Tag: Paper Crafts

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Crafting with Abstract Florals: 5+ Creative Project Ideas Using Clikchic Designs

Silhouette Secrets+ with EllyMae

Welcome to this edition of Crafting Creativity, featuring the bold and beautiful abstract floral designs by Clikchic Designs! These eye-catching patterns are the centerpiece of a wide range of creative projects that highlight the versatility of digital designs. From a custom shaker card and sketch-style greeting cards to shrink plastic tool charms, bracelet charms, earrings, wine charms, and a personalized chalkboard sign—these florals bring a fresh and modern flair to every creation. You’ll also see them used in card backgrounds and oversized tags, offering endless possibilities for crafters of all kinds. Get ready to be inspired by how one design collection can do so much!

Collage of vibrant floral designs featured in various handmade projects including greeting cards, tags, charms, and bookmarks, showcasing the versatility of digital designs.

Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A great big THANK YOU to Clikchic Designs for being the May contributing artist for the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter. These gorgeous abstract floral designs can be found in Clikchic Designs artist store on the Silhouette Design Store site.

A collection of abstract floral designs in various colors, featuring purple, pink, and green blooms, as well as leaves, showcasing the artistry of Clikchic Designs.

Sign up for the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter HERE for future free files & project inspiration.

Crafting Creativity with Clikchic Abstract Florals

Project #1 – Custom Shaker Card

A hand holding a Mother's Day card embellished with colorful floral designs, positioned in front of a crafting machine and various crafting tools.

I set this up to print on a 12″ x 12″ sheet of cardstock. The only thing that did not fit on one sheet was the frame. It could easily be cut using letter size cardstock too.

Digital design interface displaying a shaker card layout featuring floral elements and a 'Happy Mother's Day' greeting.

I added a bit of sparkle on top of the flowers with a shimmer pen and love it. The hardest part is getting that to show up well on photos.

Close-up of a hand-decorated card featuring colorful abstract floral designs in shades of pink, red, and blue, adorned with green leaves and sparkly embellishments.

My mom loved it!

Don’t forget to add your shaker bits before you adhere the acetate & frame down. I got excited and forgot, so I had to peel up a corner and add them in. Nothing like making a project harder than it needs to be.

Additional Resources:

Supplies Used:

Project #2 – Sketched Card Backgrounds

Two birthday cards featuring abstract floral designs, one with a pink flower and the other with a blue flower, placed on a wooden table beside a container holding more floral stickers. A black pen and a white gel pen are also visible.

I drew out 2 rectangles and applied different Sketch Effects to them to create the sketched squares, then added a sketch sentiment around the outer edge of the border using a font called Flannel Shirt Sketch.

I then added some foam tape on the back of the Abstract Floral designs and added those to the center of the sketched frame to give it some dimension.

Next, I sketched a couple more with a premade frame called Dot Frame Sketched.

Two handmade greeting cards featuring colorful floral motifs with the text 'just for you' at the top. The cards are displayed on a wooden surface alongside a Gelly Roll marker and a black pen, with additional floral stickers in the background.

I think this one is my favorite of them all, but I think I’m drawn to this pink flower for some reason.

A birthday card featuring a colorful floral design on a white background, surrounded by the text 'happy birthday' repeated around the frame. In the background, a cutting machine is partially visible.

They are all gorgeous when paired with the Abstract Floral designs by Clikchic Designs.

A birthday card featuring a watercolor-style pink flower with dark outlines, positioned centrally within a black frame. The words 'happy birthday' are printed around the frame in a playful font.

I added the random dots around the edge of the square frames by hand after the card was sketched. I could have set it up in the software and had the machine do it perfectly, but it might have also smooshed the tip of my pen. This gives each card a randomness to it as well and makes it unique.

Additional Resources:

Supplies Used:

Project #3 – Shrink Plastic Projects

Have you ever used shrink plastic before?

There are so many things you can create with shrink plastic. From wine charms, bracelet charms, earrings, tumbler charms, tool charms, and more!

A variety of shrink plastic charms and earrings featuring abstract floral designs, displayed on a silver tray. The collection includes two flower-themed earrings, decorative tags, and a bracelet adorned with floral motifs.

Here is a look at my printed page using Silhouette Shrink Plastic Sheets.

A hand holding a printed sheet featuring various colorful abstract floral designs, showcasing purple, pink, and blue flowers alongside the word 'INSPIRE'. The sheet is being prepared for use with a cutting machine in a crafting workspace.

