Marcy Milly SVG

From Cut Files to T-Shirts!

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

I spend most of my crafting time working on scrapbook pages, cards or designing classes. But one of my sidelines from working with cut files has been creating t-shirts for my grandchildren. With Christmas less than two weeks away, I spent some time yesterday making each of the grandchildren a t-shirt. Making t-shirts is a great way to personalize a gift for the recipient. I chose three cut file patterns that truly represented each of their personalities.

I purchase blank t-shirts from a local company called Bright Swan. A great Canadian company with excellent service and selection! Siser Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) is my go-to when making t-shirts. I use a Cricuit Easy Press (9″ x 9″) to transfer the vinyl to the t-shirts and find that this machine meets all my needs. It is very cost-efficient and can be stored easily, compared to a larger heat press.

The first t-shirt is for my oldest grandchild, Madison. She is very kind and caring and very aware of the impact that acts of kindness have on others around her. It was, therefore, fitting that I chose a cut file from Marcy Milly SVG to make her t-shirt. The World Kindness Day is a FREE cut file released on November 13, 2021, in honour of World Kindness Day.

I started this project by opening the SVG cut file in Silhouette Design Studio software (I use Designer Edition). Next, I ungrouped the file. Step three involved using the Fill panel to change the colours to those I would be using. These steps made the process much easier, as I now had a visual guide of the end product, and I was able to select the words by colour when it came time for cutting. The individual words, or group of words, were cut separately to minimize the waste of vinyl. Drawing a box or rectangle around each word, using the drawing tools in Silhouette, makes the weeding process very easy. Once all the individual files were cut, weeded and ready to go, I returned to the Silhouette software program to determine the centre point of the design. I gently fold the design where it intersects with the midline of the t-shirt. For this specific cut file the words Respect, Charity, Kindness, Goodness, Community and Affection all intersected with the centre line. Before adhering the design to the t-shirt, I fold the t-shirt in half and make a gentle press line to use as a guide. I’m very happy with the results and think Maddie is going to love this t-shirt!

The second t-shirt is for my oldest grandson, Owen. He loves playing video games and finds it amusing that I can’t keep up with him! This design came from Silhouette Studio. It was created by Hand Drawn Cuts and is Design ID #365234. I followed the same process as above and specifically used the turquoise HTV to match his controller. I grouped the coloured dots in the cut file to ensure they were spaced exactly as intended when pressing them to the t-shirt. I know Owen will love this t-shirt, and also find it amusing to wear to school!

Our youngest grandson Benjamin has a love for hedgehogs! This is also a Silhouette Studio design. It was created by Planeta Silhouette and is Design ID #212569. This design included layering the cut files that are all associated with the hedgehog. It was very easy to align and it pressed beautifully. Ben is going to love this t-shirt and who can resist giving him a hug when he’s wearing it?!

All I have left to do now is wrap these cute shirts and place them under the Christmas tree. I’m pretty sure I’m just as excited as they are for the big day!

I hope I’ve encouraged you to look at extending the use of your electronic cut files. Don’t be intimidated, making these shirts was not difficult, and I know you’ll find joy in making personalized shirts for your loved ones! Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

Giving Thanks

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

Fall is such a gorgeous season! It’s so refreshing to feel the temperature cool down and inspiring to see the leaves changing colour. There’s nothing better than spending time at the cottage during this season. It is a quiet time to relax and take in the beauty of our surroundings. We celebrate Thanksgiving at the cottage each year. It is the weekend we close for the season and say goodbye until the spring. We reflect on a great year of new memories and give thanks for such a wonderful summer getaway.

The Fall Words cut file from Marcy Milly SVG was the perfect compliment to the photo of my grandchildren on a beautiful fall day. This cut file is very versatile, providing multiple words for multiple layout options. I chose Cocoa Vanilla’s Legendary collection for the base page of this layout. The specific paper is called One Way. The large fir tree caught my attention immediately. I knew the tree would be one of the focal points on the layout. To provide some depth and texture, I layered the tree. First, I flipped the cut file horizontally to provide the proper placement on the left-hand side of the layout. Next, I enlarged the cut file to approximately 11″ in height and cut it from Bazzill Cardstock called Capers. I then resized the tree slightly smaller (3/4″) and cut it again. I made a 1/4″ score line along the straight edge of the smaller tree and used a 1/8″ Scor-Tape to adhere the two trees together. Before adding fun foam and pop dots between the trees for dimension, I adhered the tree to the layout first. I’m very happy with the overall effect this created, giving the feel of a real fir tree.

