Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Tutorial: Using a Silhouette Cameo with a Sharpie pen to address cards

Last year for my birthday, B gave me a Silhouette Cameo. While I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog, this machine is amazing! I used it last June to make a "Classroom Jobs" board for Ryan's first grade teacher. We went with a board that looks like an iPhone, with each app being a pocket that holds the student's weekly job.
In order we have Line Leader, Door Holder, Calendar Reporter, Boys bathroom monitor, Teacher's assistant, line monitor, weatherman, girls bathroom monitor, substitute, caboose, classroom helper and the last "app" pocket holds the names of students who do not have jobs this week.
 I made every single app, cut every square, using the silhouette. This entire board, from idea in my head to laminated finished project, took less than two days to make, working when the kids were busy or after they went to bed.

I LOVE my Silhouette Cameo. And no, I'm not being paid to blog this. I seriously just love it.

My Cameo also came with some sketch pens. But I think they're less than stellar. They don't always write smoothly and I'm not a huge fan of the metallic choices. But I did realize that pretty much any pen would work, if the machine would just hold it. (The sketch pens are chubby!). So after brainstorming, I realized a small strip of electrical tape would make a regular fine point Sharpie or Sharpie pen, chubby enough. After successfully addressing over 50 Christmas cards, I took a quick iPhone video tutorial.
 


The video: It's not fancy, I'm pretty sure you can hear my dogs and kids in the background but I think it could really help others who are looking for a personalized yet quick way to address envelopes. The result is more thought out than just feeding an envelope through the printer. You can tell it was done with a pen/marker but people aren't going to know how your handwriting looks so neat!



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45 comments:

  1. missmacymayDecember 25, 2013 at 12:53 PM

    Hey Shannon, you have opened up another world for me to try on my Silhouette Cameo. I pretty much figured out the print and cut feature so now it is on to sketching. I watched your above video and then went and tried it myself. One question I have is: Why does my font come out on paper with only the outline? Is there a font to use that sketches solid?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ShannonDecember 26, 2013 at 10:49 PM

      What I discovered is it all depends on the font you chose and the thickness of the pen/marker that you use. This font is also an outline, but the Sharpie pen bleeds just enough that it makes it look solid. I'm away for the Holiday's so I don't know (and cannot check) which font was used in the tutorial, right now. Sorry!

      Delete
    2. FrisbieDecember 27, 2015 at 10:40 PM

      HELLLPPPPP... I am getting the outline with every single font that I use. I want to cry. I've tried all sorts of different pens

      Delete
  2. Kelly AnneDecember 25, 2013 at 8:35 PM

    Oh my word, this is genius!! I want to do this for my wedding invites!! I have a cricuit, not a silhouette. Do you know if it can be done with the cricuit?

    Thanks!
    Kelly Anne

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    Replies
    1. ShannonDecember 26, 2013 at 10:50 PM

      Hi Kelly Anne. Congrats on your engagement. Unfortunately, I have never used a Cricuit so I cannot offer any advice. Best of luck though!

      Delete
    2. UnknownJanuary 9, 2014 at 10:36 AM

      I have an Amy Chomas adapter for the cricuit that works beautifully. Have not tried this with sil yet.

      Delete
  3. JulieJanuary 2, 2014 at 2:11 PM

    What a great idea! What font did you use for this?

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    Replies
    1. ShannonJanuary 6, 2014 at 7:45 PM

      Simply Glamorous so is the name of the font :)

      Delete
  4. Ryan and StacieJanuary 4, 2014 at 4:56 AM

    Kelly Anne, sell the cricut and get a silhouette, best thingI ever did. I am pretty sure the font is Simply Glamorous.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MsElizerJanuary 6, 2014 at 7:13 PM

    Hi Shannon! Love the post! Do you know which font you used in this tutorial? Thanks! Eliza

    ReplyDelete
  6. ShannonJanuary 6, 2014 at 7:41 PM

    This font is called Simply Glamourous :) I downloaded most of my fonts from Kevin & Amanda (the blog).

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2014 at 1:07 AM

    I'm not sure if everyone is aware but Goggle has google fonts they are free and in large numbers... Just thought I would share!!! Love your video! I'm in the process of ordering a silhouette cameo after much research.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Andrea O.January 17, 2014 at 8:08 AM

    Thanks for sharing the video! I found this post pinned on Pinterest, and since I wasn't interested in purchasing the pens, I thought it was just a feature I wouldn't bother trying. Now I can't wait to try it out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ShannonJanuary 17, 2014 at 4:52 PM

      Andrea I also didn't want to buy more sketch pens; I received three metallic ones in the original accessory pack my husband ordered and I just wasn't impressed. Happy to help!

      Delete
  9. AmandaRJanuary 17, 2014 at 4:12 PM

    I did this using a different font. It worked wonderful except for the Sharpie made a mark from the top of the envelope to where it started sketching the letters. I'm not sure if it had to do with the font or the Sharpie maybe was too low? Any thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ShannonJanuary 17, 2014 at 4:51 PM

      Your sharpie was too low. It takes a bit of trial and error to get it in there just right!

      Delete
    2. Angelika SchMarch 24, 2018 at 4:24 AM

      I just stumbled across here:
      it´s possible sometimes the line across the page comes with a font-it´s a bug (I have one font on my computer there this happened.
      Avoiding this because of less difference between pen and Cameo you just have to put a popcycle inbetween.