I used the default settings in the Silhouette Studio software to start with. Here is a look at the Send tab when I sent this page to cut.

A digital design workspace in Silhouette Studio, showcasing colorful abstract floral elements with the text 'INSPIRE'. Various floral shapes are arranged for cutting on shrink plastic.

Larger shrink plastic designs can be interesting when they shrink and you just have to keep going to get them to flatten out. Sometimes, they will also not be a uniform shape at the end. I think that adds to their uniqueness and can be fun to see what happens.

Custom tool charms are a great way to mark your scissors either for a specific purpose or to identify them when you go craft with friends. They are also handy to help you locate them on your craft table if they like to hide in a “safe” place often.

A pair of beige scissors with a protective cover sits on a grey surface, alongside a handmade keychain featuring a bookmark that reads 'INSPIRE' decorated with pink flowers and colorful beads.

I love watching it shrink when heat is applied! Check out this quick video on the Silhouette Secrets+ Facebook Page, on Instagram, or on my YouTube channel.

Any type of plastic will dull the blade quicker than other materials, so it is not uncommon to have to increase the settings the more you cut.

There are several brands of shrink plastic out there and they can all be a bit different. I cut both Silhouette Shrink Plastic and Grafix Shrink Plastic during this process. I was using an older blade and I think it’s about done for now. It was having a hard time cutting through the Grafix Shrink Plastic in clear.

Test cuts are really the only way to know what is going to work with your blade and materials.

Two “secrets” of mine are:

  1. I’ll take a blade that isn’t cutting other materials such as cardstock or HTV well and move it to my shrink plastic blade. I get a bit more life out of my blades this way.
  2. Do not unload the cutting mat after the cut and check it first. If it did not cut through, you can increase the settings and send it again until it does cut.

Additional Resources:

Supplies Used:

Project #4 – Custom Sign or Chalkboard Sign

I started by measuring out the size of this chalkboard sign and then drew a rectangle the same size in Silhouette Studio. Then I just started adding the abstract floral designs and moving them around to create a floral frame.

A decorative black sign featuring a colorful floral border and the text "Create THE THINGS YOU WISH EXISTED" in white and pastel hues.

Did you know that vinyl goes bad? Yep! I started this project using Silhouette Printable Vinyl, which I love for the print quality. However, it must have been an old package because it would not weed properly and was separating. I ended up using Orajet 1917 that I’ve had in my craft stash for many, many years and it cut beautifully.

There is a shelf life for vinyl and other craft products such as pens, paint, string, inks, tape, etc.

What is the lifespan of vinyl? Well, there really isn’t an exact date or time as you never really know how long it’s sat on a retailers shelf or the manufacturer’s shelf, etc. And other factors play into it as well, such as temperature, humidity, etc. You will see many mention 2 years when stored properly. But, you never really know how it was treated before you bought it. I have some vinyl that I still try to cut even though I know it’s like 7 years old. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

How can you tell if it’s gone bad?

The 2 most obvious signs I have found is that it can separate when you try to weed it and it’s a bugger to work with no matter your troubleshooting or cut settings. These 2 things can present themselves by the adhesive can visibly be separating from the actual vinyl or the vinyl will not easily come off the backing paper.

Usually I try to push through and I always end up kicking myself for working so hard to try to salvage it.

However, the final way I know the vinyl has gone bad is when I get a new good piece and it weeds so smoothly. And that’s when I end up kicking myself.

For this project, I lost a few letters of the text in the middle, so I just ended up cutting the text from a scrap of Oracal 651 in white and adding that on to the project. A great use of scraps!

Additional Resources:

Supplies Used:

Project #5 – Cards with Unique Backgrounds

When I do a print and cut page, I will fill the page with extra designs and this month I had a good bunch of the florals left over to create with. So I set about brainstorming what I could do with the left overs.

A collection of colorful floral stickers featuring various flower designs in shades of blue, pink, and red, arranged on a light blue background.

I was browsing Pinterest and found an idea where they created custom backgrounds with a stencil and inks. Why not do that with a stencil design & digital patterns?

Here is a look at the first ones I created.

Four handmade birthday cards featuring abstract floral designs in various colors, each with the text 'Happy Birthday' displayed prominently. The designs include a mix of pink, blue, and purple hues, set against a white background.

The next set, I started playing around with the orientation and mixed it up a bit.

I had so much fun playing around and creating backgrounds with different pattern papers.

Here is a close up look at one of the cards.

