20 Silhouette Tutorials, Project Ideas and Tips for All Skill Levels

Another month is in the books here at Silhouette School. I know I say this every month but I can't believe it's the end of (fill in the blank month) - in this case, April.   This month the lesson plan included everything from reviews on stretch HTV and cutting mat adhesive spray to tutorials on how to use PixScan to use up scraps and new sew applique.  Plus, I launched a new series - Freebie Friday - which got off to a popular start and I attended my first ever blog conference where I learned sooooo.many.ways to keep advancing Silhouette School on the awesome meter.

May is a really exciting month for me personally and on the blog, as well.  For months and months and months I've been preparing the blog for May - especially the first two weeks of the month.  My husband and I are taking a two week trip to Europe.  So while we're enjoying Barcelona and Paris I have gathered an All Star lineup of guest bloggers.

It's always nice to hand over the classroom once in a while to get a fresh perspective.  Two weeks, however, is a long time and it took lots of planning and begging on my part :).  I truly hope you enjoy what we've got planned for you in May (I've been sharing some sneak peeks on Instagram if you want to see what the guest bloggers have up their sleeves.)

And then when I get back around the middle of the month I have some AWESOME news to share....eek seriously I need to get out of the country asap so I don't spill too soon.

But before all of that...let's take a look at 20 of the Silhouette tutorials and projects that I shared on Silhouette School in April.

1. Silhouette Tutorial: Trick to Cutting Text Without Download the Entire Font
2. Layering Vinyl When the Vinyl's Not Actually Layered (Giveaway)
3. Word Art Apple with Names: Silhouette Tutorial
4. Mother's Day Flower Pot Slide Out Card (Free Studio)
5. Designing Business Cards in Silhouette Studio
6. How to Decorate Ribbon with HTV
7. How to Select by Color in Silhouette Studio
8. 11 Free Apples Studio Files (Silhouette Project Ideas)
9. Spring & Floral-inspired Silhouette-Friendly Fonts
10. Silhouette School Launches eBook Affiliate Program
11. Connecting Edit Points/Closing a Shape in Silhouette
12. Silhouette Troubleshooting: Can't Move Design Around Work Area
13. Premium HTV Stretch Review & Project Ideas
14. No Sew Fabric Applique with Silhouette
15. Using Silhouette PixScan to Maximize Scraps
16. HTV on Onesies: Easy Trick for a Better Stick
17. Typing Vertical Text in Silhouette Studio
18. DIY Screen Printing (Silhouette Tutorial)
19. Personalized Photo Stickers: Silhouette Tutorial
20. Resticking Silhouette Mat: Cutting Mat Spray Adhesive Review

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!

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Silhouette Tutorial: Trick to Cutting Text Without Downloading the Entire Font

So this tutorial is one of those little workaround life hacks that I just stumbled upon.  It's pretty genius actually...not that I'm patting myself on the back or anything. I mean for all I know I could just be late to the party and this could be an old crafting trick. What do I know?

Word Art Apple with Names: Silhouette Tutorial (Teacher Gift Idea)

Last year around this time I started seeing lots of these word art apples popping up all over the place. They're a great teacher gift or end of the year t-shirt design idea.  Today I'm going to show you how to create your own custom apple name decal.

Mother's Day Flower Pot Slide Out Card (Free Studio Cut File)

Soo....a few days ago I asked on Facebook and Instagram if you guys would be interested in a new series on Silhouette School called 'Freebie Friday.'  The 500+ 'yes's' in 38 minutes gives me the impression you might be a little interested. So....we're kicking it off today.  Yes, I'm well aware it's Thursday...but with all this travel I'm doing I have about a month's worth of posts already scheduled on the blog (patting self on back!). Some of them need to post on certain dates - like tomorrow's - so I'm starting Freebie Friday on a Thursday. Go figure...  

Designing Business Cards in Silhouette Studio

Today's the big day...I'm headed to Salt Lake City for my first blog conference.  It's called Snap (follow along on my Instagram) and I've been prepping for it for months by creating new business cards and some handouts (aka media kits) for when I meet with brands. Don't worry about all the nitty gritty - what you need to know is that I designed both the business cards and the handouts (essentially printables) in Silhouette Studio.

