EllyMae, the driving force behind Silhouette Secrets+/Swift Creek Customs, has been teaching Silhouette users worldwide since 2016 through blog tutorials, in-person events, and online classes on her Teachable site. Recognized as a top troubleshooter in the industry, EllyMae, a Maker & Creator, seamlessly blends software and technology in her crafting, showcasing expertise in cutting machines, sublimation, and various industry products.
I have been troubleshooting with Silhouette users since 2016, and we have answered a lot of questions during the years. One of the most common questions is “What is this?” and “Why did it just appear?” In this blog post, I’m sharing more details on 4 of the tools that are often confused with each other, how they get turned on, how to turn them off, and where to find more information on each of the tools. These 4 tools can be useful when designing in Silhouette Studio, but not all users utilize them or will use them all of the time. That is one of the great things about Silhouette is the choice of having the options to use a tool or feature. This is also one of those cases where if a user doesn’t know what a tool does specifically, they may never know that it can actually be really useful to them in their workflow.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The 4 tools in Silhouette Studio that are often confused are:
Pressing the letter ‘H’ on the keyboard toggles it on and off.
A file is opened that the designer saved it with crosshairs on.
Typically we see crosshairs appear because a user thinks that they have activated Text Mode and it did not take. So when the letter ‘H’ is pressed on the keyboard, it toggles it on.
Crosshairs can be turned on and off 3 ways:
Press the letter ‘H’ key. If they don’t turn on and off, click on the design mat and then press ‘H’ again.
Open the Page Setup Panel, click on Tab 2, and click the Crosshairs button.
In the top left menu, under View, select Turn on Crosshairs.
Crosshairs are a Designer Edition upgrade feature and those on Basic will not see this available.
Guides can be pulled from the rulers on the top or right side of Silhouette Studio. Guides are a Designer Edition upgrade feature along with Rulers.
These can be accidentally activated if clicking the mouse on top of the rulers or click & pull from the ruler area onto the design mat.
Guides can be deleted by clicking on one to activate it, it will turn dark blue, then press delete. Light blue color means it is not the active Guide selected.
Guide settings can be found under the Page Setup Panel, under Tab 2. Snap to Guides is by default always active, but unless you have a Guide placed on the file, you won’t see it work. Guides can be toggled on and off under this tab too.
Guides can also be found in the top left menu under View, then select the option desired.
This control point appears any time there is editable text activated.
This is the control handle that is used to drag text to a path and have it snap to the path. This feature is always available on editable text and there is no way to turn it off.
The April 2026 member exclusive tutorial for the Creative Community is an in-depth tutorial on Text to Path with advanced techniques too! Check out more details on the Creative Community HERE.
*Creative Community members watch for a cheat sheet on these tools coming soon to April’s forum!
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**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated for sharing.
The Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II is officially in my studio and I’ve been testing it. I am one of the original testers for the Cameo Pro 4 and am happy to share that a lot of the information will carry over to the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II model as well. There are a few updates to the Cameo Pro MK II, but the tips I’ve provided on the previous model can help you be successful as well. In this blog post you’ll find the link to the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II unboxing video as well as still shots below and some additional tips to help users be successful and troubleshoot the Cameo Pro MK II.
Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II Machine Photos and Tips
While unboxing any new machine, make sure to inspect it carefully for any packing materials that secures the device during shipping. It can be hiding around some corners as shown in the photo below. Before plugging the power cord into the machine, make sure to carefully slide the housing to the right side and remove all the packing materials in and around where the housing was located during shipping.
Silhouette machines are shipped worldwide from the manufacturer, so the machine is not set up properly for first use when the box is opened. After removing the packing material, unlock the right roller and slide the roller mechanism to the right side to lock into the correct location according to whether you are using a cutting mat or the width of the vinyl.
There are 5 auxiliary rollers in between the left and right rollers. These rollers can be removed. If removed, make sure to store them in a safe location as they currently do not have replacements of this same style. These auxiliary rollers do not provide any firm pressure like the left and right rollers and do not feed the material into the machine. They all have a spring located on the roller that helps to keep materials from bubbling up in the middle.
The Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II has additional locations that the right roller can be locked in place compared to the previous Cameo 4 Pro model. On the backside of the roller bar there are little sections with notches where the right roller will settle in and can be locked in place.
The roller bar has been redesigned on this model, which allows the rollers to be visible and grip the materials better than the previous Cameo 4 Pro.
In a nutshell, the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II is a Cameo 4 Pro body with the guts and updates of the Cameo 5 model. This includes a redesigned chassis and the new roller bar and roller system. On the older Cameo 4 Pro model, the rollers were located underneath the roller bar and difficult to see. The rollers are approximately 1/4″ in width on all Silhouette machines. On the older Cameo 4 Pro model, the rollers had very, very specific locations that they could be locked into place and even 1/16″ to the left or right could make a big difference in how the material feed through the machine.
Here is a look at everything that is included in the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II box. There is also a 24″ Silhouette cutting mat in the box, that is out of the bounds of this photo.
