Converting SVG files to Use with Silhouette Studio Software

I am awaiting the arrival of my Silhouette Cameo machine.  Yeah for me!  I have been playing with the Silhouette Studio software.  One thing I have learned is that you cannot use SVG files with the standard version of Silhouette software, however, you can convert SVG files to use with Silhouette Studio without upgrading to the designer edition.  From here forward I will be posting my files in both SVG and DXF format so my Silhouette friends that use the standard version of Studio can cut them as well.  DXF is a format that you can open, in cuttable format, in the standard version of Silhouette Studio.  However, if there are SVGs out there you would like to use with your Silhouette Studio software, here is how you can convert them to DXF and open in Studio.
1.  Download and install Inkscape if you do not already have it.  You can download the most recent version for free here.
2. Launch Inkscape.
3. Open the SVG file you want to convert.  (under the file menu, select "Open," and open up your SVG.)
4. Under the file menu select "Save As" and under the "save as file type" pull down menu, select "Desktop Cutting Plotter" (it is about half-way down.)  When it asks you what type output you would like select "Use ROBO-Master type of spline output" and hit OK.
5.  Launch your Studio software.
6.  Go to "Open"under the file menu.  Select "All files" from the file typedrop down menu.  Find and select the DXF file you just saved out of Inkscape.
7. Viola, you can now cut it with your Silhouette out of your studio software or save it as a .studio file to cut later.

MAC USERS:  SEE COMMENT FROM BANI BELOW FROM 2/5/13. 

Thanks Bani for the insight for our Mac using friends!!  (from my blog statistics I see there asre quite a few so this is invaluable information!!

There are a ton of SVG files out there and now you can use them with your Silhouette Studio software!!
Happy Cutting!

Lets Wordle!!

Here is super cool web site for you.  I first learned of it from Leslie.  She has the greatest ideas and shares them all so willingly.  Find her blog here. 

Here is her post about Wordle.  I saw the awesome cards she made and played with Wordle a bit and loved it.  However, I am neither a cardmaker nor a papercrafter so I was at a loss as to what I could do with this cool site.  I figured it out.  I made an SVG to cut in vinyl for my office.  Now that I figured it out, I will be making many more Wordles to cut from vinyl.  It's not exactly rocket science, but since I am so pleased with myself *wink* let me try to tell you how I did it. 

1.  Go to http://www.wordle.net/. Click on Create your own. 

2.  Follow the directions to make your own super cool word collage.  Type all your words in with a hard return after each word.  You can type in up to 150 words.  (Although if you are going to cut them I would keep it below 30 words so they do not get too small.)  If you want a word(s) bigger than the others, type it in twice!!  Once you type them all in hit GO.  Arrange them however you would like under the layout menu.  Choose a "chunky" font from the font menu.  Under color choose black and white. 

3.  Once you have completed your Wordle and laid it out the way you like it, hit the print screen button on your computer.  Open up a photo editing software or Microsoft Paint.  Hit control V (paste).  This will paste your screen shot in your window.  Crop the pasted screen image so you only have your Wordle left.  Save it as a jpg file. 

4.  Open up the jpg SCAL, choose trace image from the file menu.  Select the browse button and select the jpg of your saved Wordle.  If you made it black and white a brightness setting of 50 should do a good job of tracing it.  Hit Ok.  This is what my traced Wordle looked like in preview mode of scal.  Pretty cool huh??

5.  Then I added a double rectangle around it and put the bow on top from this blog post.  I am going to cut it as a wall vinyl to add to the holiday decor in my office.  (These are the names of my coworkers.)  I plan on adding snowflakes to the open areas, cutting the names in silver and gold with silver and gold snowflakes, a black box and a red bow.  It will be on a dark plum colored wall.  I'll likely cut the bow on a seperate mat and layer it on top so I can make it bigger.  I'll take a picture when I cut it.  But for now, I just had to show you my use for Wordle!! 

Thanks for looking.  Happy Wordling!!

A Tutorial using SCAL and Its Shapes Library to Create Original SVG's

Here is my first tutorial using SCAL! The high pitched shriek about half-way through is my dog, telling me I am neglecting him!! It is a very basic SCAL tutorial, intended for beginners with SCAL. It offers some ways of creating original SVG files using your imagination, SCAL, and the shapes library in SCAL.

Thanks for stopping by and happy cutting.

Watch the tutorial here.