Making a New Tile

OK, so I got distracted blog surfing, message board reading, and file making. Sound familiar?? I just laid out a 12 x 12 tile I am going to cut, FOR MYSELF (yeah for me), but I ran out of time. Here is the layout. I am really excited about it, I think it will look really nice when it is done. The cursive style font is Edwardian Script and the other font is Segue Print. The signpost SVG download link is right here.

I am out of time for tonight, so as soon as I get it cut, I will substitue the picture of the real thing for the layout.

Joy!

I have been having a good time playing with the basic shapes library tonight. I made this one using the basic shapes library and the Jokerman font. You can download the SVG here.

Sign on Post

Here is a fun new svg. I made it using scal and the basic shapes library.
You can download the svg here if you like it. Enjoy!!

Nightstand Coasters

Maybe it is because I am lazy. No doubt it is easier to make a set of two coasters than to make a set of four. One thing I have enjoyed making lately is night stand coasters. A set of two coasters, one for each nightstand. One of my favorite things to put on them is a favorite quote or saying split between the two coasters. Like this set, a quote from twilight:"Look after my heart-I've left it with you."

I love this one as well, it is on my nightstands: "eat, drink, be, merry"
These are cool also, although not a split saying, they just kind of go together: "it's simple." "less is more."

The cool thing about these is they are freebies from my vinyl designer. They allow you to download and use a couple freebies to make sure you don't have any trouble before you go ahead and purchase files from them. You can find the free download in several formats including SVG here.

I don't seal my tiles, unless I am using them as coasters, then I like to seal them with the water based Minnwax in a clear satin finish.
It doesn't erode away at the adhesive on the back of the vinyl like many sealers will. It makes for a nice, durable finish on the coasters. It is water based so you can use it indoors, in a well ventilated area. I seal them on the counter in my kitchen. I just put a plastic garbage bag underneath to protect my counter. I do 3-4 thin coats which I can do in one night, one hour apart. It is fast drying and brushes on easily.

So go ahead and make yourself some night stand coasters. Thanks for looking.

Halloween Bowls

Here are a few treat bowls I made for Halloween. The font on the middle bowl is Mr. Giggles and the old stand by, polka dots. The boo svg is here with the evil eyes.


Here is the front of the bowls. The one on the left is my favorite. The M stands for Moorhead, where we live and is our team logo. Our colors are orange, black, and white.

Here is the back of the bowls. The one on the left is for a friend. She makes the greatest peanut butter Carmel corn, I call it Cami Corn. (Her name is Cami.) You have to try this stuff, here is the recipe:

Cami Corn
1 cup of light corn syrup
1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Bring to a boil, boil for one minute then reduce heat. Pour over two bags of microwave popcorn (separate the seeds out first) and stir well. Enjoy.

Chalkboard Vinyl Wine Tags

I saw these on Etsy and had to make some. It was definitely trial and error to say the least. The ones that I saw left the paper backing on the chalkboard vinyl and called it good. I did not like that. The first thing I tried was cutting the shape out of chalkboard and cutting the shape out of contact paper and then sticking them together, sticky sides in. That didn't work so good because to line them up with the precision required to make them look good was impossible. The picture immediately above shows the compare on how that method worked. The tag on the right of that picture was cut separately and them stuck together with less than exact precision. The tag on the left of that picture is my final product. Look at the third picture in this post and you will see what I ultimately did to get that precision look. I stuck the contact paper and the vinyl together BEFORE I cut them. Brilliant, huh. Too bad it took me an hour plus to figure that out.

Live and learn.

The file I used is very basic, it is a 3" circle with a smaller circle centered on top. I cut the slit on the top by hand, seemed easier to me. It is such an easy file it is almost easier to make the file yourself than to download it, but if you would like it, I am happy to share.

Find the SVG of a single tag here.

Find a full page on the 24" mat here in SCUT2 format.

The ovals on the bottom of the scut file can be used for many different things. Canister labels and reusable gift bag tags. They are also fun to stick to the front of a glass and have your guests write their names on their glass. Not only the wine drinkers can have a little chalkboard. I just hate wasting vinyl and like to use every last inch of it.

Can't wait to have people over to use them.

A Fun Tree

This is a fun one for Christmas, or just to celebrate fall! Enjoy!!

You can download the SVG here.

Let's Go To Disney!!

My daughter is going on a Disney Cruise and then spending a few days in Disney World with her Dad, her aunt and uncle and two of her younger cousins. We thought she should have a couple t-shirts to take with her, and we could not leave the little ones out!!

