Big Bang Shirt
I follow a couple Silhouette Cameo crafting groups on Facebook. A few weeks back someone had posted that they made a Big Bang Theory shirt- it was an outline of the four guys and their signature hairstyles. I thought it was the cutest thing and in the thread someone had mentioned they should do a rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock shirt! Instantly I knew I had to do the same! Someone had apparently posted a file, but if you follow any sort of group on Facebook you'll know that it's near impossible to find a file if it's not the most recently posted one! I ended up googling and found a few pictures of my own to trace within five minutes- much quicker than searching the files! My nephew is a big fan of the show as well so when I showed my sister the idea she wanted a shirt for her and both my nephews! The next time I saw her she already had purchased the shirts from Target for me to use! 
I found a cute ringer tee at Old Navy on sale for $4 to make B a shirt! It worked out perfect because I actually had red heat transfer vinyl on hand to match the shirt (I mostly have black or white on hand!) It's seriously dangerous making B shirts! I'm quickly running out of heat transfer vinyl because there are just too many fun designs to come up with!
Vino 2 Go Cups
I recently purchased a case of Vino2Go cups! I kept seeing them pop up and I knew they'd be fun to personalize with vinyl. With the weather getting warmer, I knew these would be perfect for bbqs, the beach, outdoor concerts, anything really! I managed to get my order in time for Mother's day, which I'm so glad I did because as soon as word got out, I had several new orders waiting! I tried to make a bunch of different ones so no two cups were exactly alike. Most customers requested some cutesy sayings, while I also had a few for monograms and one for a bachelorette party with a cutout of a bride on it! Right now I only have pink, white, and green lids available, but I'm hoping that as some of my stock moves, I can eventually buy another case with an assortment of more colors and have hopefully a handful of every color available!
Tall Skinny Tumblers
Remember how I mentioned I wanted to find some tall skinny tumblers? Well, I was able to get my hands on one to see how well they held up! I decided it was time to make MYSELF something! I didn't just want to put my name on it, so decided a little advertising would do the trick! I had every intention of using my own logo, but I just couldn't get the vinyl to cut out the sewing machine correctly- too many thin cuts and swirls (I'm still trying to figure out all the tricks of tracing on the Cameo)! I finally had to give up and tweaked a sewing machine image that I purchased from the Silhouette shop. I added a cute design to, and I was able to trace the bird from my logo so I added that onto the machine as well! I added my "handmade with love" tagline to the base of the machine, and then on the backside of the cup had my website.
Personalized Skinny Tumbler
I really love my new cup! It's sleek and fun, and totally me! I love the design of this cup, it's not bulky like the regular tumblers, and I love how the lid snaps in place rather than twist on! I'm hoping that more people will be interested in this style because I would like to start carrying them. Right now I don't have enough orders/interest to justify buying a case worth of skinny cups! We definitely don't have the room to store them! These cups are about 15 or 16 ounces, which is great for adults, but I'm hoping that eventually a smaller size might come out in this style- I think they'd make great kids cups! A 10 or 12 ounce would be perfect!
Accent Table Makeover
Black Accent Table
A few months ago we decided to get rid of one of our accent tables that was in the family room. It was a piece of furniture we'd had for six years now. It was one of the first pieces of furniture I purchased when we bought our house. It wasn't anything spectacular, just something I picked up at World Market for about $160 or so, but because this is our first house we bought together, I wasn't ready to part with it yet- it still had a bit of sentimental value to me! The drawer was broken (one of the pieces that held the slider in place had snapped, so the drawer kind've dangled), but I kept envisioning it being something more than just a black table! My husband said if I could find a use for it and did the work myself I could keep it! So of course the wheels started spinning!
I knew instantly that I wanted to paint it a fun pop of color. The hardest part was deciding what would work that would match the couch, chairs and rug that we have in the living room. I decided a mustardy yellow would be the perfect contrast. Our couches are cream (biggest mistake purchasing those, but that's what happens when you buy a house without thinking about future children!!), our chairs have brown and blues in them, and the rug is a shade of blue with a floral design. Yellow was our best color family to match and add a little spunk into our very boring decor!
