Layering Vinyl Hack with Silhouette Studio Paste In Front

One of the things I like best about The Hungry JPEG bundles is all the commercial use graphics. They're perfect for print and cut and for layering vinyl - once you get them set up correctly. 

This is a sponsored blog post but all opinions are my own.

The May Bundle is stocked full of awesome fonts (as always) as well as a bunch of graphic sets. That got me thinking about the fastest way to convert all.these.designs into layered vinyl designs. You guys - the secret's in the right click!

I'm working with two of the designs from the Hello Summer Collection which is part of The May Bundle from The Hungry JPEG.

This Silhouette Studio tutorial is going to speed through some of the basics on importing downloaded designs and tracing - both of which you'll need to do to get cut lines around the graphics.  If you're not familiar with importing files in bulk into Silhouette Studio library or tracing these types of files check out the linked Silhouette School tutorials.

The design I'm working with have been imported and traced and are now ready for me to set up for layering.

The first thing I like to do is fill the designs with color. You can base the color that you fill with either on the color vinyl you're going cut that piece on (my preference) or color match each section to the original design.  Either way use the Fill Color tool.

To select individual pieces of the design you'll first have to select the traced image > right click > release compound path. 

Now you can select each piece of the shape then pick a color from Fill Color tool.

The next step is to group all the pieces that are the same color together. Use your mouse to select the first piece then hold down Shift while selecting the others. Group by right clicking and selecting group or by clicking the Group tool along the top tool bar. Repeat for all colors.

Now just like you would with regular vinyl registration marks, use the Draw a Box tool and draw out too squares above your design to act as registration marks.

Group the squares together and then select them and copy. Now right click and select "Paste in Front." 

This will put a second copy of the square exactly over top the first set. Repeat so you have as many stacks of squares as you do groups of colored layers.  In this case I need three.

Breathe.

At this point you're ready to move your layers apart. Select the square registration marks and hold down shift to select a single color layer. Move the selection off to the side and group it with the registration marks.

Repeat for all layers.  What you've done is guaranteed the registration marks remain in the exact same position for each layer which is crucial for successfully layering vinyl

Now you're ready to cut with your Silhouette CAMEO and then layer the vinyl the fail proof way!

And now that you know fast and easy the Paste in Front method of setting up layered vinyl designs can be - I'm sure you're going to want to do it for all of the awesome commercial use graphics in The May Bundle from The Hungry JPEG! Gotta hurry those - you know it'll only stick around 'til the end of the month!

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!

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