Sunday's with Steph - Vinyl for the terrified!

Hello and welcome to another blog post from me!

So today I decided to make the massive step (it felt that way for me any way!!) from cutting paper with my lovely Silhouette Cameo to cutting vinyl!!  Ok I'll admit I was really super scared about using it for the first time, but I needn't have been, as it was really rather easy and I absolutely cannot wait to do some more!!

So here goes.  I opened up my design template.  Typed in Mrs S (which is what the children at school call me) picked out a lovely scrawling font which is called Blossom Script Font and changed the lettering.  I then grouped the letters and welded them together.

Once this was all complete I loaded my vinyl.  So with materials with backing you will not need to use a cutting mat, which also worried me. 

So instead of just sending it to cut, I decided to do a "test cut" first.  I hadn't bothered using this before, I think I will from now on, before every cut I make!!  As you can see the machine cut a tiny little square and a triangle on the top left hand side of my vinyl So I knew that it would be ok to cut my name.

I moved my design down ever so slightly to take into account the test cut and then sent it to cut.  I was so super excited when the machine had finished cutting.  I unloaded the vinyl and cut out my name so that it was on a strip and I didn't waste any more vinyl then I needed too.

I then set about pealing off the unused vinyl and weeding out the bits inside the closed letters.  What I was left with was beautiful 😍 and beauty is in the eyes of it's beholder and I was chuffed to bits with it!!

So at this point I should have got my transfer tape out, rubbed the vinyl onto it then transferred it onto my bottle but I was way too excited for that - I pulled it off gently like it was a big sticker and then carefully laid it on to my bottle.  In my excitement I put on and rubbed down the "Mrs" part of the design I then didn't have enough room for the "S" grrr.  If I'd used the transfer tape as I was meant too  it all would have fit lovely.  As it happened I added the "S" underneath and it all worked out well any way!

So after my first successful vinyl mission I ordered a stack load of plain water bottles to make literally every person I know a personalised one (I am obviously grossly exaggerating my level of purchasing power if my dear sweet husband is reading this blog and have only bought one or two 😜)

Anyway until next time - happy vinyl cutting!!

Best wishes

Steph x