Customized stickers on demand

I rely on my KNK machines to help me customize and make personal items and gifts. They are my trusty partners in all things crafty. For this project, I used my KNK Maxx Air to make stickers, and as usual, it did not let me down. (By the way, have you seen that new KNK Maxx Duo?  Eek, I’m sooooo excited!).

This may be the first time I made outdoor items for my dogs. I’m pretty proud of it, although I have a few more items to complete. All of my dogs (before you ask, I have six now) graduate from obedience training. Sometimes one of them really has a talent for it, and they get additional training and opportunities to show off their skills. I was a 4-H dog club leader and my daughter and niece were active in showing until they graduated so we’ve had lots of practice. As an empty nester starting this winter, I’ve been spending more time with the dogs and collected three new dogs in just the last year.

To keep the young ones busy, we tried an agility class this spring. We’ve been having lots of fun so I decided to build all of them a course here at home. I purchased the jump cup strips, furniture grade pipe and fittings online, and the lattice locally. I cut the pipe and assembled everything myself. The finishing step was adding visual cues (alignment marks) for the dogs. I downloaded the fact sheet on the pipes which contained the outside diameter of the pipe and used that to create rectangles one inch and four inches wide.

Jump course

Of course I had to add some cute paw prints on the center alignment mark. I am amazed at how perfectly the stickers came out! They wrap around the pipe exactly.

This is my super agility dog, Penelope. Once she figured out what I wanted she started to enjoy it more than I do! The brown girl that photo bombs all the time is Gigi.

And this is my clutz, Memphis, who skinned his nose and chin tripping over his own feet. He’s never going to be an agility dog.

Don’t worry, it healed up nicely! Yes, that’s Gigi trying to photo bomb on the left.

In the end, I made six jumps and twelve weave poles. I also purchased 24 cones for which I will be cutting numbers 1-24 to install on either side of them (they give the order in which to go through the course). I also have a mostly finished pause table and next will be a teeter and a dog walk (high up in the air, oh my).

This project is simple:

STICKER MATERIALS:

• Two colors of outdoor vinyl on 12 x 24 sheets
• Application fluid (can use a few drops of dish soap in a spray bottle)
• Standard (red cap) blade

VINYL STICKER Settings:

• f = 21
• v = 300
• p = 1

STICKER STEPS:

1. Measure or acquire the outside diameter of the pipe.
2. Create rectangles of the desired width and the height equal to the pipe’s outside diameter.
3. If desired, add cut-outs of any decorative shape.
4. Cut and weed.
5. Remove the vinyl from the backing sheet and spray application fluid on the sticky side. This allows you to reposition the vinyl if you don’t get it applied squarely the first time.

In the end, I made enough stickers for another six jumps which I donated to the dog training school. It was a lot of fun and hopefully others will get to enjoy basic agility.

You may already be aware, but there are some people who don’t realize how many cool and amazing products KNK USA offers. I talk to people all the time who did not realize KNK sells some of the best cutting materials on the market including vinyl, paper, chipboard, stencils, rhinestone supplies and so much more!!! Yes, their magical KNK cutters are are the focus, but I love to learn about the other fabulous products they bring us that complement the cutter lineup.

Today, I want to introduce Polymorph moldable plastic pellets. This is an easy and fun product, with many potential uses. I can attest it will keep kids (and adults) entertained for hours! (Not recommended for small children, do not ingest)

Polymorph comes as tiny (~2 mm diameter) pellets that transform into mouldable plastic when heated. There are brilliant colors crystals that can be added to create stunning colors. Why stop with one color? You can add multiple colors; either knead until the color is consistent or leave with streaks of color running through it.

Place the Polymorph pellets and desired color crystals in a glass cup or jar. I found if you use plastic it tends to stick to the surface of the container. Add hot water (140°F, 60°C) and wait one minute. My coffee maker does the job perfectly.

You’ll see the pellets start to lose their solidity. In this photo we are about halfway there.

Now the pellets are ready to mould.

Use caution pulling it out of the hot water. I found it was a perfect temperature at this point to pull it out with my fingers. Knead the beads until smooth while starting to form your shape. I chose to use silicone moulds for this project.

I left some of the color in streaks because I wanted to see how cool it would look when it cooled. This one has almost all red coloring. I’m not very good at estimating how much material I need for my mould, but that’s okay because I can shave it off with carving tools.

Next, I made a rose with the material that wasn’t as well mixed. I have to say it is my favorite!

While I was working, the material started to get a little hard to mould so I just popped it back in the hot water for a minute.

Once it is cooled you can carve it, drill it, shave it………Have some fun with Polymorph!

Cutlery pocket – Free File for the 4th of July!

I love the holidays and getting together with family and friends. My mom bought a lake house last fall where we get together at every opportunity (and now I don’t have to clean my house before and after every gathering!). Mom LOVES to decorate for the holidays. She usually is totally over the top! I’m helping out this coming holiday with homemade decorations because she doesn’t have much for this particular celebration.

Making life easier

Since we grab our food from the kitchen and head back outdoors whenever the weather is fair, I thought it would be nice to create some cutlery pockets to make the task easier (especially for the wee ones!) I love using the WorldWin ColorMates Smooth & Silky for this project, but any heavy card stock will work.

This is an emboss and cut project created in MTC:

One side will hold a napkin and the other side will hold the cutlery.

Materials:

• Standard (red cap) blade
• Heavy card stock like WorldWin ColorMates Smooth & Silky
• Double sided Adhesive tape
• Napkins and cutlery

Settings (Maxx Air):

• f = 82
• v = 200
• p = 1

Steps:

1. Open the Cutlery Pocket file.
2. Insert embossing tool (or use the blade with the lowest setting to just score the surface of your card stock).
3. If using the embossing tool, be sure to set the offset to -0-.
4. Hide the cut lines layer and send the emboss lines to the cutter.
5. Once that is complete, hide the emboss lines and show the cut lines.
6. Remove embossing tool and insert blade holder. Be sure to set the correct offset for the blade you are using.
7. Test cut a small shape outside of the design area.
8. Cut the pocket and remove from mat.
9. Fold at emboss lines, apply adhesive and attach one flap to the ‘front’ and the other flap to the ‘back’ of the center piece.
10. Fill with a napkin and cutlery.
11. Save all of the cut out stars for table confetti.

Download the Cutlery Pocket file here.

For the bottle, see Memorial Day Table Topper (Free File)

For the banner, see Banner for Independence Day – Free File from Team KNK