Introducing NEW Cork Sheets with covered MDF Easter Bunnies

Hi, Janet here with a quick overview of the NEW Silhouette® Cork Sheets which I'm pleased to say are now available in the UK.

I've also included a little seasonal project, using the cork to cover an MDF or wood shape for Easter/Spring.

CORK SHEETS

There are 8 sheets in a pack, each sheet being 5in. x 7in., or 127mm x 177mm. The sheets are all the same colour, but I found the cork easy to colour by dabbing with a stamping ink pad until the desired depth of colour was obtained. I used a waterproof black ink for the dark parts of this coaster as it would be coming in contact with liquid. Warning: It does take quite a while to dry (I was a little impatient, hence the smudges on my finished item).

You can see from the pictures, it is possible to cut quite intricate shapes. To make the coaster I stuck the positive and the negative shapes onto a blank ceramic coaster and even the tiniest pieces cut beautifully. The sheets are adhesive-backed, so no additional adhesive was needed.

I also experimented with applying heat transfer material to the cork which worked successfully and the adhesive backing even remained sticky.

The later versions of the Silhouette® Studio software have a recommended setting for the cork sheets (Blade 7, Speed 1, Thickness 20). However, I found that in order to leave the backing paper intact I needed to lower my settings with the AutoBlade, and used the settings shown below with a double cut. Do carry out a test cut using the default setting as a starting point, your ideal settings may well differ from mine.  Be aware that cutting the sheets does create some loose, dusty debris and I found it useful, with more intricate cuts, to pause the cut and clean out the blade housing from time to time.

CORK BUNNY DECORATIONS

To make the Easter/Spring decorations I covered some MDF shapes with a mix of cork and faux leather paper.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

MDF Shapes
Spray or Acrylic Paint (to paint the sides of the shapes)
Silhouette Cork Sheets
Silhouette Faux Leather Paper
Scanner
Downloaded Background Files (e.g. #26288 , #134855)
Fabric Adhesive


WHAT TO DO

Scan your shapes, saving as 'actual size' and in JPEG format.  Then trace the outline using the Trace function. (full instructions can be found in the tutorial Rocking Horse ... Using an MDF Shape).

Cut out the outline shape from the cork sheets, remove the paper backing, and adhere to your MDF shape.

Make an internal offset of the shape to make a bunny-shaped frame and fill it with your chosen background pattern and weld it to the frame (instructions can be found in the tutorial Filling a Shape with a Cutout Design).

Cut the welded frame from faux leather paper and adhere on top of the cork.

VARIATIONS

The same method can be applied to any shape of course, and other materials could also be used.  I liked the natural look of the cork contrasting with the pure white of the faux leather paper.

I'd love to see what you make with the sheets. You can share photos of your makes over on the Silhouette UK Facebook page.


Bye for now,

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