The Life of Mrs. Miles

Sunday, March 24, 2013

New Card using ‘Negative’ cutting shapes

I recently made the following card:

and when I made it I had to create a cut sheet which gave me the “positive” images (the jar lid and the word SWEET. It looked like this when I cut it out:

A sheet of sweets! These were the POSITIVE images. Now, what we are left over with is:

The NEGATIVE image - what to do what to do?

I decided to make another card and use one of these to show you how to use these up:

I had this pretty Designer Paper by Webster’s Pages - Your Life Beautiful and what I love about it is the transparency. I used some Studio G letter stamps for the “you’re so” and let the glitter speak for itself.

Adding some small touches such as a butterfly cut out, soft and see through ribbon and an amber gem brought this card together!

How do YOU use the “NEGATIVES” in your projects?

Blogger Labels: Card,Negative,sheet,images,SWEET,POSITIVE,image,Designer,Paper,Webster,Life,Beautiful,transparency,Studio,letter,ribbon

Technorati Tags: Butterfly,Card,Glitter,Sweet,Negative,Positive,Negative shapes

Friday, March 22, 2013

Fun FREE Easter Rabbit Napkin Ring

I wanted to contribute something pretty to our family Easter dinner table this year as my Mother in Law goes through so much effort with a fantastic meal. I needed a project I could whip up quickly because time is short for me right now. I went over to The Graphics Fairy and found this fun Rabbit image almost immediately and knew it would be the focus of my project.

Isn’t he wonderful?

I created a set of 8, this only took me 1/2 hour. I made a “print and cut” sheet for my Silhouette Cameo and 8 fit on the sheet perfectly. I designed a lacey band to go with it which I cut out of heavier cardstock. I taped it together, added a Glue Dot to affix Mr Rabbit.

The final touches were some Glossy Accents for the eye and flowers (makes them stand out and look real) and a bow! I hope you enjoy this fun Easter project. The files I”m providing are for a Silhouette Cutting machine but you could easily download and set up your own print sheets in a program like Microsoft Word, Publisher or something like Inkscape. Please be sure to leave some comment love for Karen at Graphics Fairy as I know how much that means. You will find the image on THIS webpage.

DOWNLOAD

.studio cutting files

I love to share YOUR projects here too! If you’ve used one of my FREE files and would send me a photo then I will feature you. Barbara (what a NICE name) used my Mason Jar files to make tags for her home preserves and allows us to see what she created:

Don’t you just ♥ this idea? I can see I’ll be doing this next canning season. Thanks for sharing, Barbara!

And if you have a Silhouette Cameo or SD you should really “HOP” over (pun intended) to my friend Debbie’s Blog as she has some fabulous files and loads of useful and informative videos on how to make your machine dance for you! Just click on her banner and you will transported!

Thanks for visiting me today.

Blogger Labels: FREE,Easter,Rabbit,Napkin,dinner,Mother,effort,meal,Graphics,Fairy,image,sheet,Silhouette,Cameo,band,Glue,Glossy,flowers,files,machine,Microsoft,Word,Publisher,Inkscape,Karen,DOWNLOAD,studio,photo,Barbara,NICE,Mason,Thanks,friend,Debbie,Blog,Just,banner,sheets

Technorati Tags: Easter,Rabbit,Bunny,Spring,Silhouette,.studio,Cameo,Silhouette Cameo,FREE,Freebie,cutting files

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Photos: Throne Mountain and Whistler Canyon Hike

Spring has sprung here in the Okanagan and every sunny day beckons my Mr and I out of doors. We had a beautiful hike a few weeks ago to a local spot called Throne Mountain which is situated behind the beautiful Burrowing Owl Winery. Here are a few from our day on Throne Mountain (we did not go all the way to the top)

Even though this was taken at the earliest part of March the moss was out in brilliant greens.

The lichen captures me and my Mr needs to drag me onward and upward!

A view looking south from Throne Mountain, overlooking Osoyoos Lake taken with my iphone.

Overlooking the Burrowing Owl Winery, Osoyoos - taken with my iphone.

The last vestiges of snow, overlooking the Burrowing Owl.

How can one not respect this fellow?

And then this past week we took a drive “south of the border” into the USA to Tonasket, Washington to eat lunch at Rancho Chico and on our way home we spied a new sign pointing toward a hiking trail we were not aware of, so I BEGGED my Mr to block out our Sunday afternoon after church to explore and he went for it.

It is called the Whistler Canyon Trail

We started our trek at this information sign

The trail is clearly marked with both signage and cairns.

Buttercups a sure sign that Spring is really here! Buttercups always make me feel hopeful.

These bluffs look as if they are assembled together like puzzle pieces.

Overlook of the Similkameen River.

I like the burnt orange hue of this lichen.

Lush moss here too, there is water seeping through many rock faces which dry up during the hot summer.

The normally placid creek is alive!

We went at a really fast pace but could only hike for over an hour before we came to this impasse and, not having waterproof boots on, decided to call it a day and save some for next time. After we turned around we sought a sunny ledge to eat our snack on, and when my Mr got up we found a tick crawling on his fleece pullover. Sigh.

Enjoying a bit of sunshine on the way down.

Thats our little VW Vanagon “Seb (short for Sebastian an ancient cartographer and explorer) sitting down in the parking lot waiting for us. The parking lot and trail head are gravelled with calcium carbonate and is almost blinding on a sunny day.

Thanks for coming on our hikes

Blogger Labels: Mountain,Whistler,Canyon,Hike,Okanagan,Winery,Here,March,needs,Osoyoos,vestiges,Tonasket,Washington,Rancho,Chico,afternoon,church,Trail,Buttercups,Overlook,River,Lush,creek,impasse,sunshine,Thats,Vanagon,Sebastian,explorer,Thanks,Photos,doors,pieces,moss,lichen,south

Technorati Tags: Oroville,Oroville Washington,Hike,VW,adventure,spring,ticks

Thursday, March 14, 2013

DIY Revamped Coffee Mug

I like these ceramic coffee mugs with the nice soft rubber tops so when I espied one for 50 cents at the thrift I grabbed it right away. I’ve been dying to try out the Martha Stewart All Surface Paints I purchased with my “fun money” which I got for Christmas. I figured this would be the perfect item to try them out on. These paints are supposed to work on a variety of surfaces, glass included.

I had all sorts of pretty ideas in my head until my Mr noticed the cup and was oooh-la-ing over it. I decided then and there I would make it over for HIM. (I try to do one unique special thing for him every day)

My man is musical so I chose this Electric Guitar file which I purchased from the Silhouette America Online Store. I cut the shape using Silhouette Vinyl. I then transferred the bits I wanted to the cup and then painted the various layers in stages.

One side has the guitar upside down…

The other opposite. I also sprayed the OUTSIDE of the cup with Krylon Triple Thick Clear Glaze and it looks fantastic!

Stay tuned for my next DIY!

Blogger Labels: Coffee,tops,thrift,Martha,Stewart,Surface,Paints,money,Christmas,item,glass,ideas,Electric,Guitar,Silhouette,America,Online,Vinyl,upside,OUTSIDE,Krylon,Triple,Thick,Clear,Glaze,Stay,layers

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Family Challenge Mod Podge Technique

Super quick post here as spring has sprung and I need to go a’raking!

My oh so crafty sister Nina challenged me and my Sister in Law Judy to a new challenge based on the following video:

Now I am a lazy girl and plus I like to “push the envelope” on the creative thing so though my sister might think I cheated a bit… well:

Um, I did not leave myself quite enough time to sit and piece little bits together and I know my Cameo is just waiting like my trusty white steed by my side so I employed it to do my “mosaic” part.

I created a “mosaic” pattern using elongated soft edged rectangles and then had my machine cut DOLLAR STORE mac-tack (sticky shelf liner) which I’d picked up a whole roll of for $2. I liked the masculine pattern on it.

Once it was cut, I used a discarded credit card to hold the little bits down while I carefully lifted off the “frame” around the bits. Then I used some transfer tacky sheet and moved the patterned bits to my card.

I DID Mod-Podge this flower though which I cut from the same designer paper as the background. I built the center of the blossom in layers, the first being a circle I cut out of screen - right, the sort from your windows, works great! Next a circle from plain white cardstock, topped with a button and then a bow of crochet thread.

The designer paper was a scrap, the stamp from American Crafts JARED collection.

I hope you’ll hop over to Nina and Judy’s blogs to check out their creations (they will be posted by 9:30 a.m. PST)

Blogger Labels: Challenge,Podge,Technique,Super,Nina,Sister,Judy,Enter,caption,girl,envelope,piece,Cameo,mosaic,machine,DOLLAR,shelf,liner,Once,card,sheet,paper,background,American,collection,layers,creations

Technorati Tags: mod podge,mod-podge,cameo,cutting files,card,greeting card,handmade card,handmade greeting card,challenge,sister

Monday, March 11, 2013

Fun Jam Jar Card for Fortnightly Challenge 57

I have an order for some Thank You cards from a dear friend so I decided to marry it up with a challenge, a new one, just coz. Coz its Monday and one does not want to do the usual Monday stuff.

Fortnightly Challenge 57 - Shaped Cards

The rule is - a shaped card, anything but square. There’s some funky digital stamps to be won by KennyK’s so you might want to join in! And Scrappers Delight is also providing a prize to a lucky winner for a $5 coupon to spend in their web store.

Here’s my take on a shaped card:

I used my MASON CUT which is a freebie here on my blog from a ways back - but instead of CUTTING it, I drew it with my Silhouette Sketch Pens. Granted I did have to modify a few bits to get a cut around afterwards and then I married two two “jars” together to make the card base.

The original post for the Mason jar is HERE if you’d like to revisit it and download via the link. Not ALL the files you see here today are in it but the basics are.