Sanding
I honestly didn't think it would be that hard to redo the table. Figured we had a sander, how long could it take? Boy was I wrong! I was hoping to knock out the sanding in one nap time (about 2 hours), but unfortunately ran out of sandpaper and only finished about half of the sanding in the time I thought I'd completely finish it! Fast forward a couple weeks of being crazy busy that I didn't finish sanding until almost three weeks later! Whoopsies! But after that, two coats of primer and two coats of paint and I was done! (I really thought this would be a weekend project, but it took me a little over a month just from having other things to tend to).
Sanding and Priming
I love the way the table turned out! Since the drawer was broken, I just took the front panel of the drawer and glued it to the table, so it no longer holds anything. (Figured if I was going to put a decorative basket underneath, losing a drawer wouldn't be that big of a deal!) I ended up buying a decorative knob at World Market for about $4! The paint that we picked out was Glidden's Goldenrod, which I believe cost us about $12. Since we already had a sander and primer, the project cost me less than $25!
Yellow table is complete!
So, what did I convince my husband we needed to keep this table for?
B's new fish table!
I don't know how I did it, but I convinced my husband that B should have his own pet, because apparently a dog and cat aren't enough! 
He's having a blast watching Frostini and helping feed him everyday!
Workout Headbands
Last fall I ran my first 5k! Then ran another one during the holidays! Since this winter seemed to drag on F.O.R.E.V.E.R running was pretty obsolete the last few months! My husband and I are planning on running a few others this spring, we've already signed up for two in May! I'm pretty excited! I've never had an athletic bone in my body and honestly didn't think I'd enjoy running. I've still got a long ways to go to reach the time I'd like to be comfortable with running longer distances, but for now I'm enjoying the pace that I'm running at and always just tell myself it's okay to walk! Since it's starting to finally warm up, B and I are heading out more and more to get our daily runs in. I love that my 2yr old is my biggest motivator! Though sometimes I'm sure he's trying to kill me! After taking so much time off from running, I tend to take more walking breaks, and B will be right there in the BOB yelling, RUN MAMA RUN FASTER!!
I keep seeing some fancy workout headbands online that cost a fortune, so I decided to try making my own. (I can't justify spending $14 on a fabric/ribbon headband that I can make myself!) Mainly because my head is odd-shaped (big and round!)- there are very few headbands that will actually stay on my head! I read the trick was to put velvet ribbon on the underside, so that's what I did to make my own non-slip headband! I had a few scrap pieces of elastic and thought the pink scrap would look perfect with a turquoise chevron print that I have! I ran with it on a few times, and the velvet ribbon definitely did the trick!
I also decided to just make a few from regular foldover elastic. Since they work so well just knotted as hair ties, I made a few larger ones to use as headbands. Unfortunately these didn't stay on my head as well running! They kept slipping every five minutes or so, and eventually I took it off. However, when I wore it as an all day accessory of trying to keep my bangs out of the way, it lasted much longer and I only needed to adjust a few times during the day (mainly from fixing my hair after chasing after my 2 year old!)
Personalized Water Bottle
B's grandparents had put a water bottle into his Easter package this year. Funny that I had been looking for a plain one to embellish and never got around to buying one, so this worked out perfect! We had received the package a few days before Easter so I had plenty of time to embellish it. I ended up using the Super B logo that I had made for B's second birthday invitations for one side of the water bottle, and then used the Super Hero Kid image from the Silhouette library that I purchased for the opposite side. I also personalized it with his name in the SF Comic Script font. I used some heavy duty Oracal vinyl that way it would withstand multiple washings and could also last through the dishwasher if it accidentally made it's way in there! (The green cape is 651 vinyl and the metallic grey is 951 vinyl). I love the way the bottle turned out and will definitely be practicing more layering techniques! (I know, it's only one layer, but gotta start somewhere!) In the past I've made a few of the personalized aluminum water bottles and double walled travel cups, but they've always been very simple designs, or just the name! (Of course, gave them away as gifts before I took pictures!) Now that I've been using my Cameo more and am more comfortable with creating on the software, I can think of a ton of fun personalized ones to make! Now I just need to get my hands on some more tumblers, water bottles, and travel cups- think a trip to Homegoods may be in store! I've been seeing some of the skinny tumblers with straws online but haven't been able to find them anywhere where I can just purchase a small amount at a time (I definitely don't need, nor can I find a place to store even 12 right now!) Hoping that once the trend of the skinny ones hit, then they'll be easier to find at retail stores!