Inside the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II box you should find: a 24″ Silhouette cutting mat, 2-part power cord, plastic bag with the Silhouette Type B Autoblade, a Silhouette tool, sketch pen adapter, and the parts for the roll feeder and mat support. There are also several pamphlets included in the box too.
Tips for Success with the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II
Make sure that the leading edge of the material is completely straight. If it is not, it can be difficult to load the vinyl correctly and the material can skew as it is being cut and fed through. The photo below is an example of how much my 24″ roll of adhesive vinyl was off from straight. Once I cut the leading edge it was easier to load in the machine and did not bunch up.
Once the material is inside the machine, use the arrows on the touchscreen to feed the vinyl all through the machine the length of the cut to see how it will feed and if it will stay straight. On the touchscreen, after the vinyl is already loaded the down arrow on the 4 directional arrows is the one that will advance the vinyl through the machine. The arrows on the touchscreen move the actual blade housing left and right as well as down the material and back.
The photo below shows a close up look at the backside of the machine and the crosscutter. If the vinyl is advanced to the backside, it can then be cut off in a straight line. Flip the levers down on both sides of the crosscutter and then slide the blade across to the other side to slice the material.
Make sure to flip the levers back up after the cut is complete and to move the crosscutting blade to the very edge of the crosscutter. If these steps are not taken, it can interfere with the proper feeding of the vinyl on the next cut as it can block the material from advancing through the machine.
The crosscutter is a removable and replaceable part should the blade become dull. If the crosscutter is not installed correctly and secure, you may get an error in the Silhouette software. The photo below shows a look at the crosscutter when removed from the machine.
If the leading edge of the material is curled down, it can catch on the channel of the crosscutter. This can affect the feed and results of the cuts being made. This is often something you can hear first before you see the results of the miscuts or misfeed. Any catching inside the machine can affect the feed and cause miscuts on the design.
Straighten out the edge of the material so it’s not curled down to prevent this. However, if you do use the crosscutter to slice the vinyl after a cut is complete, it can create that curled edge.
Make sure to zoom in on the design being used on the Send tab and check the design before you send a large design to cut. I did not before I made my first cuts and ended up with 24″ of wasted vinyl. This was a design that I purchased and thought it would be a quick cut as my first test and that’s not how it ended up. Several parts of this design were not welded correctly. If you zoom in really close on the Send tab prior to cutting, you can hopefully catch something like this before it happens.
If you do run into issues, start first with looking at the setup and watching the machine. That’s how I find a lot of the issues we troubleshoot is by looking at photos and video of how the machine operates. And I listen to the machine. As I mentioned above, I can often hear something is wrong before I see what the issue is.
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**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated for sharing.
Brilliant Living is a gorgeous digital kit by Nitwit Collections and I was thrilled to collaborate with them for the March 2026 Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter. Newsletter subscribers had the chance to grab the Brilliant Living Knick Knack kit for free exclusive to them in March. Throughout the month I created several different projects using the kit to show it’s versatility from layered cards to tags and even sublimation projects too! Find all the details below.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Crafting Creativity with Nitwit Collections– Brilliant LivingDigital Kit
This card has 4 layers of the elements stacked on top of each other with foam tape to give it dimension.
Here is a look at the print and cut page printed out ready to cut around each of the layers.
There are so many options with a digital kit and you can mix and match, add more layers, decrease the layers, or only print one layer for a project as well.
If you are mailing the card, you may need to keep the thickness of the layers in mind when creating it.
So for the next cards, I stacked elements together and then was able to print 2 card fronts on one sheet of paper. Each of these designs have different elements that can be layered together.
Here is a look at the final results from this printed page.
The card on the left side only has the “for you” and the “ladybug layered”, while the card on the right has the “wishes, for you, and the ladybug layered”.
There were a couple intricate areas that may not cut well for all users. I was able to get these ladybugs with their antennae’s to cut, but had to be extremely careful removing them off the cutting mat. However the butterfly antennae’s were just too delicate, which is another reason you may want to add that layer directly to the card background instead of trying to add it as a 3-D layer. But you never know until you try. The Silhouette machine might amaze you in the cut it can get.
Project #2 –Layered Tag Designswith Brilliant Living Digital Kit
Being able to create your own designs means that you can make them any size you want and create as many as you need in the moment. I started with the idea to create only 2 tags, but it ended up being 4 complete designs.
I used 2 sheets of paper to print and created 1 layered tag and one simple print and cut tag on each sheet.
Here is a look at one of the layered tags using the foam tape to pop up the dimension.
The great part about creating your own tags is there are no rules. Flower hangs off the edge, no problem! Want the design to be flush on the edges – no problem! Or mix and match. And using a digital kit allows you to mock it up first in the Silhouette software before you even cut the elements out.
Project #4 –Sublimation Projects with Brilliant Living Digital Kit
Digital designs worked perfectly for sublimation projects! I created 4 sublimation project designs on 1 sheet of sublimation paper.
I made a decorative panel, cover for a compact mirror case, a bookmark, and a coaster.
The colors are so bright and brilliant with these projects, except the center of the coaster turned out a bit washed out. This can happen with hardboard at times and moisture affecting the outcome.