I thought the timing would be perfect to share a tutorial on creating your business cards in Studio! So that's just what I'm going to do today! 

How to Decorate Ribbon with HTV (More than Just for Silhouette Cheer Bows!)

You know, just when I think I've reached the limit of my Silhouette, I come across another fabulous project that it conquers without hesitation! Today, I've got a fun tutorial on how to decorate your own ribbon.

Now the tutorial we have put together is designed for Cheer Bows (yay!), but decorating your own ribbon has a multitude of uses, from decorating to scrapbooking to girl crafts and handmade cards.

How to Select by Color in Silhouette Studio

If you've ever worked with a multi-piece design, especially paper or vinyl, you know how pain-stacking and time consuming it can be to select and move each and every piece individually.  If you have Designer Edition, you're in luck.  By combining the Select By Color and Nesting tools you can get multi-color pieces on the mat and be ready to cut very quickly.

11 Free Apples Studio Files (Silhouette Project Idea)

Teacher Appreciation Week is coming in just a few weeks (May 4-8, 2015) and since I love all of my 'students' I figured I'd help you all out and give you a set of awesome apple decals that you can use in many different ways.

They're all Silhouette Studio cut files so you can download them for free by clicking the apple below and then use them as print and cuts or to cut decals or tags or cards or shirts or stencils for teacher gifts.  (Some ungrouping/releasing compound paths may be necessary.)

The only thing I ask is that you keep these for personal use only.  Don't make me send you to the principal's office for selling them...

Be sure you share what you've made with them by tagging me on Instagram or posting to the Facebook page! Which apple is your favorite? Leave a comment below!

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! 

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!

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Silhouette School Launches eBook Affiliate Program

If you're a craft, DIY, or Silhouette-related blogger or website I've got news for you!!! 

I'm thrilled to launch a new affiliate program for my recently released ebook, The Ultimate Silhouette Guide! 

All of the information on the affiliate program, including how to join, where to get attractive ads and banners, and a very generous affiliate payout, can be found here on the ebook affiliate page.
 

NOTE: This affiliate program is not open to individuals who do not have an active blog or website.  All applications are screened and those who do not fit into these categories will be removed from the program. Thank you for your understanding.

Please email Melissa at SilhouetteSchoolBlog@gmail.com with any questions

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Connecting Edit Points/Closing a Shape in Silhouette Studio

If you've ever had a shape that's not completely closed you know how frustrating it can be to work with it in Silhouette Studio.  A broken path - no matter how small - prevents you from filling in the shape with a color or pattern. If cut, the shape obviously won't be completely closed so the material is likely to tear in that spot when you go to weed.

Premium HTV Stretch Review & Project Ideas (Silhouette Tutorial)

A couple of months ago I noticed a new type of heat transfer vinyl on Expressions Vinyl.  It's called Premium HTV and since inquiring minds want to know...I reached out to the good people at EV and asked what it was all about.  What makes it so 'premium', after all?

Well it turns out it's biggest brags are its super stretchability, ultra-matte finish and soft, thin texture.
If you've ever put a big ol' HTV design on a shirt you know it can make it a little..'stiff' or bulky, but not this premium HTV.   I told them I think I need to see this for myself so I can tell my fine readers if this is worth the extra dough. So Expressions Vinyl, being the awesome sauce that they are, sent me a few samples to test.

No Sew Fabric Applique with Silhouette

I'm sitting back and enjoying the last day of Spring Break today while I hand over the blog to the lovely ladies from My Paper Craze. They've got an awesome tutorial today on how to do a no sew  applique.

Hi there! It's Becky and Glenna from My Paper Craze substituting in again today! We're so excited to be here and share with another great tutorial!

The best part about being crafty and having kids is getting to make stuff for them (especially girls!). I have spent a small fortune buying up those cute applique embroidery shirts, especially when the holidays come around or we would take a vacation. 

True, there is always HTV and man do I love that stuff, but for little girl's outfits, sometimes you just need a softer look. When I ran across new-sew fusible webbing, I knew I had hit the jackpot!

