Halloween Decor with the Silhouette Cameo

Hi everyone!  Practical Scrapper Charissa here today with a fun Halloween decor project that I made using my Silhouette Cameo for most of the work!

My daughter has been so excited to decorate for Halloween and fall, so I thought I'd put something together to help her get going.  When I stumbled upon these two cut files on the Silhouette store to make the haunted house luminaria and the tree with ornaments, I knew I had a plan.

I used American Crafts' cardstock and Basic Grey's Persimmon collection to pull this all together.  Though the cut files didn't come together, they work great together!  The tree actually makes the house a little spookier.

These little embellishments on the house were actually ornaments from the tree cut, I simply cut off the hooks before adhering them (with pop dots) to the house!  I'm particularly fond of the black cat!

Hanging the bats, ghosts and spiders from the tree is a fun, spooky touch!

Hope you enjoyed this peek at some Halloween decor!  I know my little girl is absolutely enamored with it and that was my goal!

A Lovely Silhouette (Cameo)

Happy Monday, Practical Scrappers!  To get your week started off right, we have the On Trend Team, and a few extra helpers, here to show you why the Silhouette Cameo is getting a Perfect "10" from its growing base of fans.  The Cameo is a die cutting maching that you connect to your computer.  It cuts out 12" x 12" papers and the best part is - there are no cartridges to buy - ever!  If you want to stay home in your p.j.'s and order or design your own image at 2 a.m., you can do just that with the Silhouette Cameo. 

 

Grap a cup of coffee, get comfy, and take a look at all the lovely things these Practical Scrappers have created with their Cameos!

Practical Scrapper Caz
 

Practical Scrapper Mary Pat Siehl used the Silhouette to create the title and used a png file to cut the "I love you" die cut.

Practical Scrapper Malika Kelly used her Silhouette to cut circles on her background page and then backed the circles with different patterned papers.

Practical Scrapper Cathy used the Silhouette Cameo for almost every die cut embellishment on her page..the arrows, sunbursts, cloud, butterflies and banners!

 

Practical Scrapper Danielle used the Silhouette Cameo to create the hearts background on her layout.

Practical Scrapper Charissa used her Cameo to cut the heart 4x6 card.  She then used both the positive and negative parts of the shape. Charissa also cut the heart banner with her Cameo.

Practical Scrapper Jennifer used her Silhouette for the background as well as the title and arrows.

Practical Scrapper Marcia Dehn-Nix use the Silhouette to cut her heart and paws background, woof bone, and heart strip as well as the title (using the Lavanderia font) she downloaded onto her computer. The Silhouette makes it easy to weld script fonts!

 

Practical Scrapper Krissy Clark McKee used her Cameo to cut two sets of arrows into her background paper and to create the stars that she used for flowers. 

 

 

Last Minute Gift Idea!

 Practical Scrapper Krissy Clark McKee here today, and I want to talk to you about Christmas gifts.  Specifically, I want to talk to you about that moment when your stomach sinks almost every year because you realize you forgot to get your favorite Aunt Betty (our Cousin Jim or Sorority Sister Susie) a gift.  And you know what that means - it means a two hour trip to the mall, and that's just to find a parking spot!  Well, I discovered this solution last Christmas, and I loved it so much, I am bringing it back this year. 

 

What is it?  Well, it's a cd case - really, that's it.  But if you just happen to have blank cds on hand (and we always do), it makes a wonderfully personal yet inexpensive homemade gift that your family and friends are sure to "ooh and ahh" over.  You can share favorite recipes, send a year's worth of family photos, or send along your favorite holiday songs to brighten someone's day.  And the best part is - you get to stay home in your pajama pants AND play with your craft supplies at the same time!  As an added bonus, cd cases are small and easy to mail.

This is how I made my gift cd case.  First, I cut my papers to the size of the front of the cd cover and simply glued them to the top of the case.  I did not glue them inside the cover because 1) I like to have a second piece of paper inside and 2) if the paper is on top of the case, it allows you the freedom to have more three dimensional covers, such as with this 3-D Christmas Tree, which is really a Silhouette cutting file designed by Lori Whitlock.  Lori makes excellant cutting files, and her website includes links to her YouTube tutorials (including one for this tree ornament), which are easy to understand and follow along.

I "decorated" my Christmas tree with baker's twine, a small tag, a jingle bell, and a star at the top.  I also used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a large snowflake for the background, which I lightly covered with silver Stickles to give it a little sparkle.

Next, I covered the inside of my CD case.  Once again, I cut my paper to the size of the inside of the case.  I added a little glue to the back so it wouldn't come loose.  I kept it simple and included a small tag holder and tag that contains a handwritten note.  Alternate ideas include adding a play list, a table of contents, a photo, anything you want as long as it is relatively flat. 

And that's it - mission accomplished AND you managed to avoid the Christmas-traffic craziness!

**Designer projects are not always linked in our posts, but you can always find their blogs in our sidebar or in the staff tab**

Challenge Me Tuesday: Cameos and Silhouettes and a new challenge!

Good Tuesday morning! This week's challenge item was cameos or silhouettes. It seems the cameo is a hot new trend right now, with the emergence of the gorgeous embellishments from companies like Webster's pages, and chipboard silhouettes by Maya Road. If you've got a Cricut machine, A Child's Year cartridge has some amazing silhouettes on it too. We received so many gorgeous projects this week, we had a hard time choosing among them. Keep your submissions coming! We'd also be happy to hear about your favorite Cameo or Silhouette products in the comments!

* keep reading to find out our next challenge item!*

Here are some great projects from our design team and readers:

 Suzanne Dahlberg

 Karen Hunter

 Practical Scrapper Elena