Hello Friends!
I had such a fun weekend. I tried several new things with my Silhouette and everything went so well...all sorts of new creative possibilities are on the horizon. (Before I begin, I just want to apologize for the quality of some of my pictures...in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to photograph my projects on a white background!)
The first thing I worked on was a heat transfer vinyl project. It was both easy and challenging, and I was really happy with my first attempt. I'll write another post on heat transfer vinyl soon; it really needs it's own entry to cover all the details.
Next, I did a fabric cutting project. I'd tried to cut fabric with my Silhouette before and hadn't been successful at all. It turned into a huge mess and I turned into a frustrated crafter.
When you cut fabric on a Silhouette machine, backing material is required to stabilize the fabric. The first time I tried fabric, I bought a backing that was recommended by several people online rather than the one I always used (and had on hand). That was a mistake! The fabric didn't cut all the way through, the backing stuck all over my mat, I had to stop the machine halfway through cutting...I cleaned everything up and walked away.
Saturday, I was ready to give it another try. I used my usual (reliable) backing to stabilize the fabric; it's iron-on with a paper back. I ironed one side to the fabric and then placed the fabric, paper backing side down, on my cutting mat. I used a brayer to make sure the fabric was attached well to the mat, loaded it into the Silhouette and cut away. It was perfect - both the large 'B' and the letters for 'relax' cut cleanly and easily. Success! I already have plans for these letters, of course.
Today I tried an adhesive vinyl project. - a really simple one.
I found these mugs at Target this weekend for relatively cheap. I've been wanting to try the adhesive vinyl for awhile but was so spooked after the whole fabric-cutting incident that I've stuck with only paper, cardstock and label stock since then. Not any more!
Given that this was my first attempt, I chose a plain, straight font. I put the vinyl, which has a paper backing, on the mat. I loaded the mat then sent the command to cut and took the mat out when the machine was done. Originally it was hard to tell where the cut lines were but I got it all 'weeded' out and got the vinyl attached to the mugs correctly.
I put the vinyl on the front of the mugs rather than the side. It looks slightly wonky but, again, I'm just learning as I go. I'm happy with this, too, but there's definitely room for improvement. I'm looking forward to some major new projects now that I have all of these new Silhouette skillz! :)
And that mess above? That will be dealt with immediately!
Stay tuned.
~ M ~
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