Disclosure: Erin is a paid consultant and has received products from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely her own and based on her use of the products.

Did you know March is National Craft Month?  Well in honor of that Brother is generously allowing me to giveaway one DesignNCut DC200 machine ($299 value!!!) to one of my awesome blog readers. 

Brother recently sent me my own DesignNCut and here's a video of my unboxing of it and then making my first project...a card!

Official Rules: To enter to win, just comment below on this blog post by midnight PST on March 17, 2018. By commenting on this blog post between the dates of March 11, 2018 and March 17, 2018, you are agreeing to the official rules and you agree to provide your name and mailing address to Erin Bassett and Brother International for prize distribution. Prize fulfillment will be done by Brother International.

Eligibility requirements: Open to USA residents 18 and older only. 

A random winner will be chosen via random.org on March 18, 2018 and contacted that day. If potential prize winner does not claim the prize in 48 hours or forfeits the prize, the prize will be re-awarded. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited by law.

A winner has beeen chosen and emailed! 

Disclosure: Erin is a paid consultant and has received  products from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely her own and based on her use of the products.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy from these links it won't cost you a penny more but Erin will make a little bit of money (not enough for a pony). 

I'm gearing up for Thanksgiving and created some projects for a vignette at my house.  I applied a design cut out of gold vinyl to a plate, and created a little sign using stamps. Now, I always get a lot of emails and questions about cutting out stamps, so hopefully this tutorial will help you learn some new cutting techniques!

Plate Supplies:

• ScanNCut Machine and Accessories (The Spatula & Hook Tools are very handy for this project! Enter to win the set + more below!!!)
• Plate
• Gold Craft Vinyl
• Grid Transfer Paper
• FREE ScanNCut Cut File

Frame Supplies:

• ScanNCut Machine and Accessories
• Frame
• Leaf and Sentiment Stamps
• Gold Embossing Powder
• Embossing Ink
• Heat Gun
• Various Colored Inks
• Foam Adhesive
• Cream Cardstock

Here's video instructions of how to create both projects.

Plate Instructions:

1.Insert the cutting mat with gold craft vinyl adhered to it. Download the cut file and load it onto your machine and then add a test cut.  When you do a test cut it will cut that out first, and then pause so you can evaluate how it cut out. You can then begin cutting out the design or adjust your settings and do another test cut.  

2. After it has finished cutting remove the vinyl from the cutting mat and weed out the negative parts of the vinyl design.  It's supper handy to use your hook tool to get out the centers of letters.

3. Cut a piece of transfer paper to be the same size as your design, remove it's backing, and then apply it to your design and rub it firmly so the vinyl will stick to the transfer tape.

4. Remove the transfer paper and the design from the vinyl backing and apply it to the center of the plate.  Rub the transfer paper to adhere the vinyl onto the plate and then slowly peel up the transfer paper leaving the vinyl design on the plate.

Sign Instructions:

1. On a piece of cream cardstock stamp out various leaf patterns using different colors of ink.  Allow it to dry and then place the paper onto the cutting mat and insert it into the machine. Choose "Scan" then "Direct Cut" and scan in your stamped design.

2. Crop the design selecting just the patterns you want to cut out. Next, click on the "offset" feature button. This is where the magic happens of choosing if you want a border around your stamped image, have it cut right along the edge of the image, or cut inside the edge of the image.  Isn't it cool that you get to choose your preference! -I love it!

So for this project I cut the majority of the solid leaf patterns using an "inward offset" of "-0.02" and for the more open stamped images I used "0.00" so it would just around the edge.

Here is how it looks when it's cut out:

Enjoy decorating your home!

 #BrotherBloggerBash Giveaway

My friends at Brother ScanNCut is giving one very lucky blog reader a fun prize package! See the details and enter to win below!

Giveaway Duration - November 14th - 15th

Brother prize valued at approximately $70!

Brother prize package includes: 

• 1  set Spatula and Hook tools
• 1 roll of gold craft vinyl 
• 1 roll of silver craft vinyl
• 1 roll of black craft vinyl
• 1 roll of grid transfer paper

Official Rules: To enter to win, just comment below on this blog post by midnight PST on November 15, 2016. By commenting on this blog post you are agreeing to the official rules and you agree to provide your name and mailing address to Erin Bassett and Brother International for prize distribution. Prize fulfillment will be done by Brother International.

Eligibility requirements: Open to USA residents 18 and older only. 

A random winner will be chosen via random.org on November 16th, 2016 and contacted that day. If potential prize winner does not claim the prize in 48 hours or forfeits the prize, the prize will be re-awarded. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited by law.

 Comments are now closed and a winner will be notified.

Disclosure: Erin is a paid consultant and has received  products from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely her own and based on her use of the products.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy from these links it won't cost you a penny more but Erin will make a little bit of money (not enough for a pony). 

Hey everyone, exciting stuff happening on my blog this week for National Craft Month!  

First up is a great home decor project I want to share with you. I found these great frames when I was out shopping and thought how fun they would be to use at home or in my art studio since they have little clips you can hang photos or artwork on. The frames are great on their own but I thought it would be cool to jazz them up a bit by cutting a warm cuddly phrase out of craft vinyl and applying it to the glass.

And, I not only made one of these...I made two! So a random lucky blog reader can win one along with a bundle of ScanNCut goodies! -Check out the details at the end of this article.

