Hand Sewing with Nicole

Hello!  Nicole here today to share a technique with you.

Recently my grandma gave me a box filled with lots and lots of embroidery floss.  It's made me want to do some hand stitching and when I saw this bubble card of Samantha's, from the Silhouette Online store, I though it would be fun.  A little crazy, yes, but fun ;)

I'm going to show you how I made this card with my Silhouette machine using Samantha's cut file and Silhouette Sketch Pens to make a template for my hand stitching.  I should add that this technique can certainly be simplified and put on a larger scale so the stitching isn't so intricate.

I started with the bubble card of Samantha's -

I opened the Bubble Card in Silhouette Studio.

I then went to Object > Ungroup (or right click and hit ungroup).

You are now left with the 1) main card and the 2) small heart.

  To separate the main card from the front design I then went a step further and selected the main card and went to  "release compound path" by going to Object > Release Compound Path (or right clicking).  

Each of the score lines and small pieces on the front of the card are now separate pieces.  To group the front shapes back together.  Click and highlight in the dash lines all of the front design.  It will look like this when all selected:

Go to Objects > Group (or right click and select group) and all these images will be one piece.  I did the same thing with the center score lines.    

To make it easier to load and draw/cut I went up to the Cut Style Menu (can see in the photo below).  I selected the front circle design and hit "cut" and then selected the other three areas (card outline, score lines, and heart) and hit "no cut" on each.  To note:  It's easy to tell what layers you are selecting since they become the bright bold red.  

Load the mat with your cardstock into your Silhouette.  Replace the blade with a Sketch Pen and hit cut.

Now WITHOUT unloading your mat replace your Sketch Pen with the blade.  Go back to the Cut Style Menu and change the front design to "No Cut".  Select each of the other three areas of the card and select "Cut" on each of them.  

Select the Cut Menu and set for cardstock and hit cut.  

I now had my card with a design drawn on the front that I used as my template to hand sew.  I used my push pad and paper piercer and pierced holes along the lines. As I got started I decided to mark off with a pencil and change my embroidery floss.

I was able to sew this one afternoon while catching up on shows that were on the DVR.      

Once I completed the whole card I decided to go back in with some colored pencils and make the design stand out a little more.  

I heat embossed the small heart with some red embossing powder, stamped the word love, and attached it with some foam adhesive.  As a few final touches I added a sentiment and some small sequins.  

I realize this is the extreme in hand sewing, but it can easily be simplified and you can do this with so many other shapes on a card or layout.  I hope you give it a try and share when you do!  

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!

Nicole

You're the Burger to My Shake by Allie Gower

Hello, Allie Gower here with a Valentine featuring Samantha Walker #51045 Hamburger and #9483 Cold Drink Cup, and the #37875 XO Heart cutting files.

I love making my own cards, because you can really make ANYTHING work for ANY occasion. I don't know for sure, but I think it'd be hard to find the perfect Valentine for some friends of mine!

Most of the cardstock I like to use is Neenah Solar White 80#. In addition to that, I used some Bazzill textured brown cardstock for the bun and the card base, and some Posh Red Linen cardstock on the Cold Drink Cup and under the words inside the card.

I've included pictures of how I colored each of the pieces. I apply my ink with rolled up towels. A little washi tape holds them together. It's inexpensive and keeps my fingers a little bit cleaner.

I used some Goosebumps Shimmer Texture spray on the lettuce and the hamburger patty to add a little shine and texture. On some of the pieces, I combined some colors to make the burger a little more realistic.

For the heart, I used #37875 XO Heart and just traced around it so it would be solid. The script letters are Wisdom Script, and the Burger/Shake are Black Oak. I used the outline feature to make the mat, and welded a few of the letters.

Supplies: Cardstock, Digital Cutting Files - #51045 Hamburger, #9483 Cold Drink Cup, #37875 XO Heart, Fonts - Wisdom Script, Black Oak, Other - Memento Inks, Luxe Inks, Goosebumps Shimmer Texture Spray - Imagine Crafts

Do you have someone that matters to you? Hope you are making them a Valentine, or having a friend make one for you... Thanks for dropping by!

Here are some supplies you can use to recreate this project:

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