Category: Tutorial

Mini Mailbox Tutorial with Michelle

Happy New Year! Now that we’ve said goodbye to 2018, it’s time for me, Michelle, to start my 2019 Valentine crafts. Today I would like to share a tutorial for one of Lori’s Mini Mailboxes. It’s a classic! You can find the SVG files at the Silhouette Design Store, or at the Lori Whitlock SVG Shop.

Mini Paper Mailbox using I HEART Crafting by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park Paper

The file is adorable and so easy to put together. It would be great as a treat box or a fun place for children to leave little notes. It would be a fun snow day activity too. The possibilities are endless, so let’s get started!

Mini Mailbox Pieces cut from SVG Files

First, cut out your pieces. I used the Lori Whitlock I HEART CRAFTING line by Echo Park Paper. It’s not Valentine or Love themed paper, but the pinks and reds are perfect for both! Tip: It’s easier to glue down your embellishments while it is still flat. The paper will curve easier if you use a dry adhesive, like a tape runner or double sided tape for your embellishments. 

Photo Tutorial For Paper Mini Mailbox Assembly

Here are the steps to assemble the mailbox:

  1. Using a kitchen skewer or dowel rod, gentle train the paper to curve as shown.
  2. Fold all glue tabs inwards and apply adhesive. I used a quick dry liquid glue.
  3. Turn the box on its end and place your hand inside to push down against the table. This will give you a flat surface to push against and make sure that the glue tabs are all attached to the inside.
  4. Attach the mailbox flag to the base with a brad. Tip: Using a brad will allow the flag to move, but if you don’t have any, it will still be cute! Try gluing a button for another fun look!

The cute little postage stamps shown in the photo are also from Lori’s SVG files. You can find them at the Lori Whitlock SVG Shop, or at the Silhouette Design Store. The other decorative elements I cut from some of Lori’s other various files.

Mini Paper Mailbox using SVG Files by Lori Whitlock for Cricut or Silhouette

The little pull tab at the top allows the mailbox to open easily. Especially for little fingers!

Mini Paper St Valentines Day Mailbox made with I HEART CRAFTING Papers by Lori Whitlock 630

Thanks for visiting today. Happy Crafting!

Love,

Michelle

Valentine Red Truck Shaped Box by Aimee

Hello crafty friends! Hope everyone had a very merry and happy Christmas! Now that all of the Christmas crafts are done and checked off the list, I’m going to gear things towards Valentine’s Day! Aimee here today to share a tutorial on the adorable Red Truck Shaped Box but instead of Christmas I’m going to share how to turn it into a Valentine truck!

After uploading the file into Silhouette Design Studio, I resized the truck to a bit smaller size and deleted the trees. You can find the Red Truck Shaped Box file in the Lori Whitlock store or in the Silhouette Design Store.

If I’m changing the look of a project, I will change the colors of the cuts to give me a better idea of which papers to use. To give the truck a Valentine look I changed the colors to red and pink.

Here are my pieces after I cut them all out. I used Simple Stories Kissing Booth papers because I absolutely love the red gingham pattern paper.

To give the truck some dimension, I added brown inking around the edges of each piece. It makes the truck look a little dirty and what is a truck without a little dirt/mud on it?!?!

Adhere this piece to one of the ends of the box. It serves as the front of the truck after you’ve glued the truck pieces to the sides of the box.

Adhere all of your truck pieces together. It makes it easier to adhere to the box.

And now your box is complete and you get to decorate it!!

How adorable is this little truck filled with a bunch of red and white Hershey kisses and some Valentine heart note cards?

Hope you’ve all enjoyed this Valentine’s Day Truck Box tutorial and are ready to start on creating your own Valentine’s Day crafts! Thanks for stopping by!

Aimee

Box Card Christmas Truck Tutorial with Brigit

Here’s a tutorial of putting together this adorable Box Card Christmas Truck from Lori’s shop. I used Cricut Design Space and my Cricut Maker to cut this out but you can also get this file here at the  Silhouette Design Store.

Here’s my finished truck, I added some snow to the tree and a Santa from Doodlebug’s Christmas Town mini icon sticker sheet. The patterned paper is Doodlebug’s ladybug and limeade dot-stripe petite prints.

I uploaded the truck into Design Space and ungrouped.

Selecting the truck piece with score lines I clicked the Attach button on the bottom right, this keeps the score lines and cut piece together when you cut. I did the same to the other piece with the score lines.

Select the JOY and Flatten, do the same to the Farm Fresh Christmas Trees sign, this is so you can print and then cut.

This is how the print and cut will look, you print this page out, place it on your mat and the machine will scan the black box and cut around each one.

Here are all the pieces cut out, I folded the scoreline pieces and inked the edges of the patterned pieces.

I put together the tree on the middle section first then glued and assembled the main truck piece. Then glued the middle piece flaps to the inside of the main truck. If you want you can use solid cardstock for these pieces to save on patterned paper since the pieces in the next steps below will cover both sides.

I glued down the door first, then the silver running board, the tires on top of that and last pop dotted the fenders. Next, I glued each finished side to the truck base. Last I added the Joy to the back and the lights to the front.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Nativity Christmas Ornament with Brandie

Hi there crafty friends! One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making an ornament for my tree. I have a seven foot tree covered in handmade ornaments that I love. Making Christmas ornaments was something I did with my family growing up and I look forward to passing on this tradition with my own family.