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Did this spark some new creative ideas for you? It’s always inspiring to see how a single flower and greenery design can bloom into so many completely different projects! I had so much fun reimagining this one design across five unique creations and showing just how versatile a single file can be. If you’re looking for even more inspiration, tips, and creative project ideas, be sure to browse the Crafting Creativitysection on the Silhouette Secrets+ website — click HERE to explore!
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THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.
What can you do with one cut file? A lot. Each month I work with a featured designer in the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter who provides a file for subscribers, and I share new projects each week during the month with that file. I typically start with the original file, add my own touches to it and then I create additional projects to show the versatility that one file can have. The Carrot Balloon Bunny Card by Studio Ilustrado is a perfect example. In this blog post I’m sharing 5 different design ideas that can be made with a Carrot Balloon Bunny Card design.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Crafting Creativity with Studio Ilustrado
One file, endless possibilities.
Project #1 –Bunny Carrot Balloon Card
I started out creating the design as originally intended by making the card and adding my own special touches with inking, paper shaping, and foam tape.
I had the Silhouette Curio 2 out from testing with the Silhouette Leather Carving Knife, so it was the machine I used to cut this card. Almost all the pieces were cut out using scraps from my stash. I love being able to use my scraps!
Look at these tiny details!
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if it would cut well with the electrostatic mat on the Curio 2, but it did! Especially using a scrap piece of cardstock with the Silhouette Electrostatic Mat.
Sometimes we all just need a little bit of help and taping down the cardstock scraps on the Electrostatic Mat can be that help. It just added a little bit more security to hold my scraps in place and get a successful cut with the Electrostatic Mat. I love this new technology that Silhouette has. While it does not work with all materials, it has saved me hours of time cutting cardstock.
While I used the Silhouette Curio 2 to cut the projects, any Silhouette machine could be used to create these projects.
The bunny made the perfect peeking addition to this gable box card. Don’t let the name of a design fool you either. The title of the box is called Christmas Gable Box by Studio Ilustrado, but it can be used for so much more!
Now here is one of my “secrets” – while the Silhouette machines can cut acetate for the window of this box card, I can cut it faster and with less headache.
I cut the window shape from a piece of cardstock using the Silhouette machine and then used it as a template to make a few quick snips with scissors and I was on my way to assembly. It doesn’t have to be perfect since it will be hidden inside the box. And I saved myself time, headache, and didn’t dull my blade.
However, if cutting multiples or a different design than a rectangle, it may be beneficial to set up the machine to cut acetate when needed. It’s great to have options.
I used my laser to cut this out of wood, but you could also use other materials such as cardstock too! Even though I have a laser machine, I started with a 12 inch wood round blank, which you could use as your backing board too.
I used the SVG file, opened it in Silhouette and made a few modifications to the file to be able to create the layers for cutting on wood. Since the wood has more thickness to it than a material such as cardstock, I had to add a layer behind the bunny and cut multiples to make it sit flush with the sign and balloon basket. The knife tool in Silhouette helped me to cut the bunny’s little feet off so it would sit flush on the balloon for this design. That sounds so bad when I type it out, but if you have designed in Silhouette, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
As I was designing and cutting the first sign, another idea popped into my head too! Have you seen the door corner designs?
I drew out a skinny rectangle, made a copy and rotated it 90 degrees. Aligned the right edges and welded it together to make the corner. Then sized the bunny and welded the bunny background to the rectangles to sit on top. Next, I added letters down the right side. Before welding the letters, I made a copy so I could cut them out and layer on top for color and dimension.
Before you go to cut the design, make sure it’s all flush. I forgot to cut the bunny’s feet with the knife tool, but I didn’t realize it until after he was all cut out, so he sits a little bit higher on the top of the door. In this case, it wasn’t worth recutting the design simply because you can’t really tell on our door frame.
I love these little door corner designs, even if we only have a few door frames that I can add them to in our house because the previous owner used the wrong trim to frame out the doors or the frame is too close to the wall. It is a fun way to add a bit of decoration without putting another hole in the wall.
I used the Silhouette Curio 2 to sketch this design using the electrostatic mat because that was the machine on my desk this week, but sketching can be done with any Silhouette machine model.
The clay pot was drawn in Silhouette Studio using basic shapes and adjusting the bottom edit points on a rectangle too!
Unlock your creativity by learning more about Silhouette. You never know where it will take you! Even making cards with carrots.
A great big thank you to Studio Ilustrado for contributing the free file for the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter for the month of February! If you missed grabbing the free design in February, grab it HERE and start creating!
This year I started offering a free file each month for Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter subscribers. I love designing in the Silhouette Studio software and have shared some of my creations as well as look forward to collaborating with more artists in the future too!
Silhouette Secrets+ Newsletter
Never miss out on the news, tips, “secrets”, deals, classes, and more that I share on Silhouette Secrets+. Sign up for the newsletter and get information delivered to your inbox every Friday. Unsubscribe at anytime.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter HERE to have information delivered direct to your inbox and grab each month’s new freebie.
