Father's Day Gift Card Boxes

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a couple of gift card boxes especially for dad.  These are quick and simple to cut and put together and are sure to bring a smile to anyone's face.  They are designed by Suzanne Cannon and are available in the Silhouette Design store here in lots of different designs.

This is the Gears Gift Card box cut out of purple, white and silver cardstock.   Just cut the pieces out with your electronic cutting machine, fold on the scored lines, adhere the tabs of the box with strong double sided tape such as sookwang tape (leave the top open temporarily) and slip in the inserts.  If you cut more than one gift card box, all the gift card box parts are the same size, so you can interchange and mix the inserts up as desired.  The gift card holder is on the back of the box.

Here's a Tool Gift Card Box from the front, side and back.

Sometime's a gift card is the perfect gift, especially for the dad who is hard to buy for.  These little boxes make it extra special.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Father's Day!!

Spring Scrapbook Layout with Tulip Monogram Font

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a layout inspired by tulips!  Suzanne Cannon created a tulip monogram font and  I thought it would make the perfect title for this scrapbook page.  The font is available in the Silhouette Design Store and you can use some punctuation to access the extra elements (tulip buds and leaves).

I just printed out the title with black ink using onto white cardstock using a cheapo inkjet printer and coloured in the tulips with markers.

I used a couple of Quietfire Design stamps as embellishments.  Alternatively, if you wanted extra tulips of different sizes, you could print some out using the period, comma, back slash and question mark of the Tulip Monogram font, then just cut and colour.

Once all the elements were in place I added a bit of machine stitching and a few sequins.  I ended up putting the journaling on the back of the layout.  This photo is from five years ago when I was in the Skagit Valley of Washington State during tulip festival season.  What a beautiful part of the world to visit and a memory I cherish deeply.  Happy spring to you all, Connie

Supplies Used:  QFD Tulip Monogram Font, Quietfire Design stamps, Versafine ink, Tombow markers, Beacon adhesive, Brother sewing machine, dollar store sequins.

Periodic Table Yoga Scrapbook Layout

Hello, Connie Nichol here with a quick and easy yoga themed scrapbook layout.  I used the Periodic Table Yoga cut file designed by Suzanne Cannon to cut the title out of dark purple cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo.  I love periodic element words and Suzanne has designed a whole variety of them as well as a periodic element font that is available in the Silhouette Design store.

Once the title was in place, the rest of the project followed very quickly.  I added pictures (the yoga schedule is a screenshot from a scheduling app on my phone), a few embellishments and a stamped Quietfire Design quote.  I've never tried yoga before but was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and that my old inflexible body could do it.  Ha! I guess you're never too old to try new things.  Thanks for stopping by, Connie

Quietfire Design Products

The Best Thing rubber stamp

Periodic Table Yoga Cut File (Silhouette Design store ID 288288)

Other Products

Elizabeth Craft Design stitched square dies

Colorbox chalk ink

FabScraps patterned paper

Brother Sewing Machine

Glue Dots adhesive

yarn and buttons

Flamingo Love You Card

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a quick card I made for my husband for Valentine's Day. 

The flamingos are actually from a gift card box cut file available in the Silhouette Store but I thought they were just adorable.  I love the way there is a heart in between the two heads and necks.

I cut the large heart from Suzanne Cannon's Hearts Monogram Font file using the period key.  It was easy to fiddle around with the sizing so that it fit the 'love you' stamp perfectly.

The stamp is in the Love and Hearts clear stamp collection.

Last but not least I added a couple of teeny die cut hearts using the Calligraphic Elements 3  die set.  

Super quick and guaranteed to bring a smile to your Valentine's face.  Thanks for stopping by, Connie

Quietfire Design Products Used:

Flamingo Gift Card Box Digital Cutting File

QFD Hearts Monogram Font

Love and Hearts Collection

Calligraphic Elements 3

Other Products:  Bazzill and Close to my Heart cardstock, Stickles glitter glue, Versafine black ink.

Snowboarder Monogram Font Scrapbook Layout

Hi, Connie Nichol here today with a scrapbook layout featuring the Snowboarder Monogram Font.  This is such a cute font and perfect for photos of snowboarding kids.  The font is available in the Silhouette Design Store here.

It's easy to download and install and you can use it any software that you would normally use fonts - Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop Elements spring immediately to mind.   I could have simply printed my page title using Word, but instead I decided to try using my Silhouette Cameo electronic die cutting machine to cut out the snowboard letters to spell my son's name.  It worked great.  It's nice to consider both options - printing or cutting the monogram font - and whichever you choose will depend on the capabilities of your printer and your scrapbook design.

