Vinyl–It cuts like butter!-Once you get the hang of it!

How to weed and apply transfer tape
Part two.  How to clean up a font

You must have 6 things…which I will explain in detail below.

1 - Machine

2 – Blade

3 - Mat

4 – Vinyl

5 – Tools

6 – Transfer Tape

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1 - Machine

Those of you, who know me, know I have had an electronic die cutter since the Circuit Expressions came out.  It was limiting…..I sold it for a Pazzles Inspiration.  Best tool I have ever bought, since 2003!  Now that’s a mouthful.

I will say it again, best tool I have ever bought, since 2003!

Reason…It cut’s more material than the others in it’s price range.  Including pastry (yea I said that even cookies)  The Training in the Craft Room is invaluable.  What good is a machine, if you can’t use it?  Well, the support and training is superior.  For that reason along, I would recommend this machine….and I don’t get any money for saying that…I have no connection with the company to say that, other than being a satisfied customer for years, and I am on my second machine.  Sold the first one, nothing was wrong with it, the company just came out with a new model and I HAD to HAVE it.  It’s called the Vue.

2 – Blade

Just the same blade that comes with your machine….BUT….a new one.  or one that has NEVER cut paper.  Then ONLY use this blade with Vinyl.

3 – Mat

Your mat is important.  Get one mat and ONLY use it for Vinyl.  Be very careful with it.  If it is a new mat….you really have to condition it so that when you pull up your vinyl, it does not stretch it.  How to condition your mat, instructions can be found here.  The key is….You have to do this maybe 3 times….Vinyl is more sensitive than paper  If you have a paper mat, that is working well and is very very clean with no cuts in the mat, I would suggest using that one.  It takes a long time to get a new mat conditioned.

When you put your vinyl on the mat, make sure nothing is on the mat.  Practice taking the protector off and hanging it on the wall…it’s very important that your mat is clean.  I had my hubby hang a hook by my machine…

After I inspect my mat I put my vinyl down on it.

Then I squeegee it down, to ensure my vinyl will not slip.  If my mat is getting old…I use painter’s tape around the edges…but that rarely is needed.

 

4 – Vinyl

Ok ALL Vinyl is not EQUAL.  Trust me on this!  I bet a good year went by before I ever cut vinyl the 2nd time!  I hated it!  Then I tried again, and hated it again.  Let’s just say, the vinyl I owned came off ebay…Goodness knows what brand it was……….let’s just say, it was the vinyl from hell.

With that said, and after the experience I had, I will only cut vinyl I purchase from http://www.expressionsvinyl.com/   

Maybe when I get braver, I will try buying it from somewhere else.  My vinyl from there costs me about 1.99 per 12X24 sheet.  I buy it in the rolls. 

See this “bump”

Look what it was…

 

Grass and a hair…..I simply lifted up my vinyl to that point, and removed it, then laid my vinyl back down.

See those bubbles?

When you squeegee your vinyl down, start in the middle and push out to all edges.  If you see a bubble then start in the middle and squeegee towards the edge

As long as the vinyl does not wrinkle you are good to go

This is a bad cut.  Two things here I want to point out, that I have found true for me.  This cut was made in Pro 2014.  Pro 2014 recommends the blade length to be 1.5.  I don’t cut as well in Pro 2014, so I did the second cut in InVue with a blade length of 1.0.  Just my preference.  Pro probably would have made the same cut changing the blade length….

Here is what the back of the sheet looks like….Do not Cut through to the paper like this.  It’s very hard to weed, and very hard to hang.  Not impossible, but if vinyl is done right, it’s a dream to weed and hang.

You probably can’t see this, but both cuts are side by side  The good cut is on top…no tearing of the vinyl, or of the backing paper

Remember to hang up your mat.  My protective sheet is behind my mat.  On the protective sheet I took a Permanent Marker and wrote “Vinyl Only – This side Up”  That tells me which side to put down on my mat, when I am finished working on it.

5 – Tools

Now for weeding!  I love this part!  Ok tool on the left, is a bondo scrapper.  Pretty cheap, just go to Lowe’s.  I paid 3X’s as much for the scrapper on the left.  I use this to squeegee my vinyl down and to squeegee down my transfer tape and to apply my vinyl on my wall or other surface.

….  Next tool is a craft knife.  I use this to cut around my letters when weeding, or to cut off a good piece of vinyl to save that would otherwise be thrown away.  Great when I have lots of lines that are close to each other.  Those are hard to weed and sometimes hard to separate with scissor, so I use a craft knife and cut only through the vinyl…not the backing paper.

