New Summer Freebie Planner Stickers and Silhouette Cameo Tutorial

Well I was back at it all day Monday! Making new stickers for my Happy Planner.  Inspired by the incredible freebies from My Planner Envy.  This very gifted designer shares her planner stickers with us and I love her style.

So inspired by Jessica's stickers, I set out to create some of my own.  Using color stories I snagged from Design Seeds.  This is one of my favorite places to go to find exciting color harmonies that I can use.  

Here's the Design Seeds picture that inspired these first set of stickers.  I just used the color picking eye dropper on the Silhouette Cameo Fill screen and "picked" the colors I wanted right from the picture.  Then I added text and some darling graphics from Creative Market.  This is a wonderful  sight that offers great buys and lots of freebies on fonts and graphics.   


So after I was happy with this first set, I got to work on a second set inspired by a more beachy bright collection. 

I mention the website: 
The Hungry Jpeg
I love going to this sight to pick up incredible bundles.  Loaded down with fonts and graphics, they really kickstart my creativity.  Plus, most of the sets in the bundles are commercial liscenses.  A big plus for such a little price!  

Here's a picture of the latest bundle I bought.  Look at all those wonderful watercolor graphics and great fonts!  Can't wait to play with them all...







Below, I posted the quick video I did on some of the steps to get you started creating your own with the Silhouette design space.   So easy and so much fun!

Just right click on the photos to download a copy for your personal use if you'd like.  And have fun creating!  

Molly

Easy Tutorial for Making "Font Frame" Embellishments with Silhouette Cameo

So it's been less than a month since I received my Silhouette Cameo.  But let me tell you it's love at first cut!  I just uploaded a quick and easy tutorial.  

I am helping a friend finish her wedding album from over 30 years ago and wanted to use as many Anna Griffin pretties as I could.  Well that's where the fun started.  
I have dozens and dozens and more of Anna Griffin sentiment stickers left over from card kits I have bought.  But... they have sentiments like...with deepest sympathy, congrats on your new baby, get well soon...not exactly perfect for a wedding album.  So the challenge was: could I use my Silhouette Cameo, with our without Photoshop Elements 14 to recreate them into something just perfect for Pam's beautiful album?

And the answer is absolutely Yes!  

So if I could do this, could I make titles with Cameo that had that same timeless elegance that Anna Griffin is so loved and known for?  Again the answer is Yes!  I just used the Cameo Design screen, typed in some frames using specialty dingbat fonts, typed in the sentiment, made offset layers and voila ... coordinating titles.  And of course I couldn't stop there.  I had so much fun making sentiment stickers for greeting cards to cover up even more of the sentiments I wouldn't be using.  

Here's the video of how I did this so easily with the Cameo.  Below that is a list of fonts you might want to use if you are going to give this easy method a try.  

 Here's the updated video......

Easy Tutorial for making "font Frame" titles and embellishments with Silhouette Cameo


Fonts for Frames:
Vintage Frames by Sughayer Foundry
Calligraphic-frames-soft font by Intellecta
Kg-flavor-and-frames font by Kimberly Geswein

but enjoy a few minutes and head over to Dafont.com , search for frames or dingbat fonts and you'll find lots of fun sets, including some this pennants and flags!

Well I hope you enjoy this method, give it a try and keep sharing ideas.
Have fun crafting!
Molly D

Freebie Happy Planner Stickers and My new Silhouette Cameo

Flowers used on these labels are
from the pixeledpaperdesigns available on etsy

 I am so over the moon happy!  I got a new Silhouette Cameo!  Now those of you who know me, know I have a Cricut Explore and love love love it.  

So why buy a Cameo?  I make scrapbook layouts alot and like making titles with shadows.  Plus, I love making planner stickers to share and lots of other "print then cut" designs to use as layout and card embellishments.  But my Cricut was falling a little short on these two fronts.  

But did these two "needs" actually justify spending over $250 on a new machine?  Well, a good friend of mine has a Cameo and shared it with me to play with.  I fell head over heels, but told her unless I could find one under $200 it was out of the questions.  Then, the very next day,  really, the very next day...HSN listed a cameo for $188.  It had to be a sign from Heaven, right?  So I now own my Cameo.  

Here's my take on the advantages and disadvantages of each of these two wonderful cutting machines:

Cricut Explore:

• Makes deep cuts, letting you use a wide range of materials to cut. Cameo does not cut as deeply.

• Design Space is a breeze to use.  Learning curve for first time users is short.  

• It is internet only accessible, which can be limiting at crops or any place there is no internet access.

• Cricut team is very energetic and friendly, offering great support if ever needed.

• Faster and quieter than Cameo.

Artwork used on these stickers were from
graphic bundles from thehungryjpeg
and poppymoondesigns

• Print then cut is easy to use, but eats up a lot of paper, because Cricut has print area limited to around 8" by 6", meaning you use waste about half a sheet of paper every time you cut.

• Editing tools are somewhat limited.  Easy to use what is there, and easy for beginner or intermediate level crafters, but limiting for advanced editing.

Silhouette Cameo:  

• Let's you create shadows or offsets very easily.  Cricut is working on this feature, but has been for quite a while.

• Print then cut is very easy and lets you use almost all of a sheet of paper, including 81/2" by 11" and even up to 12" by 12".  I have a wide format printer so this is wonderful.

• Editing tools are wonderful.  Instead of using other digital editing programs like Photoshop, I can do most of my creating and editing right on the Cameo design screen

• With the upgrade to Designer Edition you can easily cut any SVG you upload and can even convert your work to rhinestone templates in a few very very easy steps.

The two set of Planner stickers I am showing here were cut on the Cameo.  The top one, pinks and aqua, was created in Photoshop Elements, then uploaded and cut with the Cameo.  The second set was created completely on the Cameo mat, using the Design screen.  OMGeeeeee, for me, this is a huge wow!  

Here are my planner layouts using these stickers...

Well, back to playing with my machines.

Have fun crafting!







P.S. here's the video I did showing these quick and easy planner stickers!

Molly 

(If you right click on the pictures of the stickers I made, you should be able to save and print for your own personal use.)