Love Letters and the Rest of the Alphabet

You can make these three layer letters in a box. These are set up to cut at 4 inches. but you can move things around to and resize to make them larger. Those shown were about 6 inches. The size of the heart was 4 inches. I cut these in scal2 on my cricut expression using the svg files below.  You can hang these on the wall  or set them on a solid surface. I have seen them attached to a ribbon and hanging on the wall vertically.

Make box back. I scored the box to make crisper folds. Make box front(I added piece of clear acetate paper in window). To assemble, place the three layers of letters on top of each other, separating with foam dot spacers. The fatter layer goes in the back. Cut 4x4 piece of contrasting paper for the back of the box(if you want). Add letter stack. Add lid to box.

Download L
Download O
Download V
Download E
Download Heart

Whole alphabet below

Alphabet and boxes

Fofucha Dolls...Say What?

A fofucha is the portuguese word for dolls crafted from Foam, styrofoam balls and wooden dowels. 

So what is Fofucha? Well, I don't  speak Spanish or Portuguese. In Brazil,  it means "super cute" and since it ends with an "a" it's in female context. Fofuchas are becoming increasingly popular in Brazil ( I believe that is where the actual craft technique originated) and the rest of South America. 

Well I agree, the dolls made are Super Cute.  Here are some I made.

The technique involves heating up the fun foam, then stretching it over a styrofoam ball. It takes the shape of the ball. There are some online tutorials. Here is one I used  Fofucha Pen Doll to get started.

Then I ordered this book, which had very clear instructions, and lots of pictures. I used it to make the doll wearing purple.







Because I didn't want to paint on the eyes, I made eye decals. You can order decal paper online. It is clear or white. I used clear.  That way my eyes always come out great! 


I also used my cricut to cut out the foam with some success. It does leave random line in your design  If you heat up the foam they disappear. If you multicut using regular blade, it makes enough of a cut that you can "rip" out the pieces. This was great on the pen doll, where i had to cut lots of tiny leaves. The other doll pieces it isn't really worth it, because the foam is easy to cut by hand.

You used the pointed end of the stick, to trace the pattern pieces onto the foam

Check out fofucha on pinterest. You will find many great examples that will inspire you to start creating today! It is fun. Except for the hot iron and glue, kids could make them. In other words, with your supervision  it would be a great craft for preteens and teens.


The bunny slippers were made using the boo boo bunny folding technique found on instructables.

http://www.instructables.com/id/BOO-BOO-BUNNIES/

Much easier than the tennis shoes! I used felt instead of foam. Usually you make boo boo bunny out of a wash cloth to hold an ice cube on a hurt child.

Spring Banner

Download Spring Banner svg

Cut this cute spring banner from card stock using this  free svg file.

I got the idea from this delightful Easter one.

I cut out hers on my cricut by converting the pdf files she gives you.

Then I decided to make a spring banner with pictures of bunnies in the garden and children on bicycles and playing outside. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Heart Tree

Let your Cricut do the work and cut you out this heart tree. Just attach glue to the outer edges of the tree sections, to attach the three sections and make a 3 d tree. Easy!

You can add an ornament(like a heart or a bell or something) Hung by a string or ribbon in the middle of the tree if you like.

Download Valentine Tree file

Enjoy! Happy Valentine's Day!

By the way, the table cloth came from Ross for 3.99.  The art work was printed from the internet and put in the dollar tree square frames. I tape three together to make a centerpiece, and put some fresh flowers in the middle.

Carrot Box with Bunny Butt

Get the File to cut the Carrot

This carrot box is easy to make. I found the tag here.

Files tested using scal 2 on a cricut expression.

I put clear acetate paper in the window. That way you can put candy in the box.

St. Paddy's Day Box Art

These boxes are easy to cut and assemble. Using the same technique as the letter boxes, I decided to make a shamrock shape too. Then I thought I'd make a cute St. Patrick's day scene for the other box.

You cut out the three layers of the images, and then stack them on top of each other, separating the layers with spacers(foam dots).  Assemble the box. putting a clear piece of paper inside the lid. Add a 4x4 piece of paper for the "background". Add your stacked images inside the lid, and close up your box.

These are set up in the files to cut 4x4 inch size. Of course, you can move things around and cut them any size you want.

Download shamrock box

Download St. Paddy box

Download St. Paddy box cut 4

I use my files within Scal 2 on a cricut.

