Finally! Paper Cutting Success With Silhouette Cameo & How To Use Weld And Offset


Cutting paper has been one of the most frustrating tasks with my Silhouette Cameo!  (affiliate link) I suppose that's because there are so many kinds of paper so you have to keep tweaking the settings.  Today my patience was rewarded with my first major success.  I had to write it up quick before I forgot everything and I figured I would turn it into a little demo using some of the basic tools in the Silhouette Design Studio while I was at it.

Printable Heat Transfer With The Silhouette Cameo Using Registration Marks

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Did you ever get a care package in college?  I remember the time my mom sent me the best. cookies. ever.  I'm putting together a care package for my cousin who is a freshman at UNLV. She's still living at home, and I thought she especially needs a care package so she doesn't feel like she's missing out on the dorm experience. She's very health conscious so I packed her favorite dried mango and toasted seaweed from Trader Joes, some makeup, and I made her this shirt.  Not the most academic of care packages.  The design is inspired by the tattoo she wants, an American Traditional heart and banner that reads "Rudig girl" - Rudig being our mothers' maiden name, and the Rudig sisters (our aunts) being three strong, capable chicks.

If you don't know much about heat transfers, you can do it a couple different ways.  You can buy heat transfer vinyl in different colors, and even layer them if you want... or you can use printable heat transfer paper that allows you to print the design with an ordinary inkjet printer.  The printable option is nice for designs with more than one color if you don't want to deal with separating your design by color and cutting/applying multiple layers.  Printable heat transfer is also a good option for designs with shading, like the heart and bird in my design.

My Bagel Breakthrough


I love bagels. Real bagels from a bagel shop, not bread-in-the-shape-of-a-bagel that you find at the grocery store. I have attempted homemade bagels but it's tricky to get that chewy crust just right, not to mention time consuming.  I don't plan my bagel cravings, so when the urge strikes (usually in the morning) I don't want to spend four hours kneading, proofing, boiling and baking to have bagels just in time for dinner. And to be more specific, the urge usually strikes on a weekend morning, so I am not inclined to get out of my PJs and go out into the world to make it happen. Unless we're out of coffee and I'm hitting the Starbucks drive-thru too.  No, I have found another way to get my bagel on.

Calling All Nerds: Captain America USO Girl Costume



An old highschool friend of mine requested that I make this USO Girl costume as a surprise for this his wife.  Awwwwwww!  Apparently they are comic book... enthusiasts (I didn't say nerds). I've never done anything like this, but I did a little research and took on the challenge. Here is the picture he sent me, which is displayed much more nicely than mine: