A list of the three cheapest Silhouette and Cricut businesses to start, along with a few tips and supply lists to get started.

List of things you can make and sell with your Silhouette Portrait or Cameo and Cricut Explore or Maker.

Video and written tutorial on how to DIY split monogram with Cameo Silhouette Studio. Easy to follow, and easy to understand tutorial by Caluya Design!

This post covers three styles of fundraising that you can do in your Silhouette or Cricut small business.

Before you start your business, be sure to know what people are already doing - and overdoing. Perfect for Silhouette Cameo and Cricut Explore and Maker crafters.

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Additionally, I may get commissions for purchases made through other affiliate links in this post.Every year in early and mid November I receive a lot of emails and social media requests asking, “Where should I start?” from new Silhouette Cameo and Cricut owners. This ...

A list of 10 Silhouette Curio projects you can create with the Curio - but not the Silhouette Cameo. Proejcts by Kelly Wayment.

Use your Silhouette Cameo 4 cutting machine to create all these beautiful home decor projects. Cut fabric, burlap, felt, card-stock, HTV, vinyl and labels.

Information about how much to charge for rush orders in your craft business.

Finding the right cut settings for your Silhouette Cameo can be difficult. That's why we put together this handy chart with all of our products. We have the right cut setting for Oracal 651, Oracal 631, Iron-On, Cardstock, and more below.

Inspiration for MAKING a pretty life!

What exactly is Silhouette Studio Business Edition and how much does it cost. Great for Cameo or Curio crafters looking to upgrade.

Makers Gonna Learn

One of the things that I love about cutting machines is that they allow you to make so many personalized items.

Whether you're looking to start a small handmade Silhouette business or grow the one you have, there are some Silhouette accessories and crafting tools that will help you take your crafting business to the next level pretty quickly. Never has there been a better time to start a Silhouette business to help supplement your income or invest in the one you have to help grow it into a more substantial source of revenue. So what do I know, anyway? I'm not formally trained in business. When I started I didn't even have a craft business plan. I'm what I like to call an accident entrepreneur. This wasn't the plan - I was supposed to just be using it for crafting after I got my Silhouette Portrait for Christmas 2013. Now I run the largest free Silhouette educational resource on the Internet and two successful businesses that 100% support our family. So basically, what I know is what I've learned through running small businesses online - including a successful Etsy shop - for 10 years. Many of you know that I had to close my Etsy shop a few years ago because Silhouette School Blog became a full time business and I had to pick where to devote my time. < Lesson number one: Don't spend time on things that only take time away from higher ROI areas of your business. Over the years, I have learned a ton about how to successfully market using social media. It's way too much to jam into this blog post, but it's all laid out in Cutting a Profit - my instant download ebook on running a successful Silhouette business. Everything from how to deal with difficult customers to how to take attractive product photos to how to figure out balance (hahah) using time blocking. So Cutting a Profit is where I suggest you start because it will save you a lot of trial and error learning from my mistakes. While mine is not one of those conventional successful craft business stories...I truly believe that's why it works. And it's why I can't stress enough how important it is to think outside of the box when coming up with your craft business ideas. Keep in mind when trying to figure out what Silhouette CAMEO projects to sell - you are not the only one looking to grow your Silhouette handmade business right now - a lot of other former hobby crafters are doing the same. This means you want to be strategic about the direction that you go in and you need to be willing to invest both time and money into your business as you form your craft business plan. You also need to look for the best Silhouette CAMEO business ideas for you! No one can tell you what that is. Best selling craft items aren't necessarily the ones that are trending right now - they're the ones that stand out for their uniqueness, quality, customization, marketing, customer service, and how they're presented in photos. My suggestion is to make a few samples 1) to make sure you can make the item at a quality high enough to be sold and 2) to poll your personal friends and family and ask then which they would order from your shop then focus your efforts there. Even just putting them up on your own personal Facebook timeline with a "look what I made" is sure to generate comments and engagement which will give you an idea of interest. And just like that you may have the start of your craft business on Facebook! So while your Silhouette CAMEO or Portrait is a great starting point, now it's time to invest in your business to take it next level or finally get it off the ground. Here are my suggestions for 6 smart and strategic ways to invest in your small Silhouette business now! 6 Smart Ways to Invest in Your Silhouette Small Business Get a Heat Press Add a Sublimation Printer Invest in a back up Silhouette machine Increase production and your offerings with a CAMEO 4 or Silhouette CAMEO 4 Plus Expand with a Sewing and Embroidery Machine Invest in a Mug Press Heat Press If you are selling anything with heat transfer vinyl a heat press is an absolute must for ease of use and quality of pressing and pressure. You need to be confident in the products you are selling beyond just the sale and for HTV that means getting the right pressure every time. An iron will not cut it. A heat press is also 100% necessary if you plan to add sublimation items to your shop. Sublimation requires high heat and pressure for longer periods of time and an iron will not work for sublimation. If you have room for it, I would recommend a 15x15" heat press. If you don't have room for a full size heat press, a 9x12" heat press is a great option and works just as well with a smaller pressing area. Sublimation Printer After a heat press, a sublimation printer is often the next piece of equipment crafters add. Unlike vinyl and HTV, sublimation printing allows items to be dishwasher and microwave safe and produces the highest quality results in a stunning, vibrant colors and maximum customization - all while using the cut files and designs you already own! Sublimation printers use special ink that when applied to a polyester surface with heat and pressure, the ink turns into a gas and is infused into the surface becoming permanent. I have a Sawgrass SG400 - which is a now discontinued model replaced in February 2020 by the newer Sawgrass SG500 which can print 8.5" x 14" or up to 51" long with the bypass tray. The larger model is the Sawgrass 1000 which can print 11" wide by 14" or up to 51" with the bypass tray. Sublimation blanks are widely available and there are many that can be used with a standard heat press including socks, shirts, coasters, signs, pillow covers, keychains, license plates, and other flat items. Sublimation mugs, however, require a mug press. Mug Press If you plan to offer mugs, you really need a mug press. You can apply HTV or vinyl to a mug, but it's not what I would consider shop-worthy if you want to be confident in your product because those materials require handwash only and lets be honest...most customers would rather not. A three in one mug press will give you some flexibility allowing you to press onto several different size and shape drinkware. Back Up Silhouette Machine If you're relying at all on your Silhouette machine for your handmade business you need a back up machine - not just for faster production, but for when Miss CAMEO decides not to cooperate just because it's Tuesday. You would not believe the number of emails I get from small business owners in a panic when their only Silhouette machine has an issue and they rely on it to make items to sell. As a small handmade Silhouette business, there's no faster way to lose business or go out of business than not having a working Silhouette machine. Don't forget you can cut with multiple Silhouette machines simultaneously so you get that added advantage as well! Silhouette CAMEO 4 or 15" CAMEO 4 Plus The Silhouette CAMEO 4 and Silhouette CAMEO 4 Plus both offer advantages over other Silhouette machines depending on how you are looking to grow your handmade small business. The biggest advantages are the increased speed capabilities and the ability to use the Rotary Blade. I am not counting the Kraft Blade as an advantage at this point because I don't find it produces quality-enough cuts for selling. However, if you want to cut 3x faster than the Silhouette CAMEO 2 or CAMEO 3 to cut down on production time or if you want to cut fabric, tissue paper, or felt with ease and speed using the Rotary Blade the CAMEO 4 is the answer. If, in addition to the ability for increased speed and the Rotary Blade, you also want to expand the size of your max cutting area from 12 to 15" to cut larger designs and decals without pieces them together - the Silhouette CAMEO 4 Plus will be your best bet. The CAMEO Plus also gives you a larger print and cut area allowing you to print and cut twice as much in a single pass - of course you'd need to a wide format printer as well. Silhouette CAMEO Pro Update By the way, I keep getting asked about the 20" Silhouette CAMEO Pro as the May/June release date quickly approaches. Unfortunately, with the pandemic and the impact on worldwide manufacturing and production, the Silhouette CAMEO Pro release date has been pushed back with no exact info yet on a new release date or pre order time frame. Sewing and Embroidery If you want to add to your product line, an embroidery and/or sewing machine is a great great compliment to Silhouette crafts. With the ability to import embroidery files into Silhouette Studio (with Designer Edition Plus) and cut fabric applique with the Silhouette machines, it's a natural progressions. Again, if you plan to cut fabric, I would recommend the Silhouette CAMEO 4 or CAMEO 4 Plus so you can use the Rotary Blade. You can cut fabric with the other machines, but it's not as easy, clean, or fast. Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! Get Silhouette School lessons delivered to your email inbox! Select Once Daily or Weekly. Subscribe Here!

Silhouette CAMEO tutorial for beginners on how to cut vinyl with Silhouette. Blog post will walk you through step by step on setting up Silhouette Studio to cut vinyl and then actually cutting your first vinyl decal.

Reader question: I’m a newer seller and things are going well with my business on Etsy. I recently saw an Etsy seller featured in a newspaper. Do you know how I could find newspapers or other publicat

Article detailing the difference between a hobby and a business. Find out if your Silhouette or Cricut hobby is a business and see the benefits of incorporating.

