Westie Face Paper Cutout Box

For Easter, I keep seeing these items that use a minimal bit of artwork to give the impression of a rabbit, chick or other small animal. This (not an affiliate link) is a good example.

I kept rolling the idea around in my mind, wondering how to do it in paper, SuzerStyle.

It was Mr. SuzerSpace who provided the obvious answer – a Westie face. Up until a few years ago, we’ve had a Westie as a housemate. If you aren’t familiar with the breed, they are a small white terrier, bred originally for ratting on the coasts of Scotland. They do not know they are small. In fact, I’m not sure they know they are dogs.

Here’s the AKC description:

Possessed with no small amount of self-esteem, the West Highland White Terrier is an all-white, compact, sturdy package of frolicsome energy. His ears stand up naturally and his tail is short by nature’s design. The breed was developed in the Highlands of Scotland for the hard and dangerous work of destroying vermin. Though independent in nature, they enjoy participating in Conformation, Agility, Obedience and Tracking, but their favorite activity is Earthdog Tests — designed to test his natural instincts. Life with one of the ‘little white dogs’ is never dull and can be a challenge to the unsuspecting first-time owner.

The only part I’d disagree with is the “enjoy participating in Conformation, Agility, Obedience …” part. They don’t enjoy being obedient. They only enjoy being in charge 🙂 .

They have a distinctive shape, and their big heads are big part of their cuteness. And a big head is what you need for this craft to succeed.

And it turns out, a new skill with the Silhouette.

I can’t remember if I’ve shared this great site that creates templates for you. Even if I have, it’s worth reminding you of it. Pick a shape, punch in your numbers and presto, a SVG or PDF file is created for you to work with.

I used the pattern for the “Box with Lid” even though I didn’t want the lid. Using that basic box shape, I did my usual trick of scouring the internet to find clip art to base my design off of. I even found a neat little video as well.

In Adobe Illustrator

Using that basic template for the box and several clip art images of Westie heads, I traced off the parts of the face I wanted to cut out above the box line. Every Westie I’ve owned or hugged has a mane of hair sticking around their face, above and around their ears, so I added a few cut out pieces in the ears to mimic that as well.

I really like the idea of hand drawing little details onto crafts. But you know what’s frustrating? Ruining your just about completed craft with a lopsided eyeball or zigging when you meant to zag on an outline. I’m not talking about the little imperfections that made a handmade craft, uh, handmade. Those are cool. But not a cross-eyed Westie. That’s just weird.

When I bought my Silhouette Cameo 3, it came in a setup with adhesive vinyl, some tools and a bunch of sketch pens. In truth, I didn’t really want the pens, but that particular bundle was a better value for me than some of the others. And suddenly, I was happy I did that, because I had a use for the pens.

While still in Illustrator I added guidelines for the eyeballs, nose and the zigzag that would define the bottom of the head. I made the color those strokes a light blue. The scores I colored as red and the cutlines were black. Actually, the template maker site does the red and black coloring, I just kept it when I switched up the panel with the head.

I exported my file as a DXF, since the basic version of Silhouette Studio® doesn’t support SVG files, but it does work with DXF files.

In Silhouette Studio

In Silhouette Studio, I set up the design space to match my paper size, and then brought in my Westie head artwork.

And then I searched the internet for a tutorial on how to use the pens. This one, by far worked the best for my particular brain. I used her “Method 2” which steps you through setting cut settings by line color.

In the Advanced Cutting Settings area, I selected the blue items and chose the tool for those to be a Silhouette Sketch Pen. The red and black lines I set to cut with the Auto Blade. I put a black pen in the tool holder, and sent the job to the Silhouette.

Don’t miss the part in the tutorial that tells you to move the pen settings above the others, since you want it to sketch before you cut. I’m not sure what would happen if you forget, but I figure if she went to the trouble to bring it up, I should follow the advice.

After I weeded the paper from the mat, I was left with this:

 

I used a thick black Sharpie to fill in the eyes, nose and whatever those little lines under the nose are called, and to go over outline of the bottom of the head. I let that dry so it wouldn’t smear when I touched it, and then used double stick tape on the glue flaps to assemble it into a cute little box. I’m currently using it to hold my rings on my bedside table.