21 Silhouette Tutorials You Can't Afford to Miss! (July Wrap Up)

Oh July...where did you go? I can't believe how quickly July went...probably because here at Silhouette School we've been busier than ever!  We had a few guest bloggers, enjoyed a giveaway or two, celebrated our half birthday, and I may have made a MAJOR announcement on the Facebook page...did you see? We launched on Instagram, the Etsy shop is getting restocked with new items and the Link It or Lump It Party moved from our sister site to Sil School and at the same time welcomed 3 new co-hosts. Wowzers...

Oh and we may have squeezed in 21 amazing Silhouette tutorials that you don't want to miss...

• Making a Circle Split Anchor or Design
• How to Put Vinyl on Wood (So It Actually Sticks)
• Easily Change Colors of Silhouette Print and Cut Files
• Silhouette Studio Shadow Tutorial (No Designer Edition Needed)
• Adding Patterns to Silhouette Studio in 3 Easy Steps
• Trick to Getting a Perfect Print and Cut
• Addressing Envelopes with Silhouette Sketch Pens
• Creating Mock Ups in Silhouette Studio
• How to Remove Heat Transfer Vinyl Mistakes
• Silhouette Vinyl on Canvas: 6 Tips to Success!
• Silhouette School's 6 Most Popular Silhouette Tutorials
• How to Fill a Silhouette Design or Text With a Cuttable Background
• How to Make Custom Rhinestone Designs in Silhouette Studio
• Large Anchor HTV - FREE Studio File
• Custom 18" Doll Tees with Heat Transfer Vinyl
• Layering HTV Without the Bulk
• How to Etch Tiles to Make Custom Coasters
• How to Add Vinyl to a Wood Slice (and What NOT to Do)
• FREE or Cheap Silhouette Supplies: 9 Places to Look
• Use the Silhouette Studio Polygoon Tool like a PRO
• Personalized Tote Gift Bag: Gift Idea for Any Occasion

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I received 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!

Easily Change Colors of Silhouette Print and Cut Files

Did you know that you can customize the colors of the purchased print and cut files.  So if you purchase a Print and Cut file (marked with a P) from the Silhouette Online Store, you are not stuck with the pre-filled colors. You can change any and all of them.

Awhile back I bought this fish bowl design to use for my son's Valentine's Day classmate gifts so I'll use it for this tutorial.

Silhouette Studio Shadow Tutorial (No Designer Edition Needed)

I've gotten this question a lot over the last few months: How do I make a shadow on a font in Silhouette Studio.  Well...if you have Silhouette Studio Designer Edition there is a handy dandy little button that lets you create a shadow with the click of a button. But if you don't...you are not left out in the cold.

Trick to Getting a Perfect Print and Cut on Silhouette

Guess what...I'm taking the day off! Yup...totally handing the blog overto my friends We're Becky and Glenna from My Paper Craze. I know you'll give them another warm welcome as they take it from here! 

Hi there! We're Becky and Glenna and we're honored to share a Silhouette tutorial with you today! We started off as paper crafters before we discovered the all-powerful Silhouette electronic cutting machines. While we tinkered with a little of everything, we {LOVED} making handmade cards and scrapbook layouts.

With that little intro said, our whole world of paper crafting opened up when we discovered the Print and Cut feature of our beloved Silhouette cutting machine. Not familiar with this fabulous feature? To sum it up, Print and Cut allows you to combine your printer and your Silhouette to create awesome printed die cut images. You simply set up your design in the Silhouette Studio, work your cut lines, print on your own printer, then cut with your Silhouette. For the full tutorial, check out Silhouette Print and Cut Tutorial for Beginners! After you have a chance to look over Melissa's wonderful tutorial, we'll let you in on a little secret... The Secret to the Perfect Print and Cut!

Addressing Envelopes with Silhouette Sketch Pens

Addressing envelopes is not something I enjoy doing...just putting that out there.  I usually type up labels, but recently I've been turning to my Silhouette for help.  This is so cool.

Okay so what you want to do is first get your envelope and put it on your mat.  This tutorial assumes you know the basics of using sketch pen, since we had a full 6 part Sketch Pen series on them, but if you're not too comfortable start here with the 101 lesson. 