2020 Update: All of the details about the EPIC Silhouette Holiday Sale are ready for you at the bottom of this post, so scroll down for the run-down. Or you can pop over to Silhouette’s website HERE and start shopping right away using my affiliate discount code CLOSET. It’s no secret in these parts. My *Silhouette...

Change the colors of any SVG or Silhouette design in Silhouette Studio with just a few clicks.

Hey there and welcome to Cutting for Business! My name is Christine, and one of my favorite hobbies is crafting. Most of my crafting projects revolve around my Silhouette Cameo or Cricut cutting machines. I would love to start a business creating unique and handmade items made using a Silhouette or Cricut, but the truth is, I just don’t have the time because I own and manage a high volume small business.

Are you a Silhouette owner that wants to cut multi-color designs, but aren’t really sure exactly how to do it? Well. you’ve come to the right place! Multi-color designs are super cute and lots of fun to make. Today, I’m going to walk you step by step through the process of setting up your multi-color … Read more...

Learn how to cut by color with your Silhouette and make this cute multi-colored DIY mermaid bag even easier to make! I guarantee this will be your new go-to technique for cutting and layering multiple colors of vinyl with your Silhouette, and the video tutorial will walk you through each step.

20 New Silhouette Tutorials for Silhouette CAMEO beginners and beyond. This recap of what was shared on Silhouette School Blog in April 2018 includes free Silhouette designs, reviews, and more!

Last week, we started with the Trace Panel – Tab 1 which covers the Basic Tracing options. Now, we are moving on to Trace Panel – Tab 2: Trace by Color. This option is available if you have the Designer Edition upgrade (DE+ or BE). While the Silhouette Studio Basic software is available for free, I… Continue reading Let’s Explore v4 – Trace by Color

Alternatives for handling large orders with your Silhouette Cameo or Cricut. Includes discussion on transfers and direct to garment printing.

Learn how to use the page feature in Silhouette. Learn everything you need to know with Silhouette Academy for beginners.

A FAQ article about buying wood for craft projects. Includes information about where to buy, what to look for, and cutting wood.

Thinking about selling SVG cut files? Read this article with everything you need to get started selling SVG cut files for Silhouette or Cricut.

A blog about Disney, life, scrapbooking, SMASH books, crafts, pictures, instagram, organization, DIY projects, and more!

Today I am going to share with you how to trace a Google Image using your Silhouette Cameo. Step 1: Search for your image on Google or whatever search engine you use. Save the image to your computer as a JPG or PNG. Step 2: Open up your Silhouette Studio. Then open your image. Step 3: Trace your image. The Trace Window is on the upper right hand side of your Silhouette Studio, where the arrow is pointing. A new side toolbar will open up, this is the Trace Window toolbar. Click on "Select Trace Area". This will allow you to draw a box around the image you want to trace. Step 4: Trace the image. You have three options in the Toolbar; 1) Trace, 2) Trace Outer Edge, 3) Trace and Detach I usually select "Trace". This will trace all the lines of your image. "Trace Outer Edge" will only trace the outer line, see below. Once your image has been traced, it's time to create a stencil for your wording. Our wording is going under our image and will need to be shaped like an oval - come back next week to see what we're making. Step 5: Draw an oval. Select the circle shape on the left-hand side of your Silhouette Studio. * Don't worry, this oval will not cut when you cut your stencil. * Step 6: Add text. Click on the + sign next to the wording, drag this to the edge of your oval. It will follow the line of the oval. Step 7: Add in your image stencil and size everything proportionately. For our craft our stencil measured 7.4 inches tall and 13.2 inches wide. Step 8: Cut your stencil. We cut our stencil on cardstock and used a blade setting of 8. Check out these videos for more detailed instructions. Auto Tracing Curved Text Stop by next week to see how we used this stencil for our Football Burlap Door Hanger! And if you can't wait until next week check out our Etsy store to see the finished product!

Download FREE 51 States SVG, PNG, DXF & EPS file for your DIY project. Files compatible with Cricut, Cameo Silhouette Studio!

Knockout designs are when there are two designs that overlap each other. One design is “knocked out” of the other. In a knockout design, words are subtracted from an image to create two separate layers that do not overlap. This technique is handy when you are layering, as it helps reduce bulk. Here is an example of a

Mini-tutorial for creating an offset long shadow in Silhouette Studio.

Learn the basics for creating a simple SVG cut file in Illustrator that can then be cut using a Cricut Explore or Silhouette Cameo.

Engrave charms with your Silhouette Portrait or Cameo. No special mat required.

It's NO secret I love love love my Silhouette CAMEO® ! It's one of my most used items in all of my craft room! I do sometimes get stuck in a rut and cut vinyl