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Birthday Card

/ Sarah Collins / Leave a comment

Here are my first two attempts at making Birthday cards.  For the outside I used the templates from the Silhouette Design Studio.  On the inside, I font was used and another template.  Several cards will be made this month, because of the numerous birthdays in January.

I really need to learn how to get the insert correct if the card will have a background.

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Instead of gluing the dots back into the letters, I used my metallic marker to draw the dots.  Lazy? Maybe… but, more likely I am feed up with all forms of glue.

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Note to self – Check the quality of the photo before mailing the card.

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The signature was done with the sketch pen in the Silhouette while before the cutting was performed.

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I did save the cut letters.  I may want to used them in the future for another project.

 

Christmas Ornaments – Part 3

/ Sarah Collins / Leave a comment

As I was putting up my Christmas tree, I realized I didn’t share the ornaments made of paper.

These ornaments were created with my Silhouette Curio.  I got the templates from the design store and cut them out on the Curio using different holiday theme sheets of cardstock.  They were fastened together using glue dots.

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Silhoutte Curio – My First Card Atempt

/ Sarah Collins / 1 Comment

I would like to say the failure of this card resides in total, utter, and shear laziness.  My laziness.  I should have taken more time with the card.  But, this is what I learned in making of this card.

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The background of the card was done in Corel Draw.  It is just a rectangle with a fill image I found searching for “cupcake.”  It was printed on photo paper.  Everything else done with Silhouette Studio and the Curio Cutting Machine.

The “Happy Birthday” part was designed in the Silhouette Studio.  I was able to place the text in the design, then I drew a copy of rectangles.  I used the Curio to cut the rectangles from cardstock and the Curio Sketch pens to write-out “Happy Birthday!”  I do like the sketch pens and I am impressed with their colors.

What I should have done for the “Happy Birthday” banner was to either have the Curio cut each letter or created a different type of banner.  Maybe one that outlined the “Happy Birthday!”  Why didn’t I?  At that time, I didn’t want to have to glue each letter onto the card.

The cupcake turned out nice.  However, this was an image I got from Silhouette for free.  It should had some sparkles.

The inside part.  Again laziness.

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The text was another image from Silhouette.  I failed in putting the image on paper and creating the border.  I probably could have done a better job in cutting out the text by hand.  The text should have been printed directly on the card using the sketch pens.  And, if I would have added a few cupcakes to the inside of the card it would have been a nice touch.

After I glued everything onto the card, the card warped.  The card is now in the garbage can where it belongs.  Don’t use photo paper for the base of card. I am now working on another card.  No laziness allowed.

Silhouette Curio – Cutting the Design

/ Sarah Collins / Leave a comment

In my last post, Silhouette Studio – The First Design, I discuss creating a test design with the Silhouette Studio Software.  Below is the design I created.  It has some text and images.

My First Studio Design

My First Studio Design

The Curio came with a cutting mat, embossing mat, and three other mats that I later learned was platform mats.  I removed the film from the cutting mat and place it onto Curio’s tray according to the image on the Silhouette Studio design screen.  I carefully placed the card stock on top, since the cutting mat has a sticky surface.

I gently slid the tray into the machine.  The instructions says “push into machine until tray sticks out back”  and it says “push into machine until notch passes front of machine.”  If you have trouble seeing the notch, push the tray into the machine until the top left hand corner of the material in directly under the cutting/embossing blades.

I looked at the cutting blade and it cut was set to zero.  I figured out that the by placing the cap that came with the blade on to it and turning, I was able to adjust the cut size.  I set it on 3.  It seemed right, but the instruction manual did not specify.   I placed the cutting blade into the Curio in the first slot and turned on the Curio.  Now for cutting.

I went back to the software and noticed that the paper size didn’t match the Design Page setting.  I adjusted the design page setting to match my paper size.  Then I had to move a few of my designs so they would be inside the cutting area.  Next I clicked Cut Settings cut settings icon icon.  My design now has thick lines around it, see below.  I assumed this is where the design would be cut.

before cut

I looked over the cut setting.  The Standard mode was fine.  I left the cut style on Cut.  Tool 1 was selected, this was fine because that is where I put the cutting blade.  Under Material Type, I clicked Cardstock was even though it was already selected.  As soon as I clicked Cardstock the Editing menu opened and displayed the recommended blade setting.   Sometime during the process of setting up the cut setting and cutting the design, this message appeared on the screen.

new designs

I have some new designs in my library!  I clicked on the library and approximately 50 designs were added to the library.  I am assuming since the it appears anyone can download the Silhouette Studio software, this is how the company distributes content to individuals that have purchased the device.

Library

After I looked at the library, I finally went back to the cut setting and pressed Send to Silhouette.  The machine is a little loud, but it is working.  Wait, there is no cut on the paper.  What did I do wrong?  I looked over the cut setting again and made sure the blade was set on 3.  I scrolled down in the cut setting and there are more options.

Cut Setting Top

Cut Setting Bottom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The platform setting showed that I needed 6 platforms on the tray. I added 6 platforms on the tray and sent the design to be cut once again.  The paper cut this time.  Yay!   What I learned on my first design.  The text is too delicate for my first cut.  To remove it perfectly from the cutting board, will take time.  The balloon came out great, and the border needs work because it came out is many pieces.

Next embossing….

Silhouette Curio

/ Sarah Collins / 1 Comment

When I have the time, I usually make all my Christmas card.  My first card I made was in 1996 using CorelDraw V3.  Recently, the cards have been getting more and more elaborate.  No matter what I do to the card, the background and inside writing is usually done with CorelDraw.

The idea for the card came early this year.  The background is already done.  The problem is to complete the idea will require a lot of cutting and embossing.  And, I never done embossing!

I decided to purchase a machine to do the cutting for me.  I looked a many models and decided on the Silhouette Cameo.  What I liked about it was, the software it came with, Silhouette Studio, I could use it with SVG files (for an added cost), and I could used it with .CDR files (for even more cost.)  It had decent reviews, so I waited and considered this purchase.

Then I saw the newer model, the Silhouette Curio.  It has more functions, like cutting thicker media.  I may need that.  It embossed.  The only things the reviews didn’t like was the smaller cutting mat and the instruction manual was difficult to read.  The cutting size wasn’t a big deal since it would be my first machine, something to learn on.  The reviews were correct about the manual.  It is difficult to read.

You can find my experience with the Silhouette Studio software here.   In this posting, I will continue with the review the device.

The Curio comes with: USB cable; power cable; two blades, cutting and embossing; print and emboss squares; Software CD; base with cutting mat and embossing mat; material fasteners; replacement snaps; and instruction book.

Setup of the machine was easy, basically just unbox it, install the software, and plug it in.  However, the USB Cable and Power Cable plugged into the right-side of the machine.  If your PC is located on the left-side of the machine or located on the floor, the USB cable may not be long enough to reach it.  You may want to consider getting a USB Extension cable.

Loading the mat into the machine took some figuring out.  The instruction manual was not clear, but it was helpful in recommending to remove out film from cutting and embossing mat.  To load the cutting/embossing boards on the mat properly, refer to the Cut Settings in the Silhouette Studio software.  You will need to turn off the Curio every time you load and unload the board from the machine.

Cut Settings

Cut Settings

The cutting blade needs to be adjusted according to the cut settings.  This is done by using the cap to turn the blade setting.  The blades loaded into the device as expected.  I turn the knob to insert the blade, then I turned it again to secure them in place.

Each cut and each emboss, I am learning more about the device.