SVGcuts

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

eCrafting "Fall Recipe Holder" with Square 1 Masterpiece

My Square1 Masterpiece  project for this month is a hanging recipe card holder. So many times while preparing a recipe, I have actually misplaced my recipe. This will make my recipes safe as well as clean as well as easily viewed, while I get busy with preparing our favorite holiday meal  recipes.

Supplies needed for this project:
clear vinyl cut to a nine by sixteen rectangle
(you can purchase this at any local fabric store)
Bias tape trim or ribbon to sew along the edges.
eCraft Pro Software
Leaf SVG's
Acrylic liquid ink
brushes
sewingmachine or fabric glue
jewerly wire
wire cutters
I cut my vinyl and quickly sewed my bias trim around the edge  to make a pocket for my recipes. I love this simple project!
I used ready made bias tape but you can use ribbon or just a strip of fabric. If you don't want to sew you can actually staple the vinyl on the edge and then glue the trim around  the sides and bottom. Next I selected various leaf svg files to cut on my eCraft Cutting Machine. I love my Purpleberry machine! You can purchase great leaf and other designs at eCraft Central new cutting files are added daily. They download to your eCraft Pro Software.

 I set the pressure at the lowest setting. The cap was left on. I used no tabs. and I used a vegetable cutting sheet for my image stablizer.
I decided to paint my leaves with some acrylic inks to achieve the  effect I desired. You can print out the colors you want on a printer or as I did. Square1 Masterpiece Fabric loves to be embellished with many mediums. This is what I used.

Speedball Super Pigmented ink and Windsor and Newton liquid Acrylic. I love the effects that can be achieved with these. 
Once my leaves dried I decided to make them double sided so for stability I added a small wire to the inside.
I love the way my leaves turned out. I wish I made enough to put in an arrangement for my Holiday table!


My leaves had a real look to them. I really love Square1 Masterpiece Fabric. 
You can see some of my detail in this shot. 
Next I placed the leaves along the sides of my holder

I stitched my leaves on but you don't have to. Hot glue, 3L Adhesive    
squares will also work.
I will get a lot of use from this fun project. I hope that enjoy my tutorials. Come back next Tuesday to see what I have posted. Please leave me some feedback and remember it is all about having fun!



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Ecrafting "sewing guides"

I am so excited about this week's project. I use my sewing machines quite often. I am a collector of sewing machines from the era of the 30's to the present time. So often when I get ready to sew I have to break out the seam guides to establish the stitch line. I sew a lot of quarter inch seam lines. I finally put my thinking cap on and used my eCraft and my new favorite Square1 Masterpiece to make some removable guides. I was so quick and easy. Now my seam lines will be straight, and accurate without fuss!


I used Sure Cuts Alot Software to make my guidelines. I started with a rectangle. I unlocked the "keep proportion check box and put in the exact measurements. When I finished I added an arrow to help me.

I again used the flap method so that I could match up my images. The flap method was easier the second time around. I quickly was able to match up the guidelines and cut them out. I am so glad that I did this project as it will work wonders and make my sewing so much easier!


I also made a guide for my eCraft. I always like to know where my blade starts or where my pen starts. This is primarily when I am cutting from the card and not the computer. I can get more from my fabric or other materials this way. So here is the photo of my trolley with arrows attached.


I hope this shows you how versatile our machines are. Not only do they make beautiful decor and so many other great embellishments, but they can also be used to make functional items making our jobs so much easier!
Please watch for my post next Tuesday...I hope my next project is a treat and not a trick!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Link Up for Pink!! Don't forget those we have lost and those who are fighting the fight!

I have made a Butterfly Pin to honor a great friend who is a true hero! She is not a cancer patient but has ministered to those who are fighting the battle. She is a kind and generous person. She brings hope for many fighters with her personlized journals!. I want to commend Celeste for her work! I also want to say thank you to Yolie and Gaby they too are helping those fight the fight. Thank you.

My pin is very easy to make. I used fabric stiffener, Angelina fiber, an Iron, an adhesive backed bar pin, and sharpie stain color, also glitter glue, and my eCraft.

