nichol magouirk

Silhouette Rhinestones (Christmas Decor Pillow)

I got the super great idea yesterday to clean up, purge and rearrange my studio. In retrospect, it sort of turned into the all day nightmare. Without going into too much detail (I apparently should not try to hang things on my own anymore or move things that are too heavy for me) all I will say is that I will be having my room repainted. Soon.

However I did manage to get my red rhinestone pillow sewn together. I misspoke the other day, it's red corduroy, not red suede. I forgot what I bought. ha!

 

Okay. A few notes about this pillow:

• The finished size (pillow insert) is 12" x 22".
• There will be two more green rhinestone trees in that empty space and also a few rhinestones added to the tree on the left. Note to self: before committing to any project like this - count the pieces (rhinestones) needed before getting your heart set on a certain design. I came up with the design and then realized I did not have near enough rhinestones. Just peachy. Ordering those today and will share a finished photo once the design is complete.
• Just like this pillow I shared here, this one is removable (it buttons closed on the back) for easy removal, cleaning, etc. 

 

• I combined several rhinestone designs together for one big design. I ungrouped the designs so that I could remove circles where they overlapped (see where the santa tree overlaps the green one) before cutting the design out of the template material.

  

• There wasn't the exact title that I wanted in rhinestone designs so I created my own out of a rhinestone alphabet.

 

Silhouette Rhinestone Designs Used:

rhinestone_christmas_tree_C20091124025218_20509

 

rhinestone_santa_claus_C20091125030429_20509

 

alpha_script_1_g_2375

 

alpha_script_1_i_2377

 

alpha_script_1_n_2382

 

alpha_script_1_g_2375

 

alpha_script_1_l_2380

 

alpha_script_1_e_2373

alpha_script_1_b_2370

alpha_script_1_s_2387

Just thought I'd share this photo with regards to the rhinestone pillows. Apparently they are not uncomfortable at all. My little guy loves them! He was pretending to be asleep and couldn't quite keep both eyes all the way shut to actually be believable. ha!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Silhouette Artist Spotlight (Rivka Wilkins)

Over on the Silhouette Blog the artist spotlight is on Rivka Wilkins. I used her mistletoe rhinestone design on the pillow I shared yesterday. Today I have a layout showcasing several of her designs. Sorry the scan isn't the best. The layered embellishments gave my scanner fits and I finally just gave up and decided this was the best I was going to get.

 (c) Silhouette Blog

Rivka Wilkins Designs for Silhouette:

leaf_background_C20090817003007_2581

 

3D_posy_flower_C20090831121428_2581

 

flourish_C20091123183449_2581

 one_C20091124162058_2581
  

six_C20091124162757_2581

Other Supplies: 

• Porch Cottage Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Coco Cottage Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Rose Garden Cottage Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Flight Cottage Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Bouquet Cottage Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Cherry Hill Word Stickers by October Afternoon
• Journaling Tablet & Cherub Sticker (MM)
• Buttons (Ki Memories)
• Stick Pins (Heidi Grace)
• Ribbon (SEI)
• Rhinestones (Silhouette)
• Transfer Paper (Silhouette)
• Rhinestone Template (Silhouette)
• Leave it to Weaver Border Punch by Fiskars
• Apron Lace Border Punch by Fiskars
• Silhouette SD Digital Cutting Tool

To create the layout, I resized the leaf square design to 6" square, cut it from the brown patterned paper and layered over a 6" vellum square layered over another patterned paper. Originally I just had the die cut piece over the other patterned paper. However, I didn't feel that there was enough contrast so I added some vellum to soften the background. 

I used the new Silhouette Rhinestones and 3 Rhinestone designs to create my title and flourish. I also used a scripty font that I had on my computer to cut out the "months".

I die cut several of the 3d flowers using both patterned paper and vellum and then I simply layered them and added a button in the center.

I'm still working on my other rhinestone pillow. I made a little mistake in my rhinestone calculation, thus I'm not quite finished. I'm working on it and will share what I do have finished tomorrow.

Have a good one. :) 

 

Silhouette Rhinestones (Christmas Decor)

I am so, so, SO excited about Silhouette's newest venture: Rhinestones. To learn all about this amazing new concept check out the Silhouette Blog HERE.

To see the Rhinestone products click HERE.

I just got my rhinestone product late last week and couldn't wait to break it out as soon as I got home from my girlfriends scrapbook retreat! I have been putting off sewing a few Christmas pillow covers and after seeing some of the cute new rhinestone designs I decided to take a break from "work" and dive right into a sewing project. Just the right medicine for a not-so-great-day. 

