Glow in the Dark Bottle Gift Bag for Silhouette UK

Hi, On the Silhouette UK Blog today I've designed the decal for this Halloween bottle bag using heat transfer materials. It is designed in the Silhouette Studio software, and the materials are cut with a Silhouette Cameo, and applied using a heat press (an iron would work too).

The magical element is the glow in the dark HTV which glows really brightly when the lights are doused, and contrasts well with orange flocked heat transfer.

To make the decal I used a partial "knock out" design technique on one of the words using a ghost design. The post on the Silhouette UK Blog describes how to do this for yourself.

The Silhouette Glow in the Dark Heat Transfer is a dream to weed and apply and gives a fun effect.




DESIGNS USED:




PRODUCTS USED:

Layering different types of heat transfer vinyl - Mason Jar Tissue Holders

Hiya, I have a post over on the Silhouette UK Blog today about applying heat transfer material, both singly and layered. I illustrated this by using heat transfer to decorate fabric sleeves to make mason jar tissue holders.

These are the recommendations on layering the various types of heat transfer vinyl from the various manufacturers.

Base layer: Smooth or Flock
Secondary Layers: Smooth on Smooth, Flock on Flock, or Flock on Smooth
Top Layer: Metallic, Glitter, Holographic

Different brands may give different results.

Once HTV had been applied to the hessian bands, they were trimmed and frayed and affixed to the spray painted jars.

Each jar was filled with a roll of tissues equating to a half box of regular tissues with just the outer band of the screw top replaced on the jar.

Quick Cork Coasters

Hiya, over on the Silhouette UK Blog today I have a FAST gift tutorial. I've decorated blank cork coasters with smooth heat transfer vinyl. The Silhouette Heat Transfer material is easy to cut and fast to prepare.



You'll need:

Silhouette Smooth Heat Transfer Material

Blank Cork Coasters/Circles (95mm diameter, 6mm thick)

Tea Cup Pennant Files by Nic Squirrell #73419

Heat Press or Iron

In the post I show you how to prepare the design, and how to cut and apply the heat transfer material.

Hope you'll try this - I think they turned out great!

P.S. If you have any queries I won't be able to repsond right away as I'm holiday-ing on the beautiful Isle of Skye (this post was scheduled ahead). If you leave a message here I'll get back to you as soon as I can after my return!

Glitter, Sparkle, Twinkle Shine - try the NEW Metallic Heat Transfer

Hiya,  Welcome to my first post of 2017. Happy New Year to you all and many thanks for commenting and following in 2016 - your feedback is so very much appreciated.

Today I have a post over on the Silhouette UK Blog featuring a NEW product in the UK -  Silhouette METALLIC Heat Transfer. It is available in gold, silver and mint (so far) and it is SO pretty!

To try out this new media I decorated a plain black t-shirt with the mint and silver with a few rhinestones for extra bling. I made minimal changes to this lovely design by Kollette Hall from the Silhouette Design Store.

In my post I show you how to re-size the file to fit your t-shirt and tweak the file to allow for the rhinestones to make contact directly with the t-shirt fabric (they stick better that way).

I also tell you the software settings you'll need to cut the metallic heat transfer media (so far there is no default setting in the software, but I'm sure that it will be present in the next update to the Silhouette Studio® software). I also show you how to cut it to make your weeding as easy as possible and then how to best apply it with a domestic iron.

Finally, I've included instructions on how to use the Silhouette rhinestone setter to apply the sparkly rhinestones.

I love the metallic sparkle and shine, and I hope you do too.

BREAKING NEWS: By coincidence I've just discovered that the designer of the file I used for this project has a special promotion in The Silhouette Design Store at the moment 25% off!

Wild about Gold HTV

Today I'd like to share an easy heat transfer vinyl (HTV) project with you using the Wild About You cutting file from Sanqunetti Design. This would make a great first project if you haven't tried HTV before or a quick, easy project if you are an old hand.

Glitter heat transfer vinyl (HTV) is thicker that regular HTV and the cut setting needs to be closer to the Flock HTV setting in the Silhouette Studio software than to smooth. However, the brands vary enormously, so do remember to use the test cut feature until you find the correct setting for the vinyl you are using and for your machine.

***  TIPS   ***


Don't forget to flip your design in the software BEFORE you cut it! This is because you turn the design to iron or press it on to your garment. If you don't flip it, the lettering will be backward - potentially an expensive and time-consuming mistake.

Object > Mirror > Flip Horizontal

Then remember to place the vinyl on the cutting mat correctly.

Shiny side DOWN, backing side UP

Seems obvious, but I guarantee EVERY vinyl-er has forgotten more than once!

When it comes to pressing or ironing, the time required to press and allow to cool (or not) varies, so check your supplier's or manufacturer's instructions to get it right.

Gold HTV on a black T-shirt

SVG Cutting File

How many times have YOU cut htv the wrong way round? If I could have a pound for every time I've done it ... !