So, today, I want to show you how to use your Silhouette to cut fabric. And I’ll show you how I fancied up some plain shirts for my kiddos.

You’ll need some fabric interfacing. Silhouette has two types: sewable and clean cut (iron on).

For my project today, I used clean cut.

And you’ll need a fabric blade.

Create your cut file. I was doing two different shirts, so I placed my images far apart.

Cut a piece of interfacing the size of the image you are cutting. And iron your fabric onto the textured side of the interfacing.

You will remove the paper backing from your interfacing before you stick your fabric on your mat.

Then load your mat into your Silhouette and cut.

I just have to say that one of my favorite things about my Silhouette is that it has all the settings pre-set for whatever I’m cutting. So I don’t have to guess what to put my blade at.

Once your fabric is cut out, place it on your shirt, and iron it on.

That’s it. You’re done.

And yes, he requested an “antler mount” shirt.

Such a boy.

And she wanted polka-dots, yellow, and stars. Check, check, and check.

I think she’s happy.

I was VERY happy with how well the Silhouette cut fabric. Especially with the intricate detail on those antlers.

Now is a great time to get a Silhouette of your own. Click HERE to go to the special promotions page and take advantage of this month’s discount. And don’t forget to enter CORDUROY as the promo code in order to get the discount.

]]> http://www.corduroydreams.com/2013/05/iron-fabric-on-shirt.html/feed 0 http://www.corduroydreams.com/2013/05/a-few-changes-2.html?&owa_medium=feed&owa_sid=&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-few-changes-2 http://www.corduroydreams.com/2013/05/a-few-changes-2.html#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 07:56:20 +0000 corduroydreams http://www.corduroydreams.com/?p=1285 Hello, my name is Natalie (hi Natalie!), and I have a problem. I am a changer-upper. I know, I know. Change is supposed to be scary, right? Well, I sort of love it. I love to re-arrange the furniture, and swap out sheets and comforters. I never have the same thing for breakfast two days in a row. And I love to switch my shampoo before the bottle is empty, just so I can have a new scent.

So, in the spirit of changing things that are perfectly fine to begin with… You may have noticed things are looking a little different around here.

I’m doing a little Spring cleanup of my blog, and I decided to go with a more simple, clean, and fresh look. So say goodbye to the yellow damask and hello to grey and white stripes.

I’ve also added a new category to my main menu. Up at the top. It’s called “Projects & Tutorials”. If you click on that link, it will take you to a page where you can see all of my past projects and tutorials I’ve shared. It’s organized by category, so hopefully everything will be nice and easy to find. Go check it out, it’s pretty awesome!

Another thing I’ve added is this little “subscribe via email” feature. Over there, on the right. —> Go ahead and enter your email address and I’ll send you a little note every time a new post goes live on this little old blog, so although I love having you here, you won’t have to keep checking my blog to see if anything is new (because I’m sure you have better things to do). Subscribing via email is a great alternative to using Google Reader, which will end soon. And I promise, from the bottom of my heart, I will never send you any sort of spam or junk email.

I think that’s all the changes for now.

But I need your help. Having a new blog layout is always a little tricky. Of course I’ve done everything I can to make it all look good and function properly on my end, But I want to recruit you to let me know if something doesn’t look right on your end. If there are links that don’t work, colors that look a little funky (more funky than you think I might have meant it to be), or anything that looks like it might be missing or out of place… would you please leave a comment and let me know? I would really appreciate your help. This is, after all, a low budget operation I’m running. When I say this is a “do it yourself” blog, I mean it literally.

And, as always, thank you for being there to read all of this. I love sharing the things I’m working on with you. And hey, if you’re working on something, I’d love it if you’d share it with me.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new project.

Yes, I’m a Mormon.

And, in my church, I serve with the Young Women.

Every other Sunday, I teach the Young Women different lessons, and I usually make up a little handouts to go with my lesson.

And, just in case you teach the Young Women in your ward, I wanted to share them with you.

Instructions to download free printables:

Click on the link below the image you would like. It will take you to box.com, where you can download the image.
This is a safe and secure site (I promise), and you can download whatever you would like for free.
If you download a printable image from me, I would love a comment.

And, as always, all of my downloads and printables are for personal use only.