To help fill the blank space at the top of the layout, I used Paige Evan’s Leaf Banner. It can be purchased from the Silhouette Studio Store and is Design ID #383307. Brown cardstock was used to cut the file and I backed it with several coordinating fall colours of cardstock. The stunning brass folded leaf charm was a recent find at a Local Scrapbooking Store, The Scrapbook Shop in Listowel, ON. This was my first trip to this store, and my first visit to a Local Scrapbooking Store since COVID began. I will be back, it is a gem!

The layout was completed by adding the title using the Giving Thanks words from the Marcy Milly SVG cut file. It was so appropriate, as this picture was taken on Thanksgiving Weekend, 2017!

Thanks for popping in, and until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Boo to You Too!

~ dddesignz ~ 2 Comments

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to get your Boo on! Last Halloween, Benjamin was only two, and he wasn’t much impressed with Halloween – until the candy came out! We did our best to coax a smile out of this sweet boy, but he wasn’t having any of it. He was the saddest Marshall from Paw Patrol you ever did see. Whether happy or sad, it’s still important to document these moments in our lives. I know Ben will find this moment amusing when he’s a bit older.

The Boo to You Too! cut file from Marcy Milly SVG was an excellent fit for documenting this story. 

Echo Park’s Halloween Party patterned paper collection and stickers provided the foundation for this layout. The background page is the orange/black sheet, and three patterned papers – Gleaming Gourds, October 31st, and Candy Corn Craze, were used to back-fill the words in the title cut file. Once the title was complete, it was centred and adhered to the orange background. Some space was left free to slide the pictures underneath. Before securing the pictures, the entire page was sprinkled with black Liquidex Heavy Body Acrylic paint. The small black paint splotches help fill in some of the empty spaces and enhance the Halloween mood.

I love the bat in this cut file and like how there are cut-outs in the wings to give it the effect of flying. To emphasize this on the layout, I cut the bat six times. The next step was to create three bats from the six cut files. To create this look, adhere two of the bats together with a strong, permanent adhesive at the centre of the body only. Be careful to leave the wings free of glue. To produce the illusion of flapping wings, place small black 3D foam squares by Scrapbook Adhesives between the wings of each bat.

To complete the layout, I added a couple of stickers from the coordinating sticker sheet found in the patterned paper collection. The final touch was to add personalized journaling in the bottom right-hand corner.

Ben’s all ready for Halloween this year and looking forward to being a penguin! I’m hopeful I’ll manage some pictures with him smiling in his costume this year. But if not, you can be sure, I’ll be scrapbooking it anyways! I hope you have a safe and fun Halloween with those you love.

Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Summer

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Cottage season is over, and crafting season is back on! While I love summer and the cottage, I am always happy to get back into my craft room. It seemed fitting to share a summer layout with you as I get back into my crafting groove.

This summer, my son Sean, and his fiancé Tanis traveled from out west to our cottage in Muskoka. It was Sean’s first trip back in six years and his first trip to bring Tanis. We had a wonderful week with them and loved introducing Tanis to everything we love to do in the summer at the cottage. Tanis had a go at tubing and enjoyed a fun-filled, action-packed ride with Maddie and Owen! This picture represents the fun they all had!

To document this moment I used the FREE SUMMER SVG cut file from Marcy Milly SVG.

I selected a photo of our dock to backfill the cut file. You can accomplish this effect in two different ways. You can trace the outline of the cut file onto your photo and then fussy cut, or you can open the photo in Silhouette software and then open the SVG cut file over the top. This positioning allows you to move the cut file exactly where you want it cut. To achieve this, release the compound path of the cut file and remove the outline of the cut file and any extra inside pieces. This isolates the six letters that spell SUMMER. Then create a slight offset of the individual letters (0.05 works well) and delete the original (internal letters) before you cut. The result gives you a slightly larger backing to securely adhere the letters to the back of the cut file. The following pictures provide some close-ups of the title.

This layout was designed using Cocoa Vanilla Studio’s Boys Rule collection. The specific paper was called Entitled, and I used stickers, word phrases and chipboard embellishments from the collection to complete the layout.

Thickers Happy Life foam letter stickers were used to add the subtitle Tubing with Auntie Tanis and the date.

