Cyber Monday Deals + Lori Whitlock Favorites!

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to share with you some of my all time FAVORITE crafting tools and supplies. Perhaps it will help you with your Christmas list and some of them are on Cyber Monday deals right now. I have tried a lot of different products over the years and these are ones that I use all the time – they are in my craft room and I couldn’t live without them.

Before we get started, have you seen my new Christmas Village Class over at CuttingClasses.com?   Join me as we make this beautiful, store-flat Christmas Village together!  I think this is the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit!  I’ll walk you through every step to make this Christmas Village with your Silhouette or Cricut Cutting Machine.  All of the cutting files needed to make the project are included in the class along with a PDF and video instruction.  This class is offered exclusively through my brand new online classroom at CuttingClasses.com.   The cost for this class is $25 if you pre-register before November 30th.  Once the class goes live, the price will be $35, so don’t wait!  Click here to register!  Watch for more classes in the coming months!

 

Now, on to the fun crafting tools and supplies that I simply can’t live without (well, I could, but I’d prefer not to)…
For a few years I’ve struggled with finding the perfect printer. I finally found one I love. The Canon Pixma printer has a rear feed tray for card stock. And, it works seamlessly with my Silhouette and Cricut for print and cut files. Worth every penny.
This is an amazing heat press with plenty of bells and whistles like time and temp gauge AND a shock mechanism so it opens smoothly. It feels really solid and works flawlessly. If you are looking for a really good heat press, I highly recommend this one. It’s the one I use.
I love this paper trimmer. It’s a rotary trimmer with a light so you can see exactly where you’re cutting. I use this daily.
If you want to give Heat Transfer Vinyl a try and space is a concern, the Cricut Easy Press is the way to go! Nice even heat with a large surface area make the Cricut Easy Press a perfect choice.
I love the BritePad for easy vinyl and HTV weeding! It also works great for tracing. I think you’ll love it too.
Silhouette Products:
You can’t beat these prices/bundles. Sale ends Dec 1.
use promo code: LORI
If you’re on a budget, you want a portable machine, or you want a back up machine, the Portrait 2 is an excellent choice. It functions the same as the CAMEO with a smaller cut mat. Most of my paper projects will work with the Portrait, just so you know.
use promo code: LORI
You can always use a fresh mat or 2 or 3.
use promo code: LORI
A sharp blade is essential to a great project. Keep extra blades on hand so you never end up waiting for one to ship when you need it. This is only usable with the CAMEO 3 or Portrait 2.
use promo code: LORI
You can use this blade with ALL Silhouette machines. You have to manually adjust the depth. Honestly, I use most of the time.
use promo code: LORI
I love the Silhouette tools. Great addition to your cutting supplies.
Worth every penny. Opens up all the design features so you can get creative.
Now more valuable than ever and totally worth it because it adds the ability to save SVG files, operate multiple machines simultaneously, and open embroidery files. Do it all with the Business edition.
Cricut Products:
The best Cricut machine for your money.
The high end Cricut machine which adds the ability to cut fabric with a rotary cutter.
A sharp blade is essential to a great project. Keep extra blades on hand so you never end up waiting for one to ship when you need it.
I love tools! Great addition to your cutting supplies.
You can always use a fresh mat or 2 or 3.
My go-to liquid adhesive. Pair it with the precision tip glue bottle (below) and you have a the perfect combo.
Load it with Scotch Tacky Glue (above) and you’ll be in adhesive heaven.
By far my favorite tape runner. It holds a ton and lasts forever. And, the best part… it actually sticks.
I love to add dimension to my projects. Use these foam dots to make a special piece or two pop out on your cards.
One of my favorite ways to add a professional touch to any paper crating project is to ink the edges with these little Chalk Inkpads.
Sometimes you need a few extra hands to hold a project together. These clamps are great at holding paper together so you can keep working.
And, you’ve just got to give vinyl a try. Here are some great starter packs with a variety of colors….
Happy Shopping!!!

Black Friday through Cyber Monday Sale Get 50% Off!

Hi Everyone!  I have a great sale happening in the Lori Whitlock SVG Shop!  From Black Friday through Cyber Monday, get 50% on all orders of $10 or more in my SVG Shop!  The sale includes all SVG files and Commercial licenses.  Just use code BFSALE at checkout to receive the discount! (only one code may be used per transaction)  It’s the perfect time to stock up on all of those items on your wishlist!  But don’t wait, sale ends Monday,  November 27th at Midnight!

Happy Thanksgiving & Black Friday Deals!

Happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to give you a heads up on some of my favorite places to shop this Black Friday so you can be ready. Have a beautiful day with your families.
As a Lori Whitlock blog reader, you get early access to the Silhouette Black Friday Sale HERE.  Be sure to use Code LORI at checkout to get Black Friday pricing! Black Friday with Silhouette is always the best pricing and bundles of the entire year. Now is the time to shop! 

Shop Black Friday Deals from Cricut!

Don’t forget about Scrapbook.com. They always have great Black Friday Deals.

Using Multiple Colors of Heat Transfer Vinyl with Kathy

Hi Everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!  It’s Kathy today with an easy tutorial showing how to keep a design’s shape and spacing when using multiple colors of heat transfer vinyl.    I wanted to create some Holiday decor gifts, and I though some seasonal throw pillows would be fun.  I found this Joy Love Peace Believe Tree design in Lori’s Shop (here in the Silhouette Store) and decided to add it to a throw pillow.

I loved how the different tiers were different colors and wanted to make sure I kept the shape.  Here ‘s how I did it…

I started by loading the file into my Silhouette Software.  Next, I sized it to fit on my pillow case.  My pillow was 18″x 18″ so I knew I wanted the design bigger than the original.

I selected all parts of the design and right mouse clicked and selected group.   This allowed me to change the shape of the whole design uniformly.

I clicked the corner of the design and dragged it to the size that I wanted.  It is bigger than the mat, but I just needed to make sure that all of the green elements fit on the mat at once since that was the largest area of a single color in the design.

Once it was sized properly, I ungrouped the file.  I then double checked that all elements of each individual color were grouped together, ( all the reds in one group, all the green in another) since I wanted to cut them at once, and in their original place in the design.

I dragged the red words and the star from the mat, and then mirrored the green words on the mat (you always want to do this when cutting words in vinyl)  Notice they are still spaced as in the original design.   Next I hit send.

I added the green heat transfer vinyl to my mat, with the shiny side down,  selected the proper media from the menu, and set my blade depth to 2 and sent to cut.  (for my design I used Siser Heat Transfer Vinyl in Green, Red and Glitter Gold)

I repeated this process with the red and gold pieces of the design.  Notice the red also maintain their original spacing.

One the vinyl was cut, I weeded out the negative space so all that was left were the parts of my design.

I centered the design on my pillowcase.  (I purchased this plain pillow case on Amazon.)

To start, I ironed on the green since this was the largest part of my design.  I put a piece of parchment paper over the clear plastic holding the design and ironed on a cotton setting, no steam for 10 seconds per each part of the design.

Next, I peeled off the plastic (be careful, it can get hot!) leaving only the design on my pillowcase.

To make sure it was ironed on well, I covered the design with my parchment again and ironed it a little more.

I then repeated this process with the gold star and the red words.  It was easy to correctly place the red words because of the way I cut the pieces on my mat.

Once I ironed on all of the pieces, I added the pillow fill to the case and done!

This will make a fun, festive gift, I have plans on making a few more for friends, after I finish my turkey of course!  That’s it for me today, thanks for stopping by to peek!