Super Hero Birthday Theme
I'm a little late in showing these, but figured in keeping with the birthday card theme better late than never! Back in January, B turned two. I had decided on a super hero theme a while back since he was really getting into little action figures! I used my Silhouette Cameo to make all of his birthday invites, thank you cards, and goodie bags! The city skyline and the "kapow" shape are available for purchase in the Silhouette shop. I was able to create the Super B shape and then use the offset tool to make the outside pentagon. The thank you cards are just simple card stock with Super B on one side and a solid white backing, which was perfect for writing special thank you's to all his buddies! For the goodie bags I ended up cutting out the names in black vinyl to make it easier to apply (rather than using card stock and gluing all the pieces on individually!) I love the way these turned out! It was actually really easy and low-key and I'm not sure if I'll be able to come up with something as cute (and easy!) next year!
Boys Birthday Card
Last week B and I were invited to a mid-week birthday party! The birthday boy was turning four and loved cars! The party had crept up on me and I realized I didn't have a birthday card to go along with the gift. I've been wanting to stock up on home-made cards made with my Cameo, but as always, it never seems like there are enough hours in the day to work on fun stuff! The day before the party I was able to whip up this card while B napped.
Front of card & envelope
I had a pack of the natural envelope and cards and decided to just embellish that instead of trying to create something too fancy. (Let's be honest, I probably sat in front of my entire collection of fancy printed cardstock before realizing I was trying to do more than I could in a short amount of time!) Since the birthday boy loves cars, I chose a race car image that I had purchased from the Silhouette library. The car is cut out of cardstock and the wheels, window, and race track are all vinyl. The font I used for "Racing your way" was Bauhaus 93. Instead of just scribbling the birthday boy's name on the front of the envelope I decided to cut his name out in vinyl using the font LD Royal Quiet Boxed.
Inside of card
Considering this was a quickie nap time project, I really like the way it turned out!! Wish I had thought of it then, but it probably wouldn't have hurt to cut out multiple cars while I was working on this that way I could've started my stockpile of cards!
Hair Accessories
It's no secret that I'm OBSESSED with Pick Your Plum! Seriously, it is a crafter's dream! I can honestly say that the majority of the hair accessories I make come from deals that I've snagged off PYP! Now that spring is almost here, I've added a few new sets to the shop!
And because everyone has always been asking for more no-crease hair ties, I've decided to add printed elastic to my collection! I LOVE the peacock elastic I recently came across! Everyone still seems to be on the chevron train, so I've added printed colored chevron to my stash as well!
Organizing in 2013!
Has anyone else gone on an organizing frenzy now that it's the new year! Since both my son and myself got quite a few things this holiday season I decided everything needed to be in it's own special place!
First, I upgraded one of my scrapbook boxes to be a bit larger to hold more of the paper I've accumulated now that I actually am using my Cameo a lot more than just for cutting out fabric or vinyl. I just used a cute frame image from the Silhouette store that had a bird on it and the font KG Love You Thru It (I love all the cute little hearts throughout!)
Scrapbook Paper Box
I was at Jo-ann's a while back and came upon this small tackle box container for crafts. I think I only paid $3 for the box! I bought it not really knowing what I'd put into it but knew it was too good a deal to pass up! (I'm a sucker for a bargain, especially when it has to do with organizing!) When I started getting into metal hand-stamping I realized it was the perfect container- there was a large compartment at the bottom, and when you opened the lid, there are two levels of trays that pop up as well, with smaller compartments in them! There's plenty of room for my alphabet handstamps in the main compartment, and I use the smaller ones up top to hold jewelry blanks, spoons, and anything else I can stamp!
Hand Stamping Tool Box
Next up was a rock box for my son! Every little boy needs a special place for their rocks right? Or maybe just me because I'm tired of pulling them out of the washing machine! I ended up using green duct tape sheet and cutting it with my pinking shears to make it look like grass at the bottom of the box!
Every little boy needs a rock box!
My son also got a huge container of Bristle Blocks that he loves playing with! I think the container itself was pretty self explanatory but of course I needed to add vinyl!
Bristle Block Container
And lastly my son received a set of Play-Doh and tools for his birthday. I ended up grabbing a container from Target and filling it with the set so that everything was in one place.
Play-Doh Box
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