DIY Captain America Card

My son has a friend “J” who loves super heroes. Whenever I see J, he is always wearing super hero gear. We are headed to his birthday party this weekend so I made him a Captain America birthday card. And like all great cards, I made sure the Captain America card would stand up for fun display value. This project was perfect for the June Silhouette Challenge “party” theme. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for more party ideas using the Silhouette.

{ Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post }

Supplies:

• red, white and blue cardstock (I used textured Bazzill cardstock)
• paper adhesive (I used Xyron 510 and permanent adhesive)
• Silhouette Portrait
• Silhouette Portrait mat

Instructions:

1. I designed my card and cut it using the Silhouette. For the card base, I made a small portion of the bottom of the back of the card flat so it would stand up.  The Silhouette cut shapes for the Captain America card were made using textured red, white and blue card stock. Different shapes of the same color were cut at the same time. There were two white circles so I could have one for the inside of the card.

2. Run the white circles, small red circle, blue circle and white star through the Xyron 510 with the permanent adhesive. Load all the papers into the Xyron with the textured side facing up except one of the white circles. The adhesive is applied on the bottom of paper so this allows for the non-textured side of the white circle to be placed on the inside of the card so that it is easier to write on. I use Xyron adhesive on all my cards because it adds adhesive to the entire shape.

3. Lift the shiny layer off the Xyron adhesive sheet. Then layer the card stock to assemble the card.

Voila! J’s card is ready for his birthday party this weekend.

For more party ideas, check out the 17 other Silhouette projects that my Silhouette Challenge friends have for you below.

1. Two Purple Couches // 2. Practically Functional // 3. Crafty Bonds // 4. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 5. From Whine to Whine // 6. Simply Kelly Designs // 7. unOriginal Mom // 8. MamaSonshine // 9. Get Silvered // 10. Made in a Day // 11. Weekend Craft // 12. Little Blue’s Room // 13. The Stamp Doc // 14. The Thinking Closet // 15. Cupcakes&Crowbars // 16. Where The Smiles Have Been // 17. DIYJustCuz // 18. My Paper Craze

Love all these party themed Silhouette projects. My son can’t wait to give J his Captain America card at his birthday party. I am sure I will be making more cards for all of my son’s super hero loving friends soon!

 Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means that I receive a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. Thank you for supporting Simply Kelly Designs. 

LEGO Inspired Printable Backpack Tags

Both of my kids are obsessed with LEGOs. They have been building, rebuilding and inventing their own creations all summer long. When I asked them what kind of backpack tags they wanted, they both happily agreed on LEGO inspired tags.

 

{Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links}

I designed two different LEGO inspired backpack tags. Colin’s tag uses the classic LEGO colors and Kara’s tag is the same colors as her LEGO Friends sets. You can make these tags for yourself with my printable file.

Supplies:

• my printable backpack tag file (download in Step 1 below)
• 3M Self-Seal Laminating Pouches (2.7 in x 4.5 in) (affiliate link) or Swingline Luggage Tag with Loop Laminating Pouches (2.8 x 4.5 inches) (affiliate link)
• 8.5×11 white card stock
• Silhouette or paper trimmer or scissors
• printer
• pen

Directions:

1. Click here to download the PDF or here to download the Silhouette print and cut file. These files are only for your personal use. I would appreciate a comment if you download.

2. Print out the tag(s) and cut them out. For detailed print and cut instructions for the Silhouette, search for “Directions for Silhouette Studio” in this post.

3. Take one self-sealing laminating sheet and place the clear side down. Place the tag facing down on the clear surface. Make sure to center evenly. Bend the top sheet back to separate the white backing. Roll the the backing across the back of the tag while smoothing it down. Smooth and seal the edges with your fingers.

Here are two completed tags.

Silhouette Challenge Posts

My Silhouette Challenge friends and I are sharing school themed Silhouette projects on our blogs today. Check out the projects below for a ton of Silhouette inspiration! The collage is clickable so click on any projects you want to see.

1. Weekend Craft // 2. From Wine to Whine // 3. Life After Laundry // 4. Adventures in All Things Food // 5. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 6. Sowdering About // 7. The Kim Six Fix // 8. Architecture of a Mom // 9. greylustergirl.com // 10. Please Excuse My Craftermath // 11. Simply Kelly Designs // 12. My Paper Craze // 13. Sweet Tea & Saving Grace // 14. Black and White Obsession // 15. Ginger Snap Craft // 16. It Happens in a Blink // 17. Creative Ramblings // 18. Little Blue’s Room

I hope you enjoy the free LEGO inspired printable backpack tags! Come back on Saturday for more LEGO inspired fun.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you order through the link I receive a small commission. As always I only recommend products that I love.