Creating Mock Ups in Silhouette Studio

If you sell items you make with your Silhouette you may want to make mockups so you don't have to physically create an example of every single option - be it color, phrasing, size, personalization - you offer.  Today I'm going to show you a pretty simple way to create mockups in Silhouette Studio.

I'm going to use these sports ribbon holders as an example.  The great thing about these is that they can be personalized pretty much anyway the buyer could possibly want.  That leaves a lot of options and for those who just need to 'see' it...mock ups are the perfect way to offer a preview before you go through the whole process.

Silhouette School's 6 Most Popular Silhouette Tutorials

Happy (Half) Birthday to my third baby...Silhouette School!  Six months ago today - on January 16 - we launched with our very first tutorial on how to make a freezer paper stencil. And since I obviously like to celebrate half birthdays as evidenced by my daughter eating half a cupcake on her 3.5 year birthday (where is the time going? She's about to turn 6!!!)....we're celebrating Sil School's 6 month birthday, too!

 

I wish I could give you all half a cupcake to celebrate our 6 month success..but instead, I'd thought I'd share our top 6 most popular tutorials from our first six months in the blogisphere.  Sound okay?

#6: $1 DIY Sketch Pen Hack

#5: Finding & Downloading Free Designs in the Silhouette Online Store

#4 Trick to Cutting Thin Fonts (Without Tearing)

#3 How to Clean Your Cutting Mat...FAST!

#2 13 Tips for V3 Newbies

#1 How to Layer Vinyl (the No-Fail Way)

Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!

How to Fill a Silhouette Design or Text With a Cuttable Background (Free Studio Cut File)

I've been asked more than a time or two how to fill a design or text with a pattern or background...you know like a chevron anchor or text taken to the next level. But just how do you get from this to this?

Today I'm going to show you how you to fill a design or text with a cuttable background in just a few steps in Silhouette Studio.

First - open up your design.  I'm going to be working with an anchor but this would work with pretty much any design...or text.

How to Make Custom Rhinestone Designs in Silhouette Studio

It's an exciting day here at Silhouette School! Not only do I have a really cool tutorial on how to make custom Rhinestone designs for you...but it's Silhouette Challenge Group day and that means....

Before we get to all their awesome projects let's talk Rhinestones.  Today's is the second lesson in the Rhinestone Series.  The Rhinestone 101 lesson covered how to Rhinestone using pre-made rhinestone designs that you can purchase from the online store. But what's really cool about the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition (and why it's one of my favorite things ever) is that you can turn ANY design or any font into a Rhinestone design very easily.  So while you don't need DE to rhinestone, if you want to make custom designs you will need it.  Oh and in case you're wondering what other features the upgrade gives you (or if it's even worth it) check out the 13 reasons why I say Silhouette Studio Designer Edition is definitely worth it.

Okay so let's say you have Designer Edition and you have a design in your library or you imported a jpeg, traced it and now want to make it a rhinestone design (as is the case with this pair of flip flops).

Large Anchor HTV - FREE Studio File

I got a lot of great feedback on the large HTV anchor shirt I made using navy blue EasyWeed Heat Transfer Vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and  A LOT of requests for the cut file...so I thought I'd share the it with you.

BTW I got the shirt on super sale at the JCrew outlet for a few dollars. If you're looking for blank shirts Shirts.com is a great place to find all colors, styles, and cuts of shirts (Search BLANKS) for a very good price! They even have a special right now - buy 3 get a 4th FREE! 

The file is sized exactly as it appears on the shirt I made.

As with all the files I share, this is for personal use only. 

Anchor Studio File 

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I received 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!

Custom 18" Doll Tees with Heat Transfer Vinyl (Free Cut File and GIVEAWAY)

I'm away on vacation so I'm thrilled to be having Jamie from Punch Place Plus in to teach today's lesson.  This is a great one - especially if you have little girls in your life.  I'll let Jamie take it from here...

Have you noticed the great fashion htv on the market today - My Vinyl Direct has a huge selection of pattern vinyl? I am in love with several of the patterns. I like to start small when trying new techniques or materials. Therefore, the combination of the htv on an 18” doll tee shirt seemed like a natural place to begin. Please join me, your substitute Jamie, for today’s class!

How to Etch Tiles to Make Custom Coasters (Silhouette Tutorial)

I'm still on vacation and so I'm thrilled to welcome yet another sub to Silhouette School! Meet my fellow-Portrait user...Rachel from Architecture of a Mom.  