Did this spark some new creative ideas for you? It’s always inspiring to see how a single design can be used in completely different projects! I had so much fun reimagining this one design across five unique creations and showing just how versatile a single file can be. If you’re looking for even more inspiration, tips, and creative project ideas, be sure to browse the Crafting Creativitysection on the Silhouette Secrets+ website — click HERE to explore!
Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.
Enjoy !
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.
The Silhouette Cameo5α (Alpha) model is the latest machine released by Silhouette America. It was announced at the Silhouette Summit 2025 in Japan in September 2025 and was released shortly after the Summit.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I was not able to attend the Silhouette Summit in Japan, but did order the Silhouette Cameo5α as soon as it was available on the Silhouette America website. At the time of the release, only the white Silhouette Cameo5α models were available and there was no timeline on the other colors being released, so I grabbed it. However, if I would have had choices, I would have selected the Bianco Carrara pattern. When this pattern was first released, I was not impressed, until I had one in my hands and it is my new favorite pattern.
I released 2 unboxing videos on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel sharing a quick setup as well as an in-depth look at the new machine model. So far the in-depth unboxing and setup has been the most popular.
I did not get a blog post out at the time of releasing the unboxing, but sometimes a delay can also be a good thing as I’ve had some time to work with the Silhouette Cameo5α and really test it out. This means that I can add more information and real world experience to the blog post.
Here is one of the first projects I cut out after unboxing the Silhouette Cameo5α.
This project had many intricate cuts from the wood layers to the small skeleton hands. At this size, the cardstock makes a huge difference too! The first one I cut, the cardstock paper layers were separating and I had to switch to a higher quality smooth cardstock for these details.
Here is a close up look at this finished project of the 3-D Skeleton Coffin with all of the details.
This was just one piece to my Halloween busted canvas project, but it was a great test to really see what the Silhouette Cameo5α was capable of.
But, of course, I couldn’t stop there! The coffin was only the first piece of my Halloween busted canvas project.
I continued to cut out pieces for the 3-D Tombstone and put the Silhouette Cameo5α to the test. Within a short amount of time from unboxing the machine, I had a lot of cut hours into testing it out.
The Silhouette Cameo5α is an updated model of the original Cameo 5. The original Silhouette Cameo 5 model is no longer manufactured.
The Silhouette Cameo5α features a new roller design and I do like how it is much more visible to see the rollers and if ever there is a need, easier to clean them as well. It also has a pinch pressure button locking mechanism on the right roller that is so much nicer than the original model design.
It also has an additional 0.3 mm clearance on the roller bar for the Silhouette Cameo5α. At the Silhouette Summit, they mentioned this in reference to use with the Silhouette Electrostatic Mat. With the Silhouette Electrostatic Mat, there is a protective sheet that goes on top of the mat before you place your materials on it to be cut. This protective sheet adds height to what is rolling through the machine. I have not had any issues with this, however, they must have received some feedback from users who were using multiple layers of materials, such as stickers with a laminate on top of it which is thicker than your average cardstock. So the clearance was increased a tad bit.
Keep in mind that when you are talking about clearance, the material also has to “clear” the bottom of the tool that is being used. So even if it clears the bottom of the roller bar, thicker materials also have to allow the blade or tool to clear it as well. And even if a material can clear both the roller bar and tool tip, that does not guarantee that it is a cuttable material with the Silhouette. There are many factors that go into whether a material is going to cut well with a Silhouette.
With the Silhouette Cameo5α, you do have to use a Silhouette software version of 5.0.402 in order for the machine to be recognized. As I type this up, there are still many bugs and issues with version 5 and I am not recommending version 5 for all users. But, if you are a Silhouette Cameo5α owner, you do have to use version 5 and there is no way around that. I recommend using version 5.0.402 at this time and not the current version (5.0.414) as we have seen some issues with the current version. We have seen some issues of machines being bricked or recognized as a regular Cameo 5 and not a Silhouette Cameo5α. If you encounter any of those issues, please contact Silhouette Support and be as detailed as possible in your request for assistance. Including photos and video can help them help you faster as well.
The Silhouette Cameo5α also uses the 4 point registration marks for print and cut projects. This was first released with the Silhouette Cameo Pro MK II model and now is available with the Silhouette Cameo5α model. Silhouette states that this is supposed to improve accuracy of the print and cut results. However, I have not seen any significant improvements in my testing. The biggest issues we see with print and cut are still due to setup and user errors.
I use both the Silhouette Cameo 5 original model and the Silhouette Cameo5α. It really just depends on what I am doing and what the project might be.
Anytime I get a new machine, I like to put it through the paces to see what works and what doesn’t. This means testing both the machine and the Silhouette Studio software.
Here are some print and cut projects I did while testing it.
I do love that I can create meaningful cards and gifts for friends and family, no matter what the circumstances are.
I really do wish cutting machines came with a cut hours timer. Within the first few weeks of owning the machine, I racked up a lot of cut hours.
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THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated for sharing.
