Happy New Year!

This week it's time for me to go back to work and with the new year we all need a new calendar to hang on our wall. This one is great since it’s made using an acrylic sign holder, so you can write on it with dry erase markers this month and then erase it and have a blank slate for February.

Supplies:

• ScanNCut Machine & Accessories
• 9”x12” Clear Acrylic Sign Holder
• Gold and Black Craft Vinyl
• Grid Transfer Paper
• 9”x12” Scrapbook Paper
• CVPPAC1102 (New Year’s Glasses) Pattern from the 125 Design Patterns in ScanNCutCanvas
• FREE Calendar Cut Files download (http://www.erinbassett.com/Freebies/Cut_Files/Jan_Calendar.fcm and http://www.erinbassett.com/Freebies/Cut_Files/Month_Year.fcm  UPDATE FOR 2020: https://www.erinbassett.com/Freebies/Cut_Files/2020%20Calender%20Update.fcm )
• Pick Tool
• Ribbon

Instructions:

Watch this video tutorial, or follow along with the written instructions below.

1. Download the Calendar and the year cut file from http://www.erinbassett.com/Freebies/Cut_Files/Jan_Calendar.fcm and http://www.erinbassett.com/Freebies/Cut_Files/Month_Year.fcm: Download the New Year’s Eve Glasses cut file from ScanNCutCanvas.
2. Load the calendar cut file onto your ScanNCut and cut it out of gold craft vinyl. If you use a different size sign holder you will need to adjust the size before cutting. Be sure to perform a test cut to determine your blade depth. You want your blade to cut through the vinyl, but not through the vinyl backing paper.
3. Cut the New Year’s Glasses and “2018” out of black craft vinyl and put it aside for later.
4. Trim your scrapbook paper to fit your sign holder and insert the paper inside it.
5. Weed out the negative parts of the calendar, New Year’s Glasses, and 2018 by slowly pealing back the parts of the vinyl you won’t be using. The pick tool is helpful to get the tiny pieces out.
6. Apply a piece of grid transfer paper on top of the calendar design making sure to use the grid marks to like up your design so it’s straight. Burnish it so the vinyl adheres to the transfer paper.
7. Slowly peel up the transfer paper to lift off the vinyl design.
8. Line up the edge of grid paper and the edge of the sign holder. Smooth the transfer paper onto the acrylic sign and then burnish it to make the vinyl adhere to the sign holder.
9. Repeat that process for the other cut vinyl designs.
10. Thread a piece of ribbon through the two panes of the sign holder and tie a bow in which to hang your calendar.

Your calendar is all set to fill out for the month!  Next month you can just erase your writing, remove the “January,” and apply “February,” and then switch out any of the decorative pieces.

Faber Castell came out with a Vision Board Kit recently and asked me to create something with it and then to blog about it on the Design Memory Craft blog (you can check that out HERE).  So I made a board that would be inspiring to me yet useful and interactive.

One of my favorite things about this kit is that it comes with everything you need to get started creating and if you want to add in more things or use more products you can easily mix those in.  I created this video showing step by step how I created the actual bulletin board and each of the pieces I added to it:

After making the board and inserting it into a frame I had at home I took the 6"x6" piece of printed paper with the flowers on it and decide I'd watercolor them in using the Grip markers that also come in the kit and some Gelatos that I already had. The Grip markers are waterbased  and are perfect for scribbling out on a craft mat, adding water to, and then painting in the flowers on the paper. (And another cool thing about them is if they dry out you can dip them into water to reactivate them!)

I also used a stencil from the 101 Stencil Collection and both the Pearl and the Silver Texture Lux to add some texture and shine to the background.

I knew I wanted to tuck the other 6"x6" piece of paper behind the flower one so I wanted to keep it simple but meaningful and inspirational to me. I came up with the plan to just use a small tipped PITT Pen to write out the attributes of the Lord that began with each of the letters. I really enjoyed meditating on those and knowing I can pull it out and refer to it when I need it. I used the PITT Pen instead of the Grip marker that comes in the kit because it has a smaller nib that made it easier to write small with.

This kit comes with so many cute smaller pieces of paper and tags that are perfect for keeping my lists on, so I bundled them all together and put them on a ring so I could hang them on one of the pens that come in the kit .

