Using your Silhouette: The Basic How-to

so you bought a Silhouette. you have a somewhat intimidating digital cutting tool sitting there staring at you. now what? several of you asked for some tips on how to use it. the only way i know to do that, is to screen shot a project that i cut myself with my beloved Silhouette SD.

*please note this is just the basics. there is a lot more you can do with the new Silhouette Studio software, this is just to get your feet wet :)*

open up your Silhouette Studio software.
adjust your document size as needed for your project.

add your text or an image from your library that you want to cut.
i like to show the gridlines when i am designing. to view with gridlines, click on the Grid Menu shown above. i like to set my gridlines to be 1″ with 1/2 inch sub-lines. then click Show Grid.

if you click on your image to select it, Silhouette Studio will tell you the size of your image. this is handy!
*be sure that your image stays inside the red lines. whatever goes beyond the red lines will not be cut.*
when you have edited your image to your liking and are ready to cut, plug in your Silhouette to your computer, turn it on, load your media, and then click the Silhouette icon at the top of your computer screen.

*tip: when loading vinyl, you do not need the cutting mat…. but loading vinyl into the Silhouette can be a little tricky. you need to make sure your vinyl does load straight before you cut!  before you load your vinyl into the silhouette, make sure that the edge of the vinyl is cut straight before you feed it in. if the vinyl does not load in straight the first time, unload and try again. {it usually takes me 2 tries to load straight… like every time!} another trick is to use tweezers to pull the vinyl straight if it didn’t load straight, but be careful not to stretch your vinyl. {DO NOT use tweezers when the silhouette is cutting!!}

click on Change Setting to adjust the cutting settings for different medias.

select the media you are cutting. Silhouette Studio will then highlight the color of the blade you should use to cut your media with. insert the correct blade.
when you are ready to cut, click Send to Silhouette.

hopefully that helps you a little bit!!
happy crafting!

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

Latest posts by Linda (see all)