It's an exciting day! You’ve got your software and materials ready to go so it’s finally time to set up your machine. I’m going to walk you through each step of unboxing everything and getting ready to cut. What’s in the box Cords There are 2 … [Read more...]
Software Basics (version 4) — Lesson 13: Basics of working with text
Text in Silhouette Studio is different than most other software programs. You may be used to working with text in something like a word processor or even email. In those, you add text just to make words for someone to read or to print out. That's not … [Read more...]
Software basics (version 4) — Lesson 12: Adding shapes to the page and basic manipulation
You’ve got your free shapes in your library and you’ve learned how to get around in the software. Let’s learn how you put those images on the page and start working with them. Step 1 -- Start a new file We want to start with a clean page. I find it … [Read more...]
Before you Series Begin #7: Good Materials to Start with
Our next lesson will be on unboxing and setting up your machine. Before you do that, you’ll want to have some materials on hand to start with. Even if your goal is to make t-shirts with heat transfer material/vinyl (known as HTV), you want to start … [Read more...]
Before you Begin Series #6: The Silhouette America website
While working in Customer Support for Silhouette, I once spoke to a woman on the phone. She was upset about something and asked, “How would I have known that?” I replied that the information was on our website, to which she then replied, “Well, how … [Read more...]
Software Basics (version 4) — Lesson 11: Getting your free shapes
Your Silhouette cutting machine comes with free shapes to get your started. They are stored in the machine itself. So we're going to open the software and hook up the machine to bring them into your library. We'll do your first projects with some of … [Read more...]
Before you Begin Series #5: Subscriptions
Have you heard about subscriptions yet? A subscription is a frequent shopper discount for the Silhouette Design Store. You agree to pay a certain amount per month for a set number of months, and in exchange you get credits. You then use the credits … [Read more...]
Before you begin series #4: Getting to know the Silhouette Design Store
The Silhouette Design Store is the place where Silhouette America sells cut images, printable patterns and fonts that you can use in the Silhouette Studio software. When you purchase a design, it is downloaded into your library in your software and … [Read more...]
Before You Begin Series #3: Your account
As a new Silhouette user, you'll want to set up an account with Silhouette America right away . You do this to— --make purchases in the Silhouette Design Store. --buy products on the Silhouette America website. --register your machine for warranty … [Read more...]
Before You Begin Series #2: Downloading and Installing the software
All Silhouette cutting machines use a free included software called Silhouette Studio. It’s a great idea to download and install the software before you even purchase a machine, just to take it for a test drive. This is a great way to see how your … [Read more...]
Software Basics (version 4) — Lesson 10: The Library
Today’s lesson is about the library. Hopefully, you’ve already gone through the Before You Begin series and have set up an account with Silhouette America, signed up for their newsletter, and updated your software and firmware. If not, you’ll want to … [Read more...]
Before you Begin Series #1: What to know before you buy
When I first considered buying a die-cutting machine, I did some research on the types of machines available. I found the original Silhouette machine by accident in a web search and was thrilled with the possibilities. I loved the flexibility of … [Read more...]
Object on Path Shape: A new version 4 option for replicating shapes
One of the slick new features of Silhouette Studio version 4 is a Replicate option called Object on Path. This is very similar to Text on Path, which is most often used to wrap text around a circle. What Object on Path does is allow you to put any … [Read more...]
Software Basics (version 4) — Lesson 9: Navigation bits and pieces
This is the last in our lesson about navigation around the software and it’s a catch all. We’ll talk more about moving around in some specific areas of the software in later lessons, but this is the rest of the general info. The 4 general … [Read more...]
Beach gear using the coolest vinyl around
I’m SO SO SO pumped to show you one of my favorite new products I got at the All Things Silhouette conference recently. I’ve been in love with Sparkleberry Ink’s vinyl since I first saw it. Mandy Graham graciously gave me a few sheets to sample and I … [Read more...]