The next 6 and the blue tool next to the scrapper….are tools I bought on line.  Just search for Craft Dental Picks or tools.  These are soooooooooo wonderful.  they help with all kinds of weeding tasks.  The green one is a cricuit tool  I use it to lift up the vinyl…very rarely, but I do have it.  The far right one I believe I bought from Pazzles, I use that one rarely.

Scrapper…I clean my mat with this….when I have lots of junk left over on it.

I forgot to say Scissors!  I love these scissors…..no other one do I ever want to pick up.  I need about 3 more of these!  Tim Holtz is the brand.

Ok, back to business.  The first thing I do, is separate my images.  See the two pieces on the left?  One is the bad cut and the bottom is the good cut.

The square on the right is a pieces with nothing on it.  I save these pieces for other projects…they work perfectly on cups!  You could use the craft knife to do this with or the scissors.

I usually start in the corner and hold my finger down on the Vinyl piece I want to keep and kinda “pop” up the piece I am weeding away.  Hope this makes since.  Most the time, I can just wiggle the vinyl left and right and I am all done weeding.  All the vinyl that will be tossed just comes right up.  This piece, has VERY delicate cuts…So I have to be a bit more patient and carful. 

;When it’s a delicate cut I take one of the dental tools and run it around the outside cuts.  Hope you can tell that from the photo.  See how its now separated?  It’s rather hard to take photos while I’m doing this…so I pray, this is making since.  Oh my goodness!  I forgot to tell you about my light!  If I did not have this light, I would not be able to see to weed….gosh, I’m getting old!

Can you see the line around the top of the image?  That is what I was trying to show you in the photo above.  It has already been separated.  I use the dental tool to “pick up” the inside pieces like I am doing below

This is the best thing I learned when I first started weeding.  To cut away what you don’t need ASAP.  You know, if you don’t do this…by the time you get to the end of the piece its sticking back to the vinyl you do need!  DUH  I bet I am the only one who did this…until it dawned on me to cut it off, so I am lifting and cutting constantly, IF the vinyl doesn’t wiggle off right away…which would mean, no need to do this…remember, this is a delicate cut…most cuts are not this hard.

See, I weeded a little and cut it off.  Of course I have a hand problem…this technique just works for me.  Less to hold and I can see better where I am at.

All done!  Vinyl makes my life GRAND!  LOL!

6 – Transfer Tape

I prefer the Clear Transfer Tape, which I purchase from Expressions.  I bought the 12 X 100 Yard… I like the clear because you can see through it to place it on the vinyl and you can see through it when you go to put it on your project. 

Ok, for my cut, I need a piece that is 2.5 X 17.  My roll is 12 across.  So, I cut off a piece that is about a inch bigger than 17.  Thank you Hubbie for letting me take this photo.  The ruler sticks to the transfer paper and that allows me to cut it pretty straight.

I then “bow” the transfer tape over the top of the cut.  Since I can see through it, it’s pretty easy to place.  I always put down the transfer tape in the middle first and just let the ends “fall”  You want to get it pretty much right the first time, then squeegee it out.

For this one I placed it way at the bottom.  (I have to make 10 of these cuts, so I will use the left over transfer tape on the others.  Until then, I just stick the “left over” tape back on the roll.

All done!  9 more to go!

I need 10 of these cuts, so I only cut one, to see how it cut.  It works but was a bit to much work, I will create another blog, showing you what I do in the software to “clean” it up, so that weeding is much easier.  It took me about 3 minutes to weed, which is to much work, if I can clean it up. 

It makes it worth it to me, taking the time to take the photos and put this together, if you comment!  I love your comments!  If you take the time to read this, please leave a comment!

My Husband and Father-In-Law Fired Me!

 

I really have to laugh at that title.  Have you ever tried something new to you, that you had never ever tried before and was tickled pink with your results?

These shutters put in time….on the front of my house for 42 years.  I did not have the heart to throw them away.

I needed a headboard for a new bed we just purchased…..

This was my first time using Annie Sloan Paint & Wax.  Now, you have to know, I have been married for 36 years.  My dear sweet father-in-law, Joe AND my husband would fire me every time I picked up a paint brush.  We had several rentals for ever and was always having to paint…after a while, I just quite trying and was satisfied to be a gofer. 

So………….You CAN teach an Old Dog new Tricks! 

My second project was a wall clock.  I had tried several different photo transfer techniques I found on you-tube using Mod podge or acrylic gel as a top coat…but holey smoley, when I tried Annie Sloan Clear Wax and Dark Wax, the result was simply beautiful!.  Here is the wall clock.  My order for the clock has not arrived yet, so…yep, I cut some vinyl hands.  Have I mentioned I love my Pazzles Machine?

This is my next project.  Larry is putting a drop cloth in the living room as we speak (wait is that term appropriate here?  HA  Well, I think, I am talking to you…so, I am going to leave it in.

