Wedding Invitation Revealed!

As I've said before, when I find time to craft nowadays it is mostly dedicated to making all the wedding creations I have committed myself to do.  The first "biggies" on my list were the wedding invitations.  Remember my last post with the tiny square numbered carstock pieces?  You guessed it- they were part of the invitation:

I took 2 square pieces of cardstock and sandwiched a piece of twine (LOVE twine!) in between them, putting simple knots in between each set.  The hearts on the end were a thicker cardstock that we bought in bulk on ebay.  I attached the end of the string inside of the envelope so that it could not pull entirely out. 

That envelope was made using the Silhouette, but I changed the front to a point instead of a rounded shape like the original had.  The "True Love Lasts Forever" was a stamp.

Want to see the whole invitation now?The theme for the wedding is a sort of mix between rustic and vintage.  That's why you can find both styles incorporated into these invitations:

The front is made of that rustic carstock that I love so much.  We printed out the saying with a regular printer then cut out the shape with the Silhouette.  In the square, we took a sandspeck paper and attached a vinyl (yep, that's vinyl) tree shape to it.  Then the smaller square was just attached to the back of the rustic paper.  We took twine (told you I loved it) and wrapped it around that section before attaching it to the whole invitation.

The inside has two parts:  The left side has a piece of lace running across the top.  If you plan to attach thick lace like this to a paper, I highly suggest using spray adhesive.  It works better than anything out there and will save you hours of frustration.  Below that is my envelope with the pull out dates.  This is one of my FAVORITE parts and I've had so many friends and family say how cute and fun it was to pull that out!  Time well spent.
On the right side is our information.  Excuse all the whited out lines, I am extra paranoid about people being able to access our information, so besides my own name, I've covered it all.  Anyways, the wording is printed on the same sandspeck paper we used for the front square and then is covered with a swirled design velum (easier to see in the above picture).  Again, I would suggest using spray adhesive.  We found that other glues (especially if only done around the edges) made the wording more difficult to read because it was not pressed firmly against the other.

My other FAVORITE part was the envelope.  We took pictures of me and Tyler, put them together, and printed them out on regular paper.  We then cut it to our desired shape and glued them inside of our envelopes.  This idea also works for the triangular shaped envelopes, we just used this shape because they could be ordered in the same sandspeck material that we used in the invitaiton.  This was also a big crowd pleaser!

Our RSVP card is made of the same carstock as the front of the invitation and was simply printed out on a regular printer.  Hint: Ask your local post office for the dimensions and weight of a "postcard".  Attaching a postcard stamp to the back of this card makes for a quick and easy way for your guests to respond.

The last little card was just for information; such as registry info and a link to our wedding website which has further details on alternative rain locations, hotels, and directions.  This was just printed normally onto the sandspeck paper.

And that, my friends is what our wedding invitations looked like.  It was a lot of hard work getting all the "little things" ready and put together, but I am really pleased with the end product.  With a little time and a lot of love, handmade wedding invitations can be something that your guests will appreciate and will let them know how special they are to you (and it's fun for you to make too!)

MATERIALS:

I hope you have enjoyed this post and have gotten a few ideas for your own projects (wedding or not).  Have any of you handmade your own wedding invitations?  What about similar items, like birthday or anniversary cards?  If so, I'd love to see them, feel more than welcome to share!

Sending my Love,

Kelsie Ann

A Fun Little Guessing Game!

As I have said before, I have been working on a lot of DIY wedding stuff lately.  Well, I am *almost* ready to reveal one of the projects to you.  Until then, I thought I would give you a little hint. 

Obviously, this is not one of those hidden pictures where you have to figure out what it is, rather it's clear as day.  Here's the catch:  I am not telling how it's being used!

Here is your job: Look at the picture below and try to figure out how the pieces are being used.  OR How you would use them.  Would you use pieces like this for your own craft? 

Comment below and tell me what you think it is or how YOU would use it!