To accent the layout, I cut a couple of the photos and some patterned paper into triangles to mimic the mountains.  However, the comma character of this font will provide a mountain silhouette and the period will give you a stand alone snowboarder silhouette.  These are very handy so be sure to remember that these extra elements are there!

Thanks for dropping by and hope everybody has a wonderful New Year, Connie

Snowman Gift Card Holder

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a cute gift card holder created from a Suzanne Cannon cut file and a Silhouette Cameo.  The cut file is available in the Silhouette Design Store here.  Gift cards have become such a ubiquitous part of our lives and it is nice to make them a little bit special by giving them in a personalized card holder.  These snowmen are so quick and easy to put together.  You can cut them out of regular cardstock in a variety of colours, or try specialty paper like I did here to make them a little fancier.  The shiny blue and silver on these holders was cut out of mirror cardstock by Crafters Companion. 

These are just a couple of ideas on how to customize your snowmen - try cutting them in different colours, add a bit of glitter paper, the sky is the limit.  They will make your gift cards look adorable.  Merry Christmas! 

Snowflake Christmas Cards

Hi, Connie Nichol here today with a couple of simple Christmas cards featuring the Noel Snowflake card digital cut file available in the Silhouette Design Store here.  I didn't end up using the 'Noel' part of this cut file, but the card base with the cut out snowflakes is the perfect beginning for many different Christmas cards.  You can add any die cut word or stamped sentiment and here's a couple of examples.  You might have noticed that I'm still on a white and gold kick.  There is something just SO elegant about gold on any project.

Here's what the cut file looks like - not the best photo of a computer screen, but you can see the card base with the itty bitty snowflakes, as well as the ovals and the word Noel.

I found that cutting the card base out of a solid colour of cardstock worked best to show off the cut out snowflakes.

I added a gold border to the Merry Christmas card by rubbing embossing ink along the card edges (use a scrap piece of cardstock as a mask to keep a sharp edge), sprinkling with embossing powder and heating.

Quietfire Design has a number of dies and stamped quotes that fit perfectly into the cut oval frame of the cut file.  The small Merry Christmas and To Appreciate the Beauty of a Snowflake stamps are the two that I reached for.  Thanks for stopping by, Connie

Maple Leaf Flip Cards with Autumn Quotes

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a couple of autumn greeting cards.  I used the Maple Leaf Flip Card cutting file available in the Silhouette Design store here.  I cut the card base out of patterned paper that I found in my stash and then added some leaves cut out of metallic cardstock.  There's just something about a little bit of gold on a card that makes it extra special.

These cards were the perfect base for stamps from the Quietfire Design autumn collection, so I stamped with Versamark ink onto white cardstock and embossed with fine gold embossing power to match my shiny maple leaves.  The cards were quick and simple to make, but oh, so pretty sitting on my fireplace mantle.  

Here's the Quietfire Autumn Collection stamp set:

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful autumn!

Arches Frame Card with Destiny Quote

Hello Connie Nichol here today with a simple card featuring the Quietfire Arches Frame Card electronic cutting file. 

The cut file can be downloaded in the Silhouette Store here.  It's a lovely cut file that can be used for the basis for many greeting cards.  Cut the components out of plain cardstock, patterned paper or both.  The central circle is perfect for adding a stamped quote to the card.  

I used teal and white cardstock and then dressed the card base up a little bit with a Quietfire Design stencil and some glitter paste.  Use some low tack tape to keep your stencil from moving during the application of the glitter paste.  It will dry quickly and adds such a nice touch to the card.

I stamped the Quietfire Design Destiny quote onto the smallest circle and adhered it to the card along with a bit of ribbon and a few paper flowers.  That's it for today - have a great week!

Baby Scrapbook Layout

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a 8.5 x 11 layout featuring digital cut files from Suzanne Cannon's Baby Boy Bendi Card cut file available here in the Silhouette Store.  I had one of those tiny wallet sized photographs of my youngest son laying around my house and I wanted to scrapbook it before it got lost or damaged.  It's from the days when you used to take your babies to Sears for the photo packages in the portrait studio.  Those department store photo studios have certainly disappeared in the last few years.

Many of the cut files that are designed by Suzanne Cannon to create cards also typically have many components that work beautifully on scrapbook layouts.  In this case, the title and the adorable little cars, planes and footprints come from the Bendi card cut file.  Here's what the card would look like.  Cute, huh?