Glass etching is a great way to make unique projects and combine that with a Silhouette cutting machine and you have endless possibilities of customization. In this blog post I’m sharing a look at custom etched martini glasses I made while creating the March 2026 exclusive video tutorial for the Creative Community.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Steps to Etched Glass Projects
Create a stencil for etching.
Clean glass blank with alcohol and allow to dry.
Apply stencil.
Mask off edge of stencil to prevent bleeding
Apply Etchall Etching Creme and allow to sit for 20 minutes.
Remove any excess Etching Creme and place back in the bottle.
Wipe off remaining excess with a paper towel and safely discard paper towel.
Run water in the sink and rinse off decal thoroughly.
Remove masking tape and adhesive vinyl under running water.
I started with created the stencil design in the Silhouette software using the Conical Warp Panel.
I shared an in-depth look at the Conical Warp Panel and step-by-step instructions for several projects, including these stencils in the March 2026 Creative Community exclusive video tutorial. For more details on the Creative Community, check it out HERE.
I wanted the design visible when drinking from the glass, so I flipped the design in the software prior to cutting the stencil.
Then sent the design to cut from Oracal 651 adhesive vinyl. Scraps are great for making stencils and I have a whole drawer full of adhesive vinyl scraps.
After weeding the design, I applied transfer tape and applied the adhesive vinyl as smooth as possible to the cleaned martini glass.
Here is a look at the stencil and how it will read after the design is etched.
Then, I created and cut a few more designs.
If I am etching one glass, might as well etch a few more at the same time.
Adding painters’ tape to the edges of the stencil can prevent any bleeding. Etching is permanent and it never fails that if the etching creme touches a spot you don’t want etched for even just a second, it will etch it. One of those craft project oopsies.
Apply the Etchall etching creme and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Carefully scrape off any excess Etchall etching creme and put it back in the bottle. It can be reused over and over again. Make sure not to scrape too hard to dislodge any small bits of the stencil or etching creme can get in areas that you don’t want to be etched.
I also like to take a paper towel and carefully remove any other excess etching creme and then discard the paper towel. Then I run water in the sink and begin rinsing and removing the painter’s tape and adhesive vinyl. Rinse the glass thoroughly and dry.
Enjoy your custom etched martini glasses.
Drink Happy Thoughts Etched Martini Glass
Espresso Yourself Etched Martini Glass
Don’t Ask Just Pour & Sip Sip Hooray! Etched Martini Glass
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THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated for sharing.
New video out on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel!! In this video I share step-by-step how I created a layered card design in the Silhouette Studio software using a digital kit by Nitwit Collections.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is the first Crafting Creativity project for the month of March that I shared with newsletter subscribers.
I love the bright colors Knick Knack kit by Nitwit Collections. This kit is exclusive to newsletter subscribers for the month of March and then will be available in their shop for purchase later.
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THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher, but I may get compensated for sharing.
Silhouette IPT is short for Intelligent Path Technology and was first announced to us at the 2023 Silhouette Summit when the Silhouette Cameo 5, Curio 2, and Portrait 4 models were announced.
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In this blog post, I am sharing some of the details of the IPT setup and how it works. Read more details below and then watch the video tutorial with even more tips on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE.
The Silhouette IPT is a patented cutting technology that changes the cut order of a design to “help” it stay in position and complete the cut. Depending on the design you have on the file, when it’s turned on, it will complete the cut of the design in segments versus a continuous cut around the entire design. The photo below shows the standard method of cutting on the left side, that would be from 1 starting point and cut around in one continuous cut back to the starting point on a heart. On the right side, the white dots are points of reference in how the design would be cut in segments, starting on the top right, then moving to the top left and then moving to complete the bottom on each side. This method is designed to “hold” the design in place and not have shifting as it’s being cut.
This new technology was created to help delicate materials such as vellum be more successful when cutting out designs and to cut through multiple layers of materials at once, such as several sheets of vellum stacked on top of the Silhouette Electrostatic Mat.
Here is the video we were shown at Silhouette Summit 2023 to explain the process.
This is a setting you have to set up and turn on in order for it to use the IPT cutting method and is not an automatic setting. It is compatible with the Silhouette Cameo 5, Curio 2, and Portrait 4 models.
Silhouette IPT settings can be found under the advanced settings on a preset setting, or you can turn it on for a custom cut setting. On the Send tab in Silhouette Studio, select the MORE button and you will see a box next to “Intelligent Path Technology”.
Here is a look at Silhouette Studio version 5
Screenshot Silhouette Studio v5.0.402
And a look at the Advanced Settings in Silhouette Studio version 4
Screenshot Silhouette Studio v4.5.815
If IPT is selected on a preset material setting, you will need to Save As to create a new material in order for it to be activated on the cut setting. If you simply check the box and X out of the preset material, it will not activate the IPT setting.
Screenshot Silhouette Studio v4.5.815
How Silhouette IPT (Intelligent Path Technology) Works
Let’s take a real world look at the IPT cut setting and the order that it takes. Keep in mind that the Silhouette software will change this order for every design, and you do not know what the order will be unless you watch and record the machine behavior.
