Nativity Vinyl Glass Ball Ornaments

Seven nativity designs in delicate silhouette style

to cut from vinyl, attach to cut acetate or vinyl 

insert shape, roll into a tube, and place inside 

a 3" glass ball, add artificial snow

if desired, add bow or other decoration,

then feature on Christmas tree or other displays.

These scale-able vector graphic (svg) downloads

are available from SnapDragon Snippets,

SVG Attic, and Silhouette America's online store,

to work with digital cutting systems such as

the Silhouette Cameo (our favorite) as well as

Cricut Design Space and others.

Here is the set of designs:

ASSEMBLE: 1.Obtain glass ball ornaments.

Designs are sized 3.1" size which work well 

with the  "Celebrate It" balls from Michael's Crafts; 

also included are the slightly reduced designs 

for the 2.6" balls.

2. Cut the selected size design from vinyl.

Since these designs are very small, several may

be set up in one or more rows when 
preparing to cut. Allow space between the

designs for trimming. Trim each with a small

margin around the component cuts, like the area

of white backing shown on the "Holy Family" design

being modeled in the image below.

NOTE that a good choice is "outdoor vinyl" 
such as Oracal 651 which has a stronger adhesive 
to help keep tiny pieces attached to backing 
during the weeding procedures.

3. The tiny details of these designs will require careful

and slow weeding to remove all excess around

and within the design components. 

Refer to the thumbnails

which appear with the downloads, 

or to the image above to preserve only the design.

4. Cut the ball insert shape from clear acetate.

5. Cut a piece of transfer "tape" paper,

remove backing, and place over the weeded

vinyl design.

6. Use a "scraper" to "burnish" the transfer paper

over the vinyl pieces to ensure they will be picked

up correctly and completely.

7. Carefully peel away the vinyl carrier sheet

leaving ALL vinyl pieces attached to the

transfer paper.

8. Position the vinyl on the front of the 

clear ball shape.

One way to do this is (without a lot of inadvertent sticking
of transfer tape) to place the clear ball shape

ON TOP of the carrier with vinyl and 
adjust the vinyl design compared to the ball shape

up/down and side-to-side.

Once desired position is determined, trim away the 

transfer paper even with the clear ball shape.

Next, move the clear shape to be in its final position

 BEHIND the vinyl/transfer paper, aligning the lower

edges of both, and visually adjusting before

allowing the transfer paper to "stick" in final position.

9. Burnish with scraper tool to attach the vinyl

shapes to the front of the clear ball shape.

10. Carefully peel away transfer paper,

making sure that each tiny detail of vinyl

remains in position attached to the acetate.

Here is the completed acetate shape.

11. Remove the top cap and wire loop of glass ball.

12. Carefully roll the completed design side-to-side

with vinyl on the inside . . .

. . . then insert the roll through the ball stem.

When the acetate unrolls, make sure that it

self-adjusts to be in the center of the ball

with the "stem" extension in the ball's neck.

Straighten, if necessary, with tweezers.

13. Replace cap and wire loop.

14. If desired, add some fake snow flakes

into the bottom of the ball prior to

re-attaching the cap and loop.

Embellish with ribbon at stem as desired.

Skeleton Card Box Envelope

Spooky yet sophisticated, this A7 (5x7) card

has a dimensional front that is built up

with rosette and circles layers,

centered atop a "wall paper" overlay of

skulls in oval "windows".

Its thickness requires special consideration

if you wish to enclose it for sending.

That is why this sized-to-fit box envelope

is just the ticket. It can be used for any dimensional

A7 card, closed with disc and twine wrap.

Skull emblem and tag help it coordinate to the card.

CARD ASSEMBLY OVERVIEW:
1. The A7 card featured in this tutorial will NOT be explained
in detail. Here are the basic steps:
A. Identify and cut the shapes
B. Fold the card base. Position (centered) overlay on base front.
C. Position (centered) and attach skull cutouts 
over the oval "windows".
D. Prepare the "31" front disc by threading perle cotton
or other soft twine on smallest darning needle possible
and thread up from back, down from front, etc.
to complete stitching details; hide tails on backside --
or use non-stitched front.
E. Layer "31" disc with contrast disc, sawtooth disc,
large disc into a unit, using center circle as alignment.
F. Prepare rosette: review steps in similar project
by searching "rosette" in this blog.
G. Layer front medallion assembly onto rosette, then
mount over the hole punch in overlay.
H. Prepare the banner by attaching "Halloween" and
"happy" word cuts; attach to bottom area of card.

