I’m in love with these Layered Snowflake Arabesque Tile acrylic shapes from Craft Chameleon. They come in a wide variety of colors and I’ve been using them for testing. I want to share 3 methods I tested, my results with each, and which one is my favorite at the end – you might be surprised.
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I am calling these ornaments, but they can be so much more. Gift tags, ornaments, stand alone decor item, and more!
3 Ways to Customize Acrylic Shapes with Silhouette
- Etching Acrylic with the Silhouette Curio 2 Power Engraver – Let It Snow Design
- Etching Acrylic with the Silhouette Curio 2 Punch Tool – top left Snowflake saying
(the Curio 1 and Silhouette etching tool can do this too – more info below) - Adhesive Vinyl Decal – any cutting machine can do this with good quality vinyl!
1 – Etching Acrylic with the Silhouette Curio 2 Power Engraver
I have been doing a lot of testing with the Silhouette Curio 2 and just had to try this with the new Silhouette Power Engraver Tool.
I have had great results with the Silhouette Power Engraver. However, it is not a fine detail engraving tip. When you are working with it, you want to keep that in mind and may need to adjust the design to work with it.
I have a full step-by-step class the Silhouette Secrets+ Teachable site on setting up for etching/engraving on acrylic with the Silhouette Curio 2 including how to get exact placement on shapes. I share all the things that worked and those that did not in the class too!
Find all the details and see more examples of my etching tests HERE.
The etch is pretty subtle on the colored acrylic. Acrylic blanks are also one of the most difficult things to photograph too! Right up there with glass objects.
I love the sparkle of the top layer of this acrylic shape.
Check out a quick look at the Silhouette Power Engrave Tool in action on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE.
Supplies used:
Silhouette Curio 2, Curio Debris Tray, Silhouette Cutting Mat, Silhouette Power Engraver, Let It Snow by Jamie Lane Designs, Layered Snowflake Arabesque Tile acrylic shape, lint roller, super glue, craft clamps, ribbon
*use code SECRETS at CrafterCuts to save 10% on Silhouette supplies – does not apply to new machines
For more details on the Silhouette Curio 2 click HERE.
2 – Etching Acrylic with the Silhouette Curio 2 Punch Tool
With the release of Silhouette released version v4.5.760+, which means the Silhouette Punch Tool has been unlocked for etching with both the Silhouette Curio 2 and the Silhouette Cameo 5. I have been testing the Silhouette Punch Tool for etching with both models of machines.
For more details on etching with the Silhouette Cameo 5 and Punch Tool check out this post HERE.
Note: etching on the Silhouette Cameo 5 is designed for Silhouette metal etching sheets and not for acrylics – more details in my blog post
The Silhouette Punch Tool is supposed to be the etching tool for finer details with the Silhouette Curio 2 and Cameo 5. While it does etch, it definitely is no where near the same quality of etch as the Silhouette Curio 1 was with the Silhouette etching tool.
If you have a Silhouette Curio 1, I would recommend hanging on to it and get that baby out to etch on acrylic. It does a fantastic job.
However, the Silhouette Curio 2 is here to stay. It is the new machine model and the Silhouette Curio 1 is no longer manufactured. Honestly, the Curio 1 had a really, really long lifespan for a machine model. I am surprised that it was manufactured for so long.
The Silhouette Curio 2 and the Silhouette Cameo 5 has a specialized Carriage 2 housing that allows not only for specialty tools, but also a higher force. While the Carriage 1 housing on Silhouette models is an up and down motor, the Carriage 2 housing on Silhouette model machines is a round and round motor. This means that it is different than the Silhouette Curio 1 machine that was designed over 10 years ago. Different machine, different results.
I’ll have more details on the blog later about all of that.
Bottom line is – the Silhouette Punch Tool does etch.
Check out a quick look at the Silhouette Curio 2 & Punch Tool in action on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE.
Supplies used:
Silhouette Curio 2, Curio Debris Tray, Silhouette Cutting Mat, Silhouette Punch Tool, Snowflake Kisses Holiday Wishes Design, Layered Snowflake Arabesque Tile acrylic shape, lint roller, super glue, craft clamps, ribbon
*use code SECRETS at CrafterCuts to save 10% on Silhouette supplies – does not apply to new machines
For more details on the Silhouette Curio 2 click HERE.
3 – Adhesive Vinyl Decal
I used Oracal 651 white adhesive vinyl and cut this with the Silhouette Cameo 5 using the Silhouette Autoblade.
Yes! The Silhouette Autoblade!
I selected the Vinyl Glossy setting and increase the blade depth to a 2. Actual cut settings that will work for you will depend on your material, machine, and blade life. Test cuts are the only way you will know what works for you. Find more information on Perfect Cut Settings HERE.
One of the big key factors is you want high quality adhesive vinyl and good quality transfer tape for detail works. Low quality vinyl can just be a mess and more of a headache than the money it tricked you into saving. If you have ever cut low quality vinyl or old vinyl, you are nodding right now and know exactly what I mean!
Now, yes, I lost the dots to my i’s. But holy smokes! This is tiny details! At this size, I could care less about those little dots on the i’s. I can either cut more and add them or add in a different embellishment to the project.
One of the things that can help when cutting this small is adding Weeding Lines to the design and it definitely helped in this small detail cut.
For more details on adding Weeding Lines click HERE.
For designs like this, I prefer to draw my own weeding lines. It takes just a little more time in the setup and cutting process, but it can be 100% worth it to save you headache when weeding.
I have more tips on cutting small fonts & designs HERE too!
Check out a quick look at weeding this design on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel HERE.
Supplies used:
Silhouette Cameo 5, Silhouette Autoblade – Type B, Silhouette Cutting Mat, Oracal 651 White adhesive vinyl, AT65 Transfer Tape, Snowflake Kisses Holiday Wishes Design, Layered Snowflake Arabesque Tile acrylic shape, super glue, craft clamps, ribbon
*use code SECRETS at CrafterCuts to save 10% on Silhouette supplies – does not apply to new machines
My Favorite
Out of all 3 methods, this one has to be my favorite because it really stands out. And the best part is, anyone with a cutting machine could do this method!
I hope that gives you some ideas how you can create and customize with acrylic shapes. You are not limited to Snowflake Arabesque Acrylics either! Craft Chameleon has a wide selection of acrylic blanks. The 3″ clear acrylic rounds are my favorite and I make sure to stock up each time I order.
Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.
Enjoy !
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