      Delete
  10. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2014 at 10:08 PM

    You rock! I just got a Silhouette Portrait and purchased some metallic Sharpies. Yours looks great. Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownJanuary 19, 2014 at 8:52 PM

    Love this. I did it and it worked great. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. NatashalhFebruary 1, 2014 at 7:47 PM

    This is such an awesome idea! I'm engaged and we've been discussing how to send things out without just printing out stick on labels or exposing how awful my handwriting really is!

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  13. Nicci VFebruary 2, 2014 at 9:20 PM

    Freaking brilliant!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2014 at 5:52 AM

    A Popsicle stick works beautifully to get your pen or marker set just right. Lay a Popsicle stick down just behind and parallel to the roller bar so one end lays under the holder. Place pen/marker in holder and let tip barely touch on Popsicle stick, lock in place, remove Popsicle stick. You will have perfect spacing and placement. It's a little tight getting the Popsicle stick in and out but so worth the effort, just don't forget to remove the Popsicle stick. LOL, Hope this helps. Mona

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  15. AnonymousMarch 12, 2014 at 3:31 PM

    https://www.etsy.com/listing/156295879/sharpie-holder-for-silhouette-cameo-2?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
    This Esty shop sells holders for Sharpies to fit your Cameo :)

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  16. AnonymousMay 9, 2014 at 9:26 AM

    I have been thinking all week about how to do this very thing. Thanks so much. :) Tess

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousMay 15, 2014 at 10:52 AM

    You can buy an adapter for pens on amazon. I used a plain black bic pen for some invitations I made recently and it works fantastically. The adapter has 2 screws on the side to adjust to any pen size.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Steven FMay 19, 2014 at 4:15 PM

    I was having a similar problem trying to draw with the silhouette pen adapter and so I made some custom fit solutions that simplify the process. I put them up on Etsy since lots of people seem to be trying to do this! Here's a link if you want to take a look https://www.etsy.com/shop/3DYours

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousJune 5, 2014 at 12:28 PM

    Sharpie has a new white marker. It does a great job!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mrs. SmithJune 25, 2014 at 12:29 AM

    Thanks so much for this tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kris Budi S HalimJuly 7, 2014 at 11:14 PM

    Wow .. this is just great.
    I have Silhouette and wanna try this

    Simply Glanorous Font can be downloaded free here
    http://www.dafont.com/simply-glamorous.font

    P.S. it would be better if you record the video in landscape mode using smartphone

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownJuly 18, 2014 at 7:10 AM

    Silhouette makes a pen holder designed for this purpose. It's $10, adjustable, and available at Hobby Lobby.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Petrina Case StudioAugust 1, 2014 at 1:57 PM

    Love it. Thanks for sharing.

    The video gives us all we need to replicate what you did...unless your Video is up for an Oscar or some Hollywood award.
    Keep up the great works.

    Happy thoughts,
    Perina

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousOctober 22, 2014 at 11:26 AM

    Many thanks for this. Just now purchasing my Silhouette (hadn't even known about it until recently and I'm lucky that the new model has just arrived on the market). Did want the markers but now I can save $ for something else. You rock!! :D Laurel

    ReplyDelete
  25. Mell RawnsleyJanuary 24, 2015 at 11:42 PM

    Thanks so much for this tutorial, I found it super useful when doing my wedding invitations. Just wondering if anyone has attempted to use the sharpie laundry markers to write on fabric of any description that requires washing. I'm considering trying this with the napkins for my wedding... Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. silhouette cameo europeMay 8, 2015 at 11:16 PM

    Great tutorial ����

    ReplyDelete
  27. UnknownAugust 18, 2015 at 5:14 PM

    Is there a way or a font that does not appear hollow, every font I have on my computer or have downloaded from Cameo looks like the font needs to be filled in versus a solid line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ShannonJanuary 20, 2016 at 5:02 PM

      Sorry, just saw this. There is. If you search pinterest for "chalkboard fonts" or "sketch fonts" many people have found/made fonts for this purpose. Good luck!

      Delete
  28. UnknownAugust 19, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    is there a way to use the fonts on the cameo so that they do not appear 'hollow', I don't want to do the fill option. Does that make sense? -Eric from DC

    ReplyDelete
  29. mary45September 21, 2015 at 4:14 AM

    Thanks so much for the video I am going to give this ago!! Brilliant !!

    ReplyDelete
  30. prettyinkpressFebruary 14, 2016 at 8:10 PM

    My sharpie points always seem to break when I do this. Is there some sort of setting that needs to be set? It's like the pen is hitting down really hard on the

    ReplyDelete
  31. UnknownMarch 7, 2016 at 9:52 PM

    I know this is a fairly old post, but do you remember what font thar is? I think it's quite lovely. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Michaéla DragonOctober 26, 2016 at 11:45 AM

      It is mentioned several times in the comments....it is called simply glamorous

      Delete
  32. AnonymousMay 19, 2016 at 9:06 PM

    would like to know how to use the sharpies without the bleeding

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousJune 24, 2016 at 10:01 PM

    Simply Glamorous

    ReplyDelete

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