Angelina Fiber is great a little bit makes a neat "sheet of custom fabric" that you can add to your project it adds shine to any project.


You use an iron with an ironing sheet to protect it from the heat. You place the fibers across each other, and then I use a teflon sheet on top to make it adhere to itself. Angelina only sticks to itself. A little goes a long way.


While I was making the Angelina into fabric I had coated my pink fabric with Stiffy, fabric stiffener. This stuff works great but there are many other brands as well on the market. I like the way that it makes my cotton fabric cut as easily as cardstock on my cutting machine.

I cut two butterflies out and glued them together, then I added the adhesive pin on the back side of my pin.
I also ran the bottom butterfly thru a crimper to give it texture. This is so much fun! I love butterflies. I then began surface embellishement of my butterfly.
I cut the Angelina by hand and glued it to the wings of my butterfly.


I used Sharpie's new fabric stain pens to color my butterflies' wings. I love the rich color of these fabric markers.

I also used bottles of glitter glue to also embellish my bugs!

I love the glitter and very quickly I was finished with all of the bling!
I only wish that I could wipe out cancer as easily as I made my butterfly! Help us all fight this robber of life, family and friends. I wish my grand babies had their other Grandma who lost her battle to breast cancer. She was a courageous fighter, Shannon I pray that you share all of my senses when I am with our babies! You deserve to be here!
Fly Free!

www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Ecrafting "Auto Fun" with Square 1 Repositional Fabric!

I love "Square 1 Fabric" I knew there was something in a name! Fabric is one of my favorite things and Square 1 is in my heart! It allows me to do things with fabric I never dreamed possible. This week I challenged myself to leave my safe sewing room and go out to my vehicle. I tried the flap method that Denise (fellow Design Team member) uses. It works!!! I can't wait to drive around and let my friends see my exclamation!!!
On The Back of My SUV!



This was so much fun. I went outdoors and found some leaves, we don't have many fall colored ones yet but I found a few. A quick scan into my photo editing program.



Once brought in to my photo program I traced the image to make a SVG file.It was so easy to import into my SCAL software. I was able to cut a flap very quickly! The flap is used to locate the cutting area for your graphics.
If you are looking for an image editor there is always The Gimp. It is a free open source photo editing type program .





I also cut out my leaves from my photo program. I used the generic photo paper matte setting. I love the way the Square 1 material takes to printing! I tested its fastness and seems not to run color!




I was able then to mark where my photos were to be placed to be cut out. I taped them into place. I recommend that you make your template based on a shadow of the image to give you more edge.




I can't wait to practice this method more. I have many mirrors, and windows that would love to be decorated! It didn't take long to make my leaf cuts!




Next came my lettering, I used Inkscape (Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.) and made a "Bumpy Textured" orange rectangle and proceeded to cut out my lettering. I used TTF named JanieHMKBold. It is such a fun looking font! Remember too the nice thing is I can move this around and add or subtract to it! I love Square 1 Masterpiece Fabric!, I also love my CraftwellUSA eCraft. It is one of my best friends!




Wait till you see what is in-store for you next week!! I have this Friday's video spot, too! I can't wait to meet you here again next week! See you then..

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Craftwell: Design Team: Debi Tullier Week 3

Craftwell: Design Team: Debi Tullier Week 3: Debi Tullier: 'Milk-o-Lantern' & Chef's Hat We are so excited for today's post! The lovely Debi Tullier, AKA Sewing Queen, is going to ...

Ecrafting "Square1 printable, repositionable, removable adhesive fabric"

Well I am learning! I am primarily a sewing crafter and found a great use for this wonderful "new to me" medium, Square1 Removable Adhesive Inkjet fabric. First of all, I love being able to use Square 1 Adhesive Fabric in my inkjet printer, but I also love being able to use my acrylic inks with it. I can brush it on and retain the brush markers and it looks great. Heck I can even stamp it. I just love all of the possibilities.