Pretty rough wouldn’t you say?  I am so excited about this piece, for one, I purchased it from a beautiful young lady, that I met when she was 4 years old.  So, this piece will be special to me, because it came from Sky!  It will always remind me of Pismo Beach..Camping, Smores around the campfire and playing cards with the cutest little girl, who has grown up to be a beautiful woman!

WOYWW - 273

Well, it’s almost 5:00 PM on a Wednesday….and I remembered all you crafty folks from around the world!  It’s What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday!  Crafty folks from around the world share just what their work desk looks like on Wednesday…No cleaning up first!  Stop over at Julia’s to take a visual trip around the world of others, just like you!  This is the 273rd week that Julia has hosted with wonderful event.

I have been working on a photo clock….the placement of the “frames” is haunting me…You can see above I just coated my first wood transfer Gel, it’s still wet.

Getting the “round” look to a clock is just haunting me…

This was my first attempt….tacking 5 X 7 pieces of black typing paper on the wall…

After looking at it for a day…decided it was to large..  I like this size better.  Tomorrow, Hubby is going to help me level it out.

 

Then I can cut my vinyl and place “Time Spent with family Is worth every second” in the center.

Hope to finish that tomorrow.

Picking out 12 family photos and transferring them to wood and distressing them, now that’s going to be a challenge…but I love getting my fingers in ink so that’s the fun part.

Today, I made some blackberry and cherry pies in little mason jars….thought I would share with you.  They are in the oven now and they smell yummy!

Have a wonderful week!

Poke out the Owls Eyes? NOT!

I have been missing in action!  Good News!  I am now retired, which should give me more time to craft and blog!  Todays blog is about a problem I had….it was solved so simply….

Here was my problem. I downloaded this Free to Craft Room Members, darling Owl, in the Pazzles Craft Room.

Then, I took all the pieces I wanted to make a 1 layer Owl.

I wanted to use only one color. The white parts, I wanted to weed out, so that the cup color would show through.

This part was simple enough….

 

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Until I looked at WireFrame View.

From Menu Bar Select:

View | Wireframe

Notice how I had a hard time lining up all the cuts?

Hint, look at the ears for example…well, I knew that would be a mess when it cut…

Look at the eyes, I did NOT want three cuts…

So off to welding I went

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From Menu Bar Select:

Tools | Welding

Well, it fixed the extra lines around the ears and other places…

But the eyes! YOUR KIDDING ME!

I Lost my wings! LOL In more ways than one! LOL

That just WOULD NOT work!

Thank goodness for UnDO!

I took his eyes out and welded them separately…

I was ready to poke his eyes out…

Really needed this Owl…

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So, I sent the file to Klo and she demonstrated how to fix this

Happy Dance!

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She really is the MASTER of KISS (Keep it Simple Sweetie)

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Select the owl

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Choose W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G.

Otherwise known as

What You See Is What You Get

(That is for those that are my age)

Or from Menu Bar Select:

Shape | WYSiWYG Cutting Transformation

Your mouse pointer will turn into a little "clog"

Click on the Owl

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Well, I have no idea…but, this is just me, High must be better, so I choose High…

Have no idea what the bottom check mark is for, however Klo did not choose it, so neither did I

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Hum, for a week, many hours I fiddled with this owl….Klo showed me how to make the dern COMPUTER do the work, instead of me…

I swear, the computer only took a minute to do, what I could not do in oddles of hours!

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Then two of these birds showed up.

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This is what they look like in WireView

That’s that "W" Icon at the bottom of your screen, or

From Menu Bar Select:

View | Wireframe

Yep, I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO Happy to delete the one on the left, with glee!

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I gathered up all the feathers and grouped them

Hold down your shift key and select each feather one at a time…

Drawing a box around them did not work for me . . because the outside of the owl got in the way..

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Then after you have all of them selected move them somewhere outside of the owl

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While they are still selected, choose

Shape | Group

Now that is out of the way, time to put the name of the person receiving the cup!

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Choose Type

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I choose a Pazzles font.

You don't have to…

But, I wanted simple and easy. Pazzle fonts cut WAY easier and I wanted something quick and easy as I was worn out working on his eyes!

Not wanting to poke his eyes out any more…

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Sized the name to fit into the Owl

Selected the Owl

Control G to group

Or from Menu Bar Select:

Shape | Group

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Size the Image

Select the image

Right click

Choose Height

Or….

Just select the image and type an H

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For my water cups, I know the image can't be higher than 4" and I know the width can't be more than 3.5

So, I type in a 4 and choose apply

Perfect. This made my Width go to 3.157 :)

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Ready to Cut!