The 3d letters I bought from SVGCUTS.  I decorated the completed letters with stickers from Michaels. The hats came from dollar tree.  I found the print online and put in a frame from dollar tree.    

The frames are 9x9 inches, and have a mat for multiple family photos. Remove the mat and they are perfect for scrapbook pages or subway art.

Love Letters

You can make these three layer letters in a box. These are set up to cut at 4 inches. but you can move things around to and resize to make them larger. Those shown were about 6 inches. The size of the heart was 4 inches. I cut these in scal2 on my cricut expression using the svg files below.  You can hang these on the wall  or set them on a solid surface. I have seen them attached to a ribbon and hanging on the wall vertically.

Make box back. I scored the box to make crisper folds. Make box front(I added piece of clear acetate paper in window). To assemble, place the three layers of letters on top of each other, separating with foam dot spacers. The fatter layer goes in the back. Cut 4x4 piece of contrasting paper for the back of the box(if you want). Add letter stack. Add lid to box.

Download L
Download O
Download V
Download E
Download Heart

Whole alphabet below

Alphabet and boxes

Valentine Love Birds..something to Print, and something to Cut

Today on my blog, I am going to give you what you need to make the display below. 

 I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the picture had my husband and my names, and our wedding date.

Printed on card stock. Placed in frame from Dollar Tree. These frames are 9.25 inch square frames. Look carefully and you will find them at your local store. Have a mat inside for several photos. Take out the mat, and put in your own photo. A nice gift for someone, made for a Dollar$! The glittery heart on the V also came from a bag at the Dollar Tree. You don't have to have it, but it adds a nice touch. Since I printed my copy, I added eyes to the birds.

Download both files in a My Memories 6 File and change names and dates to your own
Don't have My Memories V6 yet, Use code STMMMS79141 to get $10 off plus $10 free files .

Download JPG file for the black clothespin version that you can edit using any image editing software to add names and dates

Download JPG file for the red clothespin version that you can edit using any image editing software to add names and dates

Svg File to cut the birds

It takes four pieces for each bird, as the legs go between the two pieces of the body, then the wings are attached to each side. I tried making legs out of chenille sticks, but couldn't get my bird to stand without the piece of paper glued to the bottom. If you are just going to hang the birds, then the chenille stick legs would be fine. I used 20 gauge wire(sold in beading department) to make the legs. I just took a piece of wire, and wrapped it around a bottle to make a round circle at the end(looking like a blower for bubbles). I bent that flat to make a foot, and then bent it to look like a heart. I used low temp hot glue to place the legs between the body, and then played around with it until i got the bird to stand. If you don't have a cutting machine, I think you could just approximate the shape and make your own birds.

My friend Tona made the valentine deer, from a picture we had seen on pinterest. Each deer requires two wind corks. She used long straight pins(well that is what they looked like, probably an official beading name for them) for the legs. We ended up using E6000 glue to get things to stick to the cork. The antlers are made by wrapping a chenille stick around a pencil. Add bead eyes and pompom nose and tail, accent with a valentine bow.

By the way, the heart garland was bought at Michaels. With a coupon, it was only two dollars..Not worth making my own!

Paper Shamrock Wreath

Jennifer of The Craft Patch blog posted a Paper Shamrock that I thought was just right for St. Paddy's Day.



Link to original Paper Shamrock Creation and instructions




I have a room full of scrapbook paper and a Cricut, so I decided to take her instructions for hand cutting and turn it into a Svg file you can you use on your machine.  Because the Cricut can only cut 11.5 inches(not 12) the first strips need the last 1/2 inch cut by hand once it comes off the mat.







To use the file, there are five 12x12 mats of cuts. The first two are the dark green for the outside layer of the shamrock. The next two are the medium color. The final is the light color or for the inner loops of the leaves. To use within scal, set your mat to 12x12, and move the mat -12 to the right after you cut each mat.

File to cut Shamrock wreath


For assembly, you will do best to follow the original tutorial. I did "sew" my strips together instead of glue.

 Using a low temp hot glue gun would work quickly too. I lose patience waiting for the other glues to dry!

To make the medallion in the middle, I cut two 12x12 strips of paper 1 inch wide and glued end to end. I scored the paper every .25 inches. Then you accordion fold the paper. Flatten and glue to a piece of card board. Add shamrock in the middle.

Link to original Paper Shamrock Creation and instructions