Here's a video on how I created this project:

Supplies:

• ScanNCut machine and accessories
• Photo Frame
• Craft Vinyl
• Grid Transfer Paper
• Word Art (FREE Download)
• Every_Family.fcm Cut File (FREE Download)

Instructions:

1. Use the "Scan To Cut Data" feature to scan in the word art or open up the Every_Family.fcm file onto your ScanNCut.

2. Add a test cut to your project mat and then push the "cut" and "start" buttons. Even though you have multiple designs on your mat your machine will perform the test cut first and then pause so you can make adjustments if needed before cutting your vinyl. You want to have it cut through your vinyl but not through the backing so start off with the blade barely coming out of the blade holder, and adjust it from there depending on the results of your test cut.

3. Cut out the phrase on vinyl and remove the vinyl from the machine.  Weed out the design by removing the negative part of the vinyl and leaving the words you will be using on the backing sheet.  For long phrases, like the one for this word art, I like to cut apart the vinyl I'm removing so it doesn't accidently get stuck to letters I want to remain on the backing sheet. 

4. Cut off a piece of the grid transfer tape that is a little larger than your vinyl letters an apply it on top of the letters, lining them up with the grid lines.  Burnish the transfer paper onto the letters and then carefully peel back the transfer tape to lift off the letters.

5. Once your have lifted off the letters place the stip onto the glass of the photo frame and burnish it again to firmly affix the letters to the glass.  

Then slowly peel off the transfer tape so that just the letters remain on the glass.

6. Repeat using the same piece of transfer tape for the rest of your design.

Such a quick project, but it sure packs a punch! This would make such a great personalized gift too!!  Later in the week I'll be sharing how I used my ScanNCut to create that mixed media art card I used in this project, so stay tuned for that!

Oh, and speaking of gifts, my friends at Brother ScanNCut is giving one very lucky blog reader a fun prize package! See the details and enter to win below!

 Comments are now closed, the entry time has expired.

Giveaway Duration - March 14, 2016 through March 20, 2016

Brother prize valued at $53.97 PLUS Home Decor Frame valued at $50.00

Brother prize package includes: 

-10 Sheet of assorted craft vinyl (valued at $22.99)

-6 foot roll of grid transfer paper (valued at $17.99)

-6 foot roll of black craft yinyl (valued at $12.99)

Plus you get your own Home Decor Frame that you can personalize with your own family photos and artwork.

Official Rules: To enter to win, just comment below on this blog post by midnight on March 20, 2016. By commenting on this blog post you are agreeing to the official rules and you agree to provide your name and mailing address to Erin Bassett and Brother International for prize distribution. Prize fulfillment will be done by Erin Bassett and Brother International.

Eligibility requirements: Open to USA residents 18 and older only. 

A random winner will be chosen via random.org on March 21, 2016 and contacted that day. If potential prize winner does not claim the prize in 48 hours or forfeits the prize, the prize will be re-awarded. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited by law.

Disclosure: Erin is a paid consultant and has received  products from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely her own and based on her use of the products.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy from these links it won't cost you a penny more but Erin will make a little bit of money (not enough for a pony). 

I love books!  Fact, fiction, crafts...they're all good!  Today I'm going to share with you some great new books that I was sent to review. Rest your mind at ease, when I get review books I read them and if I don't like them I don't review them...so these ones passed! :)  I'm so glad they did too because the publishers were nice enough to allow me to give a copy away to my readers and also some of the finished projects! (see the giveaway details below)

Cute Crochet World, A Little Dictionary of Crochet Critters, Folks, Food & More by Suzanne Thompson

This paperback book is chalked full of little crochet projects. 144 pages worth! It's divided into six sections:

• Critters
• Food
• Growing Things
• Seasons
• Toys, Tools, Transportation
• Home

Make sure you read the "read me first" section of the book to make sure you know what supplies you may need as well as helpful techniques and tips.  Each project will tell you the normal information you'll need: the skill level, materials & tools, pattern notes, abbreviations, and most importantly, the instructions.  A lot of the patterns also have note on how you can use your finished piece.

Here's a few of my favorite projects from the book:

About the author: Suzanne Thompson has crocheted and knitted since childhood. In junior high, she earned a fortune (of several hundred dollars) by crocheting and selling granny-square handbags. However, she later chose writing and designing over mass production. The author of Crochet Bouquet and Crochet Garden, Suzann also teaches and writes about crochet, knitting, and polymer clay. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Dublin, TX.

Sew Quick Sew Cute by Fiona Goble

Who loves simple and speedy projects? -This girl! And good news too, because there are some cute ones in this paperback book! All the projects in the book are designed to take anywhere from an hour to a weekend so you can actually get them done instead of adding them to the "work in progress" bin!

Some of my favorite projects are:

Each project lists the approximate time it takes to make it, supplies and templates, step by step instructions with photos. With 142 pages of projects you'll be sure to find a fun one to work on!

About the author: Fiona Goble is an accomplished knitter and the author of many craft books and articles. She also owns a small business making woolen bags and home accessories. She lives in England.

Giveaway

5 lucky blog readers will randomly win a prize of either one of the books or a finished project from the book!  Enter below by commenting and then hitting the +1.  There are additional entries as well, see all the details below.

Excerpts reprinted with permission from Cute Crochet World © 2014 by Suzann Thompson, Lark Books, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by Lark Books.

Excerpts reprinted with permission from Sew Quick, Sew Cute by Fiona Goble. Copyright © 2014 Ivy Press. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy this from these links it won't cost you a penny more but I make a little bit of money (not enough for a pony).