Swing Card – Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Original Post: May 2011

I created the template for the swing card, also know as the flip card, a while back but I wasn't able to finish the card till a few minutes ago. It’s another rush card that I need for Benjamin’s birthday party this Sunday. I don’t make kiddie cards that often  but after making Benjamin’s card, I’m so inspired to create more. My brother is actually having a big party to celebrate the first birthday of his first grandson, Dj, on the 24^th so I’ll have another fun card in the making.

I’ve been wanting to use Margaret Wilburn’s ‘Springy-Thingy’ (just love the name J) and the Mickey Mouse on Benjamin’s card was perfect for it. What a fun thingy!!! Not only does Mickey Mouse spring out, it actually swings and jiggles like it were dancing.  I just can’t stop jiggling Mickey Mouse, LOL! For Margaret’s video tutorial on the ‘Springy-Thingy’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9NCjIF8rps&feature=player_embedded

I  created 3 templates for the swing card, the basic square, oval and the semi-circle which I used for Benjamin’s card.  I had so much fun making this card and I’m sure you’ll love it, too.

Check out my other version, the Spin Card.

I only share my files with my blog followers. Just post a comment with your e-mail address indicating your request so I can send you the file. For those wishing to become a follower, just click on 'JOIN THIS SITE' right above my blog followers' list. Please make sure to double check that your name appears in my blog followers' list. If you don't see your name, that means something went wrong with your registration. Please make sure to check to follow 'publicly' and not 'privately' in the registration box otherwise your name will not appear in the followers' list. Please note that subscribing by e-mail does not put your name in the blog followers' list so it does not get counted. Again, to become a follower, you must click on 'JOIN THIS SITE'.

Happy crafting,

Ligaya

DIY Pen Holder For The Silhouette Cameo (or Portrait) Machine

I want to share a great video tutorial on how you can recycle a Silhouette sketch pen into a pen holder for different kinds of pens like gel pens, Uniball pens, etc. The video was posted on our Silhouette Brazil group on Facebook. The very ingenious tip was shared by Ana Carine Wedderhoff on her video tutorial, Recycle Silhouette Sketch Pen.

I never really cared for the sketch pens but this video got me so interested as I have a lot of gel pens. I shared the video on my other Facebook group, the PCA (Philippine Crafters Association) and a team member, Aj Fernandez, very kindly shared one of her Silhouette sketch pens with me and shipped it to me the very same day from the South. I was so elated with her sweet gesture. She even sent me a sticky note pad along with the sketch pen. I told Aj to retain the ink cartridge and to just send me the case. I just received the pen case this afternoon and I excitedly immediately worked on it. I used a small pair of scissors in making the hole bigger to slide the end of the gel pen ink cartridge through. The scissors is more manageable for me than heating a nail/screw as shown on Ana's video. Make sure to make the size of the hole just enough to slide the end of the cartridge through, the fit should be tight. You will need to make another sketch pen for a pen with thicker or thinner ink cartridge, so one sketch pen for every size of ink cartridge that you will be using. It only took me a few seconds to widen the hole, it was effortless so make sure to do this tad by tad, constantly fitting the cartridge until you get the right fit.

I created various samples for you to see how impressive the results are. Even if I have not tried any of the pen holders being sold out there, I think I can safely say that this recycled pen holder is at par with the best ones.

Most of the fonts are 'double-lined' which are not really good for sketching text. You need to choose the ones which are very thin and with a smaller size of text, the sketch will look like the font is 'single-lined'. I wonder if there is a technique in filling the text. If anyone knows how, kindly post a comment and share :).

My sincerest thanks to Ana Carine Wedderhoff and Aj Fernandez.

Happy crafting!

Ligaya

Silhouette sketch pen, courtesy of my PCA buddy, Aj Fernandez

The gel pen I used here has an embossed effect.

My black gel pen is old and its ink is skipping a bit.

The rose flower is a sketch design from the Silhouette store.