Within the next week I will post the finished product.  I can't wait to hear everyone's guesses and hear any new ideas that you have!

Excuse the beat up coffee table- remember I live in a college apartment!  These squares are made of a "rustic" cardstock and measure less than an inch each.  For the sake of fun, imagine that they have anything printed on them (for your own creative ideas!)  I'll give you a hint: 06-16-12 is our wedding date!

Good Luck!  I can't wait to read your guesses and ideas!

With Love,
Kelsie Ann

Baby Gifts for a Baby Boy (or Girl!)

Last weekend I went to a baby shower for an old friend of mine.  She is expecting a boy and this was my first attempt at making BOY stuff!  Given, both of the onesies that I made will work for either sex, but I considered it a personal accomplishment.  Not covering it in pink or putting frills on the butt took all the restraint I had.

I wanted to share my little adventure with you as I made these onesies.  This was the first time I had used the heat transfer vinyl and- let’s just say… learn from my mistakes.

Materials:
-Blank Onesies
-Heat Transfer Vinyl
-Silhouette
-Button

Let’s Begin:

For other projects, I have only needed to cut my design on the Silhouette as it appears.  So I did the same for the vinyl:

 I continued on my way, covering the design with the mesh ironing cloth that I use when I make heat transfer projects.

But wait,   isn’t this supposed to be stuck to the onesie?!

Go ahead, laugh.  I did. 



Apparently for the heat transfer vinyl, you need to reverse the image before cutting it out on the Silhouette!  (Don’t forget to print with the shiny side down since it will be flipped over on your project and so it attaches where it should)

Just in case, when I ironed I used the Teflon sheet that came with the vinyl instead of trying the mesh again (the last thing we need is a forwards “Cute” and a backwards “Cute” on it!  If you do not have this, I do not think it really matters, as long as there is something between the two.

Make sure that you iron the design with the clear cover facing up.
It is okay to move the iron in small circles but mostly just let the heat reach the image.  BUT BE CAREFUL- keeping it on too long will cause the image to melt and bubble around the edges.

After you iron, let the design cool.  Next, peel off the clear covering.  If you are unable to peel it off without the vinyl lifting with it, put it back and iron for a little longer.

 Finishing up…

I finished up the first shirt by adding on the rest of my words, then hand stitching a button to the front.  For the second shirt, I was done after I ironed on the vinyl.

  

          I LOVE how great these look and I got a few good laughs while trying to figure it out.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and had a few good laughs (after all, if we can't laugh at ourselves, what's the joy in messing up?)

Have YOU had any "oops" moments that made you laugh?  Share them with me, I'd love to hear them!

Sweet Gifts for a Baby Girl

Hi.  My name is Kelsie and I am addicted to baby stuff!  That's right, whether it is going a little out of my way to walk through the baby section at the store, or stopping at the fabric store just one more time for snuggle flannel, I cannot help myself.  Lucky for me, I know a TON of people who are having babies.  My fiance's best friend and his wife just had a beautiful baby girl and he's going to visit them this week, so I made a few little things to take with him.

I think I own about every pattern of snuggle flannel known to mankind... nevertheless, I stopped by the fabric store to check out their selection (again).  Lucky for me because they had some new prints AND they were on sale!

Anyways, here are some burp cloths I made for them.  I've made about a dozen others for a family member this winter (twin girls- twice the fun!) so I'm starting to get the hang of it.  Trust me, once you've done a few, they go a lot faster.  HINT: It also helps to just cut out one and then use it as a pattern for the others.  Measuring takes up WAY too much time!

Here is the finished product:

I used that heart print for the twins already and the other two were new ones.  When I found the floral design (on the right) in the store, I about squealed out loud!  I had rub-ons at home in that exact same pattern!  I had to buy it.

Of course, I had to make a tag with a matching rub-on (check out the blue butterfly).  Isn't that awesome?

To finish them up, I rolled them up like snuggly little eggrolls! 

