I'm Lovin' It! - LOTS of Silhouette projects!

So are you getting excited about the Silhouette Giveaway yet? You DID enter to win one of your own right?

Click here to enter to WIN!

Well, I'm Lovin' my Silhouette.......and so are a lot of other uber creative ladies!!

Today I thought I'd share what some of them are making with their Silhouettes (most of these ladies are giving one away as well, so be sure to enter on their sites too, and increase your chances to win!)

Amy at The Idea Room made this fantastic indoor herb garden!
shhhh.....don't tell Amy, but I secretly want to be HER!



The How Does She? girls have a bazillion projects with the Silhouette!
This one is a favorite of mine, since I loved etching glass, this project is perfect with school starting back up! ~Teacher Appreciation Gift!

Cindy at Skip to My Lou used the markers in her Silhouette to make these ADORABLE lunch bags for her daughter's first day of school!!!......

I know! So CUTE!♥

Thanks to Kate at Centsational Girl, for giving me yet another project to tackle! She made these cute silhouette pillows!

Beckie of Infarrantly Creative came up with a unique baby gift idea!!
What new parents wouldn't LOVE this gift!


speaking of babies...........Kari of U Create made the cutest little onsie for a boy!

and Jill of Homemade by Jill made these adorable girlie onsies!

I have plans to make a t-shirt......but the t-shirts Ashley of Make It and Love It made are SO fun!

Jen at Tatertots and Jello made "oh so cool" Subway Art!

and
Traci on the Shilhouette Machine Blog made this ordinary gift bag into extraordinary!


WHEW!!!.........now I bet you REALLY want to win a Silhouette of your own!
or if you can't wait.......you can buy one using the code in this post!

How Does She has a full list of 15 bloggers giving away a Silhouette!
go enter at each one and increase your chances!!
Good Luck!

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Now it’s your turn, let us know what you’re lovin' this week! If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link below.

What is I'm Lovin' It Fridays? get all the info, how to's and button here

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Etching Glass with the Silhouette

I have to share one of the many projects that I've been making with my new Silhouette!

Have you ever etched glass? I can't believe how easy it is to do!!

Take a look at what I did to my trifle bowl!......Would this not make a cute wedding or birthday gift? Think of all the possibilities!


By adding {enjoy} to it makes this the perfect bowl for any dessert, like Angle Food Patriotic Delight or Chocolate Oreo Peanut Butter Dessert.


I have to say though........a glass bowl is SO hard to photograph!......I must have taken 25+ pictures before I realized it showed up the best in front of the window. Still not the BEST shot....does any one know how to shoot something like this?


Want to see how I made it?!

1. Use your spiffy Silhouette Craft Cutter to cut what you want etched on the glass on adhesive vinyl.
2. remove the letters from the vinyl and place a piece of adhesive paper to the front of your vinyl stencil and rub firmly (I used my Pampered Chef scraper)
   
3. turn your vinyl over and remove the backing from the vinyl (leaving vinyl attached to the adhesive paper)
4. place the vinyl on your bowl
   
5. rub the adhesive paper firmly, allowing the vinyl to attach to the bowl. Be sure to rub out any bubbles or creases.
   
6. removed adhesive backing
7. apply a thick layer of etching cream with a sponge according to package instructions (I purchased etching cream at Hobby Lobby, my Michaels quit carrying it)
8. Leave the etching cream sit for about 15 mins.
   
9. Rinse off cream really well and remove vinyl! This makes the etching permanent, so you can not rub or wash it off. Wash bowl with soap and water, dry and it's ready to use!

So easy right?!

You could do this for a wedding or shower gift using a trifle bowl or even a Pyrex dish, just etch the couple's new last name! Add some hot pads and your favorite recipe and you have the perfect unique gift!

I will share a few more easy Silhouette project tutorials in the next few days!

Just think........if YOU win the free Silhouette, or purchase one using the special code from the post here.............you can join me in all the fun! .......And thanks again to the great people at Silhouette!




I'm linking to the following parties! Show & Tell, Get Your Craft On, We Did It Wed,

Etching cream and the Silhouette work for me!!

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A FREE Silhouette Craft Cutter {Giveaway!}

~

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED
Good Promo good until Aug 14 (see below)
winner will be announced on Mon Aug 9


Ok, I can't stand it any more!

I've been keeping a secret!......a HUGE.....$300 secret!!

Remember yesterday how I mention my new toy?
Well I was just so darn excited when my sweet friends at How Does She? set me up with this fantastic craft tool for myself AND one to give to one lucky TidyMom reader!!!

