Etched in Glass (and a giveaway!!)

How has it been almost a year since I've blogged?  I don't know even know where the year went...actually I do.  We've been slightly busy this year!  We sold our house and bought a new one that has more than a few projects!  So hopefully this next year will bring some exciting new posts to share with you!

It's been really fun decorating our new house for Christmas.  And every new house deserves a couple new Christmas decorations, am I right?  I'm so excited to share some amazing Christmas projects from my Silhouette Challenge buddies and an exciting giveaway!  Be sure to check it out!

This year I had it in my mind that I wanted to make a set of glass etched ornaments.  Seemed like an easy idea and a great way to have custom ornaments for the tree and even as gifts!  As with any project, there were a couple unforeseen challenges, but I worked through most of them and in the end, they were far from perfect, but they are unique and cute and a great addition to our tree.



Supplies needed:

• Glass ornaments
• Vinyl
• Silhouette Cameo (or another cutting tool)
• Etching cream (I used this one)
• Ribbon

My first idea was to etch the entire ornament and leave the shape un-etched.  I cut out my favorite Christmas shapes on my Cameo and placed the vinyl the best I could onto the ornament.  This was the trickiest part of the whole project....something I didn't factor into the whole equation...glass ornaments are round.  Flat shapes are incredibly difficult to lay flat on a rounded surface.  I took a plastic card to try to smooth it out the best I could, but in the end there were still bubbles and edges that wouldn't lay completely flat.

Next I applied the etching cream all over and scraped it all the way around.  It only takes a couple seconds and it is ready to rinse.  Now the joyful deer head seen above did not turn out AT all.  The etching cream got underneath the vinyl and it was a complete mess.  I was very sad, but then I peeled off the truck and loved how it turned out!  1 out of 2...not bad!!

The next ones I attempted I used the vinyl around the shape as a stencil.  Sorry I didn't take any pictures of this part, but trust me, it was even harder to fit around the curve of the ornament than the shapes themselves.  Even with extra masking tape, the etching cream still leaked through some of the stencil, so I didn't end up with crisp lines, but it adds character, right?  (I'm going with with the character angle.)

I added some ribbon on top and some cute hooks to hang them on the tree.  Now we have a handful of cute personalized ornaments that add a lot of character to our tree (see, I'm still using the character thing!)

Lesson learned:  Don't use round surfaces when etching.

If I were to do this again I would try to find some of those flat glass ornaments.  They would be perfect for this!

So there you have it.  A somewhat easy addition to the tree :)  Be sure to check out the other amazing projects below and don't miss out on your chance to win some amazing prizes.  Merry Christmas!!

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. Beauty in the Mess // 2. JustTyra // 3. Dream a Little Bigger // 4. Simply Kelly Designs // 5. The Stamp Doc // 6. From Wine to Whine // 7. TheKimSixFix // 8. unOriginal Mom // 9. HaberdasheryFun // 10. Tastefully Frugal // 11. Sisters, What! // 12. Small Stuff Counts // 13. Where The Smiles Have Been // 14. Whatcha Workin' On? // 15. Designed Decor // 16. Architecture of a Mom // 17. Decor Adventures // 18. Create & Babble // 19. Tori Grant Designs // 20. Tried & True // 21. The Thinking Closet // 22. Creative Ramblings // 23. Get Silvered // 24. McCall Manor // 25. Cutesy Crafts // 26. Ginger Snap Crafts // 27. My Favorite Finds // 28. Cupcakes&Crowbars // 29. Pineapples & Pinecones // 30. The Crafting Nook // 31. It Happens in a Blink // 32. Alayna's Creations

And Finally the Silhouette Giveaway

And I’ve saved the best for last.  My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I in partnership with Silhouette America are hosting a mega-huge giveaway for not one, not two…but three winners!  The prizes up for grabs?

• First prize: Silhouette Cameo Machine & +50 bonus designs.  $349.49 value.
• Second prize: Silhouette Mint Custom Stamp Maker.  $129.99 value.
• Third prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card to put toward Silhouette supplies...or whatever is on your wish list!

Sweet, huh? To enter: just complete the entries in the Rafflecopter widget below or at this link.  Because of my many blog friends who helped make this giveaway possible, you have 36 potential entries, which means a lot of winning power.  So, hurry up and enter! {This giveaway runs from today through Monday, December 21st at 11:59p eastern and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older with a U.S. or Canada mailing address. You can read the rest of the terms and conditions in the widget below.} a Rafflecopter giveaway

--Have a very Merry Christmas!!

Sugar and Spice Looking Oh So Nice

It's that time again!  Time for another Silhouette Challenge!  My favorite part of participating in these challenges is the motivation to get some projects done.  This month's theme is organization.  And boy does my house need some of that!  My project has been 2 years in the making, so I needed the extra motivation to finally finish it!  What a great feeling!  And now I'm in the organization zone, so I can't wait to check out all of these other great projects for some more inspiration!!

My first organizational project on my list was the kitchen.  I've been working on getting all of our spices organized and in the same type of container for a while.  

The Target brand spices come in cute little jars and they fit perfectly into my vintage Coke bottle crate.  I loved going through all of our spice containers to find out we had so many duplicates!  Who needs 4 containers of paprika?  Really?  I don't make that many deviled eggs!

Holiday Table to Chairish

Last week I was contacted by Chairish to see if I'd be interested in creating a design board for a holiday table based around one piece of their vintage table top decor items.  It sounded like so much fun so of course I said yes!