I’ll be using the Silhouette Curio 2 for this demonstration, but it works the same for the Silhouette Portrait 4 and the Silhouette Curio 2. I am using Silhouette Vellum sheets for this test along with a brand new Silhouette Autoblade.
I used the same shape from the video by Silhouette from 2023. I drew the heart using the Flexishapes tool on the left side in Silhouette.
This was completed as a continuous cut, the blade never lifted.
Then I turned the cut lines off for the first heart and turned the cut lines on for the 2nd heart, which is an exact copy of the first one.
My first attempt at this IPT cut, I used the Vellum preset, checked the box, but then X’d out and found out that it did not activate the IPT setting. A new custom setting is required by clicking on Save As after checking the box.
So I made a 3rd copy of the heart and I clicked on the MORE button and checked the box next to Intelligent Path Technology and chose Save As. Then clicked the X in the top right and chose the new material of Vellum (1) as my setting. I then clicked on the MORE button to double check that IPT setting did save with the new material.
The IPT function did work and it cut the heart in 10 different line segments. However, the cut order was a bit different than the video by Silhouette from 2023 and I noticed it started the first cut in the bottom left area of the design. I am using Silhouette Studio version 4.5.815 for this demonstration. The order in which it cuts may vary by software version, which may be why the order is different than what the video shows from 2023.
Here is a diagram of the cut order using IPT with this heart shape
This heart with this specific material cut fine both ways. But, that won’t always be the case.
On a more complex design, such as this flower shape drawn with the Flexishapes and the control point adjusted to make a sharper petal, IPT did make a difference in the cut. Instead of tearing, smooshing, or ruining the corners on the interior of the petals, it was a clean sharp point and the design cut well.
For this flower shape that is approximately 4.3″ tall and 4.2″ wide, it did 51 segmented cuts. I am not going to study the video to diagram all that out, however, it was pretty neat to watch. And it was a success, with no smooshed corners or tears. I did have to “pop” out the flower carefully, but for some designs that extra little bit of care is worth it!
Here is a close up look at the interior cuts on the flower shape. Look at those crisp, cut edges! No tearing or smooshing using the IPT feature in Silhouette.
Vellum is a very delicate material and can be difficult to cut, especially on an intricate cut. Vellum will also curl as you can see in this photo, the flower immediately started to curl. Humidity can also affect the success of cutting vellum, well, really any paper is affected by humidity. For best results, store vellum in a sealed envelope and completely flat. The Silhouette Electrostatic Mat is awesome for cutting vellum designs and I share even more in the Silhouette Curio 2 – Out of the Box class found HERE.
Here are a few more vellum products I’ve tested with:
It is a setting you can turn on for a preset material, then Save As a new material.
It is a setting you can turn on for a custom setting.
It does take longer to cut a design because the blade will lift, move, and cut in a different order.
It will take longer on the Silhouette Curio 2 versus a Silhouette Portrait 4 or Silhouette Cameo 5 model due to the slower movement of the arm on the Silhouette Curio 2. It may only be a few seconds longer, but it will.
Testing is the only way you will know if it will work for a design and material.
The Silhouette software decides the order of IPT based on the shape, size, and design. The user does not see the order or know how many segments a design will be cut out in.
Don’t believe AI answers on what IPT does or in general how to use a Silhouette. AI has no experience using Silhouette machine and will come back with some very bad advice. Experience using a cutting machine will beat AI hands down – literally.
This is NOT the same as Cut Order Sorting options found under the Settings (gear icon) on the Send Tab in Silhouette Studio.
Screenshot from version 5 Silhouette Studio
Here is a look at where to find the Cut Order Sorting options in Silhouette Studio version 4
It did take more time to cut, but I was able to successfully cut out a rolled flower design using the Silhouette Electrostatic Mat and IPT setting. This has been something I have troubleshot with users several times and the intricate design just couldn’t be held in place to complete the cut using the standard cutting methods with the electrostatic mat.
I am thrilled with how this worked out!
Does Silhouette IPT Work?
Yes – but not for every design, material, or project. I thought it worked great with the flower design above as that is one of those highly likely designs to smoosh and tear on the sharp corners.
Personally, I do not typically like the little tabs it left, similar to pop out cutting. However, it might be beneficial for those materials or designs that just will not cut the standard way. The only way to know is to test it and see what happens. If you do use it, I would recommend a sharp pair of detail scissors to snip the little connections and care when separating it from the full sheet.
The second part of IPT method for cutting through multiple layers of materials, proved to be much more finicky with mixed results. I spent hours and hours testing and was never really impressed with the results. The more layers of material, the less desirable the cut results were. It is not something I’ve spent more time testing. Maybe someday I’ll try again.
I hope those tips give you a better idea of how this new cut path technology works. You never know until you try and hopefully that will help your trials go a bit easier.
Next time you have a design that is just giving you fits with a standard, continuous cut setup – you might try out the IPT setting and see if it makes a difference in the success with your material.
Good luck!
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Have you ever opened Silhouette Studio, started designing with text, and instead of a beautiful font you’re greeted with rectangles, boxes, or missing letters? Font issues in Silhouette Studio are a common frustrations that we see when troubleshooting with users—whether fonts don’t show up at all, won’t display correctly, or refuse to work the way you expect. The good news? These problems usually have simple explanations and easy fixes once you know what to look for.
