One of the coolest things about a Curio machine is that it can etch materials. Initially, it was created to etch metal. Some super innovative folks have been finding other materials to etch. In particular, my friend Cindy Pope uses it to etch leather … [Read more...]
Simple Subtract: An intro to the Modify panel
Recently I was making a birthday gift for my sister. I had an idea in my head from a sign I saw at Hobby Lobby. It’s a pretty common graphic right now — a rooster standing on a pig standing on a cow. Sometimes they have words on each animal like … [Read more...]
How to clean a heat press
I freely admit that although I’m a very organized person, I’m not necessarily a neat one. As my creative juices get going I sometimes rush through projects to get to the end result. Or I take so long in the designing portion (which I find more fun), … [Read more...]
Making a shape into a card
This year I found myself needing a Father’s Day card and having only about 15 minutes to make it. (Ya, don’t ask). I had bought my husband some golf head covers and a pass to his favorite golf course, so I wanted — you guessed it — a golf-themed … [Read more...]
Planning and executing large projects: Phase 2 — Designing with the Layer tool
This is the second lesson in my series on how to do very large projects using your Silhouette machine. You can find Phase 1 on setting up the file here. In today’s lesson, I’ll show you how I added my design elements and used the Layer feature … [Read more...]
Quick fix for graduation card
I was making graduation cards this week and thought about a quick tip to share. There are times when you have one with a specific year in the design. What do you do when you need a different year? I’ll show you! Note: This post contains affiliate … [Read more...]
Silhouette Summit 2019: Recap of new machines and products
Silhouette Summit wrapped up recently, which is the event Silhouette America holds each year to announce what's coming in the next year. There are LOTS of new things coming -- new machine models, new products and new software features. Here's a recap … [Read more...]
Time-saving tip for AutoBlade users
If you have a Cameo 3 or Portrait 2 machine, or are looking with longing at the new models coming in the fall (more on that in an upcoming post), you have the option to use the AutoBlade. While it's nice that the machine adjusts the blade for you, … [Read more...]
Planning and executing large projects: Phase 1 — Planning and Set-up
I’ve been working on a VERY large project lately — a forest of trees and animals for the children’s wing at our church. We’re going up 10 feet on the wall and it’s 45 feet wide. Plus we’re working around the entrance doors. How do you do something … [Read more...]
How’d they do that? Shattered technique
Have you ever seen a design and wondered, “How did they do that?” That happens to me all the time, and I usually don’t rest until I’ve figured it out. If you can understand the techniques someone used, you can use on other designs. Today in our How’d … [Read more...]
Cut Doctor: Lesson 24 — Dealing with difficulties after the cut
We've made it to the end of our series (to start with Lesson 1, go here). Your cuts should be all healed now! But today's visit is a follow up appointment where we go over things like post-operative complications. Specifically, we're going to talk … [Read more...]
Hack for aligning HTV when layering
I made a shirt last weekend to cheer on my Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships. They made it to the final game — HURRAH! They didn’t win, but it was a great game that went to overtime. Wreck ‘Em Tech! … [Read more...]
Cut Doctor: Lesson 23 — Bad cuts part 3
I spent most of last year dealing with health issues. It seemed like we’d NEVER find the cause or the cure. The day we did was the best day ever! Now I feel back to my normal self. I feel like today will be the same for many of you, because we’re … [Read more...]
Cut Doctor: Lesson 23 — Bad cuts part 2
Have you ever send a cut job to your machine, watched it work and away, then removed the material and realized it didn’t cut the material at all or cut it all the way through? Yes, I see every hand going up! We’ve all had this happen at one time or … [Read more...]
Flawed design from the Silhouette Design Store: how to get the corrected version
Last week I shared several ways to alter a design to fit your project, and I used the Silhouette Design Store‘s free weekly design as a sample. I pointed out several problems with a design and showed how to fix them. You can find that post here. I … [Read more...]