I love labelling - Print & Cut

So..... I suddenly had the mood to test out my "Print & Cut" function of my Cameo today.

I searched the net for inspiration and found this free digital print, and I got to work.

Here's a step-by-step of what I did: 
1. "Open.." my file in SSDE
2. Used the "Draw a Round Rectangle" function
3. Copy&Paste the rectangles and put them in place
4. Opened the "Cut Style Window" and selected Cut Edge
5. Opened the "Registration Mark Settings Window"
6. Printed my document on Printable Sticker Paper (which only cost £0.80 for 10 sheets, so that is plenty cheap!)
7. Stuck the paper onto my cutting mat
8. Clicked on "Send to Silhouette"
9. Select "Detect registration marks automatically"
10. CUT! :) (I used Blade 1 because when I used Blade 2 for the first document (the failed one), it cut through to the backing)

Step 2

Step 4

Points to learn from my Silly-Mistake-Of-The-Day
ALWAYS.. ALWAYS.. ensure the design you want to cut is within the borders of the Registration marks.


This was my first time and I didn't know (though it is quite obvious, now that I think of it. Oh well, you never learn if you don't make mistakes :p) I had to do that. This is what I got as a result - my Cut Lines outwith the border were not detected :










The final product! 

I picked up calligraphy writing recently and I thought this would be the perfect time to practise it!

I had a lot of fun. Best part... It is cheap! 

Have a great day!

Mims

Sale

Good news!!! I sold my rhinestone design (the "Rachel" one) for £10 to my first customer!! Wheewheewhee! This is so exciting!

Mims

Because when I craft, I am transported to another world, where it is perfectly beautiful

Some of my creations since I got my Cameo. I think it is safe to say that I am... addicted.

Of Rhinestones and Template Materials

I always strive to find the cheapest way to get something done, and to me, buying the

Silhouette Rhinestone Template kit (Retailing at RM33.90 per pack - 3 transfer paper (sticky plastic sheets), 3 template paper (What I needed but didn't know how/where to get it) and 3 backing boards (you can use ANY hard surface for this)

OR the

Silhouette Rhinestone Starter Kit RM139 (For people who do not have any experience with rhinestones, this kit would be useful. The items included is of course not worth the money you pay, but it is a convenient and fun way to start)

was simply not worth it. I bought one pack of the Silhoutte Rhinestone Template Kit from LazBoy http://www.lazboydesign.com/about.html to find out what the Rhinestone template paper was like because I had never used it before and couldn't find it anywhere else. The transfer paper you can easily purchase online or from wholesalers selling rhinestones. I got mine from a Korean HotFix Rhinestone shop along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur. They only sell Swarovski rhinestones there (the most expensive type of Rhinestones).

I got my rhinestones from another shop near Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman -

Syarikat Bunga Reben Sdn Bhd
www.bungareben.com
G7 Plaza City One, Jalan Munshu Abdullah KL
03-26973760.
They have 3 outlets.

They sell 3 to 4 types of HotFix rhinestones (Swarovski crystals included)
I got the Skylight (Made in Taiwan)
10ss White 1440 pieces RM65
10ss Light Amethyst RM85

Sorry for digressing, back to the Template Material, this is what it looks like. It comes in A4 sizes. It feels ever so slightly spongy and when peeled away from the white paper backing, it has a sticky surface which makes it easy to
1. Create the rhinestone template holes after your Cameo has cut the holes as the circular parts simply stays stuck onto the white paper backing, revealing a template which you can see in the second picture (the green sheet with the star).
2. The sticky surface sticks nicely onto the backing board, and voila, you are ready to go!

Rhinestone Template material 

Rhinestone Templates
Left: Silhouette Rhinestone Template Material
Right: DIY Template 

As I mentioned before, I personally feel that the Silhouette Rhinestone Template Material is simply to expensive, and each time I want to buy it, I have to buy the entire kit which comes with the backing paper and transfer paper, both of which, I do not need. So I decided to experiment. :D

My Search for the Alternative to the Silhouette Rhinestone Template Material

The Silhouette Template Material is quite thick. So, I thought I'd try using a thin piece of cardboard as a substitute. Bad idea.... The Cameo didn't even cut through it. I refused to give up. Next, I tried cardstock of 220gsm. I can get 10 sheets for RM2.90 (even cheaper actually, because this was patterned cardstock but I was too lazy to head out so I just used it) and VOILA! IT WORKED! You can see it up there on the right entitled "DIY Template". The final products are below.

Used Silhouette Template Material 

Used DIY Cardstock Template

                      

Next, I will talk about the process of getting the rhinestones to fit into the template design.
I looked at a couple of YouTube videos made by people who purchased the Silhouette Rhinestone Starter Kit (which comes with the brush which helps you get the rhinestones to settle into the template holes) and I found that the brush wasn't always perfect at its job and it required patience and a few tries before all the rhinestones settled in the holes, even then, some manual fine tuning was always required at the end. So I decided not to purchase the brush, but, try with a kitchen sponge (The type with the green and yellow surface). Disappointingly, though expected, the sponge was not very effective. So I decided to try something else. I tried gently vibrating the backing sheet repeatedly (template material affixed and rhinestones spread everywhere on top) in a horizontal plane, like the motion of sifting flour, and it worked!! It was much quicker and most of the holes were filled!

A short clip demonstrating the motion (Ignore the sound please, sorry, it's the sound of my Cameo cutting :D)

I hope this tip will be useful to you! 

Sincerely,
Mim

Cameo, Oh Cameo!

After comparing prices between the UK (Ebay & Amazon), Malaysia and Singapore (Silhouette Suppliers), I found the cheapest Cameo for 409 Singapore Dollars (RM984) (After a $50 discount by "liking" their FB page) from Craft In Vogue, Singapore http://craftinvogue.sg/. Local delivery was free so I had it delivered to a friend's house since I was visiting.

The basic inclusions when you buy the Cameo are : 

-Silhouette Cameo (of course)

-Basic Silhouette Software (Mac & PC compatible)

-1 Cutting Mat 

-1 Blade. 

-Free USD10 download card 

-Power and USB cable 

The other prices were - 

Malaysia: RM1299 (Includes an extra free blade) 

UK : RM1295 (Includes free kit and free delivery) 

The free kit consists of the Universal Hook, Sticky Pick Up Tool, Spatula, Scraper Tool and $10 Download Card

(SSDE) Silhouette Studio Designer Edition vs MTC (Make-The-Cut) Software

The Basic Silhouette Software does not allow me to do what I want most, that is, to design my own rhinestone templates. So I did some research into the two main softwares suitable for the Silhouette Cameo - the SSDE and MTC. From the reviews I read, MTC seemed to have a better reputation amongst users who have tried both and I was really pulled towards the MTC, although it is slightly more pricey (approx 20USD more). However, only after extensive reading about the Pros and Cons of both softwares, did I find out that............the MTC is NOT MAC compatible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *AGH!*

The second I found that out, I gave up researching and settled for the SSDE. If you want to find out more about the SSDE vs MTC, one review website I enjoyed reading was http://underacherrytree.blogspot.com/

I got my digital copy of SSDE (which means you only need to download it, you do not need to be sent a CD) from http://www.misskatecuttables.com/ for $32.89 (Which comes with a free $10 digital download credit for their website). As far as I know, they were offering the cheapest price for the SSDE. Unfortunately, all the deals, selling the SSDE for $20++, expired about a month ago. The SSDE is sold for $49.99 on the Silhouette America http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/?page=home. So  at least I still got a discount :) 

So far, I find the SSDE easy to use, and there are plenty tutorials on YouTube which are very useful and quick. I am happy with my buy. However, note that the SSDE crashes more often that you would expect, so SAVE YOUR WORK!!!! (Yes, I was a victim...)

Sincerely,
Mim