We had such a lovely summer this year and made exceptional memories that I look forward to documenting this winter. I hope you all have wonderful summer memories to get you through the long cold winter ahead. Thanks for visiting, and until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

The Girls!

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With summer just around the corner, it’s time to share a highlight from summer 2020. We’ve just come out of a very long lockdown and I can’t wait to make some fun memories this summer with my family and friends! This photo is one of my favourites from last summer as it captures 3 generations. We get so busy having fun together that we often forget to pause for a minute to take some pictures. This picture includes me, my daughter and granddaughter on a beautiful summer day at the cottage – our favourite place to be in the warm weather! I’m so thrilled that Marcy Milly SVG designed thegirls! cut file. It was exactly what I was looking for! This title lends itself to so many possibilities – sisters, reunions, weddings, sororities, girls night out, and many more – so many options!

I decided to use the Vicki Boutin Color Study paper, ephemera, and stickers for this layout. The bright bold colours remind me of beautiful summer days. I cut the title in Fushia cardstock and then offset the title 2 separate times to layer it in coordinating (orange and teal) cardstock. This also helps draw more attention to the title cut file. Once my picture was printed and matted I added fun foam to the back of the cut file to pop it up further and to create some dimension on the layout.

The rest of the layout came together quite quickly. Several embellishments came from the Vicki Boutin Color Study Journal Ephemera and Icon Ephemera packages. I also utilized a sticker (This is the Stuff That Matters) and the gold foil dots came from the 6 x 12 Sticker sheets that belong to the same collection. The date was added using teal glitter foam letter stickers from Thickers called Sunny.

As we start to see daylight in this pandemic, I hope the summer of 2021 is one of love and laughter for you. I can’t wait to hug so many important people in my life!! And don’t forget to grab pictures of your reunions and events that bring us back together. This is going to be a summer to celebrate!

Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Master Gardener

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Let me introduce you to my Grandpa, Harold Russell. He was a gifted carpenter by trade, but a master gardener in his retirement. My grandparents lived in Mississauga in a house he built. They lived at the end of a dead-end street with a huge lot to the left of the house that Grandpa turned into a massive vegetable garden. I often spent a couple of weeks with my grandparents during the summer months when I was young. My memories of these times included lots of time in the garden with Grandpa and watching my Nana cooking, canning and freezing all the bounty that resulted from his hard labour. Grandpa built a large cold cellar in the house and it was always fun to get inside to see all the filled jars from Nana’s canning efforts.

My favourite memories of Grandpa’s garden were visits in June when we were allowed to pick fresh strawberries ourselves, and later in the season when we picked fresh carrots. There’s nothing quite like a freshly picked carrot washed under the garden hose! It was one of my favourite treats from his garden! I also remember baskets of fruit and vegetables begin loaded into our car before we returned to London after a visit. Grandpa was a kind and patient man, and he treated his treasured vegetable garden with as much love and tenderness that he afforded his grandchildren. You can see how proud he was of his produce in these pictures. That squash! I wish I knew how many pounds it weighed, but you can see the delight on his face with the result. Grandpa introduced us to many new vegetables that we have never experienced before. Spaghetti squash was our favourite of all.

Marcy and Milly SVG‘s #freebiefriday cut file called Garden Words Background was the perfect file to document this story. You can find all the free cut files on the Marcy Milly SVG Facebook page. Once the file was sized to my liking for the layout, I created an offset of the cut file using Silhouette Studio software. The small sections that made up the centres cutouts of all of the letters were removed to provide a solid base. Then both sections of the cut file were cut on respective green and black cardstock. I chose not to centre the cut file on the offset background, and offset it slightly to the right to provide a more dramatic effect.

Simple Stories recent Simple Vintage Farmhouse Garden collection worked beautifully to help tell this story. Not only did I love the colour graphics in The Sweet Life patterned paper, but I loved the subtle pictures of garden vegetables in the rest of the paper. I used various pieces to embellish this layout from the coordinating Bits and Pieces and Garden Bits ephemera packs. The From the Garden sticker, seen in the photo with the large squash, came from the Cardstock Stickers found in the 12×12 Collection Kit. The title – Master Gardener – was added using doodlebug designs inc my type cardstock stickers.

I had a great time working on this layout and going down memory lane! So pleased to have a cut file that fit my Grandpa’s passion perfectly! Be sure to follow the Marcy Milly SVG page on Facebook to grab this #freebiefriday cut file and many more! Also, look for the post announcing a new monthly newsletter to keep informed on new monthly cut files. Sign up is via email. For all my gardening friends out there, I wish you the best growing season yet! Until next time, stay safe, stay well and Happy Scrapping!

