a Silhouette Challenge project

This might look like a card in the photo, but...

 

... it's actually a collage on a wooden canvas
 to hang on the wall (or give as a gift):

(Psssst, here's the secret: at $3.50 the wooden canvas base
couldn't be a more affordable supply for making gifts!)

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This is a project I made as part of The Silhouette Challenge facebook group.
The goal of the group is to make a unique Silhouette-cut project each month & link it up.

 (This is my first one, so far!) :-) If you'd like to join us, simply drop Lauren a line.
Her blog is The Thinking Closet & you can reach here here via email.

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The wooden canvas (or 'cradled panel') was inspired by my blog buddy,
Lisa, who just created a stunning collage, that she shared on her blog, here.

I've had a few of these wooden canvases around for a while &
have been wanting to share them with you, since they're so very handy!

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(use a wooden canvas to make a quick gift 

that's as easy to make as a card!)

This is what my canvas looked like before I painted it, a wooden
 'cradled panel' base that measures 6x6 inches & 1/5 inches deep:

 
Cradled panels are surprisingly light, so they are very easy to hang.
(You can just use a push pin in your wall!)
 
  Their light weight also makes them quite affordable to ship in the mail.

They're made from a renewable resource, which is very important to me.
& Did I already mention they are 'cheap'? (The one I used was $3.50!)

 Want to know where to find them?

Since I live in BC Canada, I bought mine at Opus Art Supplies. If you're in the USA, you can find them at Dick Blick (I've never used that brand myself, but how exciting that they even have round ones!)

Do you sell your creations?

When I was researching the best supplies to make collage art to sell, these came up all the time. 

Many artist's prefer them to cloth canvases, because they are less likely to rip or crack in the mail.

They are great for encaustic work or beeswax collage & they can stand up to many collage layers.

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This is a rather simple project that makes a quick gift (it's
basically akin to sticking a handmade card on a wooden panel):

1) Cut a silhouette background shape from paper
2) Add a little paint & ink to the paper
3) Paint a wooden canvas
4) Stick the paper on the canvas & trim it
5) Add a focal image with some embellishments

• A Wooden 'cradled panel' canvas
• Paint (I used Black craft paint)
• Paper (to cut in the Silhouette Cameo) 
• A cut file to create a background texture with.
• Gesso/White Paint (optional: a brayer to apply it to the cut paper)
• Distress Inks or other colour medium of your choice
• Miscellanous paper embellishments (or a focal image)

Step 1) Make an interesting background element out of cardstock. I cut a design using the Silhouette cameo... this Small Fancy Gate file from the Silhouette store. It's cut out of Neenah Solar White cardstock.

 

Step 2) Add texture to your cardstock, if you like.

To add more interest, I applied acrylic Gesso to my Silhouette cut cardstock, using a brayer. After the gesso dried, I used a foam applicator to add colour with Distress Inks. (If you don't have any Gesso, white acrylic paint would work nicely and any ink or colour medium would work as well).



Step 3) Paint a cradled panel (I painted mine with black craft paint). Then adhere the cardstock to the wooden panel using acrylic matte medium.

I brushed on a generous coat of matte medium. It goes on white like glue, as you can see in the photo above, but it dries clear and matte (which is just a fancy art term for not shiny!) :-)

I use a local brand Kroma (from Vancouver BC) but Golden also makes it (they list some uses for it in art, here), and I have heard amazing things about Claudine Hellmuth's multi medium (matte).



Step 4) Dab off any excess matte medium using a rag. (It washes out of the cloth nicely with a little warm water).



Step 5) After the matte medium dries, trim the excess paper off using scissors, or a hobby blade.



Step 6) Distress the edges to soften the look, if you like. (I added a tiny bit of Black Soot Distress Paint & wiped away the extra with a damp cloth).



Step 6) Add a focal image - To adhere things like this, I love Weldbond glue because it's very ecological (it's non-toxic & has the eco-logo) Plus it's also strong & cleans up with water.



I added a fair amount of Weldbond and pressed on it a little here & there, to be sure it dried flat.

If you like the bird, you can find it free as a digital image, here:



The flowers on the focal image are hand-cut fabric flowers:



They were made like this:

1) ...printed a free flower template onto heavy cardstock.

2) ... added the fabric with Mod Podge (just coated the cardstock with a layer of Mod Podge & stuck fabric on it leaving the flower template printed visible on the back).

3) ...stamped on the fabric with Frost White Colorbox ink & this paisley stamp & heat embossed the ink with clear embossing powder. Distressed them, to look tea-stained, with a little Antique Linen Distress Ink & water.

4) ... Cut the flowers out & shaped them using a stylus tool (or the pointy wooden end of a paintbrush).

