"Sometimes Being a Brother" Nursery Decor--Tutorial

Here's the finished crafting project I mentioned in my last post.  I have a friend who's about to have her second baby--another boy.  I made this as a present for her, and so I wanted to give the gift to her before I posted about it.  Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!

I've barely used my Silhouette since I got it for Christmas.  Shame on me, I know!  I was (and still am) excited about all the many things the Silhouette could help me make...but choosing exactly what to do has been a little harder.  That and my pregnancy-induced tiredness and lack of crafting motivation for several months that is just starting to abate, plus wanting to focus more time on my art and on Mommy School...  But with this friend giving birth early next month,  I had motivation, inspiration, and a deadline!  Deadlines are always very helpful for me.

I wanted to make a sign/wooden wall hanging/whatever with a quote on it so I could use my Silhouette to cut the vinyl.  I also wanted to make a present that was kind of for the mommy and kind of for the big brother, so I was excited when I found this quote:

Sometimes being a brother is better than being a superhero. 

--Marc Brown

How cute is that?  Of course the three-year-old big brother won't care about it now, but I bet he will like it when he is older (and wanting to be a superhero...and is able to read).   

The sign was really easy to make, so much so that I didn't think there was a point to have in-progress pictures.  I'll just explain quickly what I did.

I asked Mr. MadeIt to cut out a 7 1/2" x 9 1/2" rectangle out of some scrap wood we had hanging around.  (Actually, it was a shelf from a wall unit we decided to get rid of.  Let's hear it for recycling!)

Then I spray painted the wood with primer.  I don't think this part is necessary, but I do think I wouldn't have gotten the subtle texture I liked if I hadn't primed the wood first.

Once the primer dried, I painted the wood with tole paints.  I bet whatever acrylic paints you have on hand would work just as well.  Since I wanted the sign to have a subtle texture, I applied the paint unevenly, letting some areas be darker, and others areas lighter.  Because of the primer, the paint didn't soak into the wood, allowing me more time to push it around with the paintbrush to get it just how I wanted it--smooth, but with tonal variations.  (I used Hunter Green + Charcoal, by the way.  For the edges, I had more Charcoal in the mix, so they would be darker.  For the back I mixed the green with black, to make it darker still.)

(So you can see the edges.)

And, of course, I had to make up the design so my Silhouette could cut the vinyl.  If you'd like to use my file, you should be able to download it here.  (This is my first time using Google Docs.  Let me know whether or not this link and the download work!)

If you'd rather make your own file, I used the font Haettenschweiler.  (Goodness!  I'm glad I don't have to actually pronounce that!)

I suggest using transfer paper when applying the letters--I did it without and it was a ROYAL PAIN.  It took forever to get those words on straight!

After that, I though the wood needed to be sealed and the vinyl stuck down permanently.  (No need for inquisitive little fingers to take my hard work apart.)  So I coated the whole thing with my homemade Mod Podge, which is just school glue watered down a little.  (Apply with a paintbrush, and be sure to wash the brush out really well afterwards.)

And that's it!  Except for spending forever getting the words on straight, this was a really quick and easy project.  (I'll have to get myself some transfer paper for next time.)

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

Happy crafting!

Merry Christmas Ornaments

Remember my early Christmas present?  Well, here it is--my first finished made-with-my-new-Silhouette project.  (Thanks again, hubby!)

Custom Christmas Ornaments!

This was such an easy project, and I love how it turned out!  In Photoshop, I made an 8 1/2" x 11" design filled with the words "Merry Christmas 2011" plus lots of snowflakes.  (Any image-editing program would work.)  Then I saved it as a jpg.

Then I opened the file in the Silhouette software...

Selected the Trace option, highlighted the entire design, and clicked "Trace" (which I forgot to circle, but you can find it)...

Then I saved this to my SD card, took it to my Silhouette machine, loaded my vinyl, and let the machine do its thing.

It took maybe fifteen minutes to cut out all those shapes!  (I didn't watch the clock, but it was going for a long time.)

Then all I had to do was peel the letters (and numbers, and snowflakes)  off their backing, and stick them on the ornaments I'd bought at the grocery store.  

I've already given one to my in-laws, one's on my Christmas tree, I have one for this ornament exchange I'm going to in a couple weeks--talk about an easy homemade Christmas present!

PS  You can buy vinyl from Silhouette's store, but I just got mine from Lowe's--just ask for the contact paper.  I haven't used Silhouette's vinyl; maybe it's nicer, but this vinyl I got worked well and cost almost nothing.

Happy Crafting!

Mr. MadeIt Plays With My Early Christmas Present

Mr. MadeIt got me an early Christmas present--a Silhouette SD!  Yay!  I am going to have so much fun with my new toy!  Mr. MadeIt was actually the first to use it, and he wanted to share his project with you.  So today you get to hear from my wonderful husband!

Hello all,

Mr. MadeIt here. I wanted to show off something I have done. I just got Mrs. MadeIt a Silhouette SD. I know you are thinking “What is he doing? It is almost Christmas.” Normally I'm the one who goes out and gets things for myself just before the holidays, and then I get into trouble because someone else was going to get--or had already gotten--that exact thing for me thinking it would be the best gift and I would be so thrilled. (I did it twice to my mother--oops). But I couldn't think of a good way to get this in a sneaky way (until after I told Mrs. MadeIt that I was getting it for her, of course). But part of the reason for it being early is that she is going to use it to make other holiday crafts that I am sure she will post here. 

But to get back on track, I am an Apple lover. The fruit is good too, but I mean Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc. Windows just doesn’t work. Mac “Just Works.” Now to really get back to the point. I am rather mechanically minded, so I set to learning how the Silhouette SD worked so I could teach my wife the generals and she could get into the nitty gritty later on. In this process I needed something to test it on. I just got a new case for my iPhone and Mrs. MadeIt said it would be cool to make a vinyl (who comes up with spelling for these things?) design for the back of it. So, who better to do that than me? So I watched some of the boring tutorials online and figured the rest out by myself. Then I chose this design because it matched the traditional design for the CTR. (CTR is kind of like WWJD, just shorter and with a cool shield.)  {It stands for Choose The Right.} So I used the tracing tool in the software to “input” the design and away it went. I was so pleased with it that I even gave an “evil laugh of success”. {I can attest to that.  I heard Mr. MadeIt laughing away in the background...} I like it so much I hope it stays on for a long time. 

So, if any of you would like a custom decal for your phone, iPad, computer, car, etc, let us know and we would be happy to make it for you. (For a small fee of course--we haven't decided on pricing, but let us know if you're interested.) 

Anyway, long story short. It was fun, easy, and I made something cool for my iPhone.