Here are the Silhouette Rhinestone designs I picked for my pillow:

mistletoe_C00341_2581

 

merry_C20091125002540_20509

 

christmas_phrase_C20091125004913_20509

 

I opened each design in the same window/project in my Silhouette software, using a landscape format so that the longer word would fit. Then I moved the designs until I found a design I liked.

A few notes:

• You can not change the size of the shapes or the rhinestones will not work. Each of the little holes is specifically sized to work with the rhinestones and can not be altered.
• I set up my designs to cut twice (I copied and pasted the design one right on top of the other). This helped my machine cut all the way through the rhinestone template material. I used the pink cutting tip and the "index 90" setting. You don't use a cutting mat with the rhinestone template material.
• I did use three different colors of rhinestones: red, green and clear.  I probably could have covered up part of the design with masking tape but I didn't want to go search for it so I was just careful as to where I dumped them on my design. ;)
• I applied the rhinestones to my pillow cover front and then I sewed the back panels in place. The front panel for my pillow was 14.5" x 14.5". 
• The back panels for my pillow were 14.5" x 12.5". (Cut two of these, fold the long end over twice and sew the seam in place. I created button holes on the back and sewed buttons on. That way I can remove the pillow cover after the Christmas season and put something else in it's place. :)

What the rhinestones look like on the template:

 

After the rhinestones are ironed in place on the pillow cover front (prior to sewing the pillow together):

 
The completed pillow:  

 
This one turned out so well that I'm making another one tonight. This time with cute little trees I think and on red suede fabric (the green on this pillow is suede as well). :)

More fun rhinestone shares coming your way tomorrow!

Have a great evening!

 
 

Celebrate the Seasons (December 2009)

For the final month/class of Celebrate the Seasons at Two Peas I have another sketch for multiple photos (although you can substitute some of the photo boxes with paper strips, embellishments or borders, etc.).

  (c) Two Peas in a Bucket  

If you have been following my blog for awhile you might have seen layouts for my Christmas Card Photos from friends and family album. You can see photos of past layouts HERE, HERE and HERE. I used the above sketch to create a layout using Christmas card photos from last year. Patterned paper strips, a title and a few embellishments complete the layout.

 
(c) Two Peas in a Bucket  

How To Video:

Silhouette Designs Used:

merrychristmas_title_C20091120180538_20387

Christmas_tree_2298

Christmas_tree_2299

 
Christmas_tree_2300

Supplies:

• Bright Stripes Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Falling Flakes Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Frosty Pines Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Gumdrop Sprinkles Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Merry Dots Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Mistletoe Kisses Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Snowflake Stripes Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Winter Wonderland Colorful Christmas Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Black 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack by American Crafts
• Joy 97% Complete Stickers by 7Gypsies
• Black Moma Remarks Letter Stickers by American Crafts
• Mini Paper Clips by Tim Holtz
• Journal Pages (Making Memories)
• Border Punch Kit by 7gypsies
• Threading Water Border Punch by Fiskars
• Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutter
• Silhouette $25 Prepaid Download Card
• Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz
• Tiny Attacher Refills by Tim Holtz

For more information on the class + pdf handout + video please click HERE.

Our first Christmas card came the other day. Love. I look forward to getting the mail every day. It also reminds me that I need to get my Christmas photo card done and mailed. That is on the agenda this coming week. :)

Have a great weekend!
 
 
 

December 1st Garden (a 2-page layout)

One of my favorite things: two-page layouts. Love them. And that is this month's garden theme. :)

I love 2 page layouts. I find that by creating a two-page layout I am able to include many photos and scrapbook one event on one 2-page spread. I had scrapbooked several of these photos years ago but had them on about 3 different layouts and none of the other layouts really "said" anything or told a story about these photos. Because I was working with a film camera at the time and didn't really want to go have reprints made from the negatives I chose to work with what I had and I trimmed the photos to work with the layout design.

One thing that can "change up" the look of your two page spreads is to not use the same background for both sides of the page. Many times I use the same patterned paper or cardstock to bring the two sides of the layout together. For this page I chose to use 2 different patterns but use the same combination of patterned papers so that the spread has a nice cohesive look.

(c) Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• Scarf North Pole Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Pine North Pole Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Peppermint North Pole Collection by Crate Paper
• Snow North Pole Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• Frosty North Pole Collection Paper by Crate Paper
• White Moma Remarks Letter Sticker Book by American Crafts
• Ducks in a Row Label Stickers by October Afternoon
• 25 Days of Christmas Rub Ons by Little Yellow Bicycle
• Naughty or Nice Rub-on (Making Memories)
• Christmas Tag (Making Memories)
• 25 Days of Christmas Glittered Chipboard Shapes by Little Yellow Bicycle
• Mint Truffle Merrymint Ribbon Assortment Box by American Crafts
• Clear Gemstones by Hero Arts
• Stick Pin by Heidi Grace
• Leave It to Weaver Border Punch by Fiskars
• Apron Lace Border Punch by Fiskars
• Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz
• Notch Tool (Making Memories)

Product Focus Layout:

The new Junior collection from American Crafts is one of my newest fav's! I love the bold, primary colors. They are perfect for so many different types and themes of layouts.