This incredible little machine is sleek and compact.
It makes me look like......well, a "crafty gal" with little effort on my part.
Her name is........Silhouette
(just rolls off the tongue doesn't it? ♥)

Take a look at her!.....She's so SLIM and beautiful!

I have heard a lot about all of the craft cutters out there, and honestly, I didn't know if I'd really use it........I thought it would be too complicated for me.
........Remember, I like SIMPLE projects!!

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong!!

You can cut vinyl

cut/make the cutest cards

cut outs for your scrapbooking

Huge assortment of paper cut outs

It did take me a little time to understand how to use my Silhouette, but their website is full of help, and their customer service number is awesome!........they didn't even get annoyed with me when I called 4 times in one afternoon! lol

The Silhouette hooks up to your computer and cuts out the shapes/letters that you tell it to. It's THAT easy! So all you need is your Silhouette machine, your computer, the cords and your imagination! You can even use an SD card and take your Silhouette wherever you go!

It comes with a nice library of shape and cutout files to get you started! And, what I LOVE is, you can use all of the letter fonts (True Type) from your own computer, to design your own cut outs. Hello!!! I can choose ANY font I want? Do you know how many FREE fonts there are out there?!! You can even create your own shapes and cutouts for your projects!!--I LOVE that!

No cartridges to buy!

They do have an online image store, where you can browse and purchase from a huge assortment of different shapes, letters, phrases, cutouts, etc......and upload them instantly to your computer. The images are just $.99 each and they offer membership plans and options for bulk-buying where they can cost even less than this. Each week, they also feature a free download on their site that you can add to your library. Love those freebies!
In no time I was making........

cupcake wrappers
(frosting recipe )



Sunshine help me cut out and iron on her school mascot on a pair of shorts
(I can't believe she starts high school in a few weeks!)

I even made a mug just for ME!!



I gave my knife block a fresh new look!



I even made this cute canvas tote bag with the help of my Silhouette!
(will post a tutorial soon)

and I'm STILL working on another project!!!

Later in the week I will share some "how-to's"
I can’t wait to show off more projects that you can create with this cutter.
But enough about me, let’s talk about this giveaway!

**This giveaway is only open to those in the states**

Here's how to enter to win:

1. Leave a comment by Sat Aug 7th at 9PM CST and tell me what is your favorite feature that the Silhouette has to offer.
   
2. Go over to Silhouette’s site and check things out. Then, come back here and leave a comment telling me how you would use the Silhouette machine! (ie, scrapbooking, vinyl, card making....EVERYTHING)
   
3. Blog about it with a link back to this post, then come back and leave a comment with the link.
4. Mention it on Twitter or Facebook- I want to win a Silhouette Craft Cutter from @TidyMom http://bit.ly/c7hiJy #giveaway (be sure to leave a comment letting me know)
5. Subscribe to TidyMom.net ...leave a comment letting me know you did or if you already do.
   

**PLEASE make sure you leave your email address if it's not linked to your account (so I can contact you if you win) also, be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry

The contest ends on Saturday Aug 7, 2010 at 9PM CST. I will announce & contact the winner on Monday Aug 9, 2010

The Giveaway includes:

A Silhouette Machine

(a $299.99 value)

And it includes…

• Silhouette machine
• Software for Windows XP/Vista
• Power cable, USB cable
• 2 Cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)
• One cutting blade
• $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store

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If you are interested in purchasing a Silhouette, there is an exclusive TidyMom promo code. Use the promo code TidyMomRocks to take advantage of these two promotions! (After you put in the code all the discounts and freebies will show up in the basket)

#1 AWESOME PROMO (running from August 1st through August 9th at midnight)

Buy a machine and receive the following:

- $50 off the Silhouette Craft Cutter

- 2 rolls of vinyl (Valued at $15.98)

- 1 roll of transfer tape (Valued at $7.99)

- Scraper (Valued at $6.99)

- Home Décor CD (Valued at $50)

- $10 Gift Card to the Silhouette Download Store

- Cutting Blade

- 2 Cutting Mats

All for $249.99

A Savings of $130.96

Just think of how much you’ll save on gift giving this year!

#2 GOOD PROMO (running from August 9th through August 14th at midnight)

Buy a machine and receive the following:

$50 off (receive for $249.99)

2 rolls of Heat transfer ($29.89 value)

$10 Gift Card to the Silhouette Download Store

Cutting Blade

2 Cutting Mats

All for $249.99

A savings of $79.98

Good Luck Everyone!!

