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...]
Cutting Checklist
This post is part of my Checklists series. Each post in the series is a set of brief reminders to help you remember the sequence of steps to use as you work on a project. With each checklist, I provide links to more information about the topics. … [Read more...]
Get it together, man! 6 tips to make a project more cohesive
Have you ever looked at a project someone else made and thought, “Why does theirs look so professional and pulled together while mine doesn’t?” Or have you ever liked all your pieces individually, but when you put them together they just don’t look … [Read more...]
7 tricks to make a multi-piece project more interesting
I remember when I first started paper crafting. I would put together a card or scrapbook page and then look at it and think, “BORING!” What is it that makes a project look interesting and finished? It doesn't just happen. Some folks have a natural … [Read more...]
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Version 4 Send Area: #6 — Cut Order
Today's lesson is about another way to add flexibility in your cut job when you use the advanced cut mode -- cut order. Cut order is the sequence in which the machine cuts the shapes in your project. When you cut by line color, fill color or layer, … [Read more...]
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Version 4 Send Area: #5 — Action by: Line, Fill or Layer
Now that you've learned the basics of the Send area, it's time to get into advanced options with Action by: Line, Fill or Layer (this was called Advanced Cut Mode in version 3). In these modes, you choose your cut settings for each shape based on its … [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...]
Fill ‘er up! The hows and whys of color, gradient and pattern fill
I don’t know about you, but as a visual person I find it hard to visualize what my projects will look like with just red lines on a plain white background. I love the fact that I can use the fills within Silhouette Studio to get a better idea of the … [Read more...]