My New Toy and What I've Been Making With It

I have been having so much fun with the Christmas gift my Hubs gave me! He's really something when it comes to buying gifts. I never know what I want for Christmas or my birthday so he's pretty much always on his own trying to come up with something for me. He, on the other hand, is very precise about what he wants and reads every.single.review. known to man before making his final decision on any purchase. But that's a good trait to have. I do not have that trait. He learned that lesson several years ago when he asked for a good leather toolbelt for Christmas. {Carpentry is one of his hobbies.} We had looked at many from local places, etc. but being the cheap frugal person I am, I found him a leather toolbelt online - and it came with lots of 'tools'. Needless to say, it wasn't anything like he had dreamed of, or shown me or hinted about. The tools {which he is also very picky about} were junk and the toolbelt, albeit not very pretty, is still working out very well. Now every Christmas, he sends me an email with links to the EXACT items he wants and we always get a good laugh out of the Toolbelt Christmas.

All that to say, I didn't know what I wanted for Christmas. I had no idea what to ask for. So, on his own, he decided to surprise me with a Silhouette Portrait. I'm sure by now you've heard all about them, but I am still learning about all the awesome features this incredible machine has! I'm giddy to try them all out and can't wait to show you some of the projects I've done.

I snuck this monogrammed shirt into this post the other day. I used my Portrait to do all the tedious cutting for me. Piece.of.cake, I tell you!

Hubs knows WAY more about this machine than I do already. He watched many YouTube video tutorials on it and read pretty much every review on this machine before purchasing it. He cracks me up, but no one can ever accuse him of not being thorough! When he bought my machine, it was during a promotion so I got a lot of extras with it, like this gorgeous red cover {my favorite color!}. There are so many tools you can use with this machine. I love that it hooks right up to my computer and I can use any image for downloading and I don't need to buy a million cartridges for it. It takes up very little space, but you better make room for all the fun projects you're going to be making with this thing!

Really, the whole creative world is at my fingertips and I can't wait to explore it!

Do you have one of these? What awesome projects have you made with it? What YouTube video tutorials would you recommend?

I {Heart} My State Art {Tutorial}

When I started this project, I was planning to make another pillow cover like this one. However, I didn't have enough dropcloth left to make another one. I was going to use the freezer paper method and make a silhouette of my state to replace the bunny silhouette from Spring. It took me about five minutes to change my mind and I decided to make this. It will be a great addition to the living room!

 

I'm sharing this with these friends!

 

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Painted Silhouettes on Canvas {Tutorial}

{I took these pics at different levels - Rest assured, they are evenly hung on the wall!}

Pardon the pink wall in the background, it will be painted soon! I am working on redecorating my girls' rooms and painting has to be done at a little later date, but the other stuff is in full makeover mode. I have all the plans in my head and some on paper, however, a few little things are done and waiting on the room to be put together. This is one of those projects! I had so much fun making these and their cute little silhouettes melt my heart. Especially those little noses. Here's how to make your own if you feel the urge! It couldn't be simpler!

 

I'm sharing with a few of these parties.

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Butterfly Silhouette Art {Tutorial}

Confession. Sometimes I find some really great deals on neat stuff that I'm looking for. And sometimes I find some really great deals on neat stuff that I didn't know I was looking for and have no idea where I'm going to use it {but I buy it anyway - because it was a great deal!}. I know I'm not the only one.

I found this wall art at Goodwill about 2 years ago for $3 and it has been sitting around waiting for me to use it. I'll use the birdcage for another project, but the butterflies were perfect for this!

I'm sharing these with some of these parties!

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Bunny Silhouette Pillow Cover {Tutorial}

This is a two for the price of one kind of tutorial! I love throw pillows because they can change the look of the room in just a matter of minutes and usually for just a few dollars {if you make your own!}. This post will show you how to make a pillow cover with a velcro closure AND how to personalize it. I love the idea of using throw pillows for seasonal decoration, but I really wanted to be able to use the down pillow insert for more than just a few weeks during the year. With the velcro closure on this pillow cover, I can use this pillow insert all year and just change the covers with the season. It's a win-win situation!!
I made this pillow cover out of ... dropcloth! I told you to stay tuned for more dropcloth projects, right?? Here's how...

Now, you can leave it like that or you can personalize it. I chose to do a bunny silhouette in honor of Spring and Easter.

I love how this turned out! And I love even more that I can take the cover off and store it until next year and still use my pillow insert for another DIY pillow in the future! I'll definitely be making more. To see more of my dropcloth projects, click here.

I'm sharing this with some of these parties!
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