Cutting Vinyl with a Cricut {Mini Tutorial}

We posted a few weeks back about making your own Bean Bag Toss. We also mentioned that we were going to give the Bean Bag Toss we made to friends of ours as a gift. We wanted to customize the toss, so we decided to add some vinyl. Our friends just built a game room/bar next to their home *which is on acres of land out in the middle of no where. They have dubbed their new game room/bar as "The Joint in the Woods". We figured it would be most appropriate to add "The Joint in the Woods" to the Bean Bag Toss. 

I'll tell you right now--I don't have the best patience when it comes to applying vinyl. It can twist, tangle, and adhere to its self. Plus I can never seem to line it up straight. I do have the transfer paper which helps, but I'm still not 100% at the applying vinyl part. Mr. Woodsy and I agreed that I would cut out all the lettering and then he would apply the vinyl letters on to the Bean Bag Toss. Team work at it's best!

You'll notice in the pictures that their are paper cut outs everywhere. That's because I do a mock up for size and spacing prior to cutting the vinyl. I want to make sure that I'm not wasting one scrap of vinyl (lets face it--it's expensive). Plus this gives you a good idea of what the finished product will look like. Mr. Woodsy likes to measure out and draw a line (on the surface) where he will be placing the letters with a pencil. Just by Googling I found tons of tips and tricks for cutting vinyl. If you buy the Provocraft vinyl they give you all the settings on the directions. 

Here is what I found when working with vinyl: 

**Use a new(er) adhesive mat and a sharp blade**

*Definition of a Kiss-Cut: 

To die-cut but not all the way through the paper – commonly used for peel off stickers.

 Basic Shape:   

Blade Depth 3 

Speed 2-3
Pressure 2
Intricate Shape:

Blade Depth 3 

Speed 1
Pressure 2 

We used the basic shape settings for "joint; woods" and the intricate settings for the cursive words "in; the". I use the kiss-cut method if we are peeling off the letters and placing them our selves. I use a full cut-through method if I am using the transfer paper. Hope this tutorial helped. Feel free to e-mail us with any questions. 

What do you think of our now customized Bean Bag Toss? 

*Our friends absolutely loved them! 

Disclaimer: Provocraft did not provide us with any of the materials used nor are we being compensated for this post. This post is purely my own thoughts and opinions. 

Sewn Homemade Business Cards {& CFL Blog Con recap}

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the Central Florida Bloggers Conference at Park Maitland School, in Maitland, Florida. I was excited to see some of my blogger friends in real life, finally put a face to a name with those I chat with on Twitter, meet new bloggers, and of course learn new blogging techniques. The number one rule when going to any type of networking event is to have a business card. Let's face it you will be talking with many people and you aren't  going to remember each and every person you speak with. It's great to hand a business card to that person, so that they can check out your blog once they are away from the chaos and in the comforts of their own home. I'll be the first to admit I procrastinated and originally wanted to have professional cards printed; however, I know deep down inside my "West Elm taste on a WalMart budget" was kicking into full gear. I just didn't want to spend the money! Plus with our impending blog re-design right around the corner I knew I would just need to print new cards once again. I opted to make a homemade business card after doing some extensive research. Actually, this card, was part inspiration to the cards I created. 

I spent all of last Friday evening cutting paper, aligning paper with the printer, and in the end they were a huge success. My only regret is that I didn't make 20+ more! I gave away 48 cards in no time, and each time I handed my card to someone the receiver would get giddy, exclaiming "you're the one with the unique homemade business cards"! I thought it was pretty cool that people were talking about my business cards! I had multiple blogging professionals tell me to keep up with the homemade cards, since they match our niche so well. So I guess once the blog is redesigned we will not be getting professionally printed business cards. Instead, we will be making our own... card by card. 

Here is a quick tutorial on how I created my own sewn homemade business cards. 

I put my logo in a word document along with a text box that had my name, web address (in bold), telephone number, email address, and twitter handler. I moved around the logo and text box until I was happy with how it was printing out. I wanted the paper to wrap around the card, so that I could sew the ends. I think I got the positioning of the logo and text on the third try. After I printed out a few sheets of my logo and information I then started cutting scrap cardstock I had on hand. *The pink and beige metallic are actually leftover cardstock from our wedding invitations I made over three years ago! You will want to cut the card stock, 3.5 inches long by 2 inches wide (standard business card size).  

