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So, I have to say, this is a humorous post to be typing up as ice is coating the trees outside, and it is freezing rain in April. I made this sign last week, when it was sunny and almost 70…. ahh, Michigan weather. 😉
At any rate, I recently purchased a Silhouette Cameo! I had been debating it for over a year, and finally decided to go for it, and I’m so glad I did!! Although I’ve only played with it a little bit, I am loving it so much! I have all these ideas that I want to do now. 🙂 I want to buy all.the.fonts, but am trying to just use what comes with the studio…for now that is. I hope you’re ready for more projects!
The first thing I made was this shirt. I love living in Michigan (well maybe not quite so much when it is freezing rain in April), and always had wanted a shirt like this.
You may recall I used HTV without a cutting machine to make this shirt. It turned out great, but using the Silhouette sure made things easier. 🙂
Another project I knew I wanted to make was a painted wooden sign. I knew I wanted to create a stencil, so after some research I purchased some Oracal Oramask 813 Stencil Film and some Silhouette transfer tape, which helps to transfer the stencil onto your piece of wood.
Come see the #diy #woodsign I made using my Cameo from @silhouetteam. Plus I'm giving you a #free cut file! #blogger #momblog Click To TweetSo first thing I did was create my design in the Silhouette studio. I used available font for the words Spring has Sprung. I knew I wanted a mason jar with flowers on my picture, but couldn’t really find what I was looking for, so I made my own. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty proud of myself. It took some time to figure out how to do it, but I really like how it looks!
I also decided to give all of you the file! It’s a .studio3 cut file, but pretty sure there are ways to convert it so you can use it with other programs. Click here to download your file!
Just a little FYI, this is what it will look like when you click the link. There won’t be any preview, but as long as you hit the download, you should get the file.
So now that you have the file it is time to open it in your Silhouette Studio.
Next you have send the material to your machine to be cut. chose vinyl, matte for my cutting material choice. I ended cutting a 4″ by 12″ piece of stencil material (the size of my board) and putting it on the cutting mat. But then when I took it off the mat, it got a bit wrinkly. Next time I think I’ll try cutting it right from the roll.
After you cut it, it’s time to weed! I use these tools to help out.
I then cut a piece of transfer tape the same size as my stencil.
I peeled the transfer tape and put it on top of the stencil (you can faintly see the grid lines of the stencil paper.
Then peel the backing off the stencil, and place it on your board. Then peel the transfer tape off. The transfer paper didn’t do a great job transferring the small stuff, so I had to do that by hand.
For the board, I asked my husband for a scrap piece of wood, and then used a stain we had lying around the house. In the future I think I want to do a more “weathered” look on the board, but has this was just practice, I used what we had.
Now the fun part! Painting it! I used little sponge brushes, and acrylic paint. Only put a little pit of paint on the sponge at a time (I also blotted on a paper towel), and dab, dab, dab the paint where you want the paint to be. Paint 2-3 coats. Eventually you’ll get this.
Take the stencil off and admire your work!
Like I said before, I kind of wish I had done a more weathered look on the board, but now I know for next time (and there will be a next time 😉 )! The purple color also isn’t quite bright enough, but all in all, not bad for my first time!
Now I have a question for you! What kind of projects would you like to see??Â