If you're a visual learner, you can see the flower making process 

in this 'Book page Mod Podge Flower' tutorial:

 (I just swapped the book pages for thin white fabric, here). :-)

...I also used the Weldbond to glue the flowers on & beads in their
centers. Just dropped a blob glue in the middle of each flower...



...and then popped in the bead:



& that was that!





If you'd like some ideas for how to use your silhouette,
these projects by the Gals in the group are sure to be fun!

DIY Paper Star Lanterns by Me & My DIY

A Jar of Gratefulness by We ♥ Cards

Adding Easy Sketch Pen Detail to Silhouette Cuts by It Happens in a Blink

Laundry Room Labels by Unoriginal Mom

Kids Step Stool with Sass by Joy & Gladness of Heart

Magnetic Perpetual Calendar by Everydaypaper

Silhouette Fabric Ink {An Experiment} by Create & Babble

Playhouse Signs: Who Will We Be Today? by Suburble

How to Get a Second Wind Out of Your Gel Manicure by The Thinking Closet

DIY Graduation Gift by Super Sweet Life

A Silhouette Challenge by Home at Eight

Oval Coffee Table Reveal & More! by Give Me a Paintbrush

Stamped Gift Boxes by Coley's Corner

Monsters University T-Shirt by Tried & True

Travel Accessories for Vacation Mementos & Business by An Elegant Touch
My Pinktastic Makeup Organizer by The House on Hillbrook

Whew that was a long one, hey? Thank You for 
having a look & Happy Creating! ox

P.S. Just thought I should let you know, I have no affiliation with any of the companies whose products I've mentioned here. They're just things I use and love & I'm only linking them in an effort to make them easier to find for You. :-)

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Silhouette Cameo - Sketch pen Camera card

Happy Happy Independence Day, to my American Friends!

(and happy belated Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!)

So, have those of you with Silhouette machines tried the sketch function yet? (i Love it!)

The doodled camera on this card was a free Silhouette shape a few weeks ago (but if you missed it, and you like it, you can still purchase the camera sketch here). The Silhouette blog has a new free shape every week!

It was the first time I tried out the Silhouette sketch pen (I used black).

The most pleasant surprise about the sketch pens? Seconds after the machine is done
drawing, you can use Copic markers to colour your sketched image - with no bleeding!

........................................

I also glued some sequins on to give the impression of bokeh:

& a large silver sequin for the flash.

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...I cut out a sentiment (that says "we CLICK!") using the Silhouette, as well:

If you'd like to use the sentiment cut file freebie, 
you can download it from here.

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...the lined patterned paper is

 from the free 'Love Graphics' set here:

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(Line envelopes & inside cards)
 

This photo is nothing glamorous, but it is a little something that I love to do

 with every card now, so I thought I'd share it with You. It's ultra simple:

Just line envelopes & the inside of cards to match each other.

For the envelope, I print a 7x7 sized pattern on copy paper (20lb) and I use this speedy method. And for the inside of the card I print the same pattern (but in A2 size) on affordable paper that's about 65lb (like Recollections or Staples brand). I find the weight balances the back of the card with the front. :)

Here is the new large monochromatic dot paper, in case you'd like to use it:

12.5 inch square ... &... letter size:
 

...&...



7 inch square & A2 card size:

...&...

 

How to save these single papers directly from my blog:

PC users in Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"

PC users in Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as".

Mac users: Visit flickr, here, click on the paper you want, then right click and 

select 'all sizes' & click on "download the original size of this photo" 

 
Hope your day is a crafty one! xo

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free Butterfly Silhouette .studio cut files (in 3 styles)

Hi, All! Here are those butterfly Silhouette .studio cut files. They are for only for the Silhouette machine... But I do hope to share other file types in the future (and there is a plain black PNG at the bottom if that is of any use to you.) Hope you like them!

you can save the cut style that you want individually below...

or DOWNLOAD ALL 3 IN A ZIP FILE, HERE:

1) Regular Cut - this is just a plain .studio cut file with
six styles of simple butterflies:

 

Click to go Download REGULAR CUT butterflies.

2) Patterned Print & Cut - with patterns I've added to them 

(and printer's bleed so there's no white space).

 Click to go Download PATTERNED 

PRINT & CUT butterflies.

3) Blank or Ready-to-Fill, for your own custom print & cut

(this file also has a printer's bleed).

Click to go Download BLANK PRINT & CUT

 butterflies (ready-to-fill with pattern).



And in case you could use it, here is a plain black png:



.

How to save the plain black PNG directly from my blog:

PC users in Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"

PC users in Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
.

Mac users: Visit the flickr page, here, right click and select all sizes & click on "download the original size of this photo"
 

Hope you can have a little fun with these! :o)

Please just let me know if the links don't behave,

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