Mastodawn

Had fun last night running a show and tell session about heat transfer vinyl. It's fun to multilayer and also great fun to use the laser to cut fabric and then sort of seal the edges with HTV to make patches! #making #fabric #lasercutter #vinylcutter

Trevor Jan 19

In my planner, I have a bookmark to show where I am - my "This Week" marker. It's not fancy. Just a piece of card with a tab on top. And it has been decorated by my youngest, slightly on the front and extensively on the back (which I'm not showing because she signed her name on it). It's worn out and not very professional looking. Enter my Cricut and some maple veneer!

This cut so well and it was super successful with a deep-point blade and default settings for veneer. I prototyped on card to validate the design, then cut two copies of the shape and used some wood glue to attach them together. Looking forward to treating it with some oil and varnish to really bring out the grain and make it more durable. I think I'll also cut some rings of forest green card to help reinforce the holes.

Now though, the question becomes: do I use the vinyl cutter for the label, or do I laser engrave it?

#maker #planner #plannercommunity #cricut #vinylcutