If I've been asked once I've been asked a thousand times about the
appropriate heat transfer vinyl time and temperature press times.
Apparently not everyone knows about the FREE app that lists all of this info on HTV temperature and time recommendations!
I'm sure most of you who are cutting HTV are cutting EasyWeed. Siser's Smooth EasyWeed is perhaps the best known, but it's just one of many types of Siser brand heat transfer vinyl.
When it comes to multi-color and complex designs, layering vinyl isn't always ideal...and neither is sublimation which can get pricey. But what if I told you I have finally found the best inkjet printable vinyl yet and it's perfect for Silhouette Print and Cut!
You guys...I was introduced to this stuff several months ago and now I'm hooked. I literally have been dying to tell you about this printable permanent vinyl ever since. Before I did though, I wanted to make sure I had really put it to the test to make sure 1) the color didn't bleed or fade and 2) the vinyl stayed stuck.
It's back to school time....otherwise known to Silhouette crafters as "Label All the Things with Vinyl" season.
Given that it's Expressions Vinyl big Back to School sale I thought
I'd take this show on the road. That's right - today I'm doing something
I don't normally do...and that's taking over another blog!
I am so excited to share this tutorial on cutting your child's own handwriting with a Silhouette CAMEO or Portrait machine over on Expressions Vinyl - so head on over there to learn my tips and tricks for easily tracing, cutting, and applying handwriting in HTV to a lunch box!
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!
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Alright so here's the deal, just like I don't want wrinkles, my vinyl doesn't either. I hate when I get a nice fresh piece of beautiful vinyl from my favorite peeps over at Expressions Vinyl, cut it perfectly and then lay down the transfer tape only to have a wrinkle!!!
This is a sponsored posts, but all opinions are my own.
The struggle is real with wrinkles in transfer tape because they often
lead to wrinkled, bubbled or unevenly placed vinyl. The good news is
wrinkles can be avoided with one little trick!
Oh happy day...today I'm sharing a quick Silhouette trick for you that's going to save you a ton of wasted material and hair pulling. It's just not the beauty of the test cut, it's the ability to move the test cut location...anywhere!
Let's say you take yourself on a little shopping spree at Expressions Vinyl...you wait your two or three days and all the pretty vinyl and glitter HTV arrives in the mail.
You're so anxious to cut it you go for it...wah wah wah. There's nothing like a kill joy when the gorgeous glitter heat transfer vinyl (or a new type you haven't cut before) isn't cut all the way through because you had the wrong cut settings.
I hear this time and time again from people that they've wasted an entire sheet of vinyl or HTV due to the wrong cut settings. If only they'd done a test cut and "wasted" half a square inch of that glitter HTV rather than the whole sheet.
The test cut gives you a tiny sneak peek into whether your cut settings will work for your material...no more guessing. But here's the best part...you can actually move the test cut location ANYWHERE. I love doing this for two big reasons:
The default test cut is in the upper left corner of the mat, but in that spot you have to fully unload the mat to examine the cut. Moving it further down the page allows you to check out the test cut without unloading the mat and material.
If your design is placed in the upper left corner of the cutting area, as many crafters do, the test cut could get in the way of the design cut..moving it eliminates that worry. I prefer to move it to the right side, near the bottom.
So how do you move the test cut location?
Open up Silhouette Studio and click on the 'Cut Settings' window. That's the little blade along the top tool bar.
Pick your material. In this case I have a custom material listing for 'Glitter HTV.' After you select the material, use the scroll bar to scroll further down the page. Use the suggested cut settings in Studio to adjust the blade.
Right below the cut settings, you'll see the test cut button. To the left of it are a few directional arrows on a blue square...bet you never noticed them before did, ya?. Don't press them yet....but they are key!
Place that pretty Glitter HTV onto the mat with confidence. Load the mat into the machine as you normally would.
Now in Silhouette Studio use your mouse to hold down one of those directional arrows - pick the one that correlates to the direction you want the blade to move. You can tap the arrow or hold it continuously until it goes where you want. For example, if you want the test cut in the bottom right corner...hold the "down" arrow and then hold the "right" arrow. Once you have the blade exactly where you want it to test cut, click "Test Cut."
Here's a quick video to demonstrate. Keep your eye on the mouse hovering over the test cut arrows as well as the blade housing.
When the test cut is complete, the blade will should return (but doesn't always...I have no idea why) to the home position. Since the test cut is easily accessible and not blocked by the rollers, you can use your hook tool to peel up the little square or triangle to see if the current cut settings work well for your material.
If you're satisfied, you can confidently send your design to cut by clicking "Send to Silhouette."
If the material does not easily weed in the test cut location, adjust the cut settings and blade depth and perform another test cut, moving the test cut location to another spot on the material.
Now that you know you won't be wasting any more vinyl (or other materials)...buy all the pretty colors! Personally, the glitter HTV from Expressions Vinyl is my absolute favorite, but of course moving the test cut location works on any and all materials!
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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We've got a special guest on the blog today...and she's talking about one of the hottest topics on the blog...fonts! I'll let Eff take it from here!
Heya, Silhouette School peeps! I'm Eff from the Whatcha Workin' On? blog, filling in for Melissa today. So happy to be here with you all!
I've got a tutorial for those times when you find The. Perfect. Font. for a Silhouette project, but you can't use it because it's "distressed" and won't cut nicely.
Floating frames and vinyl are a popular combination - especially as gifts. I've been asked more than a few times what's the best way to go about adding vinyl to a floating frame.
There are actually at least four different ways to go about it.
Earlier this week I shared a tutorial on how to cut a large vinyl wall decal with Silhouette. Today I'm sharing the second half of the tutorial and that is how to hang a large vinyl wall decal. If you had a third hand it might be a bit easier, but since I'm sure you don't grab your painters tape - you know how I love to use painters tape with my Silhouette projects!
After you've cut and weeded your design, which you cut on 631 indoor/removable vinyl, grab your clear transfer tape. I prefer the clear - I got a huge roll (and all the vinyl for this project) from Expressions Vinyl - because you can see through it. If you read the first part the tutorial you know that I had to cut the circle and monogram in three parts and the name in three parts for a total of six pieces.
I've been asked time and time again how to cut and apply large vinyl decals created in Silhouette Studio. I've discussed how to create oversized stencils and shared how to apply wall decals, but today I'm going to combine the two to hopefully make this as easy a process as possible for you.
Awhile back I asked you all what type of large vinyl decal I should put up to demo this tutorial and it was a pretty evenly split between a tree and a monogram. I'm gonna be honest here - I am not a huge fan of wall decals. BUT for the good of the blog and all you fine, people I decided I'd go with the monogram in my daughter's room.
To start open up Silhouette Studio. At this point just work on the 12x12 virtual mat, don't worry about making this thing ginormous - yet. If you don't already have a design for your wall decal, create it or open it from the library or purchase from the Silhouette Design Store.
We're celebrating like we've never celebrate before here at Silhouette School! Just this week Silhouette School's Facebook page hit 50,000 likes and that's cause for some major celebrations...like how about $1500 prizes and gift cards and goodies, oh my! Think a one of a kind CAMEO, a brand new Curio, and a hot off the press Hot Pink Heat Press, mounds of HTV, tons of blanks, commercial fonts galore, and a $100 vinyl shopping spree!
Along with the Facebook page's popularity, Silhouette School recently hit some other major milestones: the blog passed the 5.5 million views mark, more than 13,000 Sil users are following along on Instagram, Periscope has been hugely popular right out of the gate, and the YouTube channel is gaining popularity fast!
I've gotten a lot of requests for a vinyl glass block tutorial and while I admit I'm not a huge fan of them, I must give the people what they want. So today I'm going to show you how to make vinyl glass block decals with your Silhouette.
Lots of people add lights inside and/or a bow on top, but I decided to go a little bit of a different route. I made a glass block piggy bank as a baby gift for a friend of mine who welcomed her fourth boy. Clearly she doesn't need any more toys....and I'm sure her onesie collection is rather large.
I
may be known to raid the Goodwill pile to feed my crafting/blogging
habit. No need to get rid of perfectly good cotton shirts that I can
practice on, right? Or better yet, turn into a cover up!
A few weeks ago I grabbed a yellow t-shirt that my husband no longer wanted/needed/wore. I had no idea what I would do with it until about 10:30 one night as I was lying in bed and from that moment on the idea plagued me until I carried it out. Does that happen to anyone else?
It’s hard to top last week's announcement of the All Things Silhouette Conference, where I’ll be the keynote speaker, but I think today’s news is equally as exciting. It’s no secret that I love Expressions Vinyl as a crafter, blogger, and customer. Their top notch customer service, extensive vinyl selection, and fast shipping are just a few of the reasons why I not only recommend them constantly to all of you - but purchase from them myself when I am in need of vinyl! (Yes, much to my husband's eye rolls, I continue to buy more vinyl.)
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