Calligraphic Kitties

I have been playing around with an Apple Pen on my iPad. I was working to create animals with simple lines. In the end I had to switch to Adobe Illustrator on my computer but I did successfully create a series of sketches. The first batch is of kitties and I created the following 4 files:

The possible uses of these are many. I have never used vinyl but I would love one of the mandala designs on a t-shirt with real bows stitched on. Attempting a vinyl project with my Silhouette is still on to to-do list. I know I should but I am a paper crafter at heart.  And so with paper I first made a shadow box with the mandala.

And then I made a series of note cards. The creative possibilities here are endless. I'd love see what you can do with your paper stash to create some greeting cards with these files.

I also continue to expand my video tutorial skills as I made another video, this time on creating the mandala shadow box.

Cutting Files are here: http://3dcuts.com/mandalas/calligraphic-kitties

Tutorial is here:http://3dcuts.com/calligraphic-kitties-tutorial

Ledge Village Expanding!

I first introduced Ledge Village in June of 2013. It was a concept I developed for a little ledge in my laundry room and it has blossomed into an every expanding town. This week I have finally added some more buildings to the options available for those of you creating your own villages. Here is a look at Ledge Village with all the files currently available through 3dcuts.com.

The Fullerton House (Below left) is a favorite of mine and was the last building I designed in the Silhouette software only.  I finally redrew the entire file in Illustrator so I could get the other needed formats for folks with different cutting machines. The Fullerton House (which is based on a Sears and Roebuck kit house from the 1920's) is now available in svg,pdf,dxf,and png formats.

A roof style not yet represented in Ledge Village is the Mansard roof. I decided to use that on both of the next buildings - the Mansard House with bay window, and the Town Hall. All three of these buildings have features that make them a little more detailed than earlier buildings. I especially love the addition of the dormers.

But have you noticed that this is the first time I have added lighting to Ledge Village? My Tea Light Village was based on the little tea lights but they are such a bother to turn on and off. I learned about Fairy Lights from another crafter and decided to add them to my latest Ledge Village display. I especially like that they are battery operated and you can get a lot of lights on each switch. The options on Amazon are always changing but I found a 40 light set.

To install I simply cut tiny holes in the back of each building in a hidden spot (I didn't want them to show through the door or window). I then inserted the little lights (which stay cool) and applied a little tape to hold in palce. Some other larger buildings had 4, others only 1 but they were all strung together.

• The buildings are currently available in my store here on 3dcuts.com.
• The complete tutorials are located by following the links on this page here.

What building are you going to create first?

Christmas Card 2014 • A Snowy Village

I have been hand making my Christmas cards for a long time, long before I got my Silhouette Cameo. If you have time you might want to visit my other blog Ashbee Design and check out the post I did several years back showcasing three decades of handmade cards.

My Silhouette changed the nature of my cards and ideas that I had only dreamed about became a reality. I finished a design for 2014 this week and it is definitely something you need a cutting machine for, especially if you are planning to make 70!

This designed is constructed from one piece of 8.5 x 11 card stock folded into a 3d rectangle for display.  It can be folded flat to fit in a standard 6 x 9" pamphlet envelope for mailing. It is also sized so an LED tea light can be placed inside. The village takes on an inner glow.

The card can also be made entirely from white card stock. The LED has a much stronger effect in this application.

There is a complete tutorial for assembly of this card located in the tutorials area of this site here. 

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?