Silhouette and Xyron: How to Use the Crafting Machines Together (Free Silhouette Studio Cut File)

I have a confession to make....I'm one of the people I tell all of you not to be. Not with my Silhouette, but with my Xyron Make a Sticker Machine.  I got not one, but two for Christmas. I still have both...only because they've been sitting in their boxes in the corner for so long that I can no longer return one.  And so I now am the proud owner of two adhesive/sticker machines aka Xyrons.

It wasn't until my six year old decided she wanted to do a craft project on her own that I thought I'd pull out the smaller version and let her have at it. The Xyron is actually really kid friendly: there's no heat, batteries or electricity required AND NO MESS!  Just turn the knob and you can turn paper, photographs, even ribbon into a sticker.

My daughter using the Xyron and letters that came out of a stencil-like paper design that I had cut on Silhouette. She's using them by putting adhesive on the back with the Xyron.

Once I saw how cool and easy it was to use I realized I made a huge mistake in not showing all of you the beauty of the Xyron sooner - especially when you pair it with your Silhouette.

To demonstrate I am going to make a card.  I designed the card in Silhouette Studio. I could explain how I designed it all - with a mix of print and cut, fill patterns, text and perforated lines - but this tutorial is more about putting the card together. Sooooooo...I'll just give you all the free cut file so you can concentrate on using your Xyron and Silhouette together for this one.  (As always it's free for personal use only.)

Download the V2 Cupcake Card File

Download the V3 Cupcake Card File

Start by printing and cutting the cupcake, cherry and the polka dot backing on cardstock.  Here's a print and cut 101 tutorial if you need a refresher.

Cut out the actual card (sized to 4.25 x 5.5 when complete) and the 'thanks' offset on white cardstock.

Then cut out 'thanks' on red card stock.

Okay when you have all of your pieces cut out, fold the card in half.  Now grab the polka dot sheet and gently place it into the Xyron.

When you run it through the machine, by turning the knob on the side, it will put an adhesive backing all over the back side.  You want the side that's going to get adhesive on it facing down - so right side up.

Then place the cupcake and cherry in the machine and run through through.  Even really small pieces like the cherry can be grabbed gently enough to roll through. The paper pieces will come out the other side of the machine on a piece of wax paper-looking material. Tear the sheet off the machine.

Now you can peel your paper pieces off the adhesive sheet and your paper pieces have instantly been turned into sticker!

Sure you could have cut the cherry on red adhesive cardstock, but just try to find a cupcake in the right size, color and pattern that already has adhesive on the back.  And yes, I know you can use glue - but the Xyron gives a more solid hold since the entire back is lined with adhesive. Plus there is no 'wetness' so the paper doesn't get those weird bumps like it sometimes does with glue.

I like to peel one piece off at a time as I build my card or scrapbook page.  After the polka dot layer and cupcake were in place, I repeated the process with the red 'thanks.'

Do you see how delicate this piece is? Yup, it still went through the Xyron machine without a problem.   I used my Silhouette spatula to carefully lift it off the adhesive sheet.

I placed the red 'thanks' on the white offset and since it's completely sticky on the back it was easy to keep in place...and no glue spots anywhere I don't want them.  (Clearly this piece didn't cut as cleanly as I would have liked...but it was nothing I couldn't easily fix with my x-acto.)



I could have run the white offset 'thanks' through the Xyron too, but I wanted to give the card a little dimension so instead I put some foam adhesive dots on the back and placed it onto the front of the card.

And that's it - in just about 10 minutes my card was ready to go!

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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