Writing with the Silhouette Cameo. aka I Write Like a Serial Killer

For most people, their penmanship improves over time, but not me. Of course I have to be just the opposite. I write like a serial killer. These days, I hardly ever hand-write anything. The reason for that is because my handwriting is beyond terrible. You know it's bad when even I can't read my writing. Whats worse is that my cursive is actually better then my printing. I feel sorry for anyone who has to read anything I write. Remember when you were leaning writing skills in elementary school? We had those nifty papers with the split lines to keep us on track. Like this:

Why can't we use those as adults? It is my theory that if I could then people would actually be able to read my writing. Not too adult looking, right? Yet another reason I am grateful for computers. I find myself wanting to type out everything, even if it's just for my personal eyes.

Why am I typing this onto my craft blog? Because I love making cards for people, but hate that my handwriting messes up the pretty designs. In comes my Silhouette Cameo. I was using all the cut features for small phrases. However, what about when I wanted a nice saying inside the card? Even though the Cameo can cut small designs, it is not always possible to cut out longer things. Surprise! I am not the only one who thought this.
I found a great site that offered up an add on to the Silhouette Cameo and other die cutting machines. Amy Chomas at Chomas Creations has an adjustable pen and marker holder that can accept various sized pens and markers, then you put it in your machine instead of the cutting blade.

                                               

Awesome, right? Finally, writing that can be read. A tool that is on my crafting wish list (and believe me it's a long one).
The pen holder is beyond my means to invest in right now. So I researched other solutions.
My cheap frugal self found these.
                                            

Small pen grips that you put on pens or pencils. I got a pack of 10 and put them on some gel pens. That was the hardest part of this project. It was tough, I tell ya. I needed a cup of coffee to relax afterwards. So after you calm down, you just push them into the blade housing.

To get them to write correctly I put in a spacer popsicle stick so that the pen did not drag along the paper. Amy Chomas suggested that we use setting of a speed of 10 and a thickness of 10 when using her adjustable pen holder, so I set my machine for the same.  I found that some fonts work better then others. After like a million tests, I made a list and printed them out with my Cameo.

Oh so exciting. I'll be like a kid in a toy store playing with this.  I have included a link to the .studio file I made just in case it helps anyone who has a Silhouette. Click here for file.






I Link up Here: Not just a Housewife, Clean and Scentsible,  Skip to my Lou, I Heart Nap Time, Blooming Homestead,  Alderberry Hill, Tatortots & Jello, A Night Owl, Crafts Ala Mode

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A Split Family Tree on Canvas

Let the vinyl projects begin! I have been waiting for a shipment of vinyl that I ordered. Finally it has been received  sorted and is ready to be used. I must admit my first project was a little ambitious, maybe even a little scary. After a few mishaps it turned out great. Without making you hold onto your seats for a minute longer, I bring you a split family tree.

This is for a friend who wanted her kids names displayed on 5 X 7 canvases. Yes she has 6 kids, that's 2 more then me. I don't know how she is still sane.  I love the font that I choose. Very swirly. 

For those that are interested I finally remembered to take some photos along the journey to show you what I did. For those that aren't interested, indulge me and look anyway just for my amusement.

Here is the back of the canvases. Just simple white canvases that can be bought at any craft store. My favorite go to place is Michaels. 

 I painted the canvases with a few coats of acrylic paint in her favorite color, green. To get the vinyl to stick to the uneven surface, I also applied a thin coat of Modge Podge. The Modge Podge had to sit for a few days to cure. The waiting killed me. I mean I had all this vinyl and wanted to start cutting. 

This next step requires a little bit of additional information. I messed around with a few different vines and leaves on Silhouette Designer Edition. we wanted the vine to wrap around all the canvases.  I finally ended up with a tree design. Lovin the heats with the tree. Coming up with designs is the hardest part of crafting I think.Getting it to separate on all the canvases turned out to be another problem. No matter what I tried in the software the design always came up wonky. I asked for some help on one of the craft groups I belong to, and a lady came up with the perfect solution.  Here it is.

I used painters tape on the back of the canvases to hook them together. Genius.  

Oh how exciting, the cutting of the vinyl has began. This is the inside of the Silhouette Cameo. In short terms, it's like a printer that cuts instead of prints. 

It is next to impossible to see here, but the tree design is being cut by the blade. 

The vinyl I use come in rolls or sheets The sticky part of it is stuck to a carrier sheet. The small intricate design came out perfectly. The weeding (removal of the extra vinyl) on this one was really easy. After the project was weeded You add a transfer sheet to the front. And scrape over it to make sure it sticks. They make a transfer tape for this use, but contact paper works wonderful also. And is much, much cheaper.

With the vinyl stuck to the transfer sheet you peel off the backing and the design really shines. 

I then took the design and moved it over to the connected canvases. I used a squeegee to firmly attach it to the canvas. Even with the Modge Podge I found that the vinyl did not want to stick down and little pieces kept coming up. So frustrating. I din't let it stop me and continued anyway. 

After the vinyl finally stuck I used a X acto knife to cut the design between the canvases. I kinda feel silly that I didn't come up with this, It would have saved hours in front of my computer.

Isn't that font fabulous! Absolutely amazed by the small details that the Silhouette can cut.  With all their names applied I saw there were still little pieces of the vinyl that didn't want to stay down. Modge Podge to the rescue again. I added another coat on top of the entire design, and let cure for a few more days.

They are all ready to be given to my friend. she saw them already, so I am not spoiling the surprise. She is such a wonderful mom, and now can display he kids special names that were picked just for them. 

Linked up Here: Not just a Housewife, Clean and Scentsible,  Skip to my Lou, I Heart Nap Time, Blooming Homestead,  Alderberry Hill, Tatortots & Jello, A Night Owl, Craft-O-Maniac,  Thats whate Che Said, Crafts Ala Mode, SayNotSweetAnne, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

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Confession Time

I have a confession to make, I am addicted to my computer and  more specifically the internet. Whether it be my laptop, desktop or tablet, if I'm not crafting or working my regular job, I can usually be found on one or two of these miracle devices. I have no idea what the world did before computers. Need to learn how to fix a car, it's on the internet. Need to look up the instructions for a card game, it's on the internet. Not that I use it much, but even if you want to organize you favorite recipes, yup you guessed it, internet.  I can not remember the last time I used a paper map or phone book.

I love reading other blogs. I'm connected to other crafters sites, to news sites, and so many more to keep up with. I have used Google's e reader for many years to keep in touch with the world. Recently I got some sad news. Their e reader is going away as of July 1st. I and many other people have to find a new way to get their daily incites into the world. Thankfully there is a easy solution. I signed up for a Bloglovin" account. Their site make it super easy to switch over to their e reader. A couple clicks with the mouse  to transfer my followed blogs and I was all set up.

Sign up for a Bloglovin" account here  and see how easy it is to switch from Google's e reader just go here,  and follow their simple instructions.

If your a blogger you can also clam your blog on there to declar it as yours. There is some simple code tey will tell you to enter. Here is my example <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5573301/?claim=jjcgpyhsjjj">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> ( You will have a unique code, so don't copy and paste mine).

Hope this helps you stay connected to the big world outside. 

Tracie

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