Etched 9x13

Have you ever been at a holiday gathering and not known which dish was yours at the end because all of the 9x13s look similar when the food is gone?  I just lost one this past Thanksgiving because someone took mine home with them. Today's project takes care of that.  Never again will you have to guess which container is yours (or have yours stolen because it looks the nicest ;) ).

I etched a 9x13, an 8x8, and a pie dish as a wedding gift for friends of ours.  It looks difficult, but it really isn't.  It is hard to photograph glass so these look WAY cooler in person.

For the 9x13 and 8x8 I etched the family's name onto the bottom of the pan.  I used my Silhouette machine and vinyl for the words, but you could use contact paper and a craft knife to cut them out too.  After I adhered the vinyl with the letters cut out, (I had to cut it so the words were backwards since I etched the bottom of the pan) I just brushed on the etching cream.  Then I waited about 10 minutes and washed the etching cream off, peeled the vinyl off and I was done!

For the pie pan I got a little creative.  I thought the couple would get a kick out using pi (3.1415...) to identify their pie pan. ;)

Here are a few tips I shared the first time I tried etching glass:

--Etching cream is very powerful and potent and gloves are supposed to be worn when using it. However I found that I was very clumsy with the gloves on and had too many etching cream "accidents" with them on. I couldn't feel the cream on my gloved fingers and I smeared it on things. For example I got some on one plate on accident and etched a little part on the edge. I found it was better for me to just be REALLY careful and leave the gloves off.
--Just a reminder BE CAREFUL-- that cream is powerful and will start working on whatever it touches. You only want to etch glass not the whole area you are working at. ;)

If you are interested in more I have blogged about these etching projects:

 Etched Plates

Christmas Ornament

Wedding Ornament

A little over a year ago on one of my Thursday Favorites posts I shared an ornament and said I would make it for the next person that got married.  Two of my cousins got married in 2012 so I decided to give the ornament a try.  Here is the original in the post I shared.  I tried to click the link and it looks like the photo isn't on pinterest anymore so I can't give credit.

Here is my version:

These are simple to make. I got the glass ornament at Michaels at Christmas time.  I decided to etch the ornament to give it a little something extra, but you wouldn't have to.  I then cut the wedding invitation into strips, rolled the strips and shoved them in the ornament.

Now I can cross this off my list of "Pinterest ideas to make".  I like it so much, it might become my go-to extra little gift at the weddings I attend. 

Modern Silhouette Nativity

     It is finally November.  Yay!  Time to start getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I actually feel like I am on top of some Christmas decorations and presents this year, which is great because usually I am coming up with super Christmas ideas around January 1. ;)

     I have been trying to come up with new ideas of things to make with my Silhouette machine.  I want to use it and not just leave it collecting dust!  All of my ideas lately seem to use the black vinyl.  Maybe I will branch out soon, but I love this new project black vinyl and all!

     I call it a Modern Silhouette Nativity.  It is different than the nativity scenes you normally see at people's homes. This one can sit on a shelf, mantel, table, etc...or be hung on the wall!

For this project I used designs from the Silhouette store.  Each frame was one design.  I had to ungroup the shepherds and the wisemen to put them in the positions that I wanted them.  I can find the specific names if anyone wants them, but it is probably easiest to just search for "Nativity" in the shop.

I linked up to these parties:
Skip to My Lou
Sew Chatty
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Not Just a Housewife
Fingerprints on the Fridge

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

     One of my favorite hymns is "Come Thou Fount."   If you haven't heard this song, you can listen to it here.  There is a part that say "Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I've come"  For a long time I wondered what in the world an "Ebenezer" was.  I looked it up and it is actually a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12 in the Bible.  Right before this passage God had rescued the Israelites from the Philistines.   "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us."'   That stone was to remind the people of how God had helped them.  This isn't the only time that the Israelites used stones to remember God's help and faithfulness.  In Joshua 4, after the Israelites crossed the Jordan river they placed 12 stones in the Jordan where they had crossed to remember what God had done.   Joshua told the people the stones were "to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4:6-7  

    The Israelites had a habit of forgetting about God and his faithfulness and needed reminders...not unlike me.  How often do I complain about the way life is and sigh dreaming about how I want life to be?  I often forget all of the blessings God has given me, all of the things he has brought me through, and how he has grown me.  So I decided to make my own Ebenezer. 

Supplies:
River Rock
Vase
Permanent Marker
Silhouette and Vinyl

I started with river rocks that I purchased at Michaels (with a coupon of course) and used a permanent marker to write down blessings, hard times God has brought me through, people God has placed in my life, opportunities He has given me, etc.  When I finished I just placed them carefully in the vase.

I used my Silhouette SD to cut black vinyl to put on the vase.  It says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer, Here by Thy great help I've come"

This Ebenezer is mostly a reminder for me, but if people ask me, "What do these stones mean?"  I will be able to tell them about God's faithfulness in my life.



Parties I link to:
House of Hepworths
Tatertots and Jello
Fingerprints on the Fridge
At the Picket Fence
Embellishing Life
Under the Table and Dreaming

Someone in CA loves me

Now that summer is coming to a close I hope to be able to get my Silhouette out and crank out a few projects that I have in mind.  I know I already shared pictures of the shirt that was my first Silhouette project, (Click to see original post) but I can't resist showing a picture of my "model" wearing it.  Now I just need to make one for big sister.

My First Silhouette Project

    After pulling my Silhouette out of the box I had to wait to use it because I had real work to get done.  I finally got to play around with the machine a bit and here are my first thoughts about it.  First of all I LOVE IT!  I can't wait to try out all sorts of things with it.  With that said, I think that in order to like the machine you have to like to try things out and work to figure things out.   I found the tutorials and instructions from Silhouette average to poor (I really wish they would work to improve them).  Thankfully other kind people have posted tips, tricks, and tutorials.   For example, to use the t-shirt vinyl you needed to flip the image backwards.  It clearly said this needed to be done, just not HOW to do it.  I searched the program for a button or something, but couldn't figure it out.   I had to search online to find out how.

So here is my first creation with the Silhouette:

For those that aren't into geography, that is a picture of the state of California :)

The Silhouette store sells the states, but I used a graphic that I already had. I would love to give credit, but don't remember where I got it from.   I like the little heart near the city I live in.  The font is off my computer and called Aharoni.

I linked to these parties:

House of Hepworths

Tatertots and Jello

Delicate Construction

Under the Table and Dreaming

My New Best Friend aka the Silhouette SD

I have been working on a lot of different stuff lately and have a few graduation gifts I am making, but can't share yet. In the meantime, I wanted to come share my exciting news...


Look what came to my door today!!!

Remember my excitement about the Silhouette from this post?  I can't wait to start using this great machine.  I have a whole list of projects to try out.

CHA #2 Silhouette

I didn't have much time to take pictures while visiting booths because I was too busy oohing and aahing over all of the cool stuff that is coming out...too bad I can't show you most of it ;)  My friend Rachel who I walked around with for a whole day took some amazing pictures (and her camera wasn't bothered by the awful picture lighting) so be sure to check out her blog, Gingerbread Gal, if you want to see more.

My absolute favorite tool that I have to have is the Silhouette!  I will save the commercial and send you to the Silhouette site for more details, but it is basically a fancy cutter that can cut all sorts of shapes on fabric, paper, vinyl, heat transfer, contact paper, etc.  The possibilities of projects you could use a Silhouette for are endless!  The first day their make-and-take was an apron.  We got to use the Silhouette to cut out a fancy flower and butterfly on a heat transfer sheet and put it on an apron.  The silver parts are the heat transfer that the Silhouette cut out.

I went back the last day to take a picture of this wonderful machine and they were making 3D flowers out of paper...so fun!