Next, I used a boning tool, to make a crease in the paper which makes it easier to fold a heavier card stock. Once the card stock is folded I then placed one glue zot near the side where the logo is to secure the logo/information to the business card. 

Next, you'll run the cards, individually, through your sewing machine. I choose to use some decorative stitches, along with basic straight stitches and zig zag stitches. As pictured above, this is how your cards will look prior to being trimmed. I ran the cards through the paper cutter, and then trimmed the loose thread from each card. 

Here is how the final product will look! 

You'll notice I used a variety of different cardstocks I had on hand, along with stitching styles. I absolutely LOVE how they came out. When I go to work on a new batch after the blog revamp is completed I plan to use all recycled paper (pictured on the left). 

They are relatively thick, so make sure if you have a carrying case you'll have enough room to store them in! 

----Central Florida Bloggers Conference Recap----

I love going to conferences, and highly suggest if you've never been to one and want to learn some new techniques and network to find the closest one to your house and go! It is the best motivator and if you want to ever turn your blog into more than a blog or if you just want to improve your blog they help. 

Upon checking in to the conference we were asked to sign up on the "blog" wall! Since there were not a lot of other craft blogs at the conference Sew Woodsy was placed under "other". 

Our conference started off with Keynote speaker, Marc Middleton from Growing Bolder. He was an amazing motivational speaker. Pretty much reminding each of us that if we put our minds to it that we can succeed. His show is in 171 markets and 550 stations. They began in 2009 with only 1 station! 

Here are a few of Marc's Tips:

- "Don't spend a penny you don't have to"

- "Future proof your work product"

-"The power of repurposing"

- "Simplify in every way possible"

Ben, from Adventures with Ben, spoke about taking your blog beyond the guest post. As Ben stated "Potential blog readers are everywhere... and that's exactly where I want to be."

Here are the points that Ben touched on during his presentation: 

-Find writing partnerships, repurpose your content, get featured in the paper, write for a paper, write for a business, participate in speaking engagements, engage in your niche community, and engage in your local community. 

The last session I'd like to share was with Rachelle of the Travel bite. Rachelle, spoke about building a media kit. Something I've been wanting to do for Sew Woodsy for a while now, and am currently working on! 


A few items you should including in your Media Kit? 
-Biography, who are you?
-Why do you write? 
-What experience do you have?
-Real life examples
-Photos of yourself, both candid and professional headshot
-Work, what other services do you provide? 


With all of Rachelle's examples I can't wait to start building my Media Kit! 

There were so many other great sessions throughout the day, and two tracks to follow along with, which meant 2 topics every 30-45 minutes to choose from. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to attend this conference. I gained so much more knowledge and by the end of the day my brain was on mental overload! I can't wait to start implementing a few of the new techniques and tips I learned in the coming weeks!

{Mini Tutorial} Up-cycled Dress to Skirt

Many years ago (like 5+ years) I bought this Bitten dress. At the time it was Sarah Jessica Parkers hot new fashion line that had just came out. I was so excited--so excited that I only wore it ONCE after I purchased this dress. It has sat in my closet for years taking up valuable space. I cleaned out my closet a few months back and this was one of the items that I figured I could up-cycle. 

I started by seam ripping the zipper out of the dress. It was a perfectly good zipper and I had nothing better to do than sit on the couch, watch tv, and seam rip! 

I then cut the top from the skirt. 

I pinned the lining and outer skirt fabric together. Not pictured; I measured my waist, cut an elastic waistband, sewed the elastic waistband together to create a circle, and then began sewing the skirt onto the elastic waistband. My skirt fabric was much larger than my waist which aloud me to get the gathered look. While sewing I would pull on the elastic waistband which would allow the skirt fabric to gather. This project is very similar to my From Trash to Treasure post last September. 

Here is the finished product!

