Tag Archive for silhouette cameo

Needle Felted Sculptures

Another New Felted Piece: Rose Sugar Skull

This is the AWARD WINNING felted piece based on traditional Mexican Sugar Skulls. She won First Place in the Tapestry Competition at the L.A. County Fair! She’s now available in my Etsy Shop!

I like this little lady cause she is so feminine. I usually think of my pieces as masculine, but loved making her sweet roses & red lips!

This Skull Wall Hanging was inspired by traditional Mexican Sugar Skulls that are often made for the “Day of The Dead” or “Día de los Muertos”. I love their graphic nature, and think that translates well into felted pieces. This Skull has a was inspired by a Rose theme with 2 giant dimensional roses and a sweet feminine style.

I made this Sugar Skull by first cutting out all the colored shapes of felt on my Silhouette Cameo Die Cutting Machine. Then they were attached to the white wool skull shape using an adhesive interfacing, and needle felting. The black felt background was stiffened with glue & then everything was assembled together.

The piece measures 20″ Wide x 11″ Tall x 1″ Deep

 

Rose Skull 4 Another New Felted Piece: Rose Sugar Skull

 

Rose Skull 1 Another New Felted Piece: Rose Sugar Skull

Rose Skull 5 Another New Felted Piece: Rose Sugar Skull

Rose Skull 3 Another New Felted Piece: Rose Sugar Skull

Rose Skull 2 Another New Felted Piece: Rose Sugar Skull

The roses were made by cutting all the petals on my Silhouette Cameo, then gluing them together.

How To...

Finished Project Made with the Silhouette Cameo!

So I finished my first couple projects that I’ve made with my Silhouette Cameo die-cutting machine! Once all the parts are cut, it’s super fast to just put it together. Took me about a day to make each one of these Mexican-inspired Sugar Skulls!

 

IMGP2957 198x300 Finished Project Made with the Silhouette Cameo!IMGP2935 210x300 Finished Project Made with the Silhouette Cameo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoy making these. They are fun cause I have an idea of what the theme will be, but then cut a bunch of shapes & play with the layout. Plus they go really fast & now I have left over cutout shapes to make another!

I did an official “Scientific-like” test using different interfaces & how they cut on the machine.

THE TEST:

Cutting Felt Test Felted Chicken Finished Project Made with the Silhouette Cameo!

This is what each piece of felt looked like right out of the machine. You can see which one looks like it cut the cleanest.

 

Cutting Felt Test 2 Felted Chicken Finished Project Made with the Silhouette Cameo!

This is what they look like after I pulled the excess felt away (or in the case of the Totally Stable, cut it away). The Heat N Bond definitely was the best in this test!

 

CONCLUSION: 

So it’s pretty much what I thought before… The Totally Stable cuts little & requires additional scissor cutting… Wonder Under was nice, cut okay, okay…. Heat N Bond was the best.

Heat N Bond won the contest, hands down… BUT… You can not needle felt it. The Interfacing is too thick & it won’t allow a needle to go through. I think the thinner Wonder Under would have the iron-on adhesion that I want PLUS you could probably needle felt through it.

*** THE BIGGEST FACTOR that affects how felt cuts on the Silhouette Cameo (or other die-cutting machine like the Cricut) is:

COLOR OF THE FELT!!!

I know this sounds stupid, but I truly think that it’s the specific color, maybe even batch of felt that you try & cut. I cut the EXACT same shapes with the EXACT same settings, & they came out totally different. The only thing that was changed was the color. I think some colors of craft felt thicker or more fluffy… I don’t know… it’s kinda frustrating.

You think you got it down, then BAM, the Silhouette Cameo throws you a curve ball…

 

 

Felting Tips, How To...

Felting Tip: Ironing Flat Wool Felt

I was playing around with the first piece that I’m making with the help of my Silhouette Cameo Die-Cutting Machine, & stumbled upon a little trick that might come in handy…

I was ironing on the cut felt shapes to the base wool, then needle felting. At one point I decided to add additional shapes after some where already in place. As I was ironing, I noticed that the iron kinda smoothed out some of the needle holes. It’s not a end all solution to getting rid of the pesky holes, but it definitely helped it look more finished.

 

Ironing Felt 1 Felted Chicken 224x300 Felting Tip: Ironing Flat Wool FeltIroning Felt 2 Felted Chicken 224x300 Felting Tip: Ironing Flat Wool Felt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, it’s not a HUGE difference, but to the trained felter’s eye, I think you can see it.

