Have you ever looked at the windows in designer boutiques and admired the word art in the frosted glass. By using a roll of Etched Vinyl we can give our windows the appearance of frosted glass, then by adding a few inspirational words can create a unique designer look that we can easily remove when we want a fresh look.
Open a new blank project in the silhouette studio and type a few inspirational words off to one side of the mat.
In turn drag words on to your virtual mat. Resize and arrange the words on your mat to make the best use of all the space on your media.
Try different fonts from the "Text style" panel. By clicking at the end/beginning of your word and dragging the mouse over all of the letters, you can select the whole word. Once a word is selected, click on one of the font types in the text style panel and the word will change to that type face.
( you can use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to scroll through the "type style" section. You can watch the words change in real time, making it easy to see how the word will look in that font)
if you choose to use a font where the letters overlap remember you will need to tell the software that you want these pieces to all become one continuous shape or you will end up with lots of little pieces of vinyl everywhere the lines intersect.
If we were to simply convert the text and make a compound path we would lose all the centers from our letters.
instead, we must make out text solid objects by using the fill tool.
With all of the word selected click on the fill panel and select the same color as your cut line.
Now that all your text appears as solid pieces. right-click on your mouse and select weld. The selection box around your word will change and will give you a new selection of boxes depending on how your word over lapped. You can use the left and right arrows on your keyboard to adjust the position of the remaining sections until you are happy with the overall layout, repeat the weld command to join any new overlapping sections.
As I want the "I" to remain separate from the rest of the word but still want it to move around my mat with the other letters I must let the software know that the letter still belongs with the rest of the word it is still part of this words Path
. With all sections of the word selected right click and choose make "compound path". There will now be one select box around all of the word and it can be moved, rotated, stretched and flipped into position anywhere on the mat as one piece.
When you have filled the available space on your vinyl click on the send button.
you can now check visually that all the cut line are correct in the project. Make any changes by clicking back on the design tab which will bring you back to the general work area. when you are satisfied the cut lines are correct carry out a test cut on your chosen media and adjust as necessary to ensure a clean cut. when cutting vinyl, it is not necessary to use a cutting mat if you are using larger pieces of vinyl that can be adequately held by the rollers on your machine, however, if you are using small pieces the carrier sheet is required. your blade and cutter are set correctly if the blade cuts through the vinyl but not through the backing/carrier sheet.
Remove all the unwanted vinyl from around the text and use a weeding tool to pick out the center of any O's, A's etc. Once you have completely weeded the text, apply a sheet of transfer tape over the word ready for application,
Continue cutting enough text to complete your project. if you would like some of your text to be read from the other side of the glass reverse you text by right clicking on your mouse and selecting flip horizontally.
Cut a piece of the etched vinyl slightly larger than your window. lightly spray your window with a mist of water and remove the backing from the back of the etch vinyl. offer the vinyl up to the window. The mist of water will allow you to position the vinyl easily on the window when you are happy with the position, use an applicator tool to rub down the etch vinyl forcing the water and any bubbles of air out as you go. Trim off any excess vinyl with a craft knife. Use some low tack tape to loosely attach the text on the window. Once happy with the layout of your text, one by one remove the backing sheet from the vinyl text and apply to the window.
This project allows you to use all sorts of scraps of vinyl you have been saving from previous projects or perhaps that really nice vinyl you have been saving for a very special project.
PRODUCTS USED:
Etched Vinyl
Etched Vinyl
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