Have you ever heard of aquagenic urticaria? It's an extremely rare disease that causes an allergy to water. What about moebius -- a genetic condition characterized by complete facial paralysis? These are actual obscure diseases. Today in the Cut … [Read more...]
Frugal Friday: make an easy Christmas tree shape
I'm betting we ALL need to save some cash this time of year. In today's Frugal Friday tip, I'm going to teach you to make your own Christmas tree. That means you don't have to buy one. It just takes a few simple steps. Once you begin to understand … [Read more...]
4 simple-to-design Christmas tags
Recently I was out shopping for Christmas. My sister called me in a panic because she needed a design for Christmas tags. I told her I'd help her as soon as I got home. 30 minutes later, she called again to say she had figured out how to design her … [Read more...]
Adding a multi-color design element into a school mascot
My son's girlfriend coaches high school soccer. Of course, that means I just HAVE to make her some spirit swag. But I didn't want just any old design. I wanted to find a way to incorporate soccer. I love the final result, so thought it would be good … [Read more...]
How to create a custom plaid pattern
Recently, I was helping with the decorations for a baby shower. The organizers wanted a sports theme with an emphasis on University of Tennessee. If you know that school at all, it's main color is a rather bright orange. The trick was to find … [Read more...]
10 Fun Stocking Stuffers to make with your Silhouette
Is your Christmas shopping done? For once, I got a big chunk of mine done early. But I love to give homemade gifts too, especially as stocking stuffers. Let’s face it – custom is always a good idea! And if it’s also inexpensive, that’s even … [Read more...]
Cut Doctor: Lesson 9 — Line Segment Overcut
You know that CPR can literally save a life. Penicillin and other antibiotics revolutionized medicine and saved countless thousands of lives in the past century. In today’s appointment with the Cut Doctor, you are going to learn about Line Segment … [Read more...]
Advent calendars to make with your Silhouette
One of my favorite memories from my childhood was the Advent calendar my mom made for me. It was so exciting each year to see all the little packages she tied onto them and wonder what was in them. Was it candy, a small toy, a piece of jewelry? It … [Read more...]
Designer, Designer Plus or Business Edition: How to upgrade your software
Here's a question I get all the time from beginners -- "I bought the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition. How do I get that into my software?" They also ask what to do if they get a new computer and need to install it there. That's our topic today: … [Read more...]
Drawing filled shapes or text: 2 ways to select attributes beforehand
I don't know about you, but I always work with filled shapes. Unfilled shapes are harder to move around, you can't easily see front to back order, and you don't know if you have groupings or compound paths (which makes a HUGE difference when you use … [Read more...]
Cut Doctor: Lesson 8 — Passes
Here we are again! I'm glad you've come back to see the Cut Doctor. You're getting better every day! Today we're going to talk about Passes. If you'll spend just a little time understanding this cut setting, you'll save loads of time in the long … [Read more...]
Frugal Friday: Using up scraps of textile foil
I recently shared a Frugal Friday technique for using foil scraps or "damaged" pieces of textile foil. Today, I'm going to share another simple way to use scraps. It's a tip that's pretty logical, but something you may not have thought about. Often … [Read more...]
Right where you want it — how to move a shape precisely
I have to be truthful -- I'm not always super-precise as a crafter. I don't typically find that spending an extra 30 minutes to affect a change of .001% is worth it. If I'm moving my images around on the Design area in the Silhouette Studio software, … [Read more...]
Cut Doctor: Lesson 7 — Force
Are you beginning to feel better about your cut health? The way to continue to grow is step by step -- understanding each of your cut settings and how they affect your material. Today we're going to learn about another key component of that process … [Read more...]
Frugal Friday: quick wedding table numbers
Today's Frugal Friday tip is another project for a wedding. I did this one recently for a young friend using leftovers from projects I made for my own daughter's wedding. It's frugal because it doesn't require many materials and took us little … [Read more...]