My Rose Garden

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Thank goodness Spring has finally arrived in all its glory! Our gardens are beginning to grow and we can look forward to beautiful summer days ahead. These two beauties make me smile every day. They are my perpetual garden that just keeps blessing me day after day. The Bouquet of Roses cut file from Marcy and Milly SVG was a perfect fit for this recent photo. It is a 3 layer cut file and I found it very easy to assemble.

The pink blossoms in the photo and the peach in my granddaughter’s shirt were the inspiration for the colours in this layout. I chose the soft peach/pink combination background from the Vicki Boutin Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper pad entitled Enjoy Today. I love these papers, they have beautiful colour combinations and a lovely texture. They are also perfect for scrapbookers like me who remain a bit intimidated by the whole mixed media process! I matched the colours of the roses in the cut file to this pretty background paper.

To create some texture and dimension on this layout I cut the base leaf section of this cut file twice. The bottom level is sage coloured (formally the Green/Black paper) and came from the Carta Bella Flower Garden coordinating cardstock package. The top leaf level was cut from the backside of the 3×4 Journaling Cards paper found in the same collection. I liked the small flecks of white in this patterned paper. These papers were layered one over the other. To create the dimension, small foam squares were added between the leaf layers in the areas that fell outside of the centre roses.

As I create a layout I usually get all the elements ready first before committing to adhering them in place. This allows me to move things around and decide on the final positioning and determining if anything else should be added. I always find that the final layout is not exacting what I envisioned at the beginning. This process is something I love about creating, it allows me to continually grow and develop skills. When I laid out the cut file and photo on this beautiful background paper, I felt the edges of the layout were missing something. There was just too much white space on the borders for my liking. I settled on a stitched border to fill this void. I’ve stitched for many years and find it very relaxing and rewarding. It also provides another level of texture to the completed layout. To create this border I altered the Stitched Diamonds cut file from COAPA Cut Files. I removed all the cut lines from the centre of the file to leave the scalloped border. This scalloped border was stitched using DMC floss that coordinated with the background paper and roses. I used colours 605, 760, 893 and 895. I changed the colour for each singular scallop, so it did take a bit of time to complete the border. I feel this border helped pull the whole page together.

With the border completed the photo and cut file were added to the page. It was at this stage that I added the foam adhesive squares to the leaves. The final touches included adding the title and date using Thickers Happy Life foam letter stickers. These pale rose coloured stickers blended in beautifully.

I’m so glad you stopped by today and I hope I’ve inspired you to create with this gorgeous cut file! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

#MomLife

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful Mom’s out there!!! I am extremely lucky to be called Mom by two incredibly special people (Lindsay and Sean) and loved every stage as they grew from babies, toddlers, children, teenagers and into adults. I am extremely blessed that my children remain close and involved in our lives, even when one lives out west. And I am most fortunate that they both chose amazing life partners. Jeffrey and Tanis fit into this family perfectly. They just make our family bigger and better!

Today I am celebrating my beautiful daughter Lindsay. Lindsay was my firstborn and the first to make me a Nana. Two special reasons to celebrate today! Like so many other Mom’s out there, she has had to navigate raising a young family amidst the Covid crisis, health concerns and an ever-changing world of uncertainty. I’m so proud of her, she has more patience and grace than anyone I know. She has guided Madison and Owen through online learning all while raising a toddler. Any parent who’s in the same situation knows that’s enough stress to drive any Mom or Dad over the edge. She’s done the best she can for these 3 beauties and they are safe and secure in their loving home.

The #MomLife cut file, by Marcy and Milly SVG, was the perfect cut file to create this page with.

I love both the script and block versions of this cut file and quickly decided to make use of both. To start this project I cut the script version of the cut file onto HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) with my Silhouette Cameo and pressed it onto a t-shirt for my daughter. I thought it would be fun to have a picture of her with her children wearing the t-shirt in the layout. You can see the #MomLife t-shirt in the right-hand picture of this layout. I use a Cricut EasyPress 2 (9″ x 9″) to transfer the HTV to t-shirts. It works perfectly for my needs. Cut files are so versatile, there are so many things you can do with them. I love it when I can maximize the use of a cut file in additional ways to scrapbooking! Here are a couple more photos of the t-shirt.