My gold gel pen sketches wonderfully. It has a beautiful sheen not captured on the photo.

I created an offset close to the outline of the frame for the cut line.

Finally, I can put these gel pens to good use.

UPDATE: The Aluminum (CB09) Blade Holder - Cutting A Cereal Box

Please read my original post about the CB09 blade holder, otherwise known as the aluminum blade holder.

Ever since I got my Silhouette Cameo, I have been wanting to try to cut heavier materials like a cereal box but I was always afraid to go over 250 gsm although the specifications of the machine states that it has a cutting force of up to 275 gsm. I don't know exactly how many gsm the cereal box has. I did make an attempt once using the Silhouette ratchet blade but it just wouldn't cut all the way through even after quadruple cuts. I was so afraid I might damage my machine so I did not pursue any more attempts.

I recently came across a link to another Silhouette forum, The Silhouette Plus, where my name and my blog was mentioned several times in the topic of alternative blade holders for the Silhouette Cameo. I was elated following the thread as I'm always glad to hear of more successful users of the CB09 blade holder. BTW, my blog post on the  CB09 blade holder is the most popular on my blog which has generated more than 12,000 hits to date (a/o July 2017-112,000 hits). Apparently, more and more people are buying this efficient and more cost effective blade holder. 

Doodling Debbie posted her experience in owning the CB09 blade holder on her blog, Paper Pulse. She has some helpful information on this post. BTW, she has some neat free files on her blog :).

I've read quite a few Cameo users attesting that they are able to successfully cut a cereal box using the Silhouette ratchet blade on a blade setting of 10, thickness 33 and use 'double cut' but I have yet to see any photo proving the claim in spite of several requests. It's not enough for me that the cereal box can be cut as what I'm really more anxious about is if it can be cut cleanly and perfectly. Today, I revisited the cereal box issue but this time, instead of insisting on my 45 degrees blade, I thought of using the 60 degrees blade which is actually meant for thicker materials. I'm so happy to share my very successful experience! As you can see in the photos below, I was able to cut a cereal box with my CB09 blade holder PERFECTLY CLEAN!. My cutting settings in Studio are: blade - 10, thickness - 33, 'double cut' checked. I took a photo of the actual blade holder to show the blade exposure but the photo doesn't quite show the accurate depth. The blade exposure is definitely more than the blade exposure of a Silhouette ratchet blade on a setting of 3 as you are going for a setting of 10. Just do a trial and error tad by tad. The other very important tip is make sure that you use a sticky mat and maximize the width of material according to the width of the machine rollers to secure the material in place while cutting. You can actually adjust the machine rollers to 8.5" wide if you want to use smaller piece of cereal box.

BTW, this project is for DIY embossing folder diffuser, see last photo for sample card. The ones for sale are by Tim Holtz. I would also like to try making the DIY nestabilities, two layers of cereal box should be enough to create a good impression.

I never cared for the other degree blades before as I've only been cutting regular card stocks, up to 230 gsm, all of which can be cut very nicely with the 45 degrees blade. I've been stocking only on 45 degrees and I only have one 60 degrees which came with the 3 free blades of my very first CB09 blade holder. With this success,  I'm now off to purchase more 60 degrees blades to keep a good supply aside from the 45 degrees.

Happy crafting,

Ligaya

Box For Monochromatic Embossed Card

I decided to make a simple box for the Monochromatic Embossed Card. It made the card look even more elegant. How I would love to receive a special boxed card like this from someone :-).

I used the same flourish (from the Silhouette store) that I used on the card. This is the full shape of the flourish. I cut the one I used on the card. I put my friend's name on the same tag used on the card. The font used is called Channel Slanted 1. I hate the perforation marks but I was rushing this to deliver it to my friend who is expecting me this afternoon. I would normally adjust the cut settings for the perforation lines so they won't create cut marks on the paper. I always group the perforation lines together to separate them from the box as I cut them separately from the box. Just as well that I have a distressed theme for the card, the distressing ink kinda covered the perforation marks.

