I hope all of you had awonderful Thanksgivings, filled with friends, family, love and laughter. Today, we’re decorating every square inch of our house for Christmas, and starting our biggest DIY project yet…homemade bunk beds for the kids!
However, I know many of you will be doing some shopping!
I wanted to share the details I hinted around to in my last post. This month’s Silhouette sale is HUGE! (We’re talking discounted machines and 40% off supplies kind of huge!)
Also, I have a how-to for a clock made from an old picture frame that I thought many of you would enjoy. It’s a great project to squeeze in before the craziness of Christmas hits, or even to give as a gift to someone that appreciates handmade treasures as much as you do.
Details on both are below!
Enjoy,
Nikki, In Stitches
First up…the Silhouette sale!
- 1 Silhouette CAMEO® plus 1 copy of Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition (MSRP $349.98) for $229.99
This bundle includes:
The Silhouette CAMEO®
-Silhouette CAMEO® electronic cutting too
-Power cable/AC adapter
-USB cable
-Silhouette Studio® software
-$10 download card
-12″ x 12″ cutting mat
-Silhouette blade
-Basic Instruction Guide
-CAMEO instructional DVD
Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition
- 1 Silhouette Portrait™ (MSRP $199.99) for $179.99
This bundle includes:
-Silhouette Portrait™ electronic cutting tool
-Silhouette Studio® software for Windows XP and higher, and Mac® OS X 10.6.8 and higher
-50 exclusive cuttable designs
-Power cable, USB cable
-8″ cutting mat
-Cutting blade
-$10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store
-Basic Instruction Guide
- 40 % off on supplies from Silhouette! (Offer only valid at silhouetteamerica.com.)
Need supplies??? This is the time to stock up!!!
Ready to start shopping?
And be sure to use promo code STITCHES to get your discount!
This offer is only good from 11/23/12 to 11/30/12!
(Note: percent discount excludes Silhouette CAMEO®, Silhouette Portrait™, downloads, download cards, subscriptions, and gift cards).
And now…how to make the clock!
Materials:
- Picture frame
- Fabric (Your piece needs to be large enough to cover the insert of the frame, with a few inches extra all around. I used linen for my clock, but depending on the size of your frame, you might want to check your scrap bin!)
- Ruler, pencil, and scissors
- Silhouette Cutting System
- Silhouette Stencil Vinyl for fabric and Silhouette Fabric Ink
- Sponge for applying ink (I actually use a Q-tip most of the time!)
- Batting (Again, a piece large enough to cover the frame insert, plus a little extra!)
- Cardboard (Just a side of an old box will probably do!)
- Spray adhesive
- Cordless drill and drill bit. (For the clockworks that I purchased, I needed a 1/2″ drill bit.)
- Clockworks (You can find a basic clock insert at your local craft store…that’s all that I used. I did however, but an extra set of hands that were longer than what came with the actual clock mechanism. If your frame is smaller, you don’t need to worry about this!)
Directions:
- Design your clock face in the Silhouette Studio® Design software.
You can use my design below as a guide for size and placement. There are a few things to note:
*The swirls at the corners are are the same “flourish” I used on my “Give Thanks” board. You can find them in the Silhouette online store here for just $0.99.
*The font for the numbers is Academy Engraved LET.
*Be sure your design extends a bit larger than you frame so you don’t risk seeing where it cuts off.
*You will need to cut this in sections since the cutting mat is only 12″ wide. (I cut the numbers as one, and each corner separate.)
- Ink design on fabric. (I very lightly traced the shape of my frame insert onto the linen, and also marked the center of each side before inking. This way, I could be sure my design extended all the way to the edge, and use the center marks as registration marks, to make sure my designs were centered and symmetrical.)
- Let ink dry and remove vinyl stencils.
- Cut a piece of cardboard the exact size of your frame insert. Drill a hole in the center where the clockworks will go through from the back to the front.
- Drill a hole in the center of the frame insert as well.
- Using spray adhesive, adhere a layer of batting to the cardboard. Then adhere your inked clock face to the batting. Wrap excess batting and fabric around to the back. (I just used another little spray of adhesive to keep the layers of in place back there!)
- With scissors, clip a hole in the center of your batting and fabric to allow the clockworks to come through. (Note: This should be right on top of the hole you drilled in the cardboard!)
- Place cardboard in frame.
- Place frame insert into frame.
- Insert clockworks following the manufacturers instructions.
pretty!
Thanks so much, Meg!!!
Hi Nikki!
Question about the Silhouette deal – How do you get the Cameo plus the Designer Edition software? I can’t seem to figure out how to get it for $229 as stated above. Can you help? Thanks! And thanks for this incredible deal!
Kristen
Kristen,
It is my pleasure! I just went through and tried to order…and you’re right I don’t see the Designer Edition included in the listing or at checkout, but I know that it is part of the bundle. Typically, if you buy the machine, after purchase they’ll give you a download code to upgrade to Designer Edition as soon as you install the software that comes free with the machine. Does that make sense??? I’m going to just check in with my contact there to be sure, but I think you’ll be fine ordering just as it’s listed. Let me know if you’re going to wait for a response from Silhouette…I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back!
What size of clock hands/motor did you use? What size frame?
This turned out wonderful and are going to make great Christmas presents! Thanks for the idea!
Thanks, Laura! I’m so happy you like it!
My frame is about 16″ square (outside measurement!) and my hands are 3″ and 4″. Remember, I bought an extra set of hands because the set that came with the clockworks was a little too small for my frame!
I love this idea! Did you use the glass piece as well?
Hi Lori!
I did NOT. You would have to drill a hole in the center of the glass for the clockworks to go through, and I didn’t have a way of doing that.
Let me know how your clock turns out!!