My First Silhouette Cameo Project

 

January always seems like a long month for me, short days, gray weather, the rush of the holidays are over. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, it just seems to last longer than the average month.

Today as I type this, I am sitting inside the window with a ray of glorious sunshine warming me, so today we are blessed with bright sunshine. (though we had a frigid 1 degree this morning:( )

We also had an inch or so of light, fluffy snow yesterday afternoon and last night. I am thankful for our picture windows to admire the beauty outside while being cooped indoors.

The birds (and squirrels :/) are an entertainment on days like this..

Of course, Pebbles watches them for a different reason than what I do..:(

Getting to the point of this post here.. I saved up some money from Birthday and Christmas gifts to buy a new toy for myself..  a Silhouette Cameo! (drum roll) I admit to feeling like a child on Christmas morning when I took it out of the box. Folks, this is a crafters dream!

I won’t keep on fussing too much here, but to put it in one sentence: After years of carbon paper, scissors, hours of cutting out stencils, aching arms from holding stuff in place, and the list goes on, this machine does all that and more!

Now, I admit to felling a bit intimidated while setting it up and yes, I’ve had frustrations already, BUT I can see where it’s a learning process and the more I familiarize myself with it, the better it will go. Also, there are tons of great videos out there to help along.

 

I’ve never owned a Cricut, but I’m hearing on videos and from other people that the Cameo is similar to the Cricut, maybe a little more advanced.

I will have a more detailed post in the future, once I know my Cameo ( I like that, “my Cameo,” almost like a child ) better. So far, I’ve only used vinyl for my project and typical of me, I ended up trying one of the more difficult things with it first, instead of easing into it, so I did have a little stress, but it ended up turning out okay, for a first project.

I love designing wall scrolls, so I decided to make one out of brown craft paper for our living room wall.

Up close..

The letters are black vinyl letters, which the Cameo cut out, after I programmed it to do so. I peeled the words off the adhesive vinyl backing and placed them onto the craft paper. Usually there is a technique where you use clear transfer paper to take the letters off, but for me (or maybe the brand of transfer paper I had) it didn’t work very well and I ended up wasting precious vinyl. I want to try some other methods on the next project.

I used an empty cardboard tube to wrap the craft paper around a few times on the top and for the bottom, I just rolled it up and glued it to make it look like a scroll.

It’s not perfect but it’s just the look I wanted for that wall in the living room!

I can’t wait to try another project with this amazing machine! The possibilities are endless!

Happy Friday, everyone!

-Mary

Pallet Beach Sign

 

Happy New year, everyone! We are having typical Ohio weather these days.. foggy, rainy and upcoming cold fronts in the forecast. One word describes most winter days in Ohio.. Gray.

 

Now and then there’s a sunshiny day, but not very often.

I want to share an easy project with you that I made this past Fall. I didn’t spend a dime on making it, only some time. The only materials involved were an old pallet and twigs. I did use a little bit of paint, staples, glue and a clear spray paint, so I guess there was a small expense involved, but for me, I always have those items on hand so it seems like I’m not spending anything.

I tore the pallet apart and cut all the boards the same length. I applied three coats of white paint to the boards. The paint I used was my go-to paint, Ormes hardware’s Do It Best paint/primer in one paint. I sanded between coats to get a nice, smooth finish.

Next, I gathered various sizes of twigs that had most of the bark gone and soaked them in hot water with some washing soda for about an hour.

I scrubbed them with a brush to remove any bark and dirt.

I put them on a towel to dry.

I then put them in the oven for around an hour at 150 degrees.

They got all driftwoody, which was exactly the look I wanted. I loved how they looked beside another project I had going on..

Natural wood and white does something to me. My heart actually skips a beat when I see it together, seriously. :)

I then proceeded to make a crab out of the twigs. I cut some of them with pruners and some I was able to break to the right size. I lay everything down on the pallet wood, which I had since fastened together to make one large piece of wood. After I liked the shape of the crab, I glued the twigs down, piece by piece. Some of the larger ones I pinned down with my trusty air nailer.

After everything was securely fastened, I sprayed the wood evenly with a coat of clear spray paint. (Rustoleum brand)

The sign was a gift to my niece, who has a beach themed room…

I always like to walk into her room. It almost feels like I’m at the ocean!

I’m already thinking of a sign I’d want to make for our home to hang above the mantle in the living room. I want to use natural twigs and white pallet boards, but I’m not sure of the shape yet.

 

On another note, I did some wall art on our chalk board wall the other day. I came across this quote and knew it was the perfect definition of Home..

Isn’t it true? :)

I hope everyone is having a blessed New Year!

Thanks for visiting!

-Mary