For my layout, I chose to go with the sports theme and incorporated stars and flair that reinforced the photos.I used small strips of color and pattern and then punched scalloped strips and used the solid back sides of the patterned papers.

I had a lot of photos I wanted to use so I cut a black photomat using the Silhouette and printed a bunch of small photos (2 1/4" x 1 3/4") and adhered them behind the frame. 

I printed the journaling directly on one of the Little Yellow Bicycle journaling sheets and added a sticker and punched along one side for added embellishment.

Two of my favorite photos I printed 2"x 3" and left a white border around each. I added Tim Holtz mini clips to them for a bit of interest.

 
(c) Two Peas in a Bucket

Silhouette Shape Used:

 
Supplies: 

• Boom! Varnish Junior Paper by American Crafts
• Radical! Junior Paper by American Crafts
• Rock On! Junior Paper by American Crafts
• Roar! Varnish Junior Paper by American Crafts
• Shazam! Varnish Junior Paper by American Crafts
• Black 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack by American Crafts
• White Moma Remarks Letter Stickers by American Crafts
• Night Light Stickers by October Afternoon
• Farm Fresh Word Stickers by October Afternoon
• Go! Junior Flair Adhesive Badges by American Crafts
• Chipboard Stars (Making Memories)
• Mini Paper Clips by Tim Holtz
• Border Punch Kit by 7Gypsies
• Scallop Sentiment Border Punch by Fiskars
• Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutter
• Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz

Come back tomorrow to see the December installment for Celebrate the Seasons (it's the last month for this class). I am so excited to share this last month's layout with you. :) More soon!

 

Journal Your Christmas 2009 (giveaway winner)

I enjoyed reading through all your holiday traditions! Thank you for sharing with me...I am ready for the season now!

The randomly selected winner:

Rhadonda Sedgwick said...

Fixing breakfast together as a family with cinnamon rolls baked in shape of a tree. Watching "Elf" and "Its a Wonderful Life". Of course all the celebrations of Jesus at church.

Congratulations! I have sent your email address to Shimelle. Enjoy the class!

Journal Your Christmas 2009 (a giveaway)

I know, I know...TWO posts in one day but this post is for a giveaway! The very sweet Shimelle has graciously offered me a chance to give away a spot in her Journal Your Christmas class. I have done this class for the past 3 years and the result is a lovely seasonal album I can look through time and time again. It really is worth the bit of extra effort to have a wonderful keepsake year after  year. :) To see my albums  please see the right sidebar on my blog.

The class starts this Tuesday (1st of December) and runs right through the Christmas season, finishing on the 6th of January.

 

To learn more about it go HERE. 

And want to know the most amazing thing about this class? After you have participated once, it's free to play along every year following! Now, isn't that an amazing offer?!!!

To win a spot in this class, please leave a comment by 11:59 CST TONIGHT (November 30, 2009) on this post telling me your favorite Christmas tradition.

I am looking forward to reading all of your comments!

Have a fabulous day!

November Super Sketches (with Kelly Purkey)

I have mentioned before how much I love Kelly Purkey's Super Sketches Class at Two Peas. Her sketches are always such great layout starters. I played along with her November Class over the weekend. I needed to get my scrapping mojo going and this class was just the inspiration I needed.

I had these older photos of my daughter and my mom and after seeing the "Grandma: My *Heart* Belongs To You" Die Cut for the Silhouette + Kelly's sketch the layout just came together. So easy. 

I really love this new patterned paper line from My Mind's Eye (Be Loved). I have a thing for hearts anyway but I really, really love the pink/red/aqua/light yellow combination. Great not only for upcoming (or past Valentine's photos but for really anything. I love to be able to take a "theme" patterned paper line and use it for everyday photos.

As in a lot of my projects I did incorporate a lot of die cutting into this design. The title is die cut as well as the vellum flourish (it is very subtle but I really like the effect). This flourish is a new design from one of Silhouette's new partners, House of 3! How cool is that! I also die cut the hearts. I was originally going to punch the hearts but I didn't have a punch big enough to fit the area I needed to embellish (the top right square is 6"x 6"). So, I used a heart design for the Silhouette to create my hearts. The design I used is actually pretty elaborate with lots of circle cutouts but I used the "ungroup" feature to remove all parts of the design I didn't want cut. Easy peasy. :)

Silhouette Designs Used:

phrase_grandma_my_heart_belongs_to_you_C20091113134545_20509

 

swirled_vines_C20091124125231_23444 

 

heart_1439

 Supplies:

• Beautiful Branched Be-Loved Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Dearest Dots Be-Loved Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Lovely Loops Be-Loved Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Passionate Paisley Be-Loved Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Smitten Stripes Be-Loved Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Sweet Hearts Be-Loved Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Be-Loved Paper & Accessories Kit by My Mind's Eye
• White 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack by American Crafts
• Vellum
• Grandparents 97% Complete Cardstock Stickers by 7Gypsies
• Cherry Hill Word Stickers by October Afternoon
• Clear Frame (Making Memories)
• Clear Buttons (CTMH)
• Small Accent Pearls by Hero Arts
• Heart Pins (Heidi Grace)
• Rub-ons (Crate Paper)
• White Mini Jewel Brads by American Crafts
• Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutting Tool
• Silhouette $25 Prepaid Download Card
• Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz
• Making Memories Slot Punch

Get ready for a new Garden tomorrow...lots of fun new layouts and projects coming your way!

 
 

Happy Thanksgiving (remember to record those memories!)

I am the worst at remembering to use my camera on Thanksgiving. Usually the photos are rather poor (crowded house, in a hurry, hosting & cooking dinner like I am today, etc). But...as I look back on the photos I do remember to take, I am grateful for the memories. So, with this in mind, I have my camera loaded and ready to go and I will be taking photos today. :)

Here is a layout featuring some photos from last year's Thanksgiving, celebrated at my mom & dad's. I used some fun October Afternoon papers + die cuts + a photo collage = a quick page that I love. And this one-page layout feature nine photos. Don't be afraid to resize and crop your photos to make them more interesting, get rid of distracting backgrounds and make them work with your own design.

 (c) Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• Autumn 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack by American Crafts
• White 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack by American Crafts
• New Pencils Weathervane Patterned Paper by October Afternoon
• Weathervane Die Cut Shapes by October Afternoon
• Weathervane Stickers by October Afternoon
• Rub-on (for title) by Scenic Route
• Clear Button by CTMH
• Slot Punch by Stampin' Up
• Mini Paper Clips by Tim Holtz
• Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz
• White 1/4Inch Foam Squares 176/Pkg
• White 1/2Inch Foam Squares 88/Pkg

To add interest and dimension to the October Afternoon diecuts I used foam adhesive squares underneath several of the pieces. 

For more information on this layout, click HERE.

Wishing all my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!

New Silhouette Designs (a Christmas layout)

As I work on preparing and organizing myself for cooking our big Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow I am reminded at just how thankful I am to have found this hobby. It fills a space in my heart, motivates me and inspires my creative soul.

As for the day after Thanksgiving I am not a Black Friday shopper but I do love a good deal/sale. And Silhouette will be offering great deals in the coming days! You won't want to miss it. 

I created the following layout for the Silhouette Blog with some brand new (and a few newer) Silhouette designs. A simple layout, mostly paper + photos + words. I love that with easy die cuts out of your own patterned paper or cardstock you can create a lovely page with hardly any other embellishment. I love my paper. 

(c) Silhouette Blog

Just a side note about the papers I chose for this layout: none of them are "Christmas themed". I had this stack of My Mind's Eye papers laying on my desk and I had even cut up a couple of the sheets for another project that I didn't end up using. As I was searching for paper to use I noticed that the lime/pink/blue combination really looked like the fun and whimsical patterns we see in in some Christmas themed product and paper so I utilized what I had instead of going and buying something specific.

The layered tree and title are both brand new, coming soon (as in the next few days) designs! 

The stars and other two trees are available now. :)

Silhouette Die Cut Designs:

opening_presents_phrase_C20091122004736_22157

 

christmas_tree_layered_C20091121152301_20509

 

Christmas_tree_2297

 

phrase_Christmastree_2302

 

dot_star_C20090824234735_20509

 
 
 Supplies:

• "Sunshine Girl" Soaring Stripes Abbey Road Paper by My Mind's Eye
• "Shine" Spunky Spots Abbey Road Paper by My Mind's Eye
• "Shine" Whirlybird Abbey Road Paper by My Mind's Eye
• "Just The Girls" Illuminate Abbey Road Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Summer Days Ooh La La Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Beautiful Morning Ooh La La Paper by My Mind's Eye
• Between The Lines Ooh La La Paper by My Mind's Eye
• White 12x12 AC Cardstock Pack by American Crafts
• Slice 12x12 Metallic Silver by Making Memories
• Silver Metallic Decor by Hero Arts
• Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutting Machine
• Silhouette $25 Prepaid Download Card
• Apron Lace Border Punch by Fiskars

Lots to do today plus I have had a child home sick all week. Fun... 

Better get started on that mile-long to-do list. :)

Have a fabulous Wednesday!