Pray Always (sheet) 

Pray Always (3.5 x 5)

Bookmark (4×6)

Bookmark (2×6)

 Under Construction (8.5 x 11)

Work Pink & Green (4×6)

Work Green & Purple (4×6)

Work Teal and Yellow (4×6)

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Green

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Grey and Pink

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Grey

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Multicolored

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Pink

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Purple

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Teal

Stand in Holy Places (8×10) Orange

I’ve pinned a bunch on my “Do It Myself” board. (you can pretty much predict my future posts by following this pinterest board)

I finally got around to making one, and guess what? It took me about 20 minutes (plus dry time).

Isn’t it cute? I LOVE IT!!!!

I found the best instructions of all the boxes I pinned was this one:

made by Amy from The Idea Room.

Would you like to make your own?

Here’s what you’ll need:

(these supplies will make a 31.5 x 7  x 3.5 inch box)

1- 1×4 6 foot long poplar wood board. Cut 2- 31.5 inch peices and 2- 5.5 inch peices

1- 1×6 wood board (this is the bottom so it doesn’t matter what kind of wood you use.) Cut 30 inches long

wood glue

clamps

sand paper

stain (I used Rustoleum American Walnut)

Start by gluing your end pieces (5.5 inch 1×4′s) to your side pieces (31.5 inch 1×4′s).

Do you see that other planter box in the back? Yeah, that was my test subject… I tried to use 2×4′s my husband had laying around. Needless to say, it turned out terrible, because the boards were all warped. So I made a trip to Lowe’s and got poplar wood, which is nice and straight and has crisp, square edges, and isn’t as warped as pine usually is.
Then glue your bottom peice in place. (30 inch 1×4).Clamp everything together.Let dry. Then stain. Or have Cinderella stain it for you.Then, once you realize you shouldn’t stain indoors, or let your daughter do it….  Take your project OUTSIDE, where it’s nice and airy, and stain the entire thing.

Oh yeah, wear gloves. (Notice that scar? That’s a story for a different day)

Once it’s all dry, you can seal it with polyurethane- I didn’t because I’m just using mine as a centerpiece on my table. If I were to actually plant flowers in it, or use it outside. I probably would have.

And then you can fill it with pretty things.

I just stuck a few sprigs of flowers (from the dollar store) in some mason jars, along with some crinkled up thingies. 

I just LOVE the way it looks on my kitchen table.

 I can envision this planter box transforming for every holiday… Filled with little pumpkins and berries for fall or sparkly ornaments for Christmastime. The possibilities are endless with this cute thing.

And by the way, the supplies to build this baby only set me back about $13.00. Not too bad, I’d say.

(The poplar board alone was $9.43, so you could really do this  a lot cheaper by using a white wood board, which is only about $3.00, and as long as it isn’t warped, I bet it wouldn’t look much different than mine.)

Sounds like we are going to have a lot of fun, and it also sounds a little scary.

So, I decided to make these little job charts, you know, to teach the kids responsibility and all that jazz. And I wanted to share them with you!

You can download these and print them as much as you’d like for FREE!!! These are for personal use only. Each version is sized to print on a  regular sheet of paper, or as an 8×10 so you can laminate it and frame it to use with a dry erase marker.

Just click on the link for the version you’d like under the image. It will take you to a download screen, where you can download and print it.

Orange/ Pink Job Chart (paper sized)

Orange/ Pink Job Chart (8×10 Photo sized)

Blue/ Green Job Chart (paper sized)

Blue/ Green Job Chart (8×10 Photo sized)

P.S. You might remember I shared some job charts for kids a while ago {here}, but those were pretty boring, and I liked this option where you can specify morning, afternoon, or evening. And where I could fill out different things for them to do each week.

You can still download the other version of my job charts {here}

Or, you can download my house cleaning schedule that I use for my house  {here}… I like to think of it as a job chart for mom.

Enjoy!

I usually close the door when people come over, and somehow, all the things that don’t have places end up here.

Plus, it seems like if I’m ever working on a project, it’s usually for the kids’ rooms or in the Living Room where people will actually see my decor…

But not anymore.

I’m trying to make my room a little bit more like a place I can getaway; close the door and relax for a few minutes. I feel like it’s the one room in the house  where I can be a little bit mushy and sappy with the decor.

I started with my Gallery Wall and our Love Letter Banner, and I’ve still got a few more projects up my sleeve!

Like these cute Chipboard & Washi Tape Letters

My inspiration from this idea came from Elyse’s master bedroom makeover, from Six Sister’s Stuff {here}. I immediately fell in love with this saying! It reminded me of the Kenny Chesney song on our wedding video. (do you see a theme of my decoration inspiration coming from songs?)

