Silhouette UK: Party

Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts

Monday, 4 March 2019

Back to basics: print bleed

Hello, it's Verity here from Pretty Little Button. For today's post, I'm going back to basics and showing you if you haven't used it already, how to use the print bleed feature in the most updated version of the software. Now you need to make sure your version of the software is 2.4 - if you don't have this, you can update here. There are a variety of different features in the new version, and it also depends on what edition of the studio you have - i.e basic, designer, designer plus, business etc. The print bleed feature should be available in the basic edition of the software. If you want to see a comparison of features in each edition of the software, head over here.

I have created three different cards with some fantastic designs from the Silhouette Store and used 3 different print bleed settings to show you the difference. The print bleed option is great if you are worried it might cut slightly misaligned. If this happens, you haven't got to worry around a white offset appearing when it shouldn't as the print bleed will print colour, further beyond the design. Therefore if it does cut misaligned, the colour of the image will still remain in that cut area and not appear white. This is a great feature if you want to cut lots of coloured die cuts and don't have many colours of cardstock. Instead, just use the print and cut feature combined with the print bleed like I have today and the possibilities are endless!

Using the 'Print bleed' for die cut printed elements process:

To start off, add a selection of floral elements from the Store and colour the items in. To save time and a reduced amount of card wasted, use the nesting feature to nest all the design pieces up within the print and cut window (remember to turn this on using the registration marks tab within the page setup window on the right-hand tool bar).

When nested, all items will be nested up near the top of the page within the print and cut area.

However, you may wish to space the design elements out slightly for the 'print bleed' area. To do this, change the padding value within the nesting window.

After pressing the 'Nest' button once more, the designs will have shift again proving slightly more space between the design elements. To add the print bleed, you need to open up the Page Setup window. Down the bottom of the window, there is the option to select 'Print bleed'. Here you can adjust the amount of bleed - the default setting is 0.050 inch.

For the florals above I used 0.020inc. When applying this, it does not alter the images within the studio - i.e it does not add the print bleed in the window for you to see.

Following the print, you may not notice much difference for this print bleed as it is very small.

As you can see, once cut there is a print bleed, albeit thin in case of any misalignment.

For the dinosaur card, I used a print bleed setting of 0.030 inches. Once I had printed the dinosaurs, I made each group (i.e dinosaur, balloon etc) a compound path so it would only cut out the most out edge of the design. This was a layered design with many elements making of the dinosaur. However, as I printed rather than cut the individual layers, the design needed to be converted to a compound path to prevent cutting out each layer within the design.

You can see the print bleed a little more with this setting once printed. The corners of the flags and balloons are not as sharp.

This setting has given a reasonanbly good print bleed.

For the unicorn card, I used a print bleed of 0.040inch.

It was much more obvious with this one, as some of the items are overlapping/slightly touching. Therefore this shows that if you are going to next your items, make sure you adjust the padding aree to reflect how much of a print bleed you are going to add.

This setting gave ample room should any misalignment occur.

On a side note, when you upload to the new version of the software, you get improved thumbnails of silhouette files. Prior, a Silhouette document would have the Solhouette logo for the thumbnail image, as seen below.

Following the update, the thumbnails now include an image of what the file contains. This is great if your name of the file doesn't jog your memory as to what it is, the little image will do. Also makes it much faster to find the file you are after if you are able to see the contents of it in the thumbnail.

Using the 'Print bleed' for die cut printed elements photos:

To assemble the dinosaur card, I used ink blending brush to apply yellow ink to a background. Following this, I added splatters of the ink watered down for some added interest to the background. The elements were foam mounted onto the card and some blue bakers twine added to the top of the card, to make the 'Party' banner.

For the floral card, I ink blended through a striped stencil. You can see how this stencil was made on the Silhouette Cameo, in this post here. The floral elements were foam mounted onto the card and the leaves were adhered using liquid adhesive.

A layered die cut and heat embossed sentiment was added to the card, and it was finished off with a selection of sequins.

For the unicorn card, pink ink was applied to the background with ink blending brushes and the items were layered onto the card with foam pads for added dimension along with a heat embossed sentiment.

For some added sparkle, glitter was added to the horn of the unicorn and the blue flower using a Wink of Stella brush. Laslty, the card was finished off with a selection of sequins.

If this has inspired you to try this out, please post below. I would love to see it!

