Festive Advent

Happy Holidays! I hope all of my readers are having a great holiday season. I am so glad I actually had time to jump in and get my Silhouette Challenge done for this month. It was a very close call with everything I have going on lately.

Some pearls are missing because I have a curious toddler. 

This months project is something that I want to pass down as a tradition to my daughter. When I was very young my mom would always buy all of us kids an advent calendar. It was nothing fancy, just the nice little cardboard boxes with flap doors to reveal chocolate candy. The memory of it has held on and is something I do find wonderfully nostalgic. Last year my little one was much too young to really enjoy the festivities or candy for that matter.

Now that she is older we are so excited to share in the holiday fun with her. So with this project I decided to make the advent calendar and make it something very special for both of us. Now, this was not as easy as I believed it would be.  I am positive I made it more difficult for myself than I should have. But that is the point of the challenge, right?

I used a thicker card stock, not sure of the weight because it was pieces in my paper box. I made the design myself in the Silhouette software. It is like a lift top box style with flap doors that are perforated around the edges. I then embellished them with large, easy to read numbers and a little bow with a pearl on top.

My daughter thinks it is "pwettyyy!" and is very excited for her "bite!", everyday. We also work on getting her to say the number on the front, so far she has gotten to number 5, but I don't push it. It's just so much fun to watch her get so excited to open it up and be as excited as I was. These are the moments to cherish with her!

Over the year I will be making a new one surely with new materials that are sturdier and will hold up for years to come. Have a wonderful Holiday Season and Happy New Year! - Alisha

Make sure to check out these amazing projects by our other Silhouette Challenger Bloggers. As well enter for a chance to win a Cameo or Portrait of your very own!

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!





1. Pineapples and Pinecones // 2. Simply Kelly Designs // 3. Architecture of a Mom // 4. Just a Girl and Her Blog // 5. Two Purple Couches // 6. Chicken Scratch NY // 7. Creative Ramblings // 8. One Dog Woof // 9. Ginger Snap Crafts // 10. The Thinking Closet // 11. Please Excuse My Craftermath... // 12. Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body // 13. weekend craft // 14. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 15. Practically Functional // 16. Living My Given Life // 17. My Paper Craze // 18. The Kim Six Fix // 19. Home At Eight // 20. Queen of Everything // 21. Tried & True // 22. Mama Sonshine // 23. unOriginal Mom // 24. Create it. Go! // 25. From Wine to Whine // 26. GetSilvered // 27. It's Always Ruetten // 28. Nearly Handmade // 29. McCall Manor // 30. Silhouette School // 31. It Happens in a Blink // 32. Create & Babble // 33. Sowdering About // 34. Where The Smiles Have Been // 35. My Favorite Finds // 36. Lil' Mrs. Tori // 37. Designed Decor

Paper Carnival

Hello everyone! I am excited to be back this month with a Silhouette Challenge that I have been meaning to share for a while. These pieces are simple, but very personal to me. Having been trying to get pregnant for three years and going through the process to try and adopt, having a room that was not for any age in case we were placed with children, but a room for our little one was different. During my pregnancy, as I decorated the nursery for Caroline, the wall art was the most challenging part of it all. It was not until I was about 8 and a half months along that it finally clicked. Since my baby shower was in the carnival theme, we decided to go with art that would mimic it.

I bought a few shapes that went along with things you would see at a carnival or circus; A hot air balloon, carousel, & elephant. For a very pregnant and over tired girl, this was an easy project. I already had frames that I had the hubs paint white for me and I purchased mat boards and plastic sheeting to cover the art at Hobby Lobby for a total of $2-3, including the paper to make the paper art.

To get this effect there are two layers to this shape and I used gray and a light pink, her nursery colors. I used foam sticky tabs to help the shapes really stand out. 

Thank you all for stopping by and checking out my little, but special project. If you'd like to see what everyone else did this month click on the links below. If you have a Silhouette and would like to join us please email Lauren at The Thinking Closet. 

DIY Ironing Board Hanger by The Turquoise Home
Silhouette Challenge: Time Zone Bathroom Art by Nearly Handmade
Santa's Christmas Countdown by Tried & True
Nautical Anchor Pillow Tutorial by The Thinking Closet
Christmas Card Ornament with Free Cut File by unOriginalMom
Thanksgiving and Christmas Dual Sign by Architecture of a Mom
Itching to Etch by Get Silvered
Snowman Tag ~ Silhouette Challenge by Whats Next Ma
Thanksgiving Sign by Chicken Scratch NY
DIY Horse Silhouette Pillow by Rain on a Tin Roof
Sketching on Fabric by The Sensory Emporium
Paper Leaf Garland by Lil' Mrs. Tori
DIY Blessing Board - Silhouette Challenge by One Tough Mother
Christmas Pillow by Create & Babble
Glass Painting with Reverse Stencils by Givemeapaintbrush
Chalkboard Thankful Tree by Cutesy Crafts
Bottoms Up! MYO Wine Tag by From Wine to Whine
'Happy Holly-days' Tags for the Swap by An Elegant Touch...
Thank You for Dinner (Card) by Everyday Paper
Advent Star Christmas Countdown by My Favorite Finds
Geometric Fabric Bowls by Please Excuse My Craftermath...
Silhouette Cameo Tutorial: Dual Sided Business Cards by Black and White Obsession
In Case of Emergency Baby Bag Tags by Tossed Salad Life
Christmas On My Mind by Creative Turn
Jingle all the Way! by My Paper Craze
Christmas Lights Garland by Making Home Base
We Are Thankful by 4 You With Love
Seattle Skyline Silhouette by Sowdering About in Seattle
DIY Stenciled Mugs by Coley's Corner

