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It’s that time again! Time for the Silhouette Challenge! This month’s theme is paper. Make sure you stick around until the end to see 43 other inspirational projects.
Now choosing a project to complete for this challenge was actually kind of hard. With paper the options are just endless. Recently I used an old atlas to make cards for a cardswap. When I was choosing pages from the map book I had set aside Massachusetts and Texas knowing that I wanted to do something with them for an upcoming wedding. You see one of my best friends is getting married in July she is from Mass and her fiance is from Texas. With their relationship initially being long distance their states are a significant part of their story.
I decided on a simple design with two sides of a heart cut from the maps of their states. The heart coming together to make a whole.
Disclaimer: You do not need to use a silhouette to do this project but it does make it a lot easier.
At first I chose a random page of the atlas to use as a test and a template. I did this to get the exact positioning needed to include their hometowns within the heart.
In silhouette studio take your heart shape, that you have either have drawn or purchased, and draw a rectangle intersecting with the middle of the heart.
Click on the modify icon to bring up the modify sidebar. Select both the heart and rectangle and click on subtract.
This will give you the half a heart you will need to cut the maps.
Make sure to use the settings of “print paper” since map paper is very thin. The blade should be at a 2 speed at 10 and thickness at 15.
Use your first cut page as a template. The tricky part of this project is positioning the cut right to capture the specific town within the heart. Using the first cut map I was able to figure out where to cut the Massachusetts map to put it in the correct position. This was nerve racking since if I messed up I did not have any duplicate pages for Massachusetts and Texas.
It worked seamlessly. Thank god!
Using a measuring tape (I couldn’t find my ruler) I measured where to place the heart on the center of the page. Since the map paper is so thin I used primarily double stick tape and a little bit of zig paint.
I just absolutely love how this came out. It took me days to find the perfect frame (I actually still have a few sitting in my trunk to return). I found this one at target (30% off this week and if your spend $50 in home decor you get a $10 giftcard).
This gift was originally meant for her wedding shower in June but since Kristine is an avid reader and probably weekend crafts biggest cheerleader I had to give it to her early. And she loved it!
Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?
My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!
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
This is so well thought of! I am sure it will be much appreciated. 🙂
Hiya Michelle!!
I totally bought Map Scrapbook Paper back in the day since one of the towns had my maiden name on it. I could totally make this!! Thanks for the inspiration girl!
Much Love,Trisha D.Black and White Obsession (and fellow Silhouette Challenge-r)
I wonder if you could find a map with your maiden name and married name. How awesome would that be! Thanks for the Love!
Michelle, This is truly from the heart which is the best type of gift. I bet the recipient was very pleased with this present. Thank you for sharing your project. We have just purchased a lake home and I feel like I have a foot in each state, Now I will. do this in our homes so no matter where I am both places will feel like home. SC Buddy, Karen MarieDragonfly & Lily Pads
Karen! I love the idea of creating this for your lake home! Be sure to share when complete.
This is great! So very thoughtful and sweet! Great job!!
I’m finally getting through all the projects. This is gorgeous! What a wonderful idea.
So I keep forgetting to comment! We do love it (Chad did too!!) And OF COURSE I’m a fan, how can one not be??! You’re super talented and I’m glad I have good stuff to learn from when I eventually get a Sil machine!! xoxox Thanks again!!!
Very good project! I can’t wait to make one.
Michelle, This is the sweetest Wedding gift! Girl you are inspiring with your infectious smile and anything is possible attitude. Happy Creating, Karen Marie