Have fun!

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Disclaimer: I was provided with my own Silhouette, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. The thoughts and opinions expressed my own and have no reflection on receiving the product.

I'm Lovin' It - Kitchen Pantry Makeover

Welcome to the Party!!

*****************

I'm such a sucker for a good makeover AND good organization!

When I saw Shelley's amazing pantry makeover it was instantly love at first sight!

I read EVERY single word, just soaking it all in. You see, not only did Shelley do a beautiful transformation with her pantry, but she shares almost EVERY last detail of what she did, how she did it, where she got it and how she uses it!!

She used this small tin, from IKEA for about $2.00... to hold all of her spice packets.

{Love this tip}

*Keep things you use OFTEN at eye level, for easy use!

Shelley says the things you use EVERYDAY should be easy to access.

Try to label things and make sure that it all makes sense.

If you have noodles in one area... then your sauce should be it's sidekick! :)

She suggests that you keep heavy, less used, clutter prone items down low.
Aren't these boxes GREAT?! ♥

Things like her large bottle of oil, vinegars, soy sauce, season salt... and such are stored low, and hidden.

The quatrefoil design-----incredible don't you think?! ♥

Need great vinyl labels for your pantry?

You're in luck! Shelley sells them here

I LOVE that she shows us that........

"things will stay in their place,
and your pantry will turn into a space that can FUNCTION
instead of a place you put food 'n JUNK IN."

Be sure to pop over to House of Smith's to see everything Shelley did with her pantry! While you're there, browse around for a while, you will fall in love with all of her ideas like I did!!

Thanks for letting me share Shelley!!

NOTICE: Be sure to check back in here at TidyMom on Monday for a huge giveaway I'll be announcing!

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Now it’s your turn, let us know what you’re lovin' this week! If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link below.

What is I'm Lovin' It Fridays? get all the info, how to's and button here

Don't miss a post subscribe via Rss Reader or by E-Mail

{Sew Saucy Stitches} Print Giveaway!

I'm super excited for a fun giveaway I have for you today!!

Sew Saucy Stitches

Crystal has lots of wonderful digital artwork in her cute etsy shop!

You must take a look..... here are just a few of my favorites.

Here is a little info from Crystal about her and her digital artwork!

"My name is Crystal and I'm a SAH mom to 4 great kiddos. I've had a passion for photography for as long as I can remember and spend much of my free time (although I don't have much) taking pictures, reading, creating digital artwork, cooking, and trying to learn to sew! I love reading craft, sewing, and cooking blogs, although I haven't found the time to make one for myself!

I started playing with digital artwork a couple of years ago and have a true love for creating new pieces of art. My shop, Sew Saucy Stitches has been around since December of 2009 and growing every day. I love working on custom projects!

I enjoy creating art that has real meaning to me (ex. "I Love You, A Bushel And A Peck", was a song I sang to all my kids when they were younger, and continue to sing it today, although my teens get quite annoyed with it!) Many of my prints are actual words of wisdom or encouragement that I give my kids and then they become artwork at some point! "Expect to get what you give" and "dare to be different" started as just a mom giving advice!

Hope this gives you a little insight into my world...which very much revolves around my children and my love for art and all things handmade! "

Crystal was so kind, to send me a print of my choice...

I had a very hard time choosing just one, but decided on the

"Home is where your story begins...."



I was thrilled when my print arrived and was excited to hang it in my office. I just clipped it to a wooden pants hanger and hung it on the wall. I LOVE how it looks!


Okay... so the fabulous Crystal has offered one of her fabulous prints to

THREE TidyMom readers to win!

So here is how to enter:

Simply head on over to

Sew Saucy Stitches Etsy shop,

to check out all her cool prints...and then come back here and

leave a comment...

telling me and Crystal which item is your favorite or what your inspirational mantra is

Simple as that!

for extra entries you can: (don't forget to leave a separate comment for each thing you do)

• subscribe to TidyMom (or tell me if you already do)
  
• grab my blog button & post it on your blog's sidebar
• blog or facebook about this giveaway
• follow TidyMom on twitter and tweet: I want to win a cool print from @TidyMom & Sew Saucy Stitches http://bit.ly/ckc12U #giveaway

Giveaway will end on Aug 2, 2010 at 5 pm CST. Three winners with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. I will email the winners, they will have 48 hours to claim the prize or I will choose someone else. Be sure to leave your email address, or have it available on your blogger profile.

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Disclaimer: Sew Saucy Stitches provided me with my own print, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. These are my real opinions.