able to make a clean stamp on the back as well - we brainstormed on what we could do about it, and then I remembered - I can etch with my Silhouette Curio! 

Supplies:

• Silhouette Curio
• Silhouette Stippling & Etching Tool
• Silhouette Ratchet Blade
• Metal charms
• Contact paper

Set your mat stack to 6 and adhere contact paper, sticky side up with the backing intact. I did this to add some more stickiness to my mat to give the charm extra hold. You want to keep the backing so you can see where the charm area would be placed when cut.

Cut out your charm (for my contact paper, I used blade 3, speed 4 and thickness 5) using the ratchet blade. Since my charm was irregularly shaped, I first scanned it full-size and then traced it on Adobe Illustrator before transferring it to the Silhouette Program. Remove the backing and then attach your charm to the sticky contact paper. 

Type out your word onto the program and fill. I cheated and used embossing fill for the insides of my words since I wasn't very familiar with the sketch fills yet. I set the embossing fill to 0.04. Set the charm outline to no cut! Use the etching tool and send it to the machine to etch. 

Once I was confident with the settings, I cut multiples of them. If you are nervous, you can use tape to provide additional hold onto the edges of the charm. Add your hardware and you are done!

In my case, I'll be sending these to my friend to finish since she has the matching chain and jump rings. I love the phrase that she thought of - and I'm pretty sure her friends will adore them too! You can make a set for your friends for Valentines or for any occasion, really. I am thinking of making some from my friends from college, too!

Do you like etched jewelry? Hope you enjoyed this short tutorial! Happy crafting, friends!

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DIY: Ornate Faux Leather Earrings using the Silhouette Curio

This post is sponsored by Silhouette America - I have been sent the Silhouette Deep Cut Blade to try out, but all opinions and ideas on this post are my own. 

I've been waiting so long to try out the new Deep Cut Blade from Silhouette. I love cutting leather on my Silhouette Portrait but unfortunately, some just don't cut all the way through even with triple or quadruple passes. With the Silhouette Deep Cut Blade, some of my materials cut nicely - it just takes a bit of practice to get the right settings! Read on to see how I made the leather earrings, download the template and for some tips I have discovered when cutting faux leather and leather pieces on the Silhouette Curio. 

Supplies:

• Silhouette Deep Cut Blade
• Silhouette Curio
• Silhouette Curio Base + Cutting Mat
• Leather or Faux Leather
• Painter's Tape
• Scissors
• Earring hooks
• Jump rings
• Jewelry pliers
• Template (download at the end of the post)

Cut a piece of your leather or faux leather material. For this project, I tried cutting the earring out using real leather and some faux leather with a mesh backing. Back your leather piece with painter's tape - this is to pevent hairs from dirtying your mat really fast and acts as a stabilizer for your piece. It also helps your leather to stick better to the mat. Tape the sides as well to prevent further movement of the piece on the mat.

Just need to poke out those details - but they're all fully cut in ONE PASS.

If you want additional adhesion, spray the painter's tape backing with repositionable adhesive - you don't want to spray this directly on to the leather as it would just absorb it. 

With a regular ratchet blade, the Silhouette doesn't cut all the way through on faux leather (I had to peel off the mesh backing) - but with the new blade, the Silhouette cuts it like butter - you just have to play with the settings! Don't be afraid to test cut on a scrap piece of material first. Experiment on the material thickness - you don't want the material to be dragged by the blade, resulting in uneven cuts. For the faux backed leather, I tested thickness settings 15, 18 and 20 with 18 having the most optimal result  (minimal dragging, cut is truer to real shape). The same speed and blade depth and mat height was maintained (speed 2, blade 20, mat total stack 5). Thickness setting 33 just dragged my material on the cutting mat. 

I also tested cutting real leather - for the piece I used, I used blade 12 and thickness 30 double cut twice, but it doesn't really work for intricate designs. I have cut the same material with a somewhat intricate detail on my Silhouette Portrait with okay results, so I'm pretty sure I just need to play with the settings more.  

Once you have discovered the optimal settings for your piece, cut the template. Attach the earring pieces onto some hooks using jump rings, and you are done! 

I am sure I'm going to use the deep cut blade a lot, since I loved the results. I haven't tried it on other materials yet, but I'm sure I will now that I have broken it out of its packaging and played with it for the first time. What would you like to cut with the deep-cut blade?

DOWNLOAD HERE

Ornate Earrings Cut File (.studio)

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DIY: Washi Tape Printed Pouch + Washi Tape Crafts Book Review

I was sent a copy of the book to review, but all opinions are my own.

Washi tape is one of those things you collect and collect and then realize you have a lot of. There are a lot of uses for them! I mostly just use them to decorate notebooks and my planner these days - but I was recently sent a copy of Washi Tape Crafts (Workman Publishing) written by my friend Amy Anderson (amazing woman behind Mod Podge Rocks) to review and let me tell you - it has re-ignited my passion for crafting with these fun paper tapes. I'm sharing with you a project I made that was inspired by one of her projects in her new book - let's jump in!

