Category: Tutorial

Halloween Countdown Tutorial

Hi there Lori Whitlock friends! Anyone else look forward to this time of year to do all the fun Fall/Halloween crafts? It is my favorite.

I am sharing a fun idea for a Halloween countdown today. I used my Glowforge laser cutter to  make this project out of wood but it would also be cute as a flat design cut out of paper or vinyl and applied to a premade sign blank. I also think my steps below would work for cutting this project out of chipboard if your machine does that.

The files I used are Halloween Haunted House Scene (SVG, Silhouette), Halloween Tree (SVG, Silhouette), Halloween Tombstones (SVG, Silhouette), and the Spooky Font (SVG, Silhouette).  I also used the rectangle tool in Silhouette to create my base.

For the numbered tombstones I wanted a simple shape. I used the knife tool in Silhouette to slice off the cross from the tombstone on the end.  I then typed out the numbers 0-9 and cut an extra 1,2, and 3 so that I would be able to do the higher number double digits in the count down.

I then typed out days till Halloween in the spooky font and created an offset. I welded the offset letters together and grouped them together to keep the word spacing from shifting.

With the offset letters, house scene, and the spooky trees I welded  a rectangle to the bottom of the images to create a tab to fit into the slots that I add to my base. The dimensions of the rectangles for the base are determined by the width of the material being used. If you are making a flat countdown this step is not necessary.

Once I had the tabs added to the images I created the slots in the base of the countdown. The top two small rectangles are for the spooky trees. The middle rectangle is for the house scene and the bottom rectangle is for the numbered tombstones and days till Halloween letters. I centered the skinny rectangles on the larger rectangle then spaced them as shown below. I selected all of the rectangles and created a compound path. The large black rectangle is the bottom of the base.

I cut everything out, painted, and assembled.

I really like how it turned out and my little guy cant wait to start counting down the days to Halloween. If you have any questions let us know. Thanks for stopping by!
Brandie

Fall Stationery Box Tutorial

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, hopping onto the blog to walk you through the steps to create Lori’s Stationery Box 2 (SVG, Silhouette).  This stationery set includes places to store your A2 cards and envelopes along with tags.  You can customize this box, so you will probably want to make more than one to store your cards for different occasions. All the pieces are 8.5×11 compatible, and there are two tag shapes and an A2 card base included in the file.

In this photo tutorial, I will break down the steps to create the Stationery Box 2.  I wanted a place to store my fall themed cards, so I used burnt orange cardstock for all of the base pieces.  I used accents and a plaid pattern paper from Lori’s collection, A Perfect Autumn, to finish out the fall theme.  The file includes everything you need to complete the stationery box, along with files for cards and tags.

In the cut files, you will find two small rectangles and a base piece that has three stacked rectangles with tabs.  These are used to assemble the lid for the stationery box.  Before you assemble the lid, adhere the two small pattern pieces to the small cardstock rectangles as shown.  Next, fold along all of the score lines and add adhesive to the tabs of the lid base.  The small rectangle pieces will be used to form the sides of the box lid and hold everything together.  (Although not shown in the picture, I recommend attaching the other pattern pieces to your box lid before you assemble the lid. You should have three patterned rectangle pieces: two for the front and back,  and one, slightly narrower piece, for the top of the lid.)

To assemble the lid, you will fold along the score lines and attach the tabs to the sides of the small rectangle pieces.   Make sure your rectangle is lined up correctly with the longer sides attaching to the longer tabs of the lid’s base.  I recommend starting from the outside and working your way in as shown in the image below.

To assemble each of the base pieces, fold along the score lines and add adhesive tape to the tabs.  Fold in the tabs to create a box shape.  The four base pieces will be used to form individual boxes that will create sections inside the stationery box.  You will create two boxes for tags, one for cards, and one for envelopes.  The tag and card boxes will be taller in the back than in the front when assembled (see example below).  The envelope box will be the same height in the front and the back.  The image below shows one of the tag boxes with adhesive tape on the tabs and one assembled.  Adhere the small tabs first to create a base for your box.  Then fold and adhere the front to complete the box.

To assemble the stationery box, you will glue the base pieces together.  First, adhere the card box to the envelope box with the shorter side of the card box in front.  Next, add the tag boxes to the front of the card box, with the shorter sides of the tags boxes in the front.  The image below shows the stationery box with one of the tag boxes adhered to the rest of the stationery box.

Once you have joined all of the individual boxes, you will use the remaining cardstock pieces to hide the joints of your assembled box pieces.  There are two rectangles, one for the front and one for the bottom.  In addition, there are two staircase pieces that will be used on the sides of the stationery box. Using the adhesive of your choice, attach the cardstock pieces to the appropriate side of the box.

Finally, decorate the outside of your box.  Then add cards, envelopes, and tags to the inside.