A birthday card featuring a pink flower with green leaves, against a background of blue and purple leaf patterns, with the text 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' prominently displayed.

You can do this too! Check out the video How to Make Stunning Card Backgrounds with Stencils & Digital Patterns in Silhouette on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel.

A digital tutorial for creating cards with stencils and patterned designs, featuring a split-screen image of the design process on a computer and finished card samples showcasing floral elements.

I am sharing my process of design creation, mistakes, and explanations of how and why I did things too!

Additional Resources:

Supplies Used:

Project #6 – Custom Tag Designs

Whether you need a design 2″ or 6″, you can do it with your cutting machine. You can create things whatever size you want.

These tags are 3.5″ wide and 6.125″ tall. I used the Project Wizard in Silhouette Studio to create the basic tag design and cut from 110 lb Neenah cardstock.

Two colorful birthday tags featuring floral designs, one with a blue flower and another with a red flower, both embellished with 'Happy Birthday' labels.

I used up the last 2 flowers and bits of greenery I had printed on cardstock and combined that with a patterned paper I designed and printed when I shared the tutorial on Creating Custom Background Patterns in Silhouette.

A person holding a printed page with an abstract blue and purple design, showcasing swirling patterns. In the background, there is a white printer and part of a calendar visible.

Additional Resources:

Supplies Used:

A great big THANK YOU to Clikchic Designs for collaborating for the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter!

Find more designs by Clikchic Designs at:

Follow Clikchic Designs for more inspiration on her website, Facebook, and Instagram. I love watching the videos of how the designs are created. I love how she takes something that she has physically painted and turns it into a digital file so we can all enjoy and create with her amazing artwork!

Sign up for the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter HERE so you don’t miss out on future collaborations.

From handmade cards to custom jewelry and home décor, the possibilities with these abstract floral designs by Clikchic Designs are truly endless. Each project in this Crafting Creativity edition showcases how one digital collection can be transformed into a wide variety of unique creations. Whether you’re crafting with paper, shrink plastic, or chalkboard materials, these versatile florals add a bold, artistic touch to every piece. We hope you’re inspired to explore new techniques and think outside the box with your next project.

Check out the Crafting Creativity series HERE.

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

A collage of various handcrafted projects featuring abstract floral designs, including greeting cards, jewelry, and a chalkboard sign, all showcasing the versatility of Clikchic Designs.

Enjoy !

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Off the Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette

Off the Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette

In this tutorial, I’m going to share how I created what’s called an “Off the Edge” die cut card with my Silhouette machine. This can add an interesting element to any card design and is fun to create.

Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette

I recently attended the Card Maker Success Challenge hosted by Brandi Mahon of Stamp Me Some Love and was so inspired by her card ideas. I took the card ideas she was sharing and modified them to be used with my Silhouette software and machine. If you are looking for card making inspiration, I recommend you check out her monthly Card Maker’s Success Subscription.

Supplies Used:

Creating an Off-the-Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette

The Background

First, I opened up an Alcohol Ink Background by Sarah Hurley and printed that as a full letter size page for my card backgrounds. I printed this onto Koala Glossy Photo Paper and it turned out awesome!

Alcohol Ink Background by Sarah Hurley Silhouette

I have a Canon TS9521C that is a borderless printer, but you can do the same even without a borderless printer.

Alcohol Ink Glossy Photo Paper

Then, I will use a paper trimmer to cut the page down to the size I need for my cards front. But, I won’t know the size until I have the other pieces cut out, so I just set this aside.

Designing in Silhouette Studio

Drawing the Card Pieces

Next, in the Silhouette software, using the Drawing Tools on the left side, draw out a rectangle and then scale it to 4.25″ x 5.5″ or whatever card size you are wanting. Unlock the lock to be able to change the height and width of the rectangle individually. Type the number and press Enter to set the dimension. Find more on the Scale Tools HERE.

Silhouette Drawing Tools and Scale Tools

Select the rectangle and then choose Align Left in the Alignment tools. With only 1 object selected it will align it to the left side of the page. This will help us in just a minute with our design.

Silhouette Studio Align Tools

Choosing a Sentiment

Next, open the sentiment design you want to use or with the Text Tool and type out the sentiment you want. If you type out the text, make sure to weld any overlapping pieces.

I used Hello by Diva Watts Designs found HERE for this card design.

Open Hello Design by Diva Watts Designs

Scale the hello down to fit within the card base and use the green dot at the top to rotate it to the desired angle. Or you can use the Rotate Panel and rotate to 45 degrees and adjust from there.