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I just shared a brand new video on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel that walks you through exactly why font issues happen in Silhouette Studio and how to troubleshoot them. In this tutorial, you’ll learn why fonts show up as rectangles, a glimpse at previewing fonts, why fonts can go missing or seem like they are missing, and how to reinstall fonts correctly—including whether OTF or TTF files work best. If you’ve ever wondered “Why is my font doing that?” this video will help you get back to designing quickly and show how to avoid some of these issues.
If you’re ready to go beyond troubleshooting and really learn how to use fonts to create your own designs in Silhouette Studio, come join us in the Creative Community with EllyMae | Crafting & Troubleshooting site. Our February 2026 exclusive member video covers working with text, fonts, and design techniques so you can move from simply typing words to confidently creating custom designs with fonts. It’s the perfect next step if you want to unlock the creative power of text in Silhouette Studio and design projects that are truly your own. In the 96 minutes step-by-step video tutorial I cover everything from where fonts are stored, font storage, designing with glyphs, offsets, compound paths, combining shapes, and more! Create 10 unique designs in less than 2 hours and then take and use those techniques to create even more!
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Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.
Creativity truly blooms when you learn how to stretch a single design into multiple handmade projects. In this Crafting Creativity blog post, I’m sharing how one flower design by Flavir Design can be transformed into five stunning Silhouette flower projects using a cutting machine and paper crafting techniques. From a layered paper flower bouquet and custom greeting cards to a paper flower box topper, custom bookmarks with patterned backgrounds, and even miniature flowers, this project series is all about getting more value, versatility, and inspiration from one cut file. If you love Silhouette crafting, paper flowers, and creative ways to maximize your digital designs, this post will spark new ideas for your next crafting session.
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Crafting Creativity Flowers & Greenery by Flavir Design
Daniela Moscone is the creative artist behind Flavir Designs and can be found in the Silhouette Design Store or on their website HERE. Make sure to check out their YouTube channel HERE for assembly videos too!
Project #1 –Flower Bouquet
I typically start out each month creating the file in the way it is shown. I decided at the last minute to take the pieces and add them to wire to create a bouquet to add to a vase. The best part about this is, if I change my mind, I can easily clip off the wires and add it to a wreath as the original image.
I love all the layers of these flowers and you can change it up however you want. And, with flowers, there is no wrong way because flowers are not perfect in nature, so if one petal has a chunk out of it, perfect! A bug took a bite. When was the last time you saw a flower in nature that didn’t have an imperfection?
I grabbed some Bazzill smooth cardstock to cut these bright colored flowers. Now, typically I’ve shied away from thicker cardstock like Bazzill and in some cases, Bazzill can be difficult to cut. I knew my blade and my cutting mat were on the older side, so I increase my settings just a bit and then used 3 passes and I had perfect, crisp cuts.
Since my mat is older and starting to lose it’s stick, I did secure it down really well with a squeegee. Or you can use a brayer. I was lazy and didn’t go grab it in the other room. Now, if the paper had started to shift, I would have gotten up and gotten the brayer or grabbed a new cutting mat.
I sponged on color to the flowers and the leaves and then shaped them before assembling all together. It can make a big difference in the final results of the project with just a few simple touches.
This project started out totally different than a card design. I love it and it’s a good thing I can create more otherwise it might never leave my studio.
I was playing around with a Two-Tone Metallic Spray – Fuchsia & Gold by Hero Arts and now I feel like using it on all my projects. Everything needs to be bright pink with gold flecks right! Well, maybe not everything. Hero Arts has other colors too!
The idea started out with spraying the flower layers to add coloring to the solid pink cardstock. I sprayed it on top of my Glassboard mat and then used a sheet of mixed media paper and picked up excess ink to create a background paper that I cut up for the bottom half of the card. The Glassboard mat is so easy to clean up that I find myself working with more mixed media and messy things.
The flowers and greenery were scaled down to fit this 4.25″ x 5.5″ card design. I added a few splatters of the Two-Tone Metallic Spray – Fuchsia & Gold to the card base. Instead of spraying it on, I took the cap off and splattered it to give it a different look.
I used a paper curling tool to give the flower layers dimension and next reached for my shaping kit to hand embossed the greenery to add more texture to it too. After that I curled the leaves a bit with a curling tool too. Then grabbed an extra Happy Birthday sentiment from a previous project and popped that up with some foam tape. For this card, I also used 2 other adhesives – an adhesive tape runner for the large piece adhered to the bottom of the card base and the Precision Glue Press with the glue it came with to adhere the flower layers together, the greenery to the card, and the flower on top.
I added some gold shimmer trim that is adhesive backed in the middle of the card base. Unfortunately, this is a Close to My Heart product that is no longer made, but I’m using my stash.
Add flowers on top of a box to create a unique gift box or decoration. I used both flower shapes in the flower design to create these box toppers.
This box is originally designed with a cherry flower top, but why stop there! Swap out the flowers and watch it change the look of this Silhouette flower project.