Elyse used wooden letters in her project, but I am on a MAJOR budget (of $0.00), so I had to use things I had laying around the house.

So I cut letters from Silhouette’s chipboard and used washi tape that I had in my stash.

Can you believe that’s washi tape? Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve ever used washi tape… I know, I should be banned from the craft blog world.

Would you like to make your own?

You’ll need some chipboard letters and washi tape.

I cut my letters using my Silhouette Cameo and Silhouette’s Chipboard.

Start layering your washi tape on the front of your letters. Mine had a pattern, so I made sure to line it up as I went down.

You’ll want to leave some tape on the edges.

Because you’re going to fold it over onto the back.

Do that to all of your letters and you’re done.

I hung mine on the wall with painter’s tape.

See that guy in the photo? Well, he appreciates it when I don’t put holes in the wall, so he really loved this project.

Actually, that’s a lie. He thought this project was a little “too mushy”. Isn’t that the same thing he said about my Gallery Wall?

If you would like to cut these letters for yourself. I’m sharing the Silhouette cut file {here}

This is the first time I’ve used my Silhouette to cut out chipboard and I was really impressed with how well it did. You can use chipboard for a lot more than just letters, and I can’t wait to try using it in different ways.

If you’d like to try using chipboard for yourself, Silhouette is offering my readers a discount on chipboard and Silhouette bundles.

To take advantage of these fantastic deals, you’ll need this special link and promo code: CORDUROY

{discounts valid May 8 through May 15}

One of the things I’ve loved the most about my Silhouette is that I can cut without a mat. Why does this matter? Well, instead of being limited to only cutting as big as my mat is, I can cut as wide as my Silhouette (12 inches on the Cameo, and 9 inches on the portrait), by as long as my material is. Which is pretty awesome, right???

And since maybe you’re getting yourself a Silhouette with the promo I am running (or, if your name is Allison, and you won my giveaway for a free Silhouette Portrait), I wanted to show you how to cut without a mat too.

This is the PERFECT way to use those long rolls of vinyl that are 25% off right now (until April 26th- use code CORDUROY). That’s a good deal for a bunch of vinyl.

I am going to show you, using the Silhouette Studio program that came with your Silhouette.

Step 1: Make sure you are cutting something with backing, like vinyl. If you cut something like paper without a mat, the piece you cut out won’t have anywhere to go, and it will be sliding around in your machine without any rhyme or reason… which is no bueno.

Step 2: Change the cutting mat option to “none”.

Step 3: Change width and height to match your size of vinyl. {I always add an inch or two to the vinyl, just to be sure it has enough material to cut. So if my object is 12 inches long, I’ll cut my vinyl 13 or 14 inches long}

Step 4: Set your rollers to the width of your vinyl. The roll of vinyl I’m cutting here is 9 inches, so I moved the right roller over the the 9 inch spot.

Step 5: Feed your vinyl in the machine nice and STRAIGHT. If it’s a little crooked to begin with, it will be A LOT crooked after several inches.

And go for it! Play around a little bit, and I guarantee you are going to love this feature too!

And yes, I use Casey’s ping pong table as a craft table. Haha!

I want to tell you about the awesome adhesive vinyl promotion Silhouette is running AND give away a Silhouette Portrait! Seriously! I’m THRILLED to give this away. My Silhouette is my favorite crafting tool, and one of you is going to get one of your very own!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

UPDATE: This giveaway has ended.

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But first I want to show you what I made with my Silhouette Cameo and the Silhouette vinyl I got.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have noticed my two favorite things are fabric and vinyl. So when I wanted to add a little pop of color to Miss Molly’s room, I knew that mixing the two would turn out really cute.

I made these little vinyl frames and stuck some fabric inside, and they really bring some great color to the room!

Would you like to make your own? All you’ll need is fabric, adhesive vinyl, and some transfer tape.

I used scrap fabric in colors that match her room, and Silhouette brand vinyl.

I downloaded some scalloped frames from the Silhouette store and cut them out using my Silhouette Cameo.

I peeled out the “negative space” inside the frame and placed it right on my fabric so I would know how to cut my fabric. You’ll need to cut about 1/4 inch bigger than the inside of your frame.

Then I took my transfer tape and stuck it on my vinyl, then pulled  off the paper backing.

After my vinyl was on my transfer tape, I added the fabric that I had cut to size.

Make sure you put the right side of the fabric onto the sticky side of the vinyl and the transfer tape. And make sure you smooth it flat.

 Then stick it right up on the wall and peel your transfer tape off.