BOX ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY
1. Identify and cut the shapes:
A main box body (2-3 panels joined at side seam)
B circles closure build up: 2 large & 2 small for each
C tag assembly: base, oval, skull, bar

2. Layer the two closure discs by gluing the two

large circles together. Take care that edges line up.

3. Layer the two small closure discs in the same way.

4. Align the small stack under the large disc stack,
and glue together.
This provides a little clearance to wrap twine.

5. Prepare to attach the flap disc by cutting 

a length of twine (or perle cotton as used in model),

gluing it in place at the circle punch, then

gluing the disc assembly over the twine in place

securely.

Also position and attach the second disc assembly

on the body.

6. Position and attach the regular size eyelet or stud

to secure each disc in position.

7. Assemble the skull tag by layering

and attaching the bar at top of tag where

edges align, disc over bar where upper

edges align, then center skull in place.

8. Position and attach assembled tag on the

"front" of the box body.

9. Fold the sides around to back, overlap

to guide hash marks (small cuts at upper

and lower edges of panels), and glue in place.

10. Complete box assembly by bending

bottom side tabs inward, bending and tucking

large bottom flap into box behind back panel.

11. To deliver card, insert into the box top,

fold side tabs inward and top flap down.

Wrap the twine in figure 8 to secure.

Here is the completed envelope box.

Jack O Lantern Hidden Gift Card

Grinning Jack has crescent layers front 

with top layer recesses or shapes to allow 

smile and crinkle eyes to fit in. 

Built up layers front and back allow for a hidden gift card 

holder with stem at top to slide inside. 

Measures approx. 5.75" wide x 5.875" tall when closed. 

ASSEMBLY: 1. Identify and cut the shapes:
A main card back panel   B main card front panel ("F" cut)
C main card build up shapes (5)
D slider back   E slider build up (3)
F stem back build up  G stem front build up
NOT SHOWN: stem accent build up shapes (5)
H stem accent front
I accent front base (show-thru)  
J crescent accent bases
K crescent, eyes and smile accent fronts

2. Assemble the main build up shapes by layering

one by one and attaching together, taking care

to line up all cut edges as precisely as possible

as each is joined into the stack.

NOTE: it will be helpful to press these under

a flat weight during the drying process to

minimize or eliminate curling and warping.

3. Position and attach the backside of the buildup

assembly on the backside of the main card back shape,

taking care to line up the edges that correspond

as precisely as possible (continue this attention

to edge alignment throughout).

4. Position and attach the main card front

over the buildup/back assembly.

5. Position the side accent crescent base shapes

onto the front of the accent base (show thru) shape,

lining up curved outer edges, and attaching in place.

Position and attach the center "crescent" in place

evenly centered between the side crescents.

6. Position and attach the top side crescent shapes

over the previous accent assembly. Then . . .

. . . position the upper front accent in place over

the middle crescent base, position and attach smile

tucked snugly into the corresponding cut edge

of the upper middle crescent, then

position and attach the lower portion.

Doing the assembly in this order will assist

in ease of fit of the smile.

Position and attach the eye accents into

their respective depressions.

8. Position and attach the accent front assembly
onto the main card assembly, with even
offset margin of main card showing all around.

9. Prepare the slider build up by aligning

and attaching the three window shapes

in the same manner as the main card

build up, taking care to line up cut edges.

10. Position and attach the build up over the

backside of the slider base.

12. Position the front and back
stem build up shapes onto the assembly,
aligning the edges that correspond.

13. Position and join the stem accent shapes
into a stack, all edges aligned.

14. Position and attach the stem stack to the

slider assembly, lining up the lower edges

with the bottom edges of the slider stem build up,

and offsetting evenly at other edges.

14. Position and attach the surfaces that touch

of the accent stem onto the stem accent build up.

NOTE: this stacked stem build up will allow

the stem of edges of the slider to

slide into place with clearance for the top of

the jack o'lantern accent build up.

15. Complete final assembly of the hidden gift card

holder by inserting the bottom of the slider into

the channel of the pumpkin assembly . . .

. . . and slide into place with the stem accent
lower edges overlapping above the surface
of the crescent accents.

While the slider is in "open" position,

insert card into slider recess,

then re-close the card.

Here is the completed Jack O'Lantern

with stem and slider in closed position.