The glitter is from some stick and peel glitter sheets my friend Mel O gave me - I had no idea they were sticky so I was hugely tickled when I found this out, it saved me tons of work. I cut the lid shape with the sparkly and the lettering and set the lettering inside the SWEET which was already drawn in using the sketch pens.

I always default to my dear old manual typewriter for sentiments in a pinch and this time I typed out the “you’re so…” onto some parchment because I wanted the “jam” to show through a bit. I typed onto the parchment, then I turned the paper over and because the paper is semi transparent I was able to see where it was and place the tape on it. Then I trimmed it and pasted it onto the front. I’ll definitely use this tip time and time again.

Ah well, if one is going to invest a bunch of time into designing a card then one should make a half dozen batch, right?

Thanks for taking the time to visit me today. Stay tuned for some cool DIY posts coming up - I’m on a roll!

Blogger Labels: Card,Challenge,Thank,friend,Cards,KennyK,Scrappers,winner,coupon,Here,MASON,freebie,Silhouette,Sketch,tons,SWEET,paper,batch,Thanks,Stay,sheets,sentiments

Technorati Tags: mason,mason jar,FREEBIE,digital,silhouette sd,silhouette,silhoutte cameo,cameo,cutting files

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Get Ready For a Chance to win a PRECIOUS Candle!

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Friday, March 08, 2013

Creating Books and a FREE Poppy Cut - .studio SVG & PNG

I’ve been really ill. Just when I get going along and feeling invincible I contracted a nasty flu-bug/cold and it laid me low. But now that I’m on the mend I thought I’d catch up here and do some sharing!

I’ve discovered a new passion - it still involves paper, mind you. I was inspired the last time I was at Artists on Main here in Osoyoos and one of the Artists was making leaf prints and she said she was hoping to make some small hand-bound books. She had an interesting book on the subject which she allowed me to devour at coffee break.

The idea one could make a book “from scratch” took hold of me and that’s always dangerous! I have paper, in fact I have all the tools to undertake a venture like this. So, when I got home I set about experimenting. Being my dear friend Mel O was all lined up by me to have her first ever in her life “surprise party” I thought that it would be a beautiful thing to make her, perhaps she will put little memories of her special evening into it.

Mel’s book turned out to be a small one, measuring about 4 x 6 inches. I used scrapbook paper on the cover and created a blossom by sewing strips of a blouse to a circle of cardstock.

Yeah, sometimes I buy clothing and I put it on later and ask myself “Why???” but now I know - its the material that I like. So, anything which has a pleasing pattern on it is fair game to be up-cycled into something new these days. I used the ties to make the book fasten at the side. I filled the inside with Strathmore Series art paper.

Mel loved it, she had a wonderful party with fourteen of her friends at McKia’s restaurant. I must say, this is the second party I’ve held at McKia’s and I am so very impressed with them. The staff completely decorate the tables and they even provided cake for the birthday girl and ALL of us! (and the food was delicious!)

Since then I’ve made a few more journals and I will share these over the coming days. Here is another small one I made:

The denim here is from another blouse and the flower from a table runner which had a tear in it.

I trimmed out a blossom with its stem and leaves and sewed them onto the denim before I covered the journal, then cut little frilly layers of material and sewed them atop, adding a button to finish.

The inside is filled with sketch pages of high quality art paper and I sandwiched parchment between the pages so that if someone is drawing with pencil or other art supplies which might “bleed” or rub off, then each page is protected.

So stay tuned for my next journal coming soon. I’m experimenting with binding techniques and materials, later on when I get this down to a science I will go wild and make a real “artsy” journal filled on the inside with my own writings and “stuff”.

♥♥♥♥♥

Since my Mr. has caved and said it is ok to publish his song from the “All ‘Bout Love” event our Church hosted for the community recently - here it ‘tis (before he can change his mind) His hesitation is its not “perfect”. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do:

♥♥♥♥♥

I also managed to fit in a new card design today. I made this beautiful Poppy cut for a lovely friend of mine who I’ve been encouraging this last while as she is healing up from a surgery and I want to brighten her days with something that will make her smile.

I cut the Poppy out of red shimmery paper and secured it with a grommet. I cut and glued all the leaves, stems and buds. I confess that on the pod there should be a little frilly circle cut underneath the white star - I wound up painting that area in with a gold shimmer pearlescent paint. The stamp is Studio G. The canvas background paper (isn’t it too cool!!!) is from the Blank Canvas 6x6 paper pad by my talented designer friend Kristin Cronin Barrow. It has real tooth exactly like canvas.

So I know it will delight my friend to give “HER” flower away to YOU! I am providing it in three formats - .studio, PNG and SVG. I welcome you to use this for all your personal use projects. Note: I think if I made this card again I would shrink the center cut down a little. I’d love to see how you use this file! If you feel so led to donate a $1 to my PayPal if you are able would be mighty appreciated, if not, simply be Blessed!