SILHOUETTE CAMEO

Hello everyone!
How are you all doing?
Well today's post is on the very famous Electronic Die cutting machine- Silhouette Cameo!
I hope you all know Crafters Corner now has official dealership of Silhouette and we have all its products available on the website at the best possible prices!
Well I bought Silhouette Cameo 2 years ago and I have loved every bit of it! There is soo much you can do! I will try to fit in all the things this machine can do in one post without making it too long and boring!

Let me begin with some answers to the basic questions I am asked about the machine.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SILHOUETTE CAMEO AND A SIZZIX BIGSHOT?

Silhouette cameo is an electronic die cutting machine which works with a computer/laptop/ipad and can cut a variety of designs without any cartriges or cutting dies where as a sizzix bigshot is a manual die cutting machine which required metal dies to cut the design you want.

WHAT ALL CAN A SILHOUETTE CAMEO CUT?

Cameo can cut a variety of products like cardstock, pattern paper, vinyl, fabric, light weight chipboard, oph sheets/ acetate sheets. The machine is not designed for cutting heavy duty items.

WHAT OTHER FEATURES DOES IT HAVE?

There is a very cool features Cameo offers which helps makes some amazing printed die cuts and its called Print and cut.

The second interesting feature comes with a pen holder. You can replace the blade with silhouette pens and draw the design on paper instead of cutting or use a pen holder along with any normal pen that you have and draw.

Silhouette America also sells stamping starter kit - this kit includes stamp material, a specialised cutting mat, acrylic blocks, a black ink pad, 10 stamp designs, an instructional DVD and an idea book. The stamping kit gives you the freedom to make any custom stamps you desire be it fonts, florals the options are endless.

Lastly Silhouette Cameo has recently introduced a PixScan mat - The mat allows you to fussy cut any element from your pattern papers or printed sheets by either scanning the mat or clicking a picture of it and uploading it to the silhouette software. This mat measures 11.687*12.812 with a cutting area of 8.5*11.5 inches.

HOW DOES THE MACHINE WORK?

The machine comes with a 12*12 cutting mat. The cutting mat is a plastic mat with a sticky surface which helps keep the paper in place as the blade moves to cut the design after some use the mat does gets less sticky but not to worry we have spray adhesive available for it , once you use the spray it is perfect for use. The blade fitted in the machine cuts the design you open in the Silhouette studio on your computer. It might wear off after several cuts if you use it with highly textured cardstock so make sure you use good quality cardstock and clean the blade when required. Replacement blades are available at Crafters Corner.

WHAT ARE THE DIMENSIONS OF THE MACHINE?
It is a beautiful looking machine which can be the charm of your craft room it measures

• Height 5”
• Width 20.9”
• Depth 6.5”
• Weight 12 lbs

WHAT ALL DO I GET WITH THE MACHINE? 

You will find all the essentials when you open the box. All you need to do id to decide the material and design you want to cut for your first project.
On unboxing you will find :-

• Silhouette electronic cutting tool
• Silhouette Studio software for Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac OS X 10.5.8 and higher
• Basic Instruction Guide
• 50 exclusive cuttable designs
• Power cable
• USB cable
• 12" cutting mat
• Cutting blade
• $10 gift card to buy more designs from Silhouette Online Store.  

WHAT ACCESSORIES DO I REQUIRE?

The first thing that one needs is a silhouette scraper cause after the cuts you will have bits of paper stuck to the cutting mat that need to be removed before you cut your next design.
The next thing that I always recommend everyone who has a cameo is the Designer edition upgrade. This is a paid addition to your silhouette software which allows you to cut a variety of free SVG files ,trace images available on the net it is such a must have!
Lastly you need an adhesive spray and a dust cover to save your machine from getting dirty.

HOW DO I DESIGN? AND WHERE CAN I BUY THE FILES? 

The machine comes with 50 pre loaded files on your purchase. You can create designs with Silhouette Studio software which makes it easy to create designs with drag and drop tools that help you move, resize and add texture to your images. If you dont want to make your own designs then the files can be purchased from silhouettedesignstore.com There are a variety of websites that sell digital files. The best part of the machine is you can resize a design to any custom size you want it can cut the smallest possible to the max of 12*24 inches (if you use the 12*24 inch cutting mat else 12*12)
You can cut any font, shape with this machine. Silhouette Online Store offers a variety of files which are priced at $0.99 which is extremely cheap. Once you buy the design it will be stored in your library for you to cut n number of times. One thing that is important to remember that if you are using the files for commercial use then you should always opt for the commercial license option available on the website.

Now I will begin with sharing some projects I created using Silhouette Cameo :-

For this card I cut out the top layer with my cameo and distressed the back layer using few colours of Tim holtz distress inks. 

The scrolls are super easy to make just cut the butterfly in any size you want roll an a4 size sheet , create a band with cardstock and adhere the butterfly to it. 

For this card I purchased a file from the Silhouette design cut the layers in different coloured cardstocks and adhered them on one top of the other adding them to the card and using some charms for the finishing. 

This cute mailbox is also a digital file I purchased from the Silhouette design store. 

This is one of my favourite projects it was a free file available on the net. 

This too was a paid file i purchased from the store. 

This is something I created and designed on my own after being inspired from a digital art I saw at a nearby cafe! 

One of the cards I recently created from a file from Silhouette design store. Just look at how intricate the design is and how well did it cut!

I've used Vinyl for this frame I traced a picture and the fonts too were cut using my cameo. 

This quote is also from the Silhouette design store and is cut with vinyl! 

Hope you all like the post. If anyone wants a tutorial on any of the projects I've uploaded here or any specific feature of Cameo please do let me know will surely do a post on it!

Lastly I would like to thank my fellow DT Arjita for helping me out with this post as she too is a Silhouette cameo user and she made sure I did not miss out on anything and you all get the maximum information about the machine :) 

Have a good day!

Hugs

Anchal Sapra 

Best from your dies !

Hello Blogger Friends ,
I ll be very clear at the start , that this is going to be one word heavy post full of information and fun things you can do with your die . Sit Back  ! Relax and wear your glasses :P



TOPIC1  - 
TO start with , the first segment is about the most popular topic / confusion METAL ADAPTER PLATE ! 
When I first bought my big shot , I used sheets of paper below my acrylic plates to get perfect amount of pressure . Every company die required different layers of sheets for perfect pressure . My paper width which was suppose to be chopped was also different . I used this technique for a long period of time but finally my bigshot broke . I still have no idea weather it was pressure or plates were placed tilted .
I took my second bigshot and I was not ready to take any chances , so I took metal adaptor plate . These plates , the moment I took them and started using made cutting easier process . I was not suppose to use different layers of paper everytime . One plate worked for all the companies .
In the following picture I was demonstrate a perfect way to use these plates .
From bottom to up  , this is the way you will layer your die and paper .
1) The thick Base called solo platform { it comes along with your machine }
2) The metal adaptor plate 
3) Your first acrylic plates
4) Die - with cutting side up
5) Your paper / felt etc
6) Your second acrylic plates

And voila - Here your sandwich is ready to be chopped in !

It is very important to have a proper sandwich for any die to chop your paper properly .I need these adaptor plates for all my wafer thin dies .

TOPIC 2 - 

Storage of these precious expensive babies called dies .
I have struggled alot while storing these , and lost few small ones from the set too . The solution to these was using art bin magnetic sheet box .As these dies are metallic in nature , they will be attracted to magnet .
The best way to store them and keep them in place was to store on magnetic sheets and stack them in a box,which is perfect with the size of your magnetic sheets .
I prefer art bin sheets , specially because the magnetic property of sheet is strong enough to keep dies in place  and they dont require any extra sheet covering of cellophene of plastic bag . It easy to take them out , organize them and use it in handy . When we are ready to spend thousands of money on dies , then why not a single thousand on keeping them properly .
Do have a look , in the picture below - I have organized my dies properly in these boxes
sorry for those black dots - i m too lazy to clean them ;)
One box has marriane , joycraft , spellbinder
The other box has all other companies - memory box , mft , cherrylynn , dieversions .
I am planing to take one more box and give spellbinders a separate box . Spellbinders are very versatile and they are my favorites . The designs will never bore you with time . Below I will show some interesting items I made with spellbinder .

TOPIC 3 - 
Will my die ever loose its life ?? 
DUDE !! You serious !! never they will never loose there life , until and unless there is blast or fire .
the paint comes off , but the sharpness of your dies will never go away .
The more you use it , the better it becomes . The blade part on your die sharpens itself .
I used few of my dies like zillion number of times - my butterflies :P  , they all are still fine - ekdum zinda !


TOPIC 4 - 
Are all the dies in my set useful ? 
Think before you say NO !! The answer is yes . All the sizes are useful even the tiniest . 
We always think , that in this set of 5 dies only two - three are useful , rest are not of any use . In the upcoming pictures you ll see how nicely small tag books can be done using all my die sizes !
I have used decorative labels 8 for the same .

I will be uploading this picture in the evening { There is power cut at my place :( }




TOPIC 5 - 
How versatile can my die be ?? 
Our dies can be very versatile . Look at the way you can use your labels !
You can chop these beautiful die cuts and tag them together  with a ring binder to make a mini album .
I have used labels 20 to make this .

I love taking different die cuts from spellbinders  and stacking them all together in a different manner .
Believe me , there is always to explore more and more with your dies .
Our DT member Hussena beautifully combined two dies together to make an ornamental cage . Can you spot in the picture ? Check the post here . 

For any info please write to us at info@crafterscorner.in
for any queries above please write in the comment section below .

Have a nice day !
Mallika

All about die-cutting

Hi All!
It’s time for me (Priya) to take a class on this month’s theme of die-cutting and punches. In my class, I am sticking to the topic “Die-cutting”.

What is die-cutting?

Have you ever tried to hand cutting a word or shaping with a craft knife precision scissors?  You know the time and patience it takes to create that one perfect cut. To automate the whole process with very little effort and mess, try die-cutting. Die cutting is the process of cutting a shape out of a material. In the die cutting process, a sharp steel die is used. Die cutting is used in several industries, as well as for personal use.

Why should I invest in a Die Cutting system?

• It’s easy to cut and customized letters, and shapes, right in the comfort of your own home.
• Many die-cutting machines are portable,
• Cut as many die-cuts as you wish—no more running out of a letter halfway through your project. It saves you money in the long run, too.
• Cut shapes and letters to perfectly coordinate with your project out of cardstock, patterned paper, vellum, specialty papers, photos, and some fabrics.
• Make multiples of shapes or letters easily.
• Besides scrapbooks, use die-cuts for different types of projects like cards, paper-crafting projects, home décor projects, and children’s school projects, etc.

Die-Cutting Machines:

Die-cutting machines are a fabulous tool for any crafter. With a die-cutting machine, you can easily create Best of all, you can use them over and over again, for unlimited die-cuts. You’ll never again be halfway through a project and run out of a certain letter or shape.

The main technique used in the pressure. A certain level of pressure is generated in a sandwich of material and design template. The pressure helps the design template to cut through the material without breaking anything.

Crafter’s Corner is stocked up with the top class die-cut machine used in the world of scrapbooking and cardmaking, Bigshot!

Tools and Accessories

The Material

You can cut a wide variety of material with these die-cutting machines and not just paper. Here is a list of material you can cut. Different types of material needs different level of pressure to get a perfect cut.

•  Tin
•  Chipboard
•  Fabric
•  Silicone
•  Corrugated pad
•  Extra thick template plastic
•  Template plastic
•  Bubble wrap
•  Sheet foam
•  Adhesive and non-adhesive rubber
•  Adhesive and non-adhesive felt
•  Pop-up sponge
•  Shiny self-adhesive and non-adhesive paper
•  Iron-on fabric
•  Poly foam adhesive and non-adhesive
•  Funky fur
•  Canvas
•  Vinyl
•  Paper
•  Brass
•  Light weight steel
•  Aluminum
•  Thin leather

The Die

These are steel templates with sharp edges, are specifically shaped to make a certain design. Dies come in many sizes and shapes. These dies are

Material used in the process is placed on a flat surface. This material is then pressed onto the blade of the die, cutting through the material to result in the final cut. The amount of die-cuts made at one time can vary due to the material used. Some die cutters can slice through many layers of material, making many die-cuts at once.

Crafter’s corner has a huge variety of dies to choose from. They are lovely with some delicate and intricate designs.

Multi-purpose platform:

Many die-cutting machines come with a thick platform to make the machine more versatile. It makes the machine workable with different types of dies. This also makes the machine more versatile in techniques. We can not only do the die-cutting but can also create embossing effects on the material without cutting it.

Bigshot comes with it's own multipurpose platform. So you don't need to buy it seperately.

Acrylic Plates

These are the two clear plastic plates that act like the bread in a sandwich. They enclose everything else between them. These plates not only protect the machine from scratches by bearing the pressure of die-cutting process but also help in creating a uniform cut of the material.

Bigshot comes with a pair of acrypic plates. So you don't need to buy it seperately.

Shim

Sometimes more pressure is needed than expected for a perfect cut. A shim is anything that will tighten the sandwich to create more pressure on the die. Usually, a scrap of paper/cardstock is used as a shim.

The sandwich:

This is just the layering of all the accessories to get a perfect cut. A basic sandwich is (Starting from bottom):

·         Multipurpose platform

·         Acrylic Plate

·         Material

·         Die

·         Acrylic Plate

A comparison of different die-cutting machines:

Creating keepsake, The number one magazine for scrapbooking and cardmaking has done a wonderful comparision of different die-cutting machines. I hope this will help you decide which machine to buy.

I hope you were able to learn something more about this stunning machine. Drop in your comments and we DT will surely try our best to answer your queries.

Don't forget to take part in our current challenge (Summer Sundae)set by Pallavi!
If you have any queries regarding any product, feel free to contact Shalini at info@crafterscorner.in
Happy Crafting!
Priya