Alex and I attended a couple beautiful weddings this summer and I wanted to make a fun gift for the two couples. After a quick search for wedding gifts on Pinterest I came across different variations of using paper hearts arranged in a shadow box.  I loved the look of these and decided to take the idea a step further and used the lyrics for their first dance song for the background. 

Here are the instructions if you would like to make one of these yourself.  If you would rather have someone make one for you check out these Etsy pages SuzyShppee & Celadon Home.

Measure the area, in the shadow box, that is to be covered by the song text. Type the song lyrics into Microsoft Word and change the font.  I found this free font on dafont.com.  Next, play around with the margins to get the correct width of text coverage.  Then change the text size to where you want it. I used 12 point font.  To get the length to the correct coverage adjust the line spacing.  Justify the text to get a clean edge look. 

Print the text out and test to make sure you have the proper sizing.  It took me a couple of print outs and adjustments to get this perfect. Make sure to have extra printer paper. 

Once the sizing is correct, take the print out and cut it down to size (so it can fit in the shadow). I did this by centering the text in the shadow box and then tracing the outside edge of the shadow box onto the paper. Using a paper cutter I cut on the traced lines. I then cut off small slivers of paper from the edges until I got the perfect fit.

Next cut the velum sheet to size using the text sheet for a size reference. 

Using a silhouette machine cut the paper hearts out of the card stock. 

Also use the silhouette machine to make the text for on the hearts. Using transfer paper and a popsicle stick transfer the words onto the hearts. 

Arrange the hearts on the velum that is over the background text.  After the hearts are arranged, stick down the top corner heart (text heart) using rubber cement. 

The non-text hearts use the Popsicle stick to help make a crease down the center bending to about a 60 degree angle. 

Attach the next bent heart to the velum. I used a T-square to help get the first row straight. 

Continue attaching all the hearts alternating bent sides. 

To help get the velum flat to the text page, apply rubber cement to the back of the velum behind the hearts and along the edges that will be covered by the frame. 

Place your art into the shadow box and enjoy! 

We have way too many dog treats for our dog. Yes, we do spoil her but she is so much happier when she has a large variety of flavors and types of treats.  We recently started subscribing to BarkBox, so Zoey now gets new treats every month. We keep her treats on the counter and my husband (who hates any kind of clutter) pointed out with the expansion of dog treats was not looking very presentable.  

The other problem is Keagan the cat. He thinks the dog treats are also for him and that he can help himself. I am constantly finding him stealing treats from the counter or pushing them on the floor to the dog waiting below (I swear the cat and dog plot together to steal treats).

I don’t think my husband has caught on that when he points out a problem it is going to become a full on project.  I have been planning for a while to use the silhouette cameo to decorate a canister for the dog treats.  When looking for canisters online I came across these on Create & Barrel and fell in love with the chalkboard idea to label the treats.

In the end I ended up getting these canisters from The Container Store (very similar, if not the same, to these on Amazon). On top of putting chalkboards on the canisters, I loved the idea of using square canisters and having different sayings on the bottoms of easy canister that I could rotate to make different small sentences. 

The words I used are: 

First, mark off the areas for the chalkboard paint using clear wrap. I found that this sticks much better than tape.  Use the flat ends of the clear wrap, not the edge that gets torn. Push down the edges to get a good seal for a clean paint line. 

Using Non-sand grout and paint mix up chalkboard paint in a disposable cup. I used about ½ cup of paint with 1 tablespoon of non-sand grout.  With a sponge brush, paint the chalkboard paint onto the desired surfaces.  Take multiple sweeps to make the surface as smooth as possible.  Repeat coats until the surface is evenly covered (I did three). 

After the final coat of paint is applied carefully pull the clear wrap off of the canisters. I pulled at angle away from the edge; this seemed to work best for me. I ended up using my exacto knife to fix little flaws in the paint. I had a few of the corners that were not exactly perfect. 

Let the paint dry for a few hours. 

Using a Silhouette Cameo cut the words and decorations into the adhesive vinyl.  In addition to the words I also cut out bones and paw prints. Using transfer paper, stick the vinyl onto the canisters. 

Fill the canisters with treats and label by using the chalkboards and chalk. 

Don’t forget to give a couple of treats to your pets that will be anxiously watching you fill the canisters!

More info on how to use adhesive vinyl with silhouette cameo: Sarah' World YouTube video 
More info on how to make chalkboard paint: On Houzz