Silhouette UK: Converting a Print & Cut file for Minting!

Hi everyone. It's Verity here from Pretty Little Button bringing you another project. I wanted to bring you a project today using the Mint machine. I think this is a great little machine for creating handmade stamps that you can use over and over again. For today's project, I show you how to take a print & cut file from the design store and convert it into a Mint stamp.

Converting a Print & Cut file for Minting details:

To start off you need to find your design from the store. I choose this lovely handmade with love design from the 'Handmade Tags' Print & cut file from Amy Robison. In order to use this file to mint a stamp you first need to convert this into a 'Compound Path'. If you load this design up in your Mint software, it will just 'mint' a square box around the design. You are unable to convert this into a 'compound path' in the Mint software. Therefore load it up in your Silhouette studio design software.

If you only have the Mint software, don't panic. You can download the Silhouette software from their website and you don't need a Cameo or Portrait to use it. Once you have converted it into a compound path, you need to save this to your computer. Selec the design, and using the file drop down select 'Save selection > save to Hardrive'.

By saving it to the hard drive you can now load this file up in your Mint software. Select the size of the stamp sheet you wish to Mint from the 'stamp settings' panel on the right-hand side. I chose a 30 x 30 stamp.

When you are happy with your design and position, select the 'Send to mint' panel. You will notice the software automatically flips your design over, so when you stamp it will read correctly. Once you Mint is connected, you must press the 'Start Mint' button first before loading the stamp sheet into the machine. It will take no time to mint!

Remove the stamp from the packaging by bending at the scoreline. Adhere this down onto the stamp white block and apply the ink. When doing multiple colours I tend to do them separately. So I ink in one colour, allow to soak in and remove any excess before applying a different colour. I find this way I get less mixing and bleeding of colours if they are close to one another.