This year I decided I wanted to make a nativity ornament. I used the Nativity Mary Joseph Jesus file. ( SVG, Silhouette) and the 3D Poinsettia file (SVG, Silhouette). I also used a DIY ornament,  transparency film,  pink and green cardstock, gold foil paper, snow filler, and ribbon.

Once I had the nativity image into design space I selected everything and welded the image together.

I then resized the nativity to fit over a 4.25 circle. I wanted the nativity image to fill a lot of the circle without Josephs head hitting the top of the circle.

While the images are stacked together I selected both images and sliced the images. Creating three separate images. I could have skipped this step and just fussy cut the corners off but doing it this way also helped me line up the nativity on the transparency film. I deleted the middle image and the one on the left.

I then added another circle. Duplicated the nativity and flipped the duplicated image horizontally. This way the gold foil paper will be on both sides of the transparency film.

I cut the nativity out of gold foil paper and the circle out of transparency film. I then glued the nativity to transparency film. On my first side I used wet glue. It worked but I could see the glue through the gold paper. I then used a tape runner to attach the second side. Which left no visible marks on the gold paper.

For the assembly I added a little iridescent snow to the bottom half of the ornament, then the nativity,  a little more snow, and then closed the ornament together.

To decorate the top I cut two 3D poinsettias. The flowers have three concentric layers, two centers and two leaves. I gently pinched each petal and then stacked and glued the flowers together.

I tied a loop and bow with ribbon and attached the flowers and bow with hot glue.

This ornament looks beautiful hanging on the tree. It would also make a lovely gift.

I hope this ornament inspires you to make an ornament for your tree. Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas!

Brandie

Silk Screened Nativity Banner Tutorial with Kathy

Hi Everyone!  The holidays are in full swing now and as I was starting to decorate, I thought it would be fun to create a Nativity Banner using the new Silk Screen Kit from Silhouette.

I started with some blank canvas banner pieces , the Full Nativity Child is Born 2 File (SVG, Silhouette) and the Silk Screen Starter Kit.  I assembled the silk screen frame according to the directions included in the kit.  Next I set up my design in Silhouette so that it could be used in the frame.

First I ungrouped the file so that I could resize and move around the individual pieces and delete those pieces I wasn’t including in the banner.

My banner pieces had a design area that was approximately 4.75″ square.  I drew a square that size on my mat as a guide, to help me re-size each figure in the file so that it fit nicely into the design area.

Once they were all resized, I got ready to set them up to be cut.  In the directions included with the Silk Screen Kit, it recommends that your design be able to fit into a 10.5″ x 7.5″ space so that it will fit inside the frame.  I drew a rectangle that size on my mat as a guide, and added the shapes. Before grouping the shapes together, I mirrored each of the figures.  You always want to mirror when using Heat Transfer Vinyl so that the design is going in the correct way when complete.   I ended up with 4 separate files to be cut.

Now I was ready to cut the pieces from the heat transfer vinyl included in the kit.  The directions with the kit recommend you center the design to be cut on the full piece of vinyl (the piece is 12″x15″.)  I decided to use my 24″ cutting mat rather than just loading the vinyl directly into Silhouette.  I set up my Silhouette to include the 12″x24″ mat and changed the page size to 12″ x 15″.  I added one of my designs to the page, and centered it.

Once it was all set up I sent it to cut.  The directions called for using a blade depth of 2, but after a few test cuts, I ended up using a depth of 6.  I loaded my mat with the vinyl on it (shiny side down)  and cut.  Once cut, I weeded the actual design (not the extra pieces around the design).  Once all were cut and weeded, I ironed each design sheet onto one of the silk screens provided in the kit according to directions,  and peeled away the shiny cover layer.  Be careful when doing this part.  You want to make sure that the edges of each design are firmly ironed onto the screen to prevent any seepage.  I found it best to wait for the ironed piece to be completely cool before trying to peel away the extra layer.

Now for the fun part!  The actual silk screening!  The first step is to prepare the design to be inserted in the Silk Screen Frame.

You want to cut a 2″ square from each corner of the design to make it easier to insert into the frame.  Place the frame over the design (screen side down), making sure it’s centered.  Pull up the sides outside the frame and insert the frame brackets to hold the screen in place.  Do this for all 4 sides.

For most projects, you would then arrange the framed screen over your fabric, and continue.  Since I had multiple designs going on different banner pieces, I centered the banner pieces around the designs on the back of the screen and taped them down.

Placing the screen on a protective surface (to prevent a big mess!)  I added a line of ink along one side of one of the designs.  Using the squeegee provided in the kit, I scraped the ink  over the design.  You may need to repeat this process to make sure it’s all “filled” in.  I did this for each design on the frame, and then repeated the process for the other figures/banner pieces.  Once they were done, I let them dry overnight, and heat set them with my iron, using a piece of fabric in between to protect my iron.

All that was left was to stitch the banner pieces together!  I used some gold twine and stitched it down with gold thread using a zig zag stitch.  You could also attach the banner pieces to the twine using small clothespins!  Here are some close-ups…

If you decide to try out the new silk screen kit with one of Lori’s designs be sure to take Lori on social media!  We’d love to see what you’ve created.  That’s it for me today, thanks for stopping by to peek.

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