Back to School Gift Idea

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Back-to-school time is a great time to put your Silhouette to use! And this week’s Silhouette Design Store freebie is perfect for a DIY back-to-school gift idea for students and teachers alike. You don’t even need to worry about having the perfect patterned cardstock on hand. With the help of a printable pattern, you’ll be able to complete the project in no time!

 

What you’ll need:

• Small Tote Box design (Silhouette Design Store ID 297163)
• Printable pattern – I used School Colored Pencils Paper (Design ID 188761) and School Supplies Paper (Design ID 188755)
• LD Traditional Cursive font (Design ID 166063)
• White cardstock (8.5 in x 11 in)
• Kraft cardstock
• Adhesive such as Scotch ATG gun, Tombow tape runner, Xyron, or double-sided scrapbook tape
• Baker’s Twine or ribbon
• Printer
• Silhouette Studio
• Silhouette Cameo or Portrait

 

Getting Started

In Silhouette Studio, set up a letter-size (8.5 in x 11 in) design page. Turn the registration marks ON by pressing M on your keyboard. Check the boxes for Show Print Border and Show Cut Border.

 

Open the Small Tote Box design. Ungroup the design and move the cut file for the base into the grey holding area.

 

Select all four accent pieces and rotate by 45 degrees (Object>Rotate>Rotate by 45° Clockwise).

 

If you are using a directional pattern (like I did), you may want to rotate some of the accent pieces individually as well.

1. Select the large accent piece at the bottom and rotate by 180° (Object>Rotate>Rotate by 180°).
2. Select one of the two smaller accent pieces and rotate by 90° (Object>Rotate>Rotate by 90° Clockwise). Repeat for the remaining smaller accent piece.

 

 

Add a Pattern Fill

Select all four accent pieces and make a compound path. The fill color will change to transparent.

 

With the accent pieces still selected, open your Silhouette Library and locate the School Colored Pencils Paper pattern. Click on the design’s thumbnail ONCE to fill the shapes with the pattern.

 

Note: If the shapes are not made into a compound path before adding the pattern, the pattern will fill each shape at a different scale.

 

Although the design has been rotated, the pattern will fill based on the original angle. To compensate for this, rotate the pattern by negative 45°.

1. In the Fill Panel, click on the Fill Pattern tab.
2. Click on the arrow at the bottom left of the panel to see the Advanced Options.
3. Enter -45.0 for the angle.

Scale and/or pan the pattern as desired.

For detailed information on how to use Pattern Fills, including the various advanced options, see my post on Using Pattern Fills in Silhouette Studio.

 

 

Add Text

Type the name using the LD Traditional Cursive font with the following settings:

Fill Color: Black
Line Color: Black
Character Spacing: 98%
Line Spacing 70%

Be sure to set the text to No Cut and position as desired.

 

Resizing (optional)

The finished size of the original design is approximately 2.75 in x 1.5 in x 3.5 in and can be cut on either the Cameo or the Portrait. It can be scaled to 110% and still fit on the Portrait mat.

If you have a Cameo, the design can be scaled as much as 155%, resulting in a finished size of approximately 4.25 in x 2 in x 5 in. You will need to re-arrange the pieces to make them fit on an 8.5 in x 11 in sheet for printing. Be sure to resize the base by the same percentage!

 

 

Printing & Cutting

Print the accent pieces (with registration marks) on white cardstock and cut on your Silhouette machine. I used the Cardstock, Plain setting but you will need to perform a Test Cut to find the correct setting for your media.

Copy the base and paste to a new design page. Cut from kraft cardstock.

 

 

Assembly

Lay the base flat on your workspace. Adhere the accent pieces to the base using the adhesive of your choice, aligning the holes of the front and back accent pieces with the holes in the base. I used my Scotch ATG gun for the larger box and a Tombow tape runner for the smaller one. A Xyron would work well too.

 

Fold up the front, back, and sides. Adhere the side tabs to the inside of the front and back. I used double-sided scrapbook tape to secure mine.

 

Fill the box with candy or other treats.  Use baker’s twine or ribbon to tie the box closed and you are done!

This little box is such a versatile design and could be used in a variety of ways, simply by changing the patterns. Think party favors, birthday gifts, Christmas treats, and more!

 

Are you taking advantage of each week’s Design Store freebie? If not, you should! They are a great way to build your Silhouette library. But don’t stop there! Be sure to check out the other free (or free with purchase) designs and weekly steals in the Deals section, along with subscription plans* and credit boosts that will help save you money.

 

If you’ve found this information helpful, please share the image below on Pinterest!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

*PS – when purchasing a subscription plan, don’t forget to use the code CAUGHT to save an additional 10% (or 15% when you pay all at once).

This post may contain affiliate advertising. This means that if you click on a link in the post, I may make a commission based on your purchase. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, and the commissions I earn help keep Caught by Design online. Thanks for your support!

 

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