In addition to the digital elements, I also used a Quietfire Design Baby stamp from the 'Welcome Little One' collection and the Hearts Spray die to create a temporary stencil.  I just cut the hearts out of a scrap piece of white cardstock and dabbed some blue chalk ink through the cut out shapes.  Just be sure to tack down your temporary stencil with some washi tape to keep it in place while you are using it.

Add a few sequins, beads or dew drops as an accent and make sure to put names and dates on your layout (in this case I put them on the back on the page).  Thanks for stopping by, Connie

Christmas in July - Cardinal Christmas Cards

Hello, Connie Nichol here with a couple of Christmas cards I created with Suzanne Cannon's Cardinal Christmas cut file available in the Silhouette Design Store.   There's nothing like making Christmas cards in the middle of summer - it's actually pretty fun!

The cut file is so beautiful it doesn't need a lot of embellishments and is very quick to cut and create.  Try cutting the bird and the backgrounds out of different colours of cardstock.  I made 6 x 6" cards, but the cardinal also fits on a 5 x 7 card base.  This yellow bird reminds me of a goldfinch and it makes a nice change from traditional Christmas colours.  I added 'berries' with Ranger Enamel Accents, but you could glue on a few beads or embellish the branches with a little bit of glitter glue.

Here's the Christmas Cardinal cut out of more traditional colours.  He is very striking.  I am not sure which bird I like best.  Do you have a favourite?, I am going to remember this cut file for when I need a beautiful bird to accent a scrapbook layout.  It would make an awesome blue bird!  Have a great July, Connie

Canada Day, Eh?

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a Canada Day scrapbook layout featuring the Oh Canada dingbat font designed by Suzanne Cannon and available in the Silhouette Design Store.

If you're not familiar with dingbat fonts, they are similar to other fonts except that shapes and symbols take the place of what would normally be letters.  You download the font, double click and select install, and your computer adds it to your font library.  This Oh Canada font features 26 Canadian icons to print or cut - here are some of them.  Absolutely perfect for Canada Day, and of course you can make them any size or colour that you want.  

After installing the font, I cut the title Canada eh? and a handful of other shapes out with my Silhouette Cameo.  I am particularly enamored with the moose.  Such a beautiful silhouette!  With the variety of Canada themed dingbats available in this font, you really don't need any other embellishment.  Just pick your favourites, cut them out and use them to adorn your Canada themed photographs.  Happy Canada Day!!  Hope you all get out and enjoy it.

P.S.  I had saved my volunteer badge and lanyard from last year, so I added that memorabilia as well.

   

Treble Clef Card with Music Quotes

Hello, Connie Nichol here with a couple of quick cards featuring the Treble Clef blank card electronic cutting file available here in the Silhoutte Design Store.  This cut file is just the perfect accompaniment to many of the Quietfire Design quote stamps regarding music.

I cut the file out of patterned cardstock and added the stamped quote, some faux stitching and a piece of ribbon. Very simple and quick.   I do like cutting cards out of cardstock that is already patterned - it gives me an interesting background without any work.  I picked this particular piece of cardstock from Momenta because it had a collage look with some musical notes embedded in it, perfect for a treble clef card.   The stamp is a new release from Quietfire Design.  It's such a great quote and there are several music related quotes available from Quietfire Design.  Be sure to check them out.

For another example, here's another Quietfire music quote on a Treble Clef card cut out of another piece of Momenta patterned cardstock.  I tucked a little piece of old sheet music under the stamped quote, but I don't think you need much embellishment - my eye is drawn right to the cut out treble clef.  I've backed mine with a piece of black cardstock to add emphasis, but you can see from this example from the Silhouette store that you could simply leave it open as well.  Thanks for stopping by and happy card making!

Remember to Breathe Scrapbook Layout

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with a scrapbook page featuring the 'Remember to Breathe' digital cut file and the Quietfire Design stamp 'There are two things we can leave our children'.  Perfect for those moments that take your breath away, like when your baby turns 16 and gets his driver's licence.  What a life changer.  I've gone from being the essential taxi driver to being pretty much redundant. 

I will adjust.  But it was a memory that needed to be scrapbooked and it came together very quickly after I cut the title out of blue cardstock with my Silhouette Cameo.  I placed the title in the centre of the page and accented with a few gears and the beautiful Quietfire quote stamp.  So appropriate for the occasion and for parenting in general.  Thanks for stopping by, Connie