 

 

Notes on Die Cutter Felt:

Here are a few quick notes that I’ve noticed while playing with my Silhouette Cameo for these couple days….

  • Dyed wool is too fluffy to cut cleanly on the machine. I think the process of wetting, cooking, and wringing out the usually thin wool, fluffs it up. I’ll have to buy some colored pre-dyed wool instead.
  • I need thicker iron-on interfacing. I think I have the thin stuff so it doesn’t adhere to the fluffy wool as well, then annoyingly comes off & sticks to my cutting mat.

 

 

And here is an in-process pict of the piece that I’m making. It will have yarn line detail & then be slightly 3D with some core wool & backing.

Sugar Skull Felted Chicken 232x300 Felting Tip: Ironing Flat Wool Felt

Unfinished Sugar Skull I have started using cut felt shapes from the die-cutter.

How To..., Super Sculpting Supplies

Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die-Cutter Machine!

So I got my birthday present in the mail yesterday from my husband (actually I ordered it, he just paid for it). I got a Cameo Silhouette Die Cutting Machine! I’ve been interested in the die-cutters since my cousin-in-law got a Cricut & I was fascinated in how I could use one.

I didn’t get the Cricut for one main reason: you can’t cut your own images on it, only their own images from the cartridges. So I decided on the Silhouette Cameo. I liked that it has software to create images & it was pretty affordable before you get to the industrial-like cutters.

Silhouette Cameo Felted Chicken 300x158 Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

My new TOY! Silhouette Cameo, die cutting machine!

I was super excited to see what my machine could do, especially with FELT! I know that a lot of people say that you can’t cut felt with these kind of machines, but I did some research & found some other tutorials on how to do it. The main thing you need in order to cut felt on a die cutting machine (like the Silhouette Cameo, Cricut, Sizzix, etc) is to stabilize the fabric with interfacing.

I tried two different kinds of interfacing for my felt: Totally Stable by Sulky & Heat’n Bond. The main different between these two is that one is removable so no sticky residue, the other is permanent. These differences also affect the way they cut on the machine….

Felt Interfacing Felted Chicken 94x300 Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

So this stuff is interesting because you iron it on, it stabilizes the fabric for cutting, then it kinda just rips off the back, leaving just the felt. I liked the idea of this so that I could cut pieces for needle felting & not have the sticky webbing left on the back.

That’s the GOOD NEWS… now the bad news…

This interfacing is so thick that it doesn’t allow for clean cutting on the die-cutter. The finished piece has to be cut out with scissors & it look a little “smooched”, loss of details, etc.

I think it has it’s applications, like if I need to cut a lot of simple shapes for a needle felting sculpture, then I can cut them on the machine, trim them out, & still save a ton of time!

 

Here is a screen shot of the settings I used on the machine for cutting felt. I think the general setting can be used for any of the die-cutters like the Cricut, too.

Basically I set the machine on the Deepest Blade setting, the Thickest Material setting, pretty much the Slowest Cutting speed, & on Double Cut. A variation of these setting should work for you, but you might have to experiment with your specific machine.

Cutter Settings Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Settings on the computer to cut felt on the Silhouette Cameo

Cutting Felt 1 Felted Chicken Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Iron on the interfacing onto the back of the felt.

Cutting Felt 2 Felted Chicken Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Load the felt (with interfacing down on the mat) into the cutter.

Cutting Felt 3 Felted Chicken Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Kinda messed up, but you can see how it almost cuts through.

Cutting Felt 4 Felted Chicken Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Just needs a little clipping to get it out

Cutting Felt 5 Felted Chicken Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Not great detail, but will work for some projects.

 

Not great detail, but will work for some projects.

The other type of interfacing I tried was Heat’n Bond. This worked PERFECT… but… you’re left with an iron-on adhesive layer on the back of the felt. This could be good if you are using it for flat pieces, or or sewing it on as an appliqué, but bad if you want to see both sides of the felt.

Cutting Felt 6 Felted Chicken 286x300 Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

*Be sure to pull off the paper backing before you place on mat* PERFECT! Just peel off the extra felt after it’s done cutting.

Cutting Felt 7 Felted Chicken 224x300 Cutting Felt on the Silhouette Cameo Die Cutter Machine!

Samples of felt cut with the Silhouette Cameo, with Heat-N-Bond Interfacing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m also excited about using this to make fun paper crafts, so business related. I think it will be a fun tool to open up new possibilities. So I’m off to try & make a real piece using this beast!

 

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