New Toy Tuesday: Silhouette Cameo

Christy New Toy Tuesday 14 Comments

I did it. I finally broke down and bought a Silhouette Cameo. (Like 3 months ago. It’s been a busy summer.)

Silhouette Cameo | www.inklingsandyarns.com

You may remember that I already have a Pazzles, and you may be wondering why I need 2 electronic die cutters. I don’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think the Pazzles is a fantastic machine–and I’m not just saying that because I need to sell it now. There’s a reason I chose it over the Silhouette Portrait 3 years ago. My primary reason for switching is Mac support.

Silhouette Design Studio | www.inklingsandyarns.com

My ancient IBM laptop that I used just for the Pazzles really couldn’t handle the strain anymore, and I hated having to switch back and forth. So, when my favorite local quilting shop, of all places, was running a deal on the Cameo, I snapped it up.

Silhouette in Box | www.inklingsandyarns.com

Yes, I took a picture of the box sitting in my trunk. It was a total impulse-buy, but so worth it. And, oh, in the process of purchasing it I ended up getting recruited to teach for the store. This is my life. I spend so much time (and money) in craft stores they end up putting me to work.

Allie's Silhouette | www.inklingsandyarns.com

My first project, appropriately enough, was to create a silhouette of Allie. It’s a great first project for familiarizing yourself with the Design Studio. I just imported a picture and traced it in the software. The whole process took a little over an hour, and that’s with me being pretty insane about the smoothness of every curve. Once the cut line was drawn, the actual cutting took all of 30 seconds, and it cut perfectly on the first try.

Very soon, I’ll show you the completed project (a throw pillow!) and provide a more detailed tutorial.