BTW, I put a piece of acetate (transparency film) on the back side of the top of the box. I'm not sure if it can be seen on the photos. The piece is included in the file. I put a nice tissue paper under the card but took the photos before I did. I wrapped the box with a nice tissue sheet and made a ribbon with my favorite Bow Maker.

For those who want the box, just indicate your request in your comment.

I only share my files with my blog followers. Just post a comment with your e-mail address indicating your request so I can send you the file. For those wishing to become a follower, just click on 'JOIN THIS SITE' right above my blog followers' list. Please make sure to double check that your name appears in my blog followers' list. If you don't see your name, that means something went wrong with your registration. Please make sure to check to follow 'publicly' and not 'privately' in the registration box otherwise your name will not appear in the followers' list. Please note that subscribing by e-mail does not put your name in the blog followers' list so it does not get counted. Again, to become a follower, you must click on 'JOIN THIS SITE'.

Happy crafting,

Ligaya

Monochromatic Embossed Cards

There is such an understated elegance on monochromatic cards. I only used cream cardstock for these cards colored with Tim Holtz distress Ink but you can actually use any dye ink pad.

I have been pinning a lot of embossing tips and techniques for embossing machines like the Cuttlebug and the Sizzix Big Shot embossing machines on my Pinterest board. I have also been pinning a lot of Embossed Cards to get back to for card ideas. I just love embossed cards! One of the techniques that I've been wanting to try is braying the embossing folder with ink to produce a colored embossed surface, or braying the embossed card directly instead of the embossing folder. I don't have a brayer but I when I saw this technique, I immediately purchased one from an online store in the USA. It will take a while before I will get it and since I've been itching to make these cards, I used the Tim Holtz blending tool in applying the ink unto the embossed card which worked perfectly well. Perhaps I don't really need the brayer. I actually learned how to make my own homemade blending tools with the use of wooden blocks. I plan on posting a tutorial on how to make these.

I created the square frame perfectly measured for any of the Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page punch set. I used the 'Deco Fan'. The 3 layer flower is my own design. The flourish and leaves are all designs purchased from the Silhouette online store, names indicatd in the photo captions. The flower, the flourish and the leaves were manually embossed with my favorite stylus set, the McGill Paper Blossom tool kit. The details of the other supplies used are all indicated in the caption of the photos.

For attaching the card layers, I always use double sided tape instead of glue. For the 3D effect of the flower, flourish, leaves and the recessed frame, I always use my homemade 3D tape. Make sure to use strips of 3D tape that are the full length of each side of the frame to make it sturdy.

Everything in the card, except for the flourish and the leaves which are Silhouette designs, are included in the free file:

card base

frame

square piece to be embossed 

3 layer flower

Birthday Wishes sentiment

sentiment tag

ADDED July 8, 2013: I created a matching box for this card (Click on the link).

I only share my files with my blog followers. Just post a comment with your e-mail address indicating your request so I can send you the file. For those wishing to become a follower, just click on 'JOIN THIS SITE' right above my blog followers' list. Please make sure to double check that your name appears in my blog followers' list. If you don't see your name, that means something went wrong with your registration. Please make sure to check to follow 'publicly' and not 'privately' in the registration box otherwise your name will not appear in the followers' list. Please note that subscribing by e-mail does not put your name in the blog followers' list so it does not get counted. Again, to become a follower, you must click on 'JOIN THIS SITE'.

Happy crafting,

Ligaya

3 layer flower - my own design

Silhouette :Design ID #2529  'Flourish' 

Silhouette Design by Lori Whitlock: '3 Wheat'

Silhouette Design by Lori Whitlock: 'Beautiful Branch'

Tag & sentiment - my own designs

Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page Set- 'Deco Fan'

Sizzix embossing folder - Flower Lattice (Corners & Lattice set)

Cuttlebug embossing folder - Brocade

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Frayed Burlap

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Milled Lavender

McGill Paper Blossom Tool kit