I absolutely LOVE it and am so glad I decided to make the 5+ year old brand new dress into a skirt!

 *Big thanks to Mr. Woodsy for taking 5 million photo's of me and having me critique him on each and every photo! 

iPhone Sleeve {Mini Tutorial}

A few week's ago I wanted to make my mom a new iPhone sleeve for her birthday. Last year, upon request from her, I put together this pathetic looking sleeve. Last month,  when she pulled that pathetic looking sleeve out of her purse I desperately wanted her to put it back in her purse... actually, I wanted to throw it directly in the trash. Not only was it super dirty (*note to self never make a sleeve out of white fabric), it was to small for the phone, and poorly constructed. That's when I knew that I needed to make a new iPhone sleeve for her. Before I just slapped one together, I decided to search the internet to see if there were any tutorials that may be able to guide me a bit better than my first attempt. Sure enough, I stumbled upon Erin's Blog (Dog Under My Desk), who just so happens to be a fellow Yorkie lover. She has an awesome downloadable PDF that really lays everything out in detail! However, I did a few steps/techniques differently.

The basic supplies you will need are (2) pieces of fabric 10-3/4" x 4", Fusible interfacing (cut smaller than fabric), scrap of batting (I didn't have any of this--so I omitted), coordinating smaller piece of fabric (2-1/2" tall x 2"), split ring (didn't have this on hand, so I removed it off of the beer bottle opener), thread, chalk line, pins, scissors, ruler, iron, etc...  *I happened to have all the supplies on hand, so this project cost me very little; however, if I was to add it all up I would probably say it would cost the average person around $5 (rough estimate).

This was the first time I sewed with fusible interfacing. I read the directions, I used the damp cloth, and it didn't adhere. That's when I decided to take a risk and iron it right on... that seemed to do the trick; however, I had to be a bit careful that it wouldn't come undone. Anyone have tricks for using this finicky material? I also only had lightweight... and didn't understand why Erin had 3 pieces pictured (now after looking at her PDF and reading the directions AGAIN, I realize she was also using batting).

Like I wrote above, we didn't have a key ring on hand, so I just found one that wouldn't be (that much) missed to use for this project. I happened to have a piece of coordinating pink fabric to pair with the sleeve. 

I folded thie 2.5 x 2" piece in fourths and stitched around the edge. 

Once the edges were sewn, I folded this in half (placing the key ring in the middle), and pinned it to the fabric. I pinned the right sides of the fabric together, and placed the key ring facing down. 

I carefully sewed around the edges (leaving a 3 inch space on one side). 

This is what it looked like when it was sewed around the edges (you'll noticed I left a few inch gap in the middle to be able to flip the right sides of the fabric out). 

Turn it rightside out. Fold the sleeve in half, pin, and sew around the edge (leaving an opening for iPhone to slide in). After I did a basic straight-stitch around the edge I added the decorative stitch to each side. 

Here is a view of the decorative stitch I used. 

Here is a side view to show it's thickness. 

Headphones are plugged in and music is on! 

Here is an aerial view of the iPhone sleeve.

This is what the inside of it looks like! 

I realize that there are some imperfections to this sleeve; however, it's 100 times better than my first attempt. Plus, no one's perfect--that's what makes us all unique! 

Don't be intimidated to try this beginners sewing project out.

{Guest Blogger} Toddler Tank Dress Upcycle

As most of you know, Mr. Woodsy and I have been very busy thus not too many crafts/DIY/home renovation projects going on at our house. I put out a call for some guest bloggers to share amazing projects, and I'm delighted to introduce you to a dear friend and coworker of mine, Sarah. Our first guest blogger.

She is a busy working momma of 2 wonderful children and is very crafty, but has no time to blog about her awesome projects! Sarah will guest blog on Sew Woodsy from time-to-time and share her creativity and talent with the blogging world!  *Sarah is modeling her ruffled tank top she made using the tutorial from Anngela's Pretty Little Things. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi, I’m Sarah.  Follower of Sew Woodsy and friend of Mrs. Woodsy. Graphic Designer by day and full-time mommy/crafter/sewer/maid/waitress/boo boo kisser... I’ve gotten off track.... Anyway.  I have a 3-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy at home who fuel my need to buy cute baby things. After the initial first-time-mommy, I-need-everything-new-for-my-baby, delusional world I was in wore off, I realized I was crazy for spending that kind of money on my kid’s clothes.  Now, I buy used or I sew!  I taught myself with the help of YouTube videos, craft blogs like this one, and I read the instructions on my sewing machine.