Don’t forget you can make multiples of the Stationery Box 2 to hold cards for different occasions. Plus, you can make one, fill it with handmade cards and tags, and give it away as a gift.  Well, that’s all for me today.  I am off to make some cute fall-themed cards and tags to fill up my box:)

Until next time,

Michelle

 

Vinyl Tutorial – Hinge Method

Do you love camping? Or have people in your life that camp? Lori recently added some fun files that could be used for camping décor or even camping trailer décor.  I have several tubs that have camping gear in them. The bins aren’t labeled, and I thought using the camping file would be a fun way to “label” them.  I also added the same file to a white bucket.  The bucket can be used to stow camping items, and at night, well look what I did below!

For this project I used the Life is Better When You’re Camping File (SVG, Silhouette).  It can be difficult applying a large vinyl decal to a curved surface, I used a method called the hinge method. I’ve outlined how I did it below.

1. Cut and weed your vinyl. Apply transfer tape to your vinyl project.  Leave the backing piece on.

2. Place your vinyl on the surface, making sure it’s centered, leaving the backing paper on for now, and tape it down the middle with some painter’s or washi tape.

3.  Working on one side of the tape, peel back the transfer tape with vinyl, separating it from the backing paper.  Cut or rip the paper backing off.  I just rip the backing straight down.

4. Now you have one side of your vinyl ready to apply.  Smooth the vinyl to the surface. And repeat for the other side.

5. Burnish the vinyl to the surface before peeling back the transfer tape.

campingbucket

Repeat on all the surfaces.

With a white or light colored bucket, a light can be placed inside for a fun night time glow at the campground!

Now you are ready to vinyl all the things!

Have a great day!

Ashley

Camping Backpack Tutorial

Hello everyone Brigit here, I’m so happy to be back on Lori’s Creative Team again, I’ve really missed being here!

I have a tutorial to share today, I love making bags and boxes to fill with treats and I thought this Camping Backpack that Lori made for Father’s Day (SVG, Silhouette) would be such a cute fall gift box with hot chocolate and marshmallows inside.

This is really a super easy box to put together and it can be used for so many different gift ideas.

I use Silhouette Studio so the first thing I always do is select the paper I want to use and then I separate the pieces into groups like I’ve done above and then I’ll group and change the color. On this project, I only ended up using one sheet of solid cardstock and three-patterned sheets from Echo Park’s My Favorite Fall Collection. All the embellishments I used for this project are also from that same collection.

For the pockets you can see in the photo above on the 3 medium blue rectangles that I welded the top and bottoms together, the paper is double-sided so I just folded down for the top flap.

I didn’t use the tag in this file but if you need a tutorial on print and cut Kathy has a good one here using Silhouette Studio. We also have one for Cricut here.

The main box is just one piece, I added the layers first and then folded all the score lines and glued the side flap first and then the top and bottom, that’s it, I just love how this box went together!

After assembling the box I added the two straps in the back, I trimmed them a little just to make them a little bit shorter and then added the pockets.

For the top sleeping bag I used a bone folder to curve it first, this really helps with the assembly. I glued two flaps at a time going from one side to another and it worked out great.

Here is the sleeping bag all rolled up, I just added the two bands and then the side pieces. Last I glued it to the top of the backpack and embellished it.

I really enjoyed putting this project together!

Thanks for stopping by

Brigit

Donut Worry Be Happy – Food Truck Tutorial

Hello friends! Marcia here today. Toward the end of summer when all the county fairs are in full swing and the state fair is looming, I start craving mini donuts. I can’t help myself. I thought it appropriate to indulge myself and at least make a donut card. Lucky for me Lori has the cutest little Donut Truck Box Card in her store (SVG, Silhouette).

This card has lots of pieces, but it is super easy to put together. Let me show you how.

  1. Cut out all the donut truck pieces from the desired color of cardstock or pattern paper. I used the Print and Cut feature in the Silhouette Design Studio to print Donut Worry Be Happy on my computer’s printer before cutting it out.
  2. Arrange all the front cut outs with the front base cardstock truck and start to glue the pieces in place as shown.  I found it easier to work from the bottom up. Layering the truck body on first, followed by the truck’s side panel and tires. Last I added the truck window and awning. I placed foam tape under my awning only on the bottom so that it would pop up away from the truck. The top of the awning was glued to the truck.

3. Arrange the middle card cut outs and glue in place lining up the sprinkles and cheeks. Pink on top of the light brown. Then that on top of the dark brown and finally adhering the donut to the center card base.

4. Then we assemble the back of the truck card, gluing down the side panel and wheels.

5. Now that all the pieces are assembled, it is super easy to glue the front to the back of the truck creating a box. Add some glue to the center card tabs and carefully adhere to the inside of the card, lining up the top.

This is such an adorable card and is sure to lift the spirits of any recipient, especially if gifted along with donuts 🙂  Be sure to check out all the other food truck box cards in Lori’s shop as well. Note: This box card does fold flat for mailing in a 5×7 envelope.

Have a great week!
~Marcia