Addressing: A Silhouette Challenge

Here goes my first ever Silhouette Challenge! I am so excited to share with you something that I really love. This is a very simple project, but it can make all the difference in the appearance of the final package. I used my Cameo to write out the addresses on my envelopes for Caroline's announcements.

To do this project I used this nifty accessory, you can put your own pens or markers in it and use it to draw or write out designs. Although the pen sizes are very limited.

1. Insert the pen into the pen holder and then put it in place of your blade.

2. Next I opened the Silhouette software and made a 5x7 template since that is the size of the card going in the envelope, this way I still have room left on the envelope around the edges.

Address is blurred for privacy.

 3. I used the type tool to input the address, I used two different fonts here and several lines of text. Fill in the text, insides only, will the fill tool to black.

4. To "print" the envelope you can now go to your cut settings and select the pen option instead of blade. The program will automatically select the custom media and correct settings to use the pen. Now press "Cut" and watch it write it out for you!

I used a little thicker of a pen for this, I am planning on purchasing the Silhouette pen set. They fit the blade area perfect and have a finer tip. As well you can get fun colors and even metallic pens! They turned out pretty well and think they add a more personal touch to send the announcements off to grandparents and family members. I added washi tape to close the envelopes and an address label to finish it off.

 Though this is a simple project, it really was fun to use the Silhouette for something as simple as addressing a letter. I hope you enjoyed! Next month will be an even bigger project! I can't wait to share it. Please leave any questions or comments you may have below. -Alisha



Go check out some other ladies Silhouette Challenges from this month!
If you are a Silhouette user and would like to join us contact Lauren from The Thinking Closet Here.

• DIY Paper Star Lanterns by Me & My DIY
• A Jar of Gratefulness by We ♥ Cards
• Adding Easy Sketch Pen Detail to Silhouette Cuts by It Happens in a Blink
• Laundry Room Labels by Unoriginal Mom
• Kids Step Stool with Sass by Joy & Gladness of Heart
• Magnetic Perpetual Calendar by Everydaypaper
• Silhouette Fabric Ink {An Experiment} by Create & Babble
• Playhouse Signs: Who Will We Be Today? by Suburble
• How to Get a Second Wind Out of Your Gel Manicure by The Thinking Closet
• DIY Graduation Gift by Super Sweet Life
• Oval Coffee Table Reveal & More! by Give Me a Paintbrush
• Stamped Gift Boxes by Coley's Corner
• Monsters University T-Shirt by Tried & True
• Travel Accessories for Vacation Mementos & Business by An Elegant Touch
• A Silhouette Challenge Project by Mel Stampz

Let Me Introduce You to a Friend

I was invited by a great friend, Shannon, to join a group of Silhouette crafters. Every month I will be doing a challenge and creating something new with my Cameo and will share it right here. I hope to share and inspire the craft bug in all of you! First of all, if you don't know what a Silhouette is, let me show you the most wonderful product I have ever owned. Really, the most wonderful.

Silhouette Cameo

Isn't it just beautiful? Anywho, this gadget does all sorts of things for the not so crafty to the glitter and sequin covered super crafter. It can cut paper into just about any shape you can imagine as well as fabric, vinyl, chipboard, magnets, and the list goes on. As well there are tons of products to go with it, such as paper to make your own temporary tattoos, rhinestone template for those cute outfits you see everywhere, screen print stencils. You see, there is so much you can do with the Silhouette. I own the Cameo version, which has the 12 inch wide cutting field, one of the widest in its crafting product category. This means you can really get the most out of your paper or medium of choice.

As well there are no cartridges to buy, none! There is an online store connected to software that comes with the Silhouette. In this store you can choose out of thousands of designs to purchase and add to your library, forever. It is always yours once you purchase it. As well the software pulls all of your fonts into the program so you don't need to buy fonts to use in the program. How wonderful is that? 

Personally I have made quite a bit of personalized cards and wall vinyl decals. Even 250 wedding invites and save the dates at one point. The Silhouette is a trusted friend now, I don't really know what I would do without it now. Honestly to fully understand the machine and it's greatness you should check out Silhouette yourself!

Soon I will be showing off some skills that the Cameo really helps me succeed in. I hope you fall in love with it just as much as I have. I promise you will never look back. 

Here's my Pinterest board of Silhouette ideas and things it can actually help you do!

Happy Crafting - Alisha