Hi Silhouette School Students! My name is Rachel and I can typically be found over at Architecture of a Mom. I'm an architect and a mom, and I write about crafts, recipes, and raising 3 little girls, two of whom are twin preschoolers!

Since I'm so addicted to using my Silhouette Portrait, Melissa asked me to substitute teach here at the Silhouette School and share an amazing technique (at least to my simple mind) using your silhouette and etching cream. Did you know that you can etch tile with etching cream? That's what I did to make these awesome nautical tile coasters.

I'll pause a minute and repeat while that sinks in. You can etch tile with etching cream, not just glass.

How to Add Vinyl to a Wood Slice (and What NOT to Do!)

Oh Happy Day...I'm on vaca! And you know what that means? I can't leave you all without a lesson so I'm handing the blog over to today's sub, Miss Stephanie from Sandpaper and Glue! She's got a great project tutorial for you today on adding vinyl to a wood slice. (Love this!)  Best of all she's sharing some tips on what NOT to do when working with vinyl! I'll let Stephanie take it from here...

Hi all! I'm Stephanie and I blog over at Sandpaper and Glue all about my experience as a first time home owner on a budget. I'm so excited to share my wood slice art with you today! I am a beginner Silhouette-er with expert level dreams, so I thought it would be good to share not only what worked about this project but also all the things that did not work at all. Learn from my mistakes people, because this craft was a doozey!

You will need:

• Round Wood Slice (bought at Michael's, with a 50% off coupon of course!)
• Silhoutte vinyl in the color of your choice (I used black)
• Silhouette hook and spatula (I don't have these things but they would have made life much easier- I used a little metal walnut pick and butter knife instead)
• Polycrylic and brush or Mod Podge (optional)

I knew I wanted a scroll-y, rounded script for my project and this is what I came up with:

FREE or Cheap Silhouette Supplies: 9 Places to Look

If you're using your Silhouette as much as I do you start to look for places where you can find inexpensive Silhouette supplies.  I'm not talking about cheap stuff that's gonna break in a day or vinyl that's gonna peel up in a minute. I'm talking about decent quality stuff at a good price.  You can thank me later..but today's lesson is on a few little-known places to find cheap - and even FREE - Silhouette supplies.

Expressions Vinyl:  Expressions Vinyl offers FREE supplies for those who are willing to demonstrate or test products and then write a tutorial or post (you can write it on your own blog or write it and send it to EV to post on their blog) on how the product was used.  Check out their job board to see what spots they're looking to fill.   Also, check Expression Vinyl's Daily Deal every day! They'll often have as much as 50% off a single item.   Every day there's a different deal so check often.

Use the Silhouette Studio Polygon Tool like a PRO!

There's a little button on the left tool bar in Silhouette Studio that you may have passed by thinking "I don't need a polygon."  Well, my friends, this button is actually pretty powerful...and it may end up saving you a bunch of frustration with the other tools, including the fill tool.  (More on that in a minute...)

Personalized Tote Gift Bag: Gift Idea for Any Occasion

Need a birthday gift for a friend, a teacher gift or a shower gift?  Today I'm sharing a gift idea that is pretty much good for any occasion and it will always be appreciated because it's personalized.  People like things personalized. At least I do so I think I speak for...well, everyone.

I got this tote at the Christmas Tree Shop for just $3.99.   It's heavy canvas and has a zipper and a few inside and outside pockets - all bonuses, right?!   To make it a little more special I used glitter gold heat transfer vinyl from Expressions Vinyl that I had left over from my Library Book Bags project to make a monogram.   I love the way the gold glitter HTV pops against the blue details.

This is one of those projects that you can do with left over vinyl scraps. I actually cut all three letters on separate pieces of gold glitter HTV - less than 1.5 square inches each - because I didn't have a single piece large enough to cut the entire monogram.  And because it's HTV, you can move it around easily before actually committing to its placement unlike adhesive vinyl which is pretty much stuck once it touches the surface.

Since this gift bag was being given in early summer I filled it with beach supplies including a towel, magazine, water bottle, cold tray and a sand spiker. (Read the tutorial on spikers here.)  Is there such a thing as too much personalization?  No! Never. 

Do you have a go-to gift that you make with the help of your Silhouette?  Tell us about it in the comments below.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I received 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!