Make sure you peel it at an angle, starting on the corner.

Since the vinyl frames are bigger than your fabric, they’ll hold it up on the wall.

Fabric and vinyl are both such a great way to add little pops of color into your decor, so having them both together is really a win-win for me.

But, if you don’t want to use fabric, you could use this same technique to frame cute scrapbook paper, or photographs.

Cutting vinyl is what I use my Silhouette most for. In fact, I have a whole section for vinyl projects on my sidebar —->

Now is a great time to get a Silhouette of your own. This promotion is for the Silhouette Portrait, which cuts 9 inches, like the vinyl I used today.

Or, if you already have a craft cutter, make sure you pick up some vinyl. The vinyl discounted in the promotion is all 9 inch by 10 foot rolls.  This vinyl used to cost $14.99. They reduced that price to $9.99 as it is. The 25% promotional discount is on the previously discounted $9.99 price and so, comparing it to the old $14.99 price, the discount is HUGE! Seriously, it’s a great price. And the vinyl is good quality!

To take advantage of these fantastic deals, you’ll need this special link and promo code: CORDUROY

{discounts valid April 18 through April 26}

Want to win a Silhouette Portrait? One lucky reader will win a Silhouette PORTRAIT!

Use the link/widget below to enter the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a quick giveaway, so enter while you can! Giveaway ends Saturday, April 20 at 11:59 pm ET! 

I’ll announce the winner on Sunday morning, so if you aren’t the winner, you’ll still have time to take advantage of this awesome promotion.

*Disclaimer–Entrants must be U.S. residents and 18 years or older to participate.

One winner will be chosen via Random.org and will have 24 hours

to claim it or another winner will be chosen.

I asked my best friend to make me a mix tape for Valentine’s Day. And he assured me that he would. Except now it’s April and I’m sort of losing hope. But one of the songs on my mix tape list is Lucky, by Colbie Callat and Jason Mraz.

So I whipped up this little saying to add to our Bedroom Gallery Wall. I cut out some vinyl with my Silhouette and put it right up on my wall.

And I’m sharing it with you. Just in case you’re in love with your best friend too.

You can download the image, to print or save digitally {HERE}

Or, If you want to cut it out with your Silhouette, Click {HERE} to download the cut file.

You can see my Gallery Wall {HERE}

or My Love Letter Banner {HERE}

I feel a story coming on…

Casey and I met our Sophomore year of High School. I still remember the first time I saw him and how my 15 year old heart fell head-over-heals in love. My group of girls and his group of guys switched off dating each other. He and I became best friends. He’d keep his sweaty gym shoes in my locker, and I’d let him tell me which guys I should date. We would call each other in the middle of the night, just to talk, or ask each other dating advice. Even though all of our friends dated each other, he and I NEVER dated each other. We would go on double-dates, but with different partners. One time he did ask me if I’d go to lunch with him. We went to a Mexican restaurant (where we later had our wedding dinner), and we had a great time! On our “date”, he said that his girlfriend (one of my good friends) was out of town, and his mom would be really happy that he went out with someone else. He paid for my lunch and then we both went and hung out at my boyfriend’s house. So you see, we didn’t date each other. He was my best friend and I was secretly in love with him.

After high school, a lot of my guy-friends (including Casey) served LDS missions. They left when they were 19, and they were gone for 2 years, without phone calls, internet, or pretty much any contact with home, besides letters. Casey served in Washington DC, and I wrote him often. At first, it was just friendly, but throughout the two years, we realized how much we both actually liked each other more than just friends. During those two years, letters were everything to us. So much, that our wedding cake topper was a boy and girl kissing over a mailbox. I like to think we fell in love through writing letters to each other. We were married about 5 months after he got home from his mission, and then life happened fast. Now we have 3 little munchkins, a minivan, and a mortgage. This love letter banner has really helped me remember where it all started.

aaanywaaay… Back to the project.

It’s pretty self explanatory, but all I did was print out a few love letters Casey and I have written each other. All of ours were either typed or emailed, but if you have handwritten notes, I think it would add to the charm to use the actual handwritten letter or a copy of it. I took a piece of cardstock (our utility bill) and made a little template of a triangle. I made one big and one small. Then I just traced the triangle onto the love letters, cut them out, and glued them onto a piece of twine. It was REALLY easy, and I LOVE IT!!!

Stop by in a few days and I’ll share that vinyl saying with you. I cut it with my Silhouette and it’s another part of the Gallery wall that I just LOVE!