If you don't know about Chairish, you should definitely go check them out.  It's a great resource for buying and selling stylish vintage furniture and pieces from all eras.  I've become completely obsessed with it!  There are so many great finds!  And don't you just love their name...such a cute play on words!

So the challenge for me was picking just one tabletop item.  There were so many great options.  The first one that caught my eye was this beauty.

This silver plated teapot instantly took me back to baby doll tea parties with my brothers...yep you read that right, not quite sure how I convinced them to play along, but I have a lot of fond memories roping them into girlie playtime!  So I decided this would be a fun piece to design a table around!

1.  Glazed Leaf Dish | 2.  Crystal Hostess Flatware Set | 3.  Peace Dessert Plates with Caddy 

4.  Luneville Faience Bowls | 5.  Die Cut Table Runner | 6.  Antique Pine Cabinet

7.  Laguna Rattan Chair | 8.  Dash and Albert Yacht Stripe Rug | 9.  Vintage Addiction Farmhouse Dining Set

10. Lee Jofa Honeycomb Chair with Tailored Skirt | 11. Lorenzo Zigzag Cream Pillow

12. Vintage Aluminum Christmas Tree | 13.  Mid-Century Modern Glass Espresso Cups  

14.  Silver-Plated Footed Teapot & Creamer Set | 15.  Mid-Century Glass Charger

16.  Silver Serving Dish | 17. Vintage Lampshade Chandelier

I love how it turned out!  It's got that great cabin feel that makes you want to snuggle up in a blanket and listen to family stories by the fire.  It's perfect for an intimate family gathering, my favorite type of Christmas dinner!  I love the juxtaposition of rustic elements with a touch of elegance.  After deciding on the teapot, I picked out this gorgeous picnic-style table and added a rustic cabinet piece.  Do you see the chicken wire on the doors...love!  I wish I could buy both of these for my house!  I added a cool wire light fixture above the table as well.  Now that I think about it...maybe I have a secret wire obsession.

My next find were the red and white floral bowls.  They gave the table a Christmasy feel without actually being Christmas dishes.  I love that you could use them all year long!  I stumbled upon the peace dishes by total accident, but I think they fit in perfectly.  I like mixing and matching different table settings, mostly because it doesn't require you to have complete sets of every dish you own.  After finding the bowls and plates, I wanted to find a simple glass to go along with them.  The clear cups coordinated perfectly and were simple enough to not outshine the teapot!

Next I looked for accent pieces to coordinate with the bowls.  The red stripe charger and amazing leaf plate were perfect additions!  I love how they add a little pop of color without being too overwhelming.  The silver serving dish and the crystal flatware set are actually 2 more items from the table top collection provided by Chairish, but I loved them so much that I had to add them in.  I thought they just added to the elegance of the table.  

While searching for tables, this red rattan chair popped out at me.  It's so cute, such a perfect chair to have in a little reading corner that you can easily pull up to a table when you have guests.  And of course the fact that they had a number of different colors made me even more intrigued...colors...they get me every time!  I'm thrilled I was able to pull this chair up into the design.  I also found this red upholstered chair.  Everyone has a chair like this around their house, right?  Mismatched chairs around a dining room are my absolute favorite!  It gives it a more relaxed, informal feel.

I searched for the table runner last.  I wanted simple and classic and this die cut piece was the perfect find.  I went with a neutral colored rug and throw pillow to complete the cabiny look I was going for.  And what's a holiday table without a tree?  Aren't these vintage aluminum trees just the cutest?  

There you have it!  My perfect holiday table!  The best part is that I found it all on one website!  So stress-free!  Thank you Chairish for letting me design this amazing table setting!!  It was so much fun!

So what's your favorite piece from this amazing vintage collection?  What's your favorite holiday design style?  Would love to hear from you!

I don't know what it is about Christmas decorations, but I love how cozy they make your house feel.  Maybe it's the childhood memories creeping back, or maybe it's because they remind you of cold winter nights or maybe it's the fact that you spend a lot of your time on the couch surrounding by them watching corny Christmas movies...whatever it is, I like it.  Happy holiday decorating!

Merry & Bright

I started the week off by sharing about the new new visitor in our house Thomas the Elf and sharing an amazing opportunity to win a Silhouette Cameo or a Silhouette Portrait, so be sure to enter and check out the rest of the amazing Christmas projects!!  

I had a lot of fun decorating for Christmas this year!  I've been pinning Christmas ideas since before Halloween, I've been so excited!  I'm so glad I started early and knock out a couple projects before the business of December began!

Our Shelf Elf and Giveaway!

I'm so excited to be part of the Silhouette December Challenge.  There are a total of 37 amazing Christmas projects for you to check out!  And I'm even more excited to be a part of this totally fabulous giveaway!!  My very first giveaway and let me tell you the prizes are AWESOME!  Be sure to enter at the bottom.

We have a new visitor in our house that arrived on December 1.  Just in time for the holiday challenge theme this month!  That was convenient =)  The Thomas the Train obsessed little boy in our house came up with the name Thomas.  I think it suits him just fine!

Thankful

There are so many things to be thankful this year!  I am especially grateful for my son's teachers at school.  I don't think you could ever thank teachers enough!  I found a cute little cookie gift idea on pinterest (with free printable tags) that inspired me to make a couple Thanksgiving gifts for them.

I found these cute mugs at Target on clearance for $1.50...impossible to pass up!  Throw in some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and you got a perfect little fall gift to show someone just how thankful you are!