I also used some of the banner and diecut pieces that come in the kit to tie in with one of my favorite quotes I had written on another card that came in the kit.
That verse in Ephesians has really been on my heart lately and I love how Jimmy put words to how I feel about it:

Yep, love that.

Don't you love that big, glittery hash tag!!! I knew that I wanted to use that on the frame and so I used my ScanNCut to cut out the word "inspire" out of Scor-Tape on cardstock and glittered it up to match.

This was such a fun project to do and I hope to keep using the board, adding to it, rearranging things, and continue to be inspired from it.

Disclosure: Erin is a paid consultant and has received  products from Faber-Castell  and Brother ScanNCut 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). 

"A place for everything and everything in it's place." is a motto I try to live by. I really love good organization and I think that's one of the things that's slowing me down in my quest to finish up my new arts and crafts studio. Now that the major furniture is in for the most part it feels like I'm doing a puzzle trying to figure out what I use most, where it should go that's most convenient, and how to organize it to it's easy to find, use, and put away. So far it's going well, it's just slower then I'd like.

One of my dilemmas is where to store my  ScanNCut^® cutting mats. I started off with them in a basket, but it just looked messy with them slip sliding every which way. Then it dawned on me that I could punch a hole in them and hang them on a hook.  -So that's what I did!

The hole punch I used can cut through thick materials, so I was able to cut all my mats at once.

I just stacked them up and used a binder clip to hold them together on the side that I wasn't punching.

Then I just punched a hole into the colored banner that says "Brother" so that the machine wouldn't be effected by the hole.  I tested it and haven't had any problems with having a hole in my mat.

Ta-da! There's the hole!

After the holes were punched I hang them on a hook on the side of one of my cabinets.

So that's how I'm storing my mats.  How do you store yours?

Sponsor: Brother International

Disclosure: I am a paid consultant for Brother International Corporation and have received a ScanNCut from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely my own and based on my use of the product. 

As an impatient crafter I use a few different cutting mats with my ScanNCut^® so I don't have to be slowed down by cleaning all the little bits off while I'm working. I'd much rather be crafting along then cleaning stuff (as you can tell by my inked up stamps, painted on stencils, etc. LOL!-) I just don't clean my art stuff unless it's necessary, and cutting mats are one of those necessities! Having a clean mat allows whatever material you are using to stick well to the mat so that it cuts cleanly without your material lifting off the mat and causing problems.

Well, I was organizing my new art studio the other day I was looking at my ScanNCut Mats and how desperately they need a good cleaning!  Now I'm sure you expert digital die-cut machine owners know how to keep your mats clean but for all you newbies I thought I'd pass on how I clean my mats....oh, and you experts, be sure to add any tips you have below in the comments! We'd love to learn from you too!!

Ok, so I start off by scraping all the bits off of my mat. I use an old credit card style hotel room key to get off paper or plastic pieces left behind on my mat.

Next I take an alcohol free baby wipe and gently work in a circular scrubbing motion over my mat, using new wipes as I need them. 

Ewww, it really gets the gunk off!

Lastly I let my mats dry for about 10 minutes before replacing the plastic protective cover back over them.  The stickiness on my mats is revitalized now that they're clean and I'm able to use them a lot longer if I keep them clean.

Are you a neat freek and clean your mats as you go? Do you have any tips for us? Leave your comments below!

Sponsor: Brother International

Disclosure: I am a paid consultant for Brother International Corporation and have received a ScanNCut from Brother to evaluate. However, the opinions expressed are entirely my own and based on my use of the product. 

As I'm settling into our new home I was reminded that a lot of you have been wondering about the awesome storage solution I was using during our transition from out old home ----> to our temporary place and ----> to our new home.  Yeah, you read that right, we moved twice.  Not so fun!

At first I was a little panicked what I'd do with all my art stuff, after all it's not just for fun, it's my job.  Thankfully I saw the Stanley Fat Max at a crop I was at (the lady that had it was using it for her Project Life storage) and I knew it would be perfect for my mixed media supplies during our transition.

I made a quick video on how I have my traveling storage set up now, but I think it will wind up being used for either Project Life or for taking with me on crops once I finish moving into my new studio.

See, it's a great solution for what I needed and I love that I will still be able to use it in the future as well.  

Have you had to figure out a creative storage solution when moving? Tell me about it! I'm trying to figure out my studio storage now!