This was the first time I used the creme color terry cloth and I just love it!  So dainty looking, perfect for this perfect little girl.

*******************************************************************************

Thought I was done, didn't you?  I couldn't stop with the burp cloths and had to make one last thing for baby Addie (I promise, only 2 pictures this time).

When I asked the father what the "theme" was for the baby room, they said that there wasn't one, but that the mother likes pigs (at least, I THINK I remember him saying this... if not, oops!) so I wanted to make a pig onesie:

I found an image of a pig online and copied it to my Silhouette, which I also used to cut out the letters for her name.  I used cotton fabric and heat n bond to attach it.  Quick and easy but oh-so-cute! 

Here's a close up:

 

I love the way both projects turned out and I hope that they like them as much as I do.

In two weeks I've got a baby shower for a boy (new territory for me)... what should I make?

Sorry for the Absence

A BIG hello to my fellow crafters out there!  I was working on a good routine, getting a project loaded a week and then I just f.i.z..z...l...e....d.  Since I am currently a college student, living in an apartment with three other women, there is not a lot of room for extra crafty materials.  It's not too bad however, because now if I want to craft I get to go home and create with my mama (not too shabby of a deal.)  Anyways, my weekends have been so busy lately with wedding preparation that I haven't had time to craft with my mom.

So... I wanted to apologize for being so absent on this blog.  I am dreaming of the day when I live in my own house, with my own craft room (my fiance has already started setting one up in our future home) and am able to craft in my down time instead of rushing to create on the weekends.  I do have a variety of CUTE creations that I have made recently, but they are all for the wedding, so pictures are on lock down until the big day!

Until then, be patient with me.  I promise that soon there will be new posts with actual crafts, not just my lame excuses!  To keep you hanging on, here's a sweet gift that my mama made for me a while back & sent to me at school:

 

You can find the flower image in the Silhouette Store.  Notice the sweet heart brads in the middle of the "love you"?  I love brads, I love these flowers and I love sweet surprises from my mom!

What craft would you like to see next?

Etching on a Glass Tile

Hello again fellow crafters!  Today I tried etching crème for the first time.  I have been seeing all sorts of crafts with etched designs and finally gave in.  My initial plan was to make a set of coasters, but after I had trouble finding clear glass squares (who knew they would be so hard to find?) I settled on the idea to make a glass piece of décor for the kitchen.  I was skeptical at first, but I have to admit:  it turned out really neat!

You Will Need:
-Glass Coaster (I found mine in the tile section at Lowes)
-Vinyl
-Etching Crème
-Transfer Paper
-Silhouette

STEP ONE:
Choose a design from the Silhouette Store or create your own.  Cut out the image in the vinyl.

Since my initial plan was to make coasters, I decided to make the decorative square “kitchen” related.  I bought a 4x4 glass square that was tinted green.  My kitchen is red so I LOVE the green accents!  It’s perfect for that apple/strawberry kitchen look!

I also picked a design from the Silhouette Store that had an image of silverware on it with the word “Bistro”.  That way, even when I feel like mixing a box of macaroni & cheese, I can still tell myself that I’m cooking in a cute little bistro… after all, that’s what the tile says!

Peel away the vinyl in the area where you want the etched image to be.


STEP TWO:
Cover the top of the vinyl with the transfer tape (I used GLAD Press & Seal).  Use a credit card to smooth out any bubbles in the vinyl.  If the vinyl does not have tight edges, the etching crème will leak, creating an image that is not crisp.

Next, remove the paper backing and position the vinyl onto the tile.  Take the transfer paper off.

STEP THREE:
Apply a generous amount of etching crème to your image.  Let it sit for 15 minutes or so.  The longer it sets the better the etching will appear.

 When ready, wipe off the excess and wash it with water, remove the vinyl and…

Finished Product:
Ta-Da! How neat is this?

Now it’s your turn!  Make your own and share it with me.  The possibilities are endless!