You are my Sunshine Framed Art

Today I have a project to share with you that came about a little differently than most of my projects do.  Usually, I have a vision for something I want to make…either something I saw on Pinterest or a blog, or something I imagined on my own.  But this time, the project happened sort of backwards and came together  after the parts of it were already made.  Let me explain…
Recently, I got a pack of Sketch Pens to use with “Cammie,” my Silhouette Cameo.  Little Crafter and I were both anxious to test them out {I’m honestly not sure which of us was more excited}, so I let him choose a color and a design.  He picked a turquoise-blue and a chevron pattern…I’m training him well, aren’t I?  Then, we watched Cammie draw it onto a piece of cardstock.
The only trouble was, I had no idea what to do with it.  It sat in the computer room for several days, until one evening I happened to catch sight of the yellow photo frames I had left over from the Swing Dance we hosted at our church back in September.  Hmmm.
I trimmed the cardstock to fit, then had to come up with what to do next.  At first I thought about putting a picture on top, but was afraid it would cover too much of the chevron.  Then, it came to me.  A vinyl saying. And the rest is history…
Here’s how you can make something similar:
Materials:
– unfinished wooden frame and acrylic paint OR frame of your choice
– cardstock
– adhesive vinyl
– Silhouette Cameo and software
– Silhouette Sketch Pens

STEP 1: If your frame is unfinished like mine was, paint it with two coats of acrylic paint and let it dry completely.  If you purchased a colored frame you like, congratulations on saving yourself a {messy} step!

 

STEP 2: Choose a color for your sketch and place the pen into your machine where the blade normally goes.  Create your design {this chevron was one of the 10 free design downloads that comes with the pen pack} in Silhouette Studio, and make sure you indicate that you are using a pen rather than the blade in the settings section.  Have your machine draw the design onto cardstock!

Note: This photo is from another sketch pen project where I was sketching on black paper with a white pen, but it shows you the basic idea!  During this particular project, I was too busy keeping LC from practically jumping inside the machine to see what “Cammie” was doing to take photos!

 

 STEP 3: Cut your cardstock to fit into your frame.

STEP 4: Choose or create a saying and cut it out using adhesive vinyl.  I used transfer tape to lift the cut portion off the vinyl sheet.

STEP 5: Adhere your saying to the cardstock.  Since I used my transfer paper, I was able to keep the letters together and straight, just the way Cammie cut them out!

All finished!
I have to say, my very favorite part of this project was surprising Little Crafter with it.  I took it in his room and we had this conversation:
Me: “I made you something.”
LC: “ooooooh!  What is it?”
Me: “Look” {setting it on his night table}
LC: “What does it say, Mommy?”
Me: “Well, what words can you recognize?”
LC: “You…are…my.”
Me: “Right!  It says ‘You are my sunshine!'”
LC: {grinning} “Oh!  You are my sunshine!  That is so nice, Mommy!”
Me: “It’s true!  You are!”
LC: “You are such a nice mommy.”
Me: “I love you.”
{I kiss him and leave the room}
LC: “Mommy?  I have to tell you something.  I really love the present you made me.”
It doesn’t get much sweeter than that, friends!
Hugs & Glitter,

 

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