New 52 | Week 38: Illustrator to Silhouette

Ever since I got my Silhouette digital cutter back in October 2009, I had heard that I could cut things directly from Adobe Illustrator, once I install a plug-in made by Graphtec America.  So a few days ago, I installed the plug-in called Cutting Master 2 for CraftRobo.  I was excited to see what I can cut directly from Adobe Illustrator!

I had drawn some snowflakes in Illustrator a few months ago.  I pulled the file up and made sure that the shapes are outlined and compounded. 


Then I went to File –> Cutting Master Robo 2 –> Cut/Plot and I arranged the snowflakes on a screen simulating my cardstock size.  Then I hit the “Send” button and my Silhouette SD machine started cutting the snowflakes out!


It took it a few minutes to cut all the snowflakes out, because there were so many cut lines.  After it was cut, I removed the whole cardstock from the sticky cutting mat.  Some bits and pieces stuck to the mat, so I had to use a tweezer to remove those.  Here’s the sheet with the cut snowflakes. 


I had to carefully remove the snowflakes from the paper.  At this point I realized that it would probably be easier if I had drawn some less intricate snowflakes!


This is what the sheet of paper looked like after I had painstakingly removed the snowflakes.  I’m keeping it to use as a “mask” for some misting on cards that I’m planning on doing. 


All my snowflakes cut out!  These are a little less than 2” each.  I plan to use them as embellishments on cards and scrapbook layouts.








It is so amazing that now I can just draw something in Illustrator and send it directly to the Silhouette to cut out!  The possibilities are endless and I’m so excited to get crafting with the myriad of design ideas I have in my head!  :)

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About This Project

New52 is a project started by Peppermint and I to encourage each other and others around us to try something new every week in 2011. The "new" each week doesn't have to be something big. It could be something as simple as ordering a new dish instead of old standbys at your favorite restaurant. It's simply opening your heart up to NEW possibilities.
Don't worry if you're late getting started on joining in. It's totally OK if you miss a week here or there. We encourage everyone to keep an open mind about trying something new. This is a life project, and a photography/blog and even scrap challenge if you wish. If you participate this week, please leave a link to your blog post in the comments of this post.