Personalized Tumblers

My new craft project this last week was Tumblers!  I have seen these tumblers everywhere, at Starbucks, major retail stores, Hobby Lobby, Walgreens, and many other stores.  Most have some type of logo on them, are double insulated so you can put in hot or cold drinks, comes with a nice plastic straw and can be used over and over again.  I was able to purchase quite a few tumblers and made several gifts and sold several others.  The tumbler says hand wash only but I have heard many people say they use them in the top rack of the dishwasher without any problems.  I used outdoor vinyl in case people decided to use them in the dishwasher and below are my finished personalized tumblers.

The tumblers below say "Grandma's Sippy Cup" and "Linda's Sippy Cup".  The tumblers on the left and right are identical except for the wine glass are different sizes and different colors.  The middle tumbler just says "Linda's Sippy Cup" in bigger letters without any pictures added and in a gold color.  I forgot to add the lid and straw to this picture but you will see it on the next group of pictures for a different tumbler.  

My last tumbler says "I'm a Beautician NOT a Magician" with a comb and scissors on the front.  On the back of the tumbler, it lists the hair dresser's business name and contact information.  I gave this to my hairdresser as a Christmas gift.  Inside of the tumbler I just placed red vinyl to try and take a "decent" picture and to show off the vinyl a little better.

More Christmas Gifts!

Last weekend caught me off guard with the flu bug hitting our house!  Not fun and literally takes all of the energy out of oneself.  We are almost back to normal and I was able to make up a few more Christmas Gifts.  Some of these are similar to other posts but different sayings, layouts, etc...  All fun and relatively easy projects that hopefully the recipients will like!

The cutting board below is from a sign I created for a customer last Summer but thought would look perfect on a cutting board.  The cutting board is 12 x 15 purchased from Walmart and I just cut the vinyl in reverse and placed it on the backside so you do not cut on the actual vinyl.  I used outdoor vinyl so it will hold up to washing better!  

Christmas Ornaments!  Christmas Ornaments!  Christmas Ornaments!  I sold quite a few of these and also made a ton for gifts to our good neighbors, teachers, and several others!  Below are just a few group shots of some of the ornaments I made.  Some of the ornaments has either our son's name or our entire family's name and year on the back with vinyl which I thought gave a nice touch and personalized it a little more. 







For my husband's boss we decided to give her a nice, marble tile for Christmas. 

Cutting Boards

I saw this idea on a craft website and wanted to try it out.  On the craft site, the person went to Walmart and found several sizes of clear cutting boards and placed vinyl on the back side.  By using outdoor vinyl, the cutting board can easily be hand washed on both sides and placed in the dishwasher (but I would only recommend placing it in the top rack).

Luckily, I was easily able to convince someone looking for Christmas ideas to try out my new cutting boards so off I went to Walmart and below is my final product!

Cindy

Christmas Eye Chart

A customer requested I make a 12 x 24 inch Eye Chart with a little twist.  She did not want a normal eye chart but one that said "I WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS" over and over again with the last line to say "I WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR".  This was a little tricky to design to ensure all of the letters fell in the right place and kept with the typical eye chart where the letters decreased in size and spacing as you went further down on the chart.  When finished, I placed a thin red border around the entire chart.  The customer is then going to place this on a 12 x 24 canvas.  I do not have a final picture with the eye chart on the canvas but I do have my final cut design.  It turned out much better then I imagined as when requested this design, I had a few doubts on how the final look would be.

Santa Charger Plate

Today I finished my first attempt on a very popular item - Charger Plates.  A fellow Craft Blogger graciously shared her ginger bread cookie files and the snowflakes I had found previously online for a different project.  With my Charger plate I decided to use 3 different colors of vinyl  and used outdoor vinyl as this plate will need to be washed on occasion. 

Below is my final design:

It was a little tricky to ensure the letters were straight as the font itself is meant to show the letters crooked.  The gingerbread cookies has copper vinyl, the lettering is red and the snowflakes are white.  I have several really nice designs and ideas that I am planning on using for more Charger plates; however, I need to make a quick shopping trip to pick up some silver plates as I think that will look the best for the ideas that I have.  This was a fun project that really changes the appearance of an otherwise, boring display plate!  Check back soon for more Charger plates! 

Personalized Christmas Ornaments

Many years ago I was an avid fan of the Soap Opera show, Days of Our Lives.  One of my favorite traditions the show had was personalized ornaments for each member of the Horton family.  I loved that idea and about 5 years ago I purchased 4 big round Christmas ornaments for the purpose of decorating them with our family names.  Unfortunately, they sat in the box for the last 5 years....until NOW! 

Previously, I didn't know what would be the best method of decorating them as I cannot paint and my handwriting abilities are pathetic, to the point that I have the handwriting (aka scribbling) of a doctor!  Now, with my computer and my Cricut, I can decorate the ornaments very easily.  I have seen many other blogs where they used clear Christmas ornaments and then placed glitter inside them, I want to try that too but for now, I needed to finally decorate my ornaments purchased over 5 years ago!