The biggest challenge in this project was finding toddler sized t-shirts with nothing on them. It is safe to say there are no summer clothes left in Minnesota!! Once I did find them, I hit the jackpot though, .99 each, yahoo!! At that price, they got a pair to shorts to match!!

We made the top shirt for Macy (my daughter) to wear at Disney World. She placed, layered and applied all of the vinyl in this one. I am so proud of her, she did such an awesome job. Not bad for a nine-year old. The next ones are for Macy and her cousins to wear on their cruise. The Wonder, Dream and Magic are the names of the Disney ships. We put their last names on the back.

My hubby is gone this weekend on a motorcycle trip and my daughter leaves for Florida after her game tomorrow. What that means is I have 26 hours alone in my house.

What shall I do . . . hmmmmmm . . .

A Tutorial using SCAL and Its Shapes Library to Create Original SVG's

Here is my first tutorial using SCAL! The high pitched shriek about half-way through is my dog, telling me I am neglecting him!! It is a very basic SCAL tutorial, intended for beginners with SCAL. It offers some ways of creating original SVG files using your imagination, SCAL, and the shapes library in SCAL.

Thanks for stopping by and happy cutting.

Watch the tutorial here.

Working on a Tutorial

I thought I had video capture software on my computer. WRONG. However, I found a good one and it is free, so I guess that makes it great, did I mention it is free. I installed it on my machine and will get the promised tutorial done in the next day or so. Why is everything always so much harder than I think it will be??

As soon as get my first project complete with the video capture software I will pass on the details of this free software. Want to make sure it works as well as I think it does before I let you know how great it is.

You Don't Have To Be An Inkscape Master to Make Your Own SVGs

Both of these files were created in SCAL using the same basic shapes. You can make your own files too, with SCAL and a little bit of imagination and creativity.

Both tree files were made with the rounded triangle and the rectangle shapes from the basic shapes library in SCAL. The one on the left was embellished with a swirl from the SCAL shapes library the other with a star. I will work on a tutorial this weekend to show those that are uncertain about making your own files that you can do it too, with SCAL. Stay tuned . . . in the meantime if you want to start out your holiday collection with a couple trees, you can find the SVG here.

Check back on Monday if you are interested in the tutorial. Enjoy the weekend.

A Happy Brithday Banner

I made another banner last night. This time for a friend’s 39 ½ birthday. Her husband decided the only way he will surprise her with a party for her 40^th is doing it early, hence the 39 ½. I think it turned out great.

Kay at Cleversomeday (her awesome blog is here) had some great advice on how to cut large items, simple yet effective. I think it was on the Sure Cuts a Lot forum that she gave it. She said just make your item whatever size you want it on your mat (zoomed way out of course) and then just move it around on your mat to cut small pieces (11 ½ by 23 ½ on the Expression) at a time. It will only cut what is in your cutting space. I used registration marks to keep track of what I had already cut and to help me line it all up when I was done. The large words in the middle were cut like this. The smaller words and shapes were all cut on the 12 x 24 mat and were applied one at a time. I applied most of the ovals prior to applying the large words in the center. After I applied the large words I added a few more ovals and the smaller words.

The smaller words are all adjectives describing my friend. She loves to shop so I got to make up a word. The word is shopalicious. What a great adjective. That is one great thing about the English language: if there is not a word that works, just make one up!!

Thanks for looking.

For the Beautician in Your Life

This one is for the beautician in your life, but only if his or her clients have a sense of humor. LOL! I love this saying. I made it for my mother-in-law to hang on the mirror in her shop.

If you like it, you can find the SVG here.

Martha's Mice

Martha Stewart has this great free template for cutting in her Halloween edition. Find her project here. I converted it to a SVG which can be found here. Happy Haunting.

Vining Flowers

Here is a new cut file I made today. Find the SVG here.

Off to a friend's for the evening. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Wine and a Glass

Made this SVG earlier this week. Wine bottle and a glass, lots of uses for that!! The label on the wine bottle is perfect to add a little something to! Find the SVG here. Enjoy!

A Few Glasses

I made a couple glasses as a birthday gift for a friend. She either drinks wine (hence the wine glass) or Long Island Teas. So I had to make her a glass for each. The wine glass says "Gretchen's Sippy Cup" and the pint glass says "Poker Princess." I used Curlz on the wine glass with polka dots and flowers and Scriptina on the poker glass with hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades and swirls from the SCAL shapes library. Thanks for looking!!