Come And Join Me In My Creativity Zone

Come and join me in my Creativity Zone where you can enjoy fun and challenging card design ideas that will inspire you to learn new techniques to maximize the use of your craft tools, most especially the Silhouette Cameo machine along with the Silhouette Studio Designer software, and truly enjoy your crafting to the fullest.

All my files are shared for free, ONLY with my blog followers. The files are in Silhouette Studio format. They are for PERSONAL use only and must not be redistributed. You can share by directing people to the link of the project/post on my blog. Thank you for your compliance.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Panda Card - For Dustine's 7th Birthday

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I'm way too early finishing my birthday card for Dustine, my oldest brother's grandson, who will be turning 7 on December 15. I'm trying to finish all the cards due for December birthdays so I can concentrate on my Christmas cards.

Just like a typical boy his age, Dustine is into animals. I made the Angry Birds card for his birthday last year. I got the idea for this Panda card from a post shared by Sue Busch on our Facebook group Silhouette Cameo Paper Crafts. She made this adorable card using the same adorable Panda design from the Silhouette store which I happen to already have in my library. The name of the design is Zoo Panda by Sarah Bailey. Please note that there are two Zoo Panda designs on the Silhouette store which look exactly the same, one is a regular cut file and the other one is a print and cut file. Although I have both, I used the regular cut file. Sue used the print and cut file.


When I purchased my first Silhouette machine (SD) more than 2 years ago, they used to offer the unlimited subscription for a discounted $14.99 a month which meant you can download an unlimited number of designs or ALL at any time during your one year subscription. So we were simply downloading all the new designs being released each week. I accumulated over 13,000 designs. I think I was one among the last ones that were able to avail of this unlimited subscription. When Silhouette America bought the Silhouette line from Quickutz, they never offered the unlimited subscription anymore.So that explains why I can't even remember which designs I already have in my library :).



The back of the Panda is even cuter. Just take a look at that butt and the back of his feet with his paws. Sooooooo stinking cute!!!  Dustine will be humored finding his name on his butt. It's so easy to toggle the text into any shape like this using the drawing tools in Silhouette Studio. Instead of writing the step by step instructions on how to do this, I searched for a video tutorial that is very easy to follow, Text-to-Path tutorial by doodling Debbie. This is a great technique to learn about text most especially in creating sentiments. BTW, you will need to ungroup the letters to make sure that the top part of the letters are touching enough so they can be welded together and cut in one piece instead of individually. I didn't want to bother having to arrange the letters one by one on my card after the letters have been cut. There is actually a technique using a mesh tape (drywall tape) in transferring  the arranged text from your mat onto your project: Die Cut Transfer With Mesh.

I made this into a 3D card by using dimensional tape on the layered parts of the Panda using my homemade  pop-up dots.It is also interactive as the head wiggles (see video) using Margaret Wilburn's Springy-Thingy that I've used on my other kiddie cards like Swing CardSpin card and Angry Birds card.. The card looks so much better in person because of the felt paper that I used giving it a fussy texture/ Instead of the eyes provided in the design, I used a pair of craft eyes which made the Panda even cuter. I created the creases on the face (brows and smirk) so I can cut them and layer them on the face (used black felt paper) and added the 2 tiny ovals for the nose. I also added the 'inside of the ears (used blue felt paper) by doing an internal offset of the ears. I also made the tail larger than the scaled size in the file. The sheets of felt paper that I have are all one sided (plain white on the back/wrong side) so I had to cut 2 pieces for each layer (except for the parts of the face) and glued them together to show the same texture and color on the Panda's back.The actual size of my Panda card is, from the top of the ears down to the tip of the paws is 5.5" tall and 5.5." wide (widest part of the legs).

I was lost as to where to put the space for writing the message on the card as I want to keep the back side of the Panda open and exposed. I replicated the exact same round shape of the body and welded a small tab on one side to be attached (tucked under) on the side of the back of the Panda where I can write my birthday message but I may end up foregoing this part as I don't think Dustine will really care much for it as he will just be interested in the Panda :). 








Sunday, October 28, 2012

Silhouette Ratchet Blade - Yes, It Can Be Opened!

I'm so excited to share what I just discovered in our Facebook Silhouette users group-Brazil Silhoueteiras e Cia-BR (https://www.facebook.com/groups/368738113201922/). The video was posted by my FB friend Adines Baratieri who found it on her German Silhouette users group.Thank you so much, Adines

The video demonstrates how easy it is to open the Silhouette ratchet blade to remove debris/fibers/lint/dirt that get stuck inside. The lady who created the video, Natalia, (from Germany) is a genius. The video is in German but anyone can easily understand it as she did an excellent job in showing the step by step instructions. Finally, the mystery on how to open this blade holder has been unlocked. Thank you so much, Natalia.

I strongly suggest using an old dull Silhouette ratchet blade in trying this initially until you get comfortable and used to it. 

It will be neat if someone can discover how to replace the blade. I'm inclined to believe that the blade used for the ratchet blade is the same blade used for the CB09/aluminum blade holder which cost only about $2.80 each. I did a comparison and it looks like the 45 degrees blade.

It is so amazing how we all get connected coming from the different parts of the world in sharing our passion for our beloved Silhouette Cameo (and Silhouette SD). 

BTW, I started following Natalia's blog and wrote her to ask if she can possibly redo the video in English. Let's see what her response will be.

UPDATED October 29, 2012

Nataliia Schneider was super nice to accommodate my request to recreate this video in English. What a very nice lady! Let's all show our appreciation and take the time to thank her on her blog. Please post a comment on her blog post: : http://www.stampika.blogspot.de/2012/10/silhouette-cameo-klinge-reinigen.html

Here is the recreated English video tutorial:



Friday, October 12, 2012

Purse Card


My friend from Canada, Marita, just loves purses which inspired me to create a purse card for her on her recent birthday.

The patterned paper is from the DCWV Lemon Flower stack. I used felt paper, lace and ribbon for the trimmings. The flourish is from the Silhouette store, I cut 2 pieces and stacked them together for my favorite faux chipboard technique. BTW, I did an offset of the flourish as the design was too fine for the size I wanted. The bottom layer of the sentiment is a tag from the Silhouette store which I tweaked to get rid of the tip at the bottom. The heart shaped clasp is from my trinket collection. I used a magnetic snap for the closure.

From the Silhouette Online Store:

1) Flourish: House of 3 Swirly Flourish By House of 3
2) Tag: Label Frame Tag By Samantha Walker

I created an alternative sentiment, 'Made Just For You', which is included in the free card file.

I'm sharing all the layers of the card except for the flourish and the bottom layer of the sentiment. Please note that I only share my files with my blog followers. Just post a comment to request for the free card file. Please do not forget to leave your e-mail address on your comment.

Happy crafting!
Ligaya