Oh, I have a yellow stick up on my monitor that says "Do not cut until you check these things"

1 - Check Wireframe - Make sure those are the lines you want to cut…see, this is where I got caught in step number 2 (thank you post-it note) Did not waste any vinyl on a bad cut.

2 - Do I need to weld? Yeppers. I am an expert on welding now, I welded this Owl every way you can imagine.

Welding did not work in this situation.

WYSIWYG is a better choice in this situation.

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3 - Any Sharp Points? If so, I round them up. In this event they were all good. I turn on Construction Points and make sure I don't have millions of nodes. If I do I remove them.

That’s the C Icon right next to the W icon on the bottom of your screen

Ok, right here, let's talk about this. Construction points, are those little white boxes all over the place.

For right now, I want to tell you, I about ruined my pazzles when I first got it. Turned it on copied clip art off the internet and sent it to cut. Machine started up and just cut in one place…

Wonder it did not blow up

Years later (a few weeks ago) I decided that since I was retiring, that was one thing, I wanted to learn how to do well. Operate my Pazzles and my Software. Well, it would not cut good. I opened a new mat and prepared it. (had to review the video on http://www.pazzles.net/wordpress/videos/fundamentals)

I put in a brand new blade (again referring to videos above)

I updated my machine and my software and tried again (yeppers videos for that to)

Double checked my blade length and pressure…

Nothing worked….

Then I seen this video and thought, what the heck

http://www.pazzles.net/wordpress/2013/06/25/maintain-your-creative-cutter-for-best-performance

My gosh! My machine worked perfectly! When I cleaned the blade..I was shocked…there was paper shoved up in that hole! I mean, it was packed in that hole! Under the rollers I had had enough paper to make a card…well not really, but WOW!

While I was removing this dirt, grime, paper, glue from my machine that was HARDLY USED, I thought back, about cutting that thing that made my machine cut in one place….I bet, I did that when I first got it..I just bet that is when it happened…I am sure that the few times I used it I messed it up…you see, I just have a habit of jumping in and read later.

Really did not like the machine, no really. Liked it WAY better than the cricut, like way better. But, would rather, get out my punches and dies than to mess with the time it took me to cut one thing. Because it would usually mean I would have to fiddle with it and cut it over and over, just to get the paper up, cut crisp lines and then, usually have to finish the cut with scissors.

And NOW! It cuts like butter! Who would have thought? Eh?

Love it so much, ordered the VUE!

Sorry rambling..

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4 - Paper size - Yep, this will save your vinyl or paper…

Verify that you have the correct paper size prior to cutting

I like to work, without the page showing or the Mat.

Here is where you turn them on or off from showing up on your screen

View | Page

Photo to the right shows the page turned on.

As you can see, I don't even have my image on the paper….

I only need a 4.5 square piece of outdoor vinyl for this cut

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Ok, now let's check to see if the page size is correct

Setting | Page

Nope

I am not using my 12 X 24 mat, so I fixed that

I like to see my cutting mat, so I checked that.

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This defiantly will cut on a 4.5 X 4.5 square piece of outdoor vinyl.

I purposely placed in in the lower left hand corner, because I alternate where I cut on my mat, so it lasts longer…

When I place my vinyl on the sheet, I made sure I put the paper side down to the mat and the vinyl side up.

Make sure NO bubbles exist. I use a credit card sort of thing and smooth out the vinyl making sure all winkles, bubbles are gone.

Make sure the vinyl piece is stuck down real good. If it is not stuck down real good, I use painters tape around the edges so it won't slip.

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Last but not least TEST!

I added guide lines, since I was using a scrap, to made sure I knew where the vinyl was on the sheet

To add guidelines, you just double click on the ruler when they appear, you just select it and move it to where you want it to go

Then add your test circle

Draw | Circle

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Choose Cut Project

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This setting works for me and my machine and the vinyl I use.

(now I don't know how to make that picture show a 1 1/2 blade, so I added it in the description)

Select just the circle

Choose cut project

Here is what you are checking for:

Did it cut the circle correctly?

When you cut vinyl, you cut ONLY the vinyl. Lift up the corner and verify that the paper is NOT cut! You should not see a circle on the back side of the "vinyl" (Vinyl is on the top, and a paper is on the bottom closest to the mat)

I repeat this process until I find the correct setting. Now, I only do it once, because I know my vinyl is the same and it works every time so far. When I find the correct setting, I choose "Add Media" and I add it, so next time I do Vinyl (outdoor) I know to set my blade at 1.5 with this "saved setting"

That’s all there is to it.

There are lots of video's on how to weed vinyl and use transfer tape to place your "sticker" on the cup, or where ever you choose.

Please take the time and leave me a comment!  I love  your comments and read each and every one of them!

Love my Pazzles!