My project was very simple but really made some simple solid color ornaments stand out into a personalized, meaningful gift that is now displayed on our Christmas tree.  I used vinyl  in a ChopinScript font found online for free.  I then found several different snowflakes online from other very talented Bloggers and added 3 to 4 snowflakes around each ornament.


Below is my finished ornaments for my two sons, myself and husband!

Coffee Time

A few months back I designed a Coffee Sign for my kitchen and loved how it turned out!  I then went back and made a really wide coffee sign on painted wood and placed it above our double doors in the kitchen leading out to our deck.  I did blog about that sign on a different post as that was my first sign on a 6 foot wide board!  Now, I have additional orders for my original coffee sign so I went back and placed the sign on a oval plate that can be displayed on a plate holder and also a 8 x 12 inch tile. I used outdoor vinyl for the plate and tile only because I felt the glossy brown would look better and in case the plate would be subjected to frequent washing. 

The first 2 pictures are the signs in my kitchen.  The sign above the doorway reads "Good coffee is a pleasure Good friends are a treasure".  The last 2 pictures are the signs designed for a plate and rectangular tile. 

Vinyl Coffee Mugs

No excuses for my lack of posting...well I can list many but I won't!  This weekend my goal is to finish up all of my half-finished projects and orders from customers and to post more on my blog!  : )

In this project I was given the opportunity to design 5 coffee mugs to be used as a special gift as a token of appreciation for 5 individuals judging a high school competition.  This was a unique opportunity for me as the High School Music Festival was held in my hometown (current population is less then 200 people).  The fact that I haven't lived in my hometown for over 14 years doesn't stop others from remembering who I am, the bonuses and sometimes "cons" of living in such a small town! ha ha! However, in the last few months I have completed several projects for the church and now the school so I am very happy about that - a definite bonus of a small town for me!

The school wanted a design with very specific words on the mug.  Because of the amount of words I needed to separate them out and place them on the front and back of the cup.  Leaving me with the side of the cup for a musical image.  Finding the right image was easy and finding the coffee mugs was easy; however, placing the vinyl onto a curved coffee mug while making sure the letters remained straight was not so easy. 

The coffee mugs I purchased are curved like any other mug but they are also curved up and down so I had 2 variables to deal with while ensuring the lettering stayed straight on the mug.  Not an easy task!  I learned the value of patience with this project as each line and sometimes sections of the line had to be placed on the cup individually to avoid any possibility of curving the first part and the last part of the words.  Many, many times did I have to measure and remeasure to ensure the words were level and centered.  By the 5th mug, I had a system in place and was able to complete the mug in a much faster time then the first couple.  Had I not needed to complete the coffee mugs in such a short time-frame then I would have been able to adjust my design prior to cutting it to assist with the curvature of the cup; however, I didn't have a lot of time to play with and now I have the added benefit of knowing how to do things the "hard way" first and will know what not to do for the next time I have a project like this!  I should also note, that I used outdoor vinyl on the coffee mugs to better withstand washing the coffee mug and it also provided that high-gloss vinyl finish! 

Once I finished my design on the coffee mugs, I gave them to another crafty individual who restores old barn windows and loves to use dried flowers in many of her crafts.  This friend of mine then decorated the mugs, she placed chocolates in the mugs for the males and then made a dried flower arrangement for the females.  Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the final product but do have pictures of what the coffee mugs looked like with my designs...

  

  

  

Customized Photo Frame - Baby Dedication

A really good friend of mine is having her baby dedicated at chuch and I wanted to give a special gift to little Quinn.  Because the baby is not being baptized as that doesn't happen until the child is old enough to make that choice on his/her own accord I had a difficult time deciding what to give as a gift for this important event.  Then someone reminded me that I could just make a gift with vinyl!  So funny that I wasn't smart enough to think of that all by myself!  : )

I have seen many people customize picture frames and thought that this just might be the perfect gift.  I found a nice picture frame that had a mat inside to fit a 5x7 picture.  And then I decided to include the name of the church, the date of the dedication and simply just have the rest say "To Celebrate the Dedication of Quinn Alexander Scott" and then included a professional baby picture of little Quinn.  For this gift I must thank Facebook as it allowed me a chance to take one of little Quinns baby picture from my friend's photo album on her Facebook page!  She can always change it out to a different picture but this picture will work in giving the gift.  Because I wanted the vinyl on the backside of the glass I had to reverse the words prior to cutting them.  I also used beige for the vinyl color as the mat was a deep, dark red.  I think the color combinations worked out great as the inner part of the photo mat also is outlined by a beige color.  Below is my finished gift!

The dedication isn't until this evening so I really hope my friend does not visit this blog until tomorrow!  I just didn't want to wait that long to post the finished product!  : )

Cindy

Trick Or Treat!!!! - Halloween Buckets

Trick Or Treat!!!  Halloween is Almost Here!

While shopping at Michaels one day I saw orange and black buckets for a $1 each.  I knew these would be perfect for my boys for Trick Or Treating with a little help of some Vinyl Decorations!  This was a very simple project as I cut out several vinyl pictures and sayings and just placed them on the bucket.  Much easier then my last Halloween project of adding vinyl to pumpkins as their grooves proved to be a challenge although I did eventually win in the end! 