Supplies:

• Washi tape in different prints
• Iron-on transfer paper
• Iron
• Paper + Pen
• Scissors
• Pouch
• Scanner

Start by making or purchasing a pouch. I quickly sewn one up for this project - but you can definitely get one at the craft store or sometimes even Target's dollar spot section. Roughly trace the shape of your pouch onto a piece of printer paper. It doesn't have to be exact - you just want to know the rough width and height of it.

Collect the washi tapes you want to use. I used some of the pretty washi tapes that came with the Washi Tape Crafts book and some of my own.

Build your washi design onto the paper. The book comes with 10 different washi tapes, and they're all so cute. I am so in love with the pink sprinkles one! You can reposition the tapes until you achieve your design.

Scan the image onto your computer and print it onto iron-on transfer paper. I couldn't resist and added a sentiment to it - to add one on yours, simply use any image editor and type your sentiment in! If you are using iron-on transfer for light fabric, flip your image before printing. You don't have to cut right up to the design either, as the transfer sheet becomes transparent on the white areas. If you are using iron-on transfer for dark fabric, DO NOT flip your image - you will want to cut as close as possible to the design as well, leaving no blank areas.

Iron your image according to the transfer paper package's instructions. You need to be patient with this - I can't stress it enough! I've had a few projects fail because I wasn't putting enough pressure, ironing it long enough, etc.

Peel off the paper slowly after it has cooled. And voila! You are done. Isn't it pretty?

If you want a darker/brighter print, I suggest using iron-on transfer for dark fabric, as it is opaque and would make the tape pop more. But I love how mine turned out! It's a perfect gift for my little sister who loves crafting as much as I do. 

I really love this project - and I wouldn't have thought of it had I not been inspired by one of the projects in Amy's new book.

Amy Anderson's Washi Tape Crafts from Workman Publishing

Don't forget to check it out - Washi Tape Crafts (Workman Publishing) - it's chock full of different ideas you can make with washi tape! Plus just the 10 washi tapes with it are so pretty too. It's a great gift for any crafter or planner junkie. What do you like making with your washi tape? Let me know in the comments - and of course, happy crafting!

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DIY: Fall Tablescape Touches with Vagabond House

This post has been sponsored by Vagabond House, but all opinions and ideas are my own.

I'm delighted to share with you some easy tablescape touches for your place settings, fall decor or your Thanksgiving feast. I've also included some of my favorite pieces from Vagabond House - so sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

It's so easy to set-up a simple, rustic fall tablescape. You just need a few key ingredients - wood, burlap and some gold touches (or maybe another color you'd like?).  

Let me break down how easy it is to make this place setting:

For the leaves, it's easy to sketch a pattern and cut it out by hand, or get a free pattern online (there are tons I tell you), print and cut it. If you're doing a ton of them, it would be handy to have a die-cutter on hand to make them. 

Write the names of your guests on the leaves - if you aren't comfortable with your handwriting, it helps to write it with a pencil first before going over it with ink. Alternatively, you can use gold ink instead of black to add to the gold accents on your table.

It is soooooo easy to make these fall picks! You just need berries, decorative gold sprigs and burlap. I found the berries at Target and the gold sprigs at Dollar Tree (I dismantled one of the Christmas picks they had just to get the gold sprigs). 

Arrange them, and wrap the stalks with some burlap. Glue the edge of the burlap to prevent unraveling. 

Lastly, you need a napkin ring - I chose this pewter acorn and oak leaf napkin ring from Vagabond House at it can easily be dressed up for Christmas as well. 

Insert your napkin into the ring, and then insert your fall pick and finally the leaf place card holder. And you are done! Now let me show you other things I have found at Vagabond House to accentuate your tablescape:

This pewter white oak plate is perfect as a candy dish or a condiment dish. It can easily transition as Christmas decor as well, or even serve as a jewelry dish for your lovely adornments. 

Now onto one of my two favorite pieces - here is my AMAZING cake stand. Well, it's supposed to be a cheese stand, but it can serve a lot of purposes - as you can see here. I love using it as a cake/dessert stand instead and it's pretty big too. It's pictured here with my favorite lemon tart from Trader Joes. I guess the tart is about 8", so it has plenty of room for bigger cakes, and tiered cakes as well. It's the perfect woodland accent to a rustic wedding!

Look at the detail on this little guy! It's just so cool. This must be the most-loved cake stand I have in my collection of cake stands. 

Here's my next favorite - an elk liquor decanter. I must say this is one unique piece that I'll treasure forever. I know liquor bottles look fancy in the first place, but this one just takes it up by a really big notch. 

Again, the detail is fantastic. I can say it's a great gift for a guy who enjoys hunting/liquor/woodland items. There are a ton of those, right? I know a few. :) I chose these pieces because I wanted fun, unique conversation-starting pieces in my home. Vagabond House has a ton of unique pieces - it took me a long time to choose which ones I liked the most. 

With a vision of what you like and the right decor, it's so easy to set up a simple, rustic tablescape for your Thanksgiving dinner or any other gathering. Need more inspiration? Here are other awesome ones you can gawk at for your tablescaping needs:

Peacock Salt Cellars, Pink Salt and a Picnic from A Nest for All Seasons

As always, have fun! :)

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