Once the t-shirt was completed, I turned my attention to the layout. Using PinkFresh Studio’s Let’s Stay Home collection, I selected the Better Things are Ahead patterned paper for my background. The next step was to resize the block cut file of #MomLife and cut it out of white cardstock. I carefully matched the colours of the background paper to various pieces of coordinating cardstock. Each of the letters in the title was offset and cut using Silhouette Studio software. Once all 8 pieces were cut, they were adhered to the backside of the title to create the coordinating rainbow effect. The final stage included backing the completed file with double-sided adhesive foam to provide the title with a slight lift from the page.

The remainder of this layout fell together quite quickly. I enhanced the title with blue Puffy Alpha Stickers from the Let’s Stay Home collection. Both photos were matted with coordinating blue cardstock and adhered in place. All remaining embellishments came from the Let’s Stay Home collection including, Cardstock Stickers, Puffy Stickers, and the Ephemera Pack.

I would like to give special mention to my Son-in-Law, Jeffrey, who willingly took the beautiful photo on the left-hand side of this layout. Many, many, thanks Jeff, for helping me bring this layout vision to life!

In closing, I hope you all find special ways to celebrate today. Even though we can’t get together physically to celebrate, our families can take great pictures for us to scrapbook! And when you do, don’t forget to make use of this wonderful cut file from Marcy and Milly SVG to celebrate the Mom or Moms in your life that mean the world to you!

Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!

Great Idea

~ dddesignz ~ Leave a comment

Do you remember the game Twister? Did you ever think of playing it with shaving cream….on a water trampoline? Well, these crazy cousins thought it would be a lot of fun, and they were right! These beauties, and several more, got together on a perfect summer day in Muskoka to celebrate family and friendship. The pictures speak for themselves, a great time was had by all!

My second Design Team layout for Marcy Milly SVG is designed around the Great Idea cut file. When I first saw this cut file, so many ideas and possibilities went through my head. I love the light bulbs in this title and knew instantly that I could turn them into shaker boxes. As I pondered different ideas I was drawn back to this fun day in July 2018 when these cousins got together for some fun. Of all the games they played that day, the Shaving Cream Twister, on top of a floating trampoline, was the best!

My process to create this layout began in Silhouette Studio where I imported the Great Idea cut file and the photos I planned on using. By resizing these elements in the software program first, I can create a page map to complete the layout before anything is cut or printed. Once I settled on the design of the page, the selected pictures were printed and put aside while I focused on the cut file.

I chose colours for the title that matched the coloured circles on the Twister mat – red, blue, yellow and green. The offset tool in Silhouette was used to cut and back these letters. To create the light bulb shaker boxes, the knife tool in Silhouette Studio was used to separate the light bulb from each of the words. I also used this tool to cut away the filament to ensure the inside shaker had more room for sequins and movement. Once completed, this allowed me to cut 5 more copies of each light bulb from black cardstock without having to cut the full title out multiple times. These multiple layers of bulbs created the pockets required to turn the bulbs into shaker elements. I then traced the bulb section onto clear transparency film and cut two copies for each bulb. The transparency sections were glued to the bottom and top levels. The bottom parts of the bulbs were backed with shiny silver cardstock on the top light bulbs only. Next, all layers of the bulbs – except the tops – were glued together to create the pockets to hold the gold sequin mix. Once the gold sequin mix was in place, the top and final layer was glued in place. Here are some closeups of the completed light bulbs.

The background paper for this layout is called Box of Crayons from Shimelle. The bold repetitive circles were a perfect fit for the game Twister. To play up the whimsy of this layout, I expanded on the title using small white Thickers to complete the “It seemed like a GREAT IDEA at the time!” phrase. A large circular die was used from Lawn Fawn’s Large Stitched Circle Stackables to create a space for hand journaling. All of the cardstock embellishments came from the Hello Friend – Silver Holographic Chipboard Stickers that coordinate with the Vicki Boutin StoryTeller collection. The small colourful directional arrows complemented the spinner board within the Twister game. The hello Summer sticker came from a collection with the same name by Lori Whitlock and was added to the top right of the large photo. The sticker helps draw your eyes towards the action in the picture.

Are you tempted to pull out that old Twister game now?! Thanks for stopping by to share the fun today, and be sure to stop by MarcyMillySVG to pick up this fun cut file. I’d love to see what you do with it! Until next time, stay safe, stay well, and Happy Scrapping!