My first Vinyl Project DIY

My first Silhouette Cameo Vinyl DIY- a ring dish

I bought a Silhouette Cameo right before my sons first birthday a few months ago, and I have mastered cardstock, and I’m ready for vinyl! I did a ton of research on the different kinds and where to order from, and my shipment finally came in from Expressionsvinyl.com, I am loving all of these colors, and I’m so glad I got the swatch so I can see what every color they have looks like.

Supplies

  • Vinyl Oracle 651 (Update, I buy my vinyl from CSDSvinyl.com now. They have buyonegetone free every Thursday if you place your order online, and frequent discounts in the Facebook group.

  • Ring Dish I bought a dipping sauce bowl from Pier 1 for $1.50, and it was perfect! https://www.pier1.com/luminous-porcelain-square-white-dip-bowl/3049334.html#internal-search-product&autocplt=dip

  • Transfer tape This contact paper is clear so you can see when placing things!

 

  • dry erase marker to help draw alignment marks, you can just eyeball it too!
  • alcohol(the medical kind) I used this to wipe down my dish with a cotton ball to make sure it was clean and free of any tiny particles
  • Dental pick for weeding the vinyl. I got a set from Harbor Freight and they are awesome! I also use my Xacto blade sometimes.
  • Kitchen Spatula to rub the vinyl onto transfer tape

 

First thing you want to do is clean the dish and set it aside. While it’s drying, import your image into Silhouette Studio from the MonogramIt App. To create the monogram open the app and click the little plus sign in the top right corner.  On the bottom select the tiny icon on the far right that looks like a keyboard. Type your letters out in the order you want them to appear and click apply in the top right. Now select the tiny circle monogram icon to the left of the keyboard icon to open up all of the monogram options. Pick the one you like and make sure you change the color to black so it will be easy to trace. Once you have made your final choice click save in the top right. Your photo will automatically be saved to your camera roll.  You can email it to yourself or text it if you have imessage on a Mac computer, so that you can save the picture to your computer and open it in Silhouette studio. This process took me about 2 minutes,

Step 1. Open or Install Pink Monogram It App below

Step 2 Select Keyboard on Bottom right and type out your letters, Click Apply when Done

Step 3 Select the Circle Monogram Icon to the left of the Keyboard and change the color to black and pick the monogram style you want. Once you’re happy click save in the top right

 

Step 4 Go to photos and email the photo to yourself and open it in Silhouette Studio

This is what your image should look like.

 

Step 5 Tracing Open Silhouette Studio and open your file. Zoom in a little bit by using the zoom in icon located at the top middle menu(it looks like a magnifying glass with a plus sign in it. Zooming in will help you get a better trace. On the far right menu select the trace icon(4 icons down) and select the “select trace area” option. This allows you to draw a box around the monogram. I like to increase the threshold until the lines look smoother, usually around 88.

Once you’re happy with the way the monogram is filled in, select the trace option and move the original design away to reveal your cut lines outline.It looks a little messy, so I like to fill it in red to see what it will really look like. Note(you may need to do an offset with the swirl monogram to thicken the lines. I also like to use the point editor to remove some of the tiny cut out spots that won’t cut well, like inside the bottom sides of the S. Draw a box around the monogram and click the Send icon in the top right! you’re almost ready to cut! Make sure you have the autoblade selected and select the type of vinyl you are cutting from the drop down. Load the mat into the machine and cut. The hard part is over. Make sure you have resized your image to fill the space on your dish and Send.

 

Step 6 weed and Transfer Unload the mat and weed out the negative spaces to reveal your monogram. Place the contact paper over it and smooth over it with the spatula until you can lift it up off the paper backing. At this point you can eyeball it, or draw a dot on the ring dish and on the contact paper in the center top of the monogram to line it up. Smooth it down in the center first and then press out to the sides, Slowly peel back the contact paper and give yourself a high five!

 

 

I have made several of these! They make great gifts, and they were one of the first things I listed in my Etsy shop a few years back!https://www.etsy.com/listing/213042365/ring-dishes?utm_medium=SellerListingTools&utm_campaign=Share&utm_source=Raw&share_time=1509787983000&utm_term=so.slt

 

I hope this helped you out! Please feel free to leave any questions below!

 

#CraftHappy

Kathy

 

Newbie tip: if you need some awesome fonts to craft with check out

 

 

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links of products I use and love! I’d never recommend anything else!