This box is a unique design and easy to put together too! But if needed, there is an assembly video too – find that HERE.
I used several patterns and printed my own pattern paper for the boxes.
For this one, I didn’t even use the registration marks to print it. I added an offset of the box only and then filled the offset design with the pattern. Using a Silhouette mat and loading the mat next to the load line, I sent it to cut. With the manual print bleed, even if it was off by just a little bit, you won’t be able to notice.
I don’t recommend this method if you are needing completely accurate cuts, but it can work for some designs and projects such as this one.
By adding the print bleed around the entire design, I gave myself a better chance that it wouldn’t matter if the cut was off by a little bit.
3-D Flower file as a background pattern – say what! Yes! I took the flower and a leaf design and added a pattern fill to both, then used it as a background to create bookmarks.
Here is a look at the file in Silhouette. I set up the bottom 2 bookmarks to use foil on, even though it looks the same in the software as the print and cut, the bottom 2 have a sketch fill added to them, so when I go to print, it is not going to print that design.
I will say, it is much faster to just simply print and cut a design. Foiling does add setup and completion time, but sometimes it can be so worth it!
However, any time you add another factor into a project, you also increase the chances of something going wrong. I should have known better and either test foiled or not trusted Silhouette settings. In this version of Silhouette Studio 5 that I am using, it does not have a material preset for foiling on cardstock, so I had to add that in. And then the preset for force is 15 set by Silhouette. We have told them many, many times that it is too much and I should have decreased it even more. I changed it down to a 10 and that was still too much.
I just let it finish – it was ruined anyhow. If this happens to you – you are perfectly normal. Well, at least we are in the same boat together – I’m not sure I’d say I’m “normal”. LOL!
Let’s just say – HOT MESS!
But, don’t give up! I adjusted the force down to a 2, which is still probably too high and I sent the second design to foil.
Once the foiling was done, I added a holographic overlay sheet on top of the bookmarks and sent that to cut.
In the end, I have 5 new bookmarks created with the flower design from this month’s collaboration. And one design that’s got some blank foiled areas and extra glitter on it where it shouldn’t. But it could still be used as a bookmark.
These little pink flowers started out much bigger. I cut the flower shape from Silhouette Shrink plastic and then watched it transform under a heat gun. Instead of letting the shrink plastic flatten out, like you would with charms, I shaped them instead. Once they curled up, I stopped applying heat and pushed the end of the Silhouette spatula into the center to form the middle of the flower. Then I glued in a yellow bead. And the finishing touch was painting on Mod Podge Sparkle to give it a bit more fairy touch.
I wanted to maximize the space I could on using the Silhouette Shrink Plastic. Since I was cutting a flower shape out of the material and did not need accurate placement, I added a fill pattern to a 8.5″ x 11″ rectangle and centered that on the letter size media page. I used a Pastel Pink Bokeh Background pattern by Sarah Hurley – Design #469254 in my final print.
I then printed out the entire page. I checked the “Show Print Border” so that I knew where the edges of the print out would be on my printed page and I could then place the designs within that gray border.
Then I simply filled the page with different sizes of the flowers and cut out the shapes from the printed page. No registration marks needed.
I didn’t need the entire page of flowers, so I added in some hearts with another project in mind. Here is a look before adding heat to shrink them down.
I would recommend cutting extras of whatever you are working with and playing with the shrink plastic. It can be a bit unpredictable when you add that heat and take a few practice runs to get it to mold how you want.
This was actually the second sheet of flowers I had cut because I wasn’t quite thrilled with the first color pattern I’d chosen. I didn’t feel it was a bright enough pink for the project and the vision in my head.
A few tips for working with shrink plastic:
colors can change & darken as it shrinks – keep this in mind when choosing a pattern or color palette. The color gets condensed when it shrinks down. If you have dark colors, it can look black after shrinking.
any type of plastic can dull the blade quicker than other materials. The settings may need to be adjusted or a new blade needed the more you cut. It’s always a good idea to have an extra blade on hand.
carefully remove the shrink plastic from the backing layer after it’s cut. It can tear or break off during this process if handled too rough or if the design is too intricate.
Printing an entire page with a background can be an option for some projects. If you do need exact placement around a printed design, then I would recommend using registration marks so the machine knows where the design is.
A great big thank you to Daniela at Flavir Design for contributing the free file for the Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter for the month of January! If you missed grabbing the free design in January, grab it HERE and start creating!
This year I started offering a free file each month for Silhouette Secrets+ newsletter subscribers. I love designing in the Silhouette Studio software and have shared some of my creations as well as look forward to collaborating with more artists in the future too!
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Did this spark some new creative ideas for you? It’s always inspiring to see how a single flower and greenery design can bloom into so many completely different projects! I had so much fun reimagining this one design across five unique creations and showing just how versatile a single file can be. If you’re looking for even more inspiration, tips, and creative project ideas, be sure to browse the Crafting Creativitysection on the Silhouette Secrets+ website — click HERE to explore!
Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.
Enjoy !
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click the link to buy a coffee. Every little bit helps in the cost of running the site.