Until next time,

Verity

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DESIGNS USED:

PARTY BANNER by Bella Blvd, Design ID# 288257
BIRTHDAY DINO by Bella Blvd, Design ID#288455
FLOWERS, by Echo Park, Design ID#269216
FLOWERS, BY ECHO PARK, DESIGN ID#266746
FLOWERS, BY ECHO PARK, DESIGN ID#264648
UNICORN by Lori Whitlock, Design ID#226554

PRODUCTS USED:

Saturday, 15 September 2018

Printable Canvas Cotton or Printable Cotton? Fabric Feathers Table Setting

Choosing between Silhouette Printable Cotton Canvas or Silhouette Printable Cotton. Making canvas feathers for a rustic table setting by Janet Packer for SilhouetteUK/Graphtecgb.

Hello, Janet here with a pretty table setting for a special occasion using the Silhouette Printable Cotton Canvas. Previously I've used Silhouette Printable Cotton, and so I thought I'd take this opportunity to compare the two and share the differences between these two products, and help you choose the perfect one for your project.

Printable Cotton Canvas

Printable Cotton Fabric

Packaging - These pictures show the differences in the packaging. The apparent size difference is due only to the difference in the stock photos. They are both US Letter Size, and each pack contains eight sheets.

Appearance - The canvas is thicker and more textured than the thinner, smoother, cotton fabric. It is also has a creamy white colour compared with the bright white of the cotton fabric. Both media are printable with an inkjet printer, but the colour and texture difference gives slightly different colour reproduction (comparable with printing photos on cream v. white paper, for example).

Print & Cut - Both are compatible with the Silhouette's Print & Cut feature, and should work with any inkjet printer which takes a reasonable thickness of cardstock. Just set your page size to US Letter and turn on registration marks, not forgetting to change your printer page setting to Letter size too. The media should be loaded into your printer so that it prints directly on to the fabric surface.

Printing - Both can be printed on through the Silhouette software. If your printer has the capability, you can print edge-to-edge (more details here). To print an edge to edge pattern, simply draw a letter-sized rectangle centred on to a letter-sized page and fill it with any pattern installed in your software. Alternatively drag an external pattern or photo into the shape (jpeg or gif format).

Basic scaling, orientation and colour editing is available through the advanced Fill options and Image Effects.

You can increase the saturation prior to printing to make the colours more vivid.

When printed edge-to-edge you have a piece of patterned fabric approximately 21 cm x 28 cm (roughly a quarter of a 'fat quarter') - great for quilting and small sewing projects.

Cutting - The Silhouette cuts both materials well and will cut out printable objects if cut lines are set up in a Print & Cut. There are settings for both materials in the Silhouette software: Cotton Canvas Printable, and Cotton Fabric Printable. The ideal cut for the canvas is a 'Kiss cut', cutting through the canvas, but not the backing paper. The ideal cut for the cotton fabric cuts both the material and the paper backing. As with other media, the ideal cut settings can be ascertained using the Test Cut feature.

Backing - Both have a stabilising layer as well as a paper backing and both are intended to be cut with the paper backing still attached. When the paper layer is peeled off the canvas, it is self-adhesive, and can be used like a printed, textured sticker. Removing the paper layer from the cotton reveals a shiny, smooth surface. This can be adhered to other surfaces with glue, or its light tack surface can be heat activated with a medium iron, to stick lightly to other surfaces. The pack instructions make no reference to this feature, and my personal recommendation is to use it as a temporary stick prior to sewing or gluing, or to keep it only for very light use.

Sewing - Both of the materials can be sewn by machine or hand, but I feel that the sticky backing on the canvas is a little tacky for extensive sewing.

MAKING THE FEATHERS

I used the Printable canvas to give a more rustic look to this project. The feathers were cut in pairs and the adhesive backing made it quick to assemble the feathers, paring them back to back.

STEP 1 - Set up the Print & Cut

In Page Setup change the size to US Letter. Tick the Show Print Border and Show Cut Border. In the Main Menu (top of the page), change the Print Page Setup to Letter size. When you look at the virtual mat, the registration marks are joined by the cut (red) line, and the print (grey) line is visible within the page borders and outside the cut line.