Well,this week is a tongue and cheek project! I have two projects in one. I have a feeling that my Grand Children will enjoy both of them.
My simple luminary project is super easy. I took a milk or juice plastic gallon container and cut a small opening on the side opposite the handle. I placed a battery operated "candle" in it and then made my faces with my new love, Square1 Fabric. The faces are re-positionable, children love helping and I have no fear of cuts (carving pumpkins) with this. I am going to light my walk way this year with my "Milk-O-Lanterns".

I "carved" out the jugkin. This was easy, make sure though if you are a young person to get an adult to help with cutting hole. I will put in a battery operated tea light or candle later when I move them out on the walkway.
I love the fact that I can remove the faces and put them on freezer paper and use them for next year or something else.
I am very excited about Halloween this year! So often when we are making treats for the occasion it is also exciting to have special equipment for our helpers. My next project is my quick and easy chef's hat. I use a free pattern found at www.youcanmakethis.com It comes in four sizes and is super easy to make. I love the wide band so I can personlize it. Well I love this version of the hat. I used a purple spider web fabric and then to make the band sticker friendly I used a treatment that adheres vinyl to the fabric. It is called "Thermo-Web iron on vinyl". I am so happy that I discovered it for this project. I am able to use the Square 1 adhesive fabric with it. I can now make all kinds of sticker for my grand children to enjoy with their chef's hats. Stickers are very important to children. Grandmas must have them and with Square1 I can make custom stickers for them.
Cutting Square1 Fabric is very easy. I used a Veggie cutting plastic sheet as my stablizer. I used a pressure of 3 and no tabs. I left the cutting guard cap on. I love the way my eCraft cuts. It really works well and I always test it to make sure my settings will give me the outcome I desire.
The cuts are very sharp and remove from the backing very easy. I was very surprised that the material cut so well as it was hand painted. I love this stuff.
One of the things I love is that I am able to change the style of the lettering so quickly and put it away till needed again!
I hope you enjoy my project. Can't wait to see you next week!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Ecrafting "Home Decor" let's make a pillow! Special Edition

I love designing pieces for my home and my friends' as well. Pillows are all the rage and so I decided to try my hand at a simple pillow design. If you can sew a line of straight stitches (it doesn't have to be ruler straight) you can make this pillow!!




The eCraft can use many forms of input for cutting. You can use the wonderful SD cards that eCraft has. You can even use your eCraft software to manipulate the images from the sd cards and send to be cut by your machine. Many don't know though about the online library of ready to download images at eCraft Central. I love using these images for making appliques. I even manipulate them so I can create "one of a kind" pieces! In this project I used photo corner number 32. I also used a looped piece, Embellishment number 1. I used the "Sure Cuts A Lot" software to mirror the image and to weld it to make a medallion. I also used the shadow function to produce the background.

I cut it out on my eCraft using the settings pressure setting was set at 3 and a half. So in between the 3 and the 4. My tab density was set at 0. Multi-cut was set at 0. I did use an image stabilizer the vegetable. I loaded the fabric through the front loading tray. My blade cap was on.




My pillow form was a fourteen by fourteen one so it was pretty easy to determine that a cut of fabric fifteen by fifteen would work for what I wanted. So I made my cut of base fabric. Then I folded the square in half and then opened it and folded it in half on the other side to form a center point. I also folded my shadow piece to center it on the pillow case front.


Then I removed the backing and ironed my center piece on.


My next step was determining placement of my "corner" embellishments. I tried it two ways. I used a chalk pencil mark the placement before I fused the applique down. You don't have to do this, you can "eyeball it" but I like the spacing that I got by measuring it.




I then fused all of the pieces down. Next I cut the fabric for the back. I knew that I wanted a slit to be able to put the pillow in and take it out to use other covers. So really easy I cut my back piece as a rectangle fifteen inches by nineteen. I then cut it in half. I folded over one inch and stitch it down on both pieces. I then didn't worry about the placement I just matched up the other edges and it made an envelope for my pillow form.


I sewed around the whole piece and trimmed the edges. I turned the pillow case right side out and popped the pillow form in. I have a cute pillow that I can change as my mood and decor fits! I can even flip it around and use the back for a different look too!




I hope you enjoyed my presentation! Look forward to next week! Please leave me comments, suggestions, and have a great week!