These buckets could be used for many other Halloween decorations as well.  Just not in my household as once my boys saw the finished buckets, they will not set them down!  They love to pretend to Trick Or Treat in the house with the buckets and in their costumes which I'm hoping will still be in one piece by Halloween.  Below are the final pictures!

Cindy

Halloween - Craft Pumpkins

Slowly but surely I am decorating for Halloween!  The other day I stopped at Michaels and picked up 2 White Craft Pumpkins and knew they needed to have some vinyl placed on them!  This was actually a very long and frustrating project as trying to line up vinyl pictures on grooved pumpkins is much easier said then done!  Once I would line up a picture, I then used several thin coats of Modge Podge to ensure they were sealed tight and the Modge Podge also gave a nice glossy finish to the pumpkin!

Here are my final pictures - I did put 4 pictures on each pumpkin so I could rotate them around and no matter which angle a person came from he would have a picture to look at!  : )  I am so glad I can save these pumpkins year after year as, at times, it may have just been easier to just gut and carve a real pumpkin!  : )  ha ha!

Cindy

Coasters

Recently, I have seen several other craft blogs and forums with individuals making coasters out of 4x4 inch tiles.  I was amazed by how well they looked and how these could be great personalized gifts so I had to try it out for myself! 

My husband went to Ace Hardware and purchased 1/8th inch cork board sheets that I cut down to size for the bottom of the tile such that the tile will not scratch any surface.  I went to my favorite store and found light green tile and white tile.  Each coaster I made is with a different color combination to see what works and what does not.  This was also a perfect time to try out my Monogram files that I have yet to use!  After adding the vinyl to the tile, I then sealed it with a water based Minnwax to protect the vinyl and tile from getting wet.  Below are the coasters, I have made thus far!

My son was determined that I make him a coaster too so I made him the Grey and Red Monogram and the colors actually work very well together!  Today, I'm heading back to the store to replenish my coaster supply as these were fun and relatively easy to make and would be great gifts for others! 

Cindy

Coffee Sign

I apologize for my severe lack of posting lately!  My son had his tonsils and adnoids removed last week and the recovery has taken much more energy out of me then I ever thought possible!  I naively thought I would focus my weekend on projects while my son was recovering but that did not happen!  It has been a slow process but my son is getting better and the last 2 days I have had some free time for projects so I am very happy about that!

This is a small project that I finished last night but it is something that I wanted to complete for awhile.  My kitchen has a coffee theme and I desperately needed something above the double doors that lead to the back porch from the dining room table.  Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of the sign hanging above the door but will post updated pictures of that soon. 

For my sign, I bought a MDF board and cut it down to 4 1/2 feet wide by 8 inches tall and painted it the same color that is in the kitchen.  Ironically, the paint is called Latte from Sherwin Willams.  One wall in the kitchen is wall paper so this sign will go on the blue wallpaper but all other walls is the brown, Latte color.  I used 3 different fonts and found the coffee picture online.  The sign reads "Good coffee is a pleasure - Good friends are a treasure"  The words are in a dark brown vinyl and the coffee picture is black.  Below is my finished project:

This new sign ties in really well with another coffee vinyl saying I created and placed on the wall directly under our kitchen cabinets and right next to our coffee maker.  The vinyl is the same dark brown as my new wall sign.

Cindy

Outdoor Halloween Sign

After creating an 18 x 18 Tile originally intended for my front porch but now afraid it would be too easy to have someone walk off with it - I needed to make a "BIG" Halloween Sign that can be attached over the railing on the front porch! 

I started with a 4 foot by 2 foot piece of wood and painted it orange and then went designing!  I based it off of the very popular Subway Art themes that I have seen on numerous other blogs and a few that I created myself.  I kept the main color as black but then added some white, grey and red vinyl for a more dramatic touch.  When finished we sealed it with modge podge and then added several coats of a urathane finish to provide a super glossy finish and will protect the sign from rain and the snow that will be arriving way too soon for me!

And here is the sign on our front porch! 

Cindy

Wedding Tiles

The last few weeks has gone by so fast and I have not had any time to update my website!  I am currently working on a few custom orders for others and also a BIG project for myself for Halloween that should be completed this weekend with a new post and pictures to share with everyone!

In the meantime, I wanted to show a few 12 x 12 tiles I have designed for customers.  The tiles displayed below are with the brown indoor vinyl and then can either be displayed on a plate holder or attached on the wall with a special plate holder wall attachment which can be found at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, etc...  All of my 12 x 12 Wedding Tiles are $20 (plus shipping) and can be designed with different quotes or embellishments. 

 

The Marriage Tile below is actually sized for an 18 x 18 Tile.  I do not have a picture of the tile finished as the customer wanted only the vinyl and she would place the vinyl on the tile which also helps reduce the cost of shipping.  

I can create either a Marriage Tile in 12 x 12 or 18 x 18 size or can provide just the completed vinyl sign at a reduced cost.  If you are interested in either please contact me for specific costs and additional information!

Thanks!

Cindy