Editing the Card Front

Next, open the Page Setup Panel – Tab 2 and check the Show Grid and Snap to Grid boxes.

Silhouette Snap to Grid

This is going to allow us to adjust the rectangle and maintain straight lines.

Double click on the red line of the rectangle to bring up the Edit Points. Drag the top left edit point (gray dot) down.

Silhouette Edit Points

Grab the top right edit point and drag it down, so the top of the rectangle is angled as desired to run through the middle of the sentiment.

Silhouette Edit Points

With the Snap to Grid tool activated, it snaps the edit points to specific locations and easily allows the design to be manipulated and maintain the straight lines of the card edges.

Once the edges are how we want, Show Grid and Snap to Grid can be toggled off on the Page Setup Panel – Tab 2 again. I find the grid lines distracting when designing, but they can easily be turned back on if needed.

Create a Copy for Future Templates

Make a copy of the card base and you can use it for future cards as a starting point.

Silhouette Make Copies

Select both the card base and the sentiment and Align the Center in Silhouette. Depending on the design, center aligned may not look centered to the eye. Use the arrow keys to adjust if needed in small increments any direction.

Silhouette Center Align

Adding an Offset

Next, click on the sentiment to select it and open the Offset Panel on the right side. Click Offset and adjust the distance of the Offset as desired, then click Apply or press Enter. The distance of the offset will all depend on the sentiment and the size you are using. There is no magic number.

Silhouette Offset Panel

The offset should overlap the angled rectangle securely and not have too many tiny bits to be cut out.

Silhouette Weld

Welding the Offset to the Card Front

After clicking on Apply, the offset will be selected. Hold the Shift key down and click on the angled rectangle so that both are selected, then right click and choose Weld.

Silhouette Compound Path

This now combines the angled rectangle and the offset into 1 cut and creates the off-the-edge design. If there are any tiny bits like what the red arrow points to above, those are not needed in the design. Move the sentiment off of the design.

Then right click on the design and choose Release Compound path. Click off of it to deselect and click back on the little bit, press delete. When all the pieces you want are deleted, select the entire design again, right click and choose Make Compound Path.

Silhouette Compound Path

Use the drag select method to select all the pieces at the same time. Left click the mouse and hold it down in the top left corner above the design and drag it all the way through the design to the bottom right corner. Anything that the selection box touches, should be selected.

Cutting the Card Pieces & Assembly

Now you have your pieces for the Off-the-Edge card design designed and ready to cut in Silhouette.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card

I cut the sentiments from Oracal 651 Black vinyl and applied it to the off-the-edge piece that I cut from white cardstock. I reused a piece of transfer tape to apply it and was careful that it didn’t stick to the cardstock too much. You could also cut from cardstock and glue to the front, but adhesive vinyl makes it a bit quicker to assemble and the glossy sentiment made it pop with the photo paper background too!

Oracal Adhesive Vinyl 651 Cut Sentiments

Then I took the printed sheet of the alcohol background paper and cut it to 4.25″ x approximately 3.5″ with my paper trimmer. This size depends on how far the left side of the off-the-edge cut comes down. I used a Scrapbook tape runner to adhered the alcohol background to the front of a card base at the top.

You can either buy ready made card bases or make your own. In this card tutorial HERE at 32:30, I show how I cut my own card bases from a letter size sheet of paper.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card

Then used foam tape to add the off-the-edge cut piece to the front of the card at the bottom.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card

Off-the-Edge Die Cut Cards with Silhouette

Once you have the basics of the card creation down, you can modify it for different sentiments. Save the angled rectangle as a template for future card cuts.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette

I also created this with a Happy Birthday design by Erica Digital Designs, a Thank You design by Erica Digital Designs, and a Thank You design by Dresden Carrie.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette

The first card will take the longest to design, but then you will have all the steps and if you save the files, you can easily open in the future and get to cutting.

You will also notice that a couple of mine got a bit close to the edge and really did go off-the-edge. For these I can just snip that part off before placing in the envelope, but in the future I’ll adjust the design a bit smaller so the offset doesn’t go outside the bounds. Something like that is easily corrected in the software when it happens to you.

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

Off the Edge Die Cut Card with Silhouette Pinterest

Enjoy !

THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee.
Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.

Silhouette Classes

Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!

shop classes
Silhouette step-by-step Classes by Silhouette Secrets+

**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.