Using Silhouette PixScan to Maximize Scraps

If you're like me you have a whole drawer (or two) full of scraps. I have one of paper, another of fabric, another of HTV and yet another of adhesive vinyl.  That's a lot of scraps. Many of the scrap pieces are odd shaped which makes cutting on them difficult because you have to line up the design and the scrap exactly on the cutting mat to hit the target. Well....the Silhouette PixScan mat makes cutting scraps a whole lot easier. 

If you're not familiar, read my PixScan 101 tutorial here to fully understand how it works. In a nutshell, PixScan utilizes a special mat with pre-printed registration marks that the software and machine can read to cut out a very precise design.  Usually you'd trace the design in the software, but in the case of scraps, we're going to place a design instead of tracing. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

HTV on Onesies: Easy Trick for a Better Stick

If you've every tried to apply heat transfer vinyl to a onesie you know there can be challenges for getting a good stick.   Those using an iron actually have an easier time getting the HTV to melt into the fabric than heat press users because the iron has a smaller surface area.

The problem for heat press users is caused by all those overlapping areas, thick neck seams, and snaps which prevent the top plate from getting a tight seal on the front of the onesie.

Personalized Photo Stickers: Silhouette Tutorial

A few weeks ago we were really having trouble with my three year old listening. I know he's three...but he was off track at home and school and I needed to get him back.   I decided to make him a sticker chart using stickers of himself.

Today I'm going to show you exactly how to make custom stickers too! 

If you have Silhouette Studio Designer Edition this is super simple!  If you don't, I'm going to show you a little work around so you don't miss out on making personalized stickers.  

First the Designer Edition Method:

Save all of the photos that you want to turn into stickers to your desktop. 

Open up Silhouette Studio and go to your library.

Then click on the My Patterns folder.  

Drag and drop the photos from the desktop into the My Patterns folder.

Now go back to the work area and draw out a shape. I used the Draw an Ellipse to draw out an oval.

Select the shape by clicking on it and click Fill Patterns (highlighted in blue along the top tool bar above).

In the window on the right, scroll down to My Patterns and click on the image...now the photo has filled the shape.

Scroll down to little further and click on Advanced Options. Now if you want to zoom the photo in or out use the scale bar. If you want to move it slightly, click "Pan" and you can move the image within the shape.

Continue below at the * to turn these into customized stickers

Standard Silhouette Studio Method:

Save all of the photos that you want to turn into stickers to your desktop. 

Open up Silhouette Studio.

Drag and drop one image or photo at a time into the work space in Studio.

Use the Draw an Ellipse tool to draw out an oval or circle.

Place the shape you've drawn on top of the photo exactly how you want it to be positioned as a sticker.

Now select both the image and the shape at the same time. Click on the Modify tool and pick "Crop".

You can't pan or scale the photo with this method, but it still works nicely.

* Now that you have your photos into the shape you want the stickers to be, you can continue as a regular print and cut.  I'm going to go through this part pretty quickly. If you need more details on any step, you can click the links throughout or refer to The Ultimate Silhouette Guide pages listed below.

• Size the stickers, if necessary
• From the Page Settings window, set up the print area to match the current printer
• Add registration marks and move all stickers within the safe print area (do as I say, not as I do...clearly some of my stickers were outside the print area)

• Print the stickers on either Silhouette printable sticker paper or an alternative sticker paper.

• Place the printed sheet onto the Silhouette cutting mat
• From Silhouette Studio click on the Cut Style window and pick "Printable White Sticker Paper" as the material
• Adjust the blade, if necessary
• Send to Silhouette to cut

And that's all there is to making your own custom photo stickers. 

NOTE: I went one step further to make the chart so that my son could place the stickers right onto the chart with an outline the exact same size as the stickers.  To do this, I simply copied and pasted the stickers and then from the Fill Color tool selected either white or transparent.

In order to get the outline of the oval to print, it's necessary to give the line a weight. Go to the Line Style window and adjust the weight. I usually type in .07.  If you don't change the line color from the Line Color window it will print in red, I changed it to black.

Oh and good news...Happy Blake is well on his way to his Spiderman Pez (he picked the prize...). 

For more on techniques found in this tutorial, refer to the following pages in 

The Ultimate Silhouette Guide:

Page 100 - Importing Custom Patterns

Page 44 - Designer Edition

Page 97 - Print and Cut
Page 44 - Fill Color & Line Color

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! 

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!

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