That’s it. Nothing fancy.

This dress came about when I took a stroll though the Walmart fabric section (dangerous lunch-break habit Mrs. Woodsy and I have) and saw this paisley.  Had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I loved it.  I had an old Target tank top remnant of mine (I cut the bottom off of it for another project) sitting in my fabric pile at home, put the two together, and came up with a dress for a sassy 3-year-old.

I started by measuring my kid (I got her to sit still with a combo of snacks and “Princess and the Frog”).  I put the tank on her inside out, pinned the straps at the shoulder to fit her, and marked how long I wanted the tank.  Then I measured (eyeballed) how long to make the skirt portion.  I cut a rectangle of fabric from the paisley and sewed it into a tube. I used “french seems” which I learned from here.
Then I cut a 3” wide strip twice as wide as my rectangle, hemmed it, and sewed it into a tube.  Then I pinned like crazy and sewed them together (I am still shocked this came out as well as it did).  

Next, sewed the skirt portion to the tank and added the satin ribbon on top leaving the ribbon free at the back.

All was well until 3-year-old put it on and kept pulling the front down to her bellybutton in a very non-lady-like fashion. I figured the tank was still too big, gathered up the front a smidge, and hand sewed--like so.

Done!  Total cost was about $3 and I recycled an old tank!

Hope you’re inspired to try your own!

January Craft with Me: Rosette Frame {Mini Tutorial}

I got quite a few craft projects completed this weekend, and one of them is one I've been wanting to work on ALL month! Ucreate hosted a few "create with me" sessions in 2010, and they are planning to host one each month in 2011!  For those of you who aren't familiar with Ucreate you should go check them out--right now! 


This month's "create" session was to create a rosette frame. I bought a very inexpensive frame a few months back at Goodwill. Actually, to be more precise I bought two wooden frames for .69 cents each! I knew I'd make something cool out of it--I just didn't know what. With some mod podge, fabric, and a little help from the cricut I made such an awesome Valentine's inspired frame. I'm super happy with how it came out and of course I love the picture I choose! That's our dog, Lola, aka the furbaby (the closest thing we have to a child, and at times I feel can be even more needy than a child). 

Supplies: 

-Picture Frame

-Scrapbook paper

-Exacto knife

-Mod Podge paper

-Foam brush

Scissors

-Fabric

-Hot Glue Gun

-Picture

*Any other embellishments you please (I pictured buttons, but changed my mind at the end of the project)

First, you will want to cut out your paper leaving a few inches on each side. 

Next, you will want to apply a generous amount of mod podge to the front of the frame, then press down firmly. *If you want your paper to lay perfectly flat you will need to watch your paper and as bubbles pop up you will need to start smoothing the paper. I on the other hand did not want the paper to be flat and I wanted the little bit of added texture. After the paper has dried to your frame {about 5 minutes} you will want to carefully use your exacto knife and cut out the center of the frame. Cut a slit on each of the corners to make it easy to wrap the inner pieces of paper. 

Next you will want to wrap the paper around the frame, applying generous coats of mod podge. Once all the sides are wrapped you will want to start applying a few thin and even coats of mod podge all around the front and sides of the frame. *This is also when I applied the "love" cut out from my cricut. 

Next, you will want to plug in your hot glue gun, cut your fabric, and tie your knots. I follower THIS tutorial, from The Secret Stitch Club, on how to make the fabric rosette (can you believe this was my first time?)! Overall, it was pretty easy and I learned a lot! 

Next, you will want to add on your embellishments. I choose to use some of Jolee's Jewel's Swarovski crystals. I dabbed a little bit of hot glue to the rosette and with tweezers from my awesome hot glue gun helpers I placed the gems on the flower. 

Here is the finished product!