I'm Dyering to Make Some Cards with my Silhouette Cameo

Thanks Santa for the Sihouette Cameo die cutter!

My first attempt didn't go well.

When your cutting mat is brand new it is a bit TOO sticky.

Advise from Jen: stick it to your jeans to remove some of the tackiness.

I was a little afraid of it so I gave it a time out for a month. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos I was ready to try again. Silhouette has a store where you can download images. Turns out two of the artists are in Lilla Rogers Bootcamp class with me, Amanda and Emily. I downloaded a few images--super easy to do. First up was Emily's bird design.

This was a pretty intricate design for my first try and it cut perfectly.

This time I used the Silhouette tools (they look like X-ACTO knives) to slowly and carefully lift the design from the backing.

The pink underpinning is also included in the die cut pattern.

I also uploaded Emily's cat design. Here's a pic of the knife.

You don't have to use big sheets of paper. Just load in a small scrap if you need a tiny element cut.

The last design of Emily's I made was the Scottie card.

Coming soon: how I cut out my own drawings…

Santa Can You Get Me a Silhouette Cameo?

In December, I visited my friend Jen to see her wonderful home. It's filled with wonderful collections--all artfully displayed. I could have taken a hundred more photos. 

You can follow Jen on instagram here or visit her blog here. 

She had a craft room filled with all kinds of neat tools, like the one that does the binding on this book.

I noticed this in her craft room and asked what it was. It's called a Silhouette Cameo diecutter. 

She gave me a quick demo. She pulled one of my drawings from my blog and uploaded it to the Cameo software.

Next she placed cardstock on a semi-sticky cutting mat and loaded it into the cutter.

After adjusting the blade and doing a test cut, it was ready to cut out my design. 

It makes really weird noises when it cuts. When it's done, you gently peel it from the mat. 

This took less than 10 minutes to do. I was super impressed. Santa?