How To Create DIY Temporary Tattoos

The 4th of July is coming up in the United States and my kids love dressing up in their red white and blue for the holiday. They are both currently obsessed with temporary tattoos so I decided to try making my own DIY temporary tattoos.

{Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post}

This post is for the June “Patriotic” Silhouette challenge but you do not need a Silhouette machine to make temporary tattoos. You do need the Silhouette Printable Temporary Tattoo Paper. The package comes with supplies to create two 8.5 x 11 inch sheets of temporary tattoos.

Supplies:

• Silhouette Printable Temporary Tattoo Paper
• Inkjet Printer
• Silhouette machine or scissors

You can download my free set of patriotic temporary tattoos in Silhouette Studio format here or PDF here. These files are only for your PERSONAL USE. Please note that that since I made these temporary tattoos for my kids, they are sized smaller for kids.

Below are instructions for how to create your own temporary tattoos with a Silhouette machine and without a Silhouette Machine.

Non-Silhouette Instructions:

1. Use the image creating software of your choice to create the graphics for your temporary tattoos on an 8.5 x 11 inch document (or use the free file above). Tip: Printers do not print “white” so any white portions of your graphics will be clear.

2. Flip the images horizontally so they are mirrored from how the final temporary tattoo will look.

3. Print the document out onto the glossy side of the white temporary tattoo paper.

4. Skip down to Apply Adhesive And Tattoo.

Silhouette Instructions:

1. Create an 8.5×11 sized document, go to Page window and select Letter Size  under Use Printer Setting.

2. Turn on registration marks by going to the Registration Marks window and select Show Reg Marks at the top of the window.

The registration marks are key for the Print and Cut feature that will be used later.

3. Create the graphics for the tattoos. I created my images in Photoshop and imported them into the Silhouette Studio document. Be careful not to place any designs in the registration mark areas.

4. Next, you have to flip your images horizontally so that they are the mirrored images of the final images that you want. Just select image(s) you want to flip, right click and select Flip Horizontally. You can select one image to flip or all your images at the same time to flip.

5. Next, trace the images you create to add cut lines to each individual shape. The cut lines below are the red outlines. Also notice the mirrored images.

6. Load the inkjet printer so it will print on the glossy side of the white temporary tattoo paper. Go to File->Print in the menu to send the file to the printer.

7. Skip down to Apply Adhesive And Tattoo.

Apply Adhesive And Tattoo

1. Remove the small green strip on one end of the adhesive sheet. Line up the exposed adhesive with the corner of the printed temporary tattoo paper and smooth it down.

2. Carefully pull back the green backing a little bit at a time and smooth the adhesive sheet as you go. I used my bone folder from my Martha Stewart Crafts Scoring Board to smooth out the sheet. Make sure there are no air bubbles.

3. If not using the Silhouette, use scissors to cut out the temporary tattoos with a thin border around each image. If using Silhouette, Go to File->Cut Settings in the Silhouette Studio menu. Then select Temporary Tattoo Paper in the Silhouette Cut Settings Window. Next, Select File->Send to Silhouette in the menu. Select Click here to skip printing. Follow the directions to load the cutting mat and then press Continue. Select Detect automatically for the registration marks. Once the machine detects the registration marks, select Cut. Tip: The tattoo paper is expensive so before I use the cut feature on it, I printed the design out on regular paper first. Then I used the cut feature to make sure my machine was correctly calibrated. If the designs are not cut like they are in the document, calibrate your machine. You can find out how here.

4. The temporary tattoos application is the same as for any temporary tattoo. Peel the clear adhesive off the tattoo and place it with the image face down on the skin. Place a damp washcloth on the tattoo for 20 seconds. Peel off the white backing and that’s it!

I just love my fun kids!

More Silhouette Patriotic Projects

My Silhouette Challenge friends and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so check out the projects below for more inspiration! The collage is clickable so click on any project you want to see and you will be taken there.

1. Our Rosey Life // 2. My Mom Made That // 3. The Kim Six Fix // 4. Create & Babble // 5. The Frill of Life // 6. My Paper Craze // 7. Kate’s Paper Creations // 8. Simply Kelly Designs // 9. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 10. Mama Sonshine // 11. Lil Mrs. Tori // 12. Tried & True // 13. It Happens in a Blink // 14. McCall Manor // 15. The Thinking Closet // 16. unOriginal Mom // 17. Sowdering About // 18. Weekend Craft // 19. The Outlandish Momma // 20. Adventures in All Things Food // 21. Practically Functional // 22. Silhouette School // 23. Please Excuse My Craftermath… // 24. Ginger Snap Craft // 25. Pineapples And Pinecones // 26. Black and White Obsession // 27. TitiCrafty // 28. Architecture of a Mom //

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase through one of those links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Persimmon Paper Roses

The theme for the March Silhouette challenge project is paper. As a scrapbooker, that is probably the medium that I am most comfortable with for any project. I contemplated many different projects for this challenge post but the decision was easily made when I learned of something going on in my class. His preschool teacher had surgery last week. I decided to make her some persimmon paper roses to cheer her up during her recovery.

{Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links}

A few days before her surgery I asked her to tell me her favorite color. She was very specific about her favorite color being persimmon with green a close second. I was not sure about the persimmon color but she told me that it is kind of a deep orange color with a bit of pink. I went to the craft store and looked in their colored cardstock and there was a paper that was actually called persimmon! I grabbed a few sheets and then went over to the floral section to get some cloth stem wire. Next I chose some green marble accents to put in the bottom of the vase so I could arrange the bouquet. I used green marble accents but could have used any color because you can’t really see into the vase.

Supplies for 12 flower bouquet:

• 6 pieces of 8.5×11 colored cardstock
• 12 pieces of cloth stem wire
• 1/2 a bag of marble accents
• Silhouette Portrait
• Silhouette Portrait cutting mat
• wire cutters
• glue gun
• a coordinating vase
• ribbon for vase (optional)
• spray bottle with water (optional)

Directions:

1. Buy the 3D paper rose (Design #:11563) from the Silhouette online store. Import the file into Silhouette Studio and re-size the shape so two can fit on one 8.5×11 sheet of cardstock. Cut the file six times using all 6 pieces of 8.5×11 colored cardstock. The result is 12 flower shapes.

2. Heat up the glue gun.

3. Cut one piece of cloth stem wire to desired length. I used lengths of 9, 10 and 11 inches.

4. Add a small line of hot glue near the edge of the straight strip on the shape. The line is only about half the length of the paper strip so that the stem wire won’t show. Add the stem wire to the hot glue and fold it over to make the first turn in the rose.

6. (Optional) Spray the shape with water so that it will bend and curl easier. This is optional but I did do one or two roses without the water spray and they were much harder to do. Beware that some of the color may bleed onto your hands. I think my fingers will be persimmon for a day or two.

5. While holding the shape, turn the stem wire over and over again so that the paper wraps around it and the paper. When the last part of the shape has been folded around the wire, use the hot glue to secure it to the paper and to the stem. You will notice my fingers are the color of the paper in the photo below due to the color bleeding from the water spray.

You really have to play around with wrapping the rose. There were a few roses where I put hot glue on the paper as I went to hold the rose’s shape but the roses turned out very tightly wound. The looser roses are a result of me letting the paper relax a little bit before I glue down the end to the stem.

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for all the flowers.

7. Place marble accents in the bottom of the vase to form a base for the flowers to sit on.

8. Add the flowers to the vase and arrange them. I had to position them into the marble accents at the bottom of the vase to get them to stay. When I had the flowers where I wanted them, I added more marbles in between the flower stems and that helped hold my flowers in place

9. (Optional) Hot blue the ribbon onto the vase.

Now you have a beautiful, maintenance free bouquet of flowers to give to a friend or loved one!

My son’s preschool teacher was overwhelmed when he gave these flowers to her. Seeing how much she appreciated them almost made me cry!

You can find more Silhouette projects for this month’s challenge below. Just click on any project in the collage below and you will be taken to the corresponding post!

1. McCall Manor // 2. The Turquoise Home // 3. Creative Savings // 4. Sandpaper and Glue // 5. The Thinking Closet // 6. Sowdering About in Seattle // 7. Persia Lou // 8. From Wine to Whine // 9. Dream a Little Bigger // 10. Please Excuse My Craftermath… // 11. Play. Party. Pin. // 12. Everyday Paper // 13. Practically Functional // 14. A Tossed Salad Life // 15. My Favorite Finds // 16. The House on Hillbrook // 17. Adventures in All Things Food // 18. A Glimpse Into Barb’s Life // 19. TitiCrafty // 20. The Experimental Home // 21. feto soap blog // 22. Creative Ramblings // 23. The Stamp Doc // 24. Ginger Snap Crafts // 25. Simply Kelly Designs // 26. Whats Next Ma // 27. unOriginal Mom // 28. Bringing Creativity 2 Life // 29. Cutesy Crafts // 30. My Paper Craze // 31. Create & Babble // 32. Grey Luster Girl // 33. The Sensory Emporium // 34. Lil’ Mrs. Tori // 35. Black and White Obsession // 36. Mama Sonshine // 37. Weekend Craft // 38. Creative Carnival // 39. Peace, Love and Joyce // 40. Tried & True // 41. The Frill of Life // 42. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 43. Get Silvered // 44. Minted Strawberry

I hope my step by step tutorial was helpful and that you will make your own persimmon paper roses.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means that I receive a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. Thank you for supporting Simply Kelly Designs.