For me, the most important part of the projects that I do is having the right tool! My silhouette cutting machine is the most important one! About 2 years ago, I wanted to do a craft with hand lettering but my hand writing is really bad! I found that most crafters use a Silhouette machine or a Cricut machine. After some research, I decided a Silhouette Cameo 3 was the way to go.
I was worried that I couldn’t figure out the software program because other bloggers said that Silhouette had complicated software. That is totally false! If you have any computer knowledge, the silhouette software is really easy to figure out! I use the silhouette software to design things even when I’m not going to cut it! That is how much I love it!
So if you’re wondering what a Silhouette can do, I’m going to show you pictures of some of my past projects!
The type of material that I cut with my Silhouette most often is vinyl. It comes in a big sheet and you cut it with the Silhouette. Then you peel off the piece you don’t want to create a decal or a stencil. Below I have examples of both! The christmas countdown sign had vinyl letters and I used the vinyl to make a stencil for the tree so it works like a chalkboard. Then there are vinyl decals on some ornaments (for our local veterans center), a cookie jar for Grandma, a tumbler, and small jewelry dish. I traced my Mom’s signature from a picture in the Silhouette software and then cut it out in vinyl.
The next material I use the most is paper! I cut paper all the time to use for my kid’s school projects or lessons for church! I have even designed some coloring pages (Mom is a superhero picture below) with the Silhouette software! Below there is a picture of the boxes I decorated with a lego theme for Halloween. I added a face to the Lego man, but I didn’t get a picture of that! The next picture is of the pies I made for Christmas for friends and I cut some Christmas tree gift tags on the top. I put a candy bar in the little green Happy Birthday envelope that I cut out! I cut out the little people to teach my church class on Easter last year about the Resurrection. I cut paper and glued it to the front of a composition notebook.
Below is a cake my AMAZING friend Amber made! She came over and we cut the cake topper out of paper and she glued it onto a skewer!
Another type of material to cut is Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV). I love to use HTV to make things personalized! It is more expensive than the other options, so I tend to use it less. Below you can see some blankets that I added HTV to. They were traced from drawings and handwriting then cut out and ironed on to some fleece blankets. I think they made really special gifts! Then I added some HTV to a superhero cape from the dollar tree for my son. Last you can see how I ironed my dog’s name on to her collar with my phone number because she is a runner! Then someone can call me if she is in their yard and not need to get close enough to read a tiny tag. I’ve also added HTV to canvas bags for my kid’s teachers and some canvas aprons! This is what you’d use for t shirts too!
You can also cut magnet sheets, stickers, leather, fabric, and foil! I like that my Silhouette makes it so easy to be creative! The last picture I have is of a rose that I cut out of felt! It was harder to cut, so I don’t cut fabric often. I plan to cut some fabric to add my kid’s names to some hooded towels next!
Wow! You really have done a lot with your silhouette. It is pretty amazing.
Thank you!