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...]
Frugal Friday: Making the most of expensive HTV and vinyl material
As I told you in my first Frugal Friday tip, I hate to throw away scraps of expensive or beautiful material. I like to try to find ways to reuse the bits and pieces whenever I can. That’s certainly the case with any patterned adhesive vinyl or HTV. … [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...]
How to more easily visualize your design and finished project
Today I want to share with you some tips on how you can better visualize the outcome of a design. You can use these methods to get a more realistic preview your project, create mockups, or to predict the outcome before you use any Modify options. … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (misc. info)
We've learned the 7 different ways to put a raster image into any shape, but we aren't done yet. (To start with lesson #1 in this series, go here.) There are some critical tidbits of info you'll need to know in order to use these methods successfully … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #7)
Today we're continuing our series on using raster images as fill patterns. If you haven't read about the other methods, start here. In this last method, we're going to talk about using the Modify panel in conjunction with a printable pattern. (But … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #6)
Today we're continuing our series on ways to add your own raster image as a fill pattern. If you haven't read about Methods #1-5, you'll definitely want to do that first. You can start with Method #1 here. Today, I'm going to show you a quick way to … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #5)
I hope you're learning a lot in this series about adding your own raster images as fill patterns on shapes. If you haven't read about Methods #1-4, then you'll want to start here. Here in Method #5, I'm going to show you how to drag and drop an image … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #4)
Today's lesson is #4 in a series about how to add your own raster images to use as patterns to fill any shape. This method is actually a combination of 2 other methods we’ve already learned. You’re going to use file import to add the image to your … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #3)
So far in this series on adding your own pattern fill to a shape, I've shown you 2 ways to save raster images into your regular library folders and use them from there. You'll want to make sure you've practiced those, because I'm going to refer to … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #2)
In this series, we're talking about 7 different ways to use your own raster images as a fill pattern for your shapes. In our first lesson, we talked about using drag and drop to copy an image you saved on your computer into the Silhouette library. … [Read more...]
Pattern fill pizzazz: 7 ways to put your own graphic into any shape (method #1)
When I’m designing projects in Silhouette Studio, I never work with unfilled shapes. Filling a shape with a color makes it easier to grab it with the mouse, helps me see front to back order, and tells me immediately if a design is a grouping or … [Read more...]
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Version 4 Send Area: #5 — Action by: Line, Fill or Layer
Now that you know the basics of the Send area, it's time to get into advanced options with Action by: Line, Fill or Layer (Advanced Cut Mode in version 3). In these modes, you choose your cut settings for each shape based on its line color, its fill … [Read more...]
Pancakes and Donuts: the key to understanding the difference between a grouping and a compound path
To truly understand using and creating designs in Silhouette Studio software, you need to have a good understanding of Groupings and Compound Paths -- how they are the same, how they are different and how they respond differently to modifications. … [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...]