STEP 2 - Prepare the Design

Arrange the feather pieces to form whole feathers and add colour fills using the colour picking method (detailed here). Add boxes around the feathers filled with the background colour in case the cut lines are a little off (printers call this a 'bleed'). This can also be achieved by making external offsets, although drawing boxes is quicker. Make all the lines clear with the exception of the cut lines around the feathers. Make mirrored copies of the feathers (highlighting each feather in turn, open the Replicate panel, Replicate tab, and make a mirrored copy). Arrange them to fit within the red print line.

STEP 3: Print & Cut the Feathers

Ensure that the Page Setup is still set to Letter (the grey print line should still in the correct position from Step 2) and send your file to print having first increased the Print quality to best. Mount the printed sheet on a cutting mat and send it to cut using the appropriate cut setting to achieve a kiss cut.

STEP 4: Assembling the Feathers

Remove the feathers from the backing sheet. Cut a short length of wire, placing it on the back side, along the central vein of a leaf. Place a mirror image of the feather on the back and run a fingernail along both sides of the wire to make the vein stand proud of the leaf. Trim the excess wire.

STEP 5: Finishing the Feathers

Arrange the feathers on a napkin as desired. Here I've placed them under a piece of twine tied around bands of felt and a strip of feather patterned fabric cut from a sheet of canvas printed edge-to-edge.

These will make my table settings look great for the party. Once the occasion is passed I have further plans for the feathers. I'll be repurposing them to add to some dream catchers I'm putting together - there is quite a selection in the Silhouette Design store.

Bye for now,

Crafting Quine Blog | Instagram @CraftingQuine

DESIGNS USED:

PRODUCTS USED:

Saturday, 7 July 2018

Make Dimensional Cake Toppers with Silhouette Chipboard

Make dimensional cake toppers (for large cakes or cupcakes) with Silhouette Chipboard Sheets. Project instructions and blog post by Janet Packer https://craftingquine.blogspot.co.uk for the Silhouette UK Blog GraphtecGB. Princess themed crown decor. Designs from the Silhouette Design Store by Lori Whitlock and Scrap n Fonts.

Hello, Janet here with a new Chipboard project. The Silhouette Chipboard Sheets cut and layer beautifully to make stronger items, and this week I have used them to make a set of co-ordinating cake toppers for a special occasion.

The layered chipboard can be decorated with all kinds of media: paint, decorative papers, vinyl, and more. I wanted my toppers to be glittery, but I didn’t want to risk getting glitter on the cakes. The perfect solution was to fuse glitter heat transfer vinyl onto the toppers to give a neat, flake-free finish. I used the Silhouette Glitter Heat Transfer in a rich copper.

Large Cake Topper

I used the crown from the 'Crown Me Phrase' by Lori Whitlock (#215545) for the large, double-sided, dimensional topper. The phrase was ungrouped and the crown reduced in size to about 14 cm (5.5-inches). Two rounded rectangles were subtracted from the crown to make slits to accommodate two bamboo skewers.

I cut five crowns with slits, and one with no slits, from the Silhouette Chipboard.

I also cut two crowns in mint textured cardstock and one crown in copper glitter heat transfer with a little princess's name cutout in PN Peanut Butter & Honey Font (#143690).

The topper was constructed by adhering all the crowns with slits together with liquid craft adhesive. The plain one was then adhered to the back. The bamboo skewers were aligned within the slits and stuck with more liquid adhesive to the back piece, and the mint cardstock crowns adhered to both back and front.

The heat transfer was then applied on top with a domestic iron, protecting the heat transfer media with a silicon sheet.

HINT: The negative lettering was easy to apply to the reverse of the topper using the used backing sheet from the positive piece.

Cupcake Toppers

I made a matching set of cupcake toppers using the Princess Wands/Cake Toppers by Lori Whitlock (#63758). In addition to the pieces in the file (scalloped circles in cardstock, and decorations in heat transfer) I added:

a circle with a slit (cut from chipboard, one per topper),
a circular frame to fit (cut from heat transfer, two per topper), and
a letter 'm' using the PN Font (#143690) (cut from heat transfer).

A cocktail stick was sandwiched between layers of heat transfer either side of the chipboard piece, and the cardstock-decorated shapes adhered to both sides of the toppers.

Confetti

Table confetti was easy and cheap to create by cutting circles utilising the spaces around the scalloped circles. The waste stars from the heat transfer can be utilised too.

The chipboard was the perfect base for all these glittery decorations. I do hope you'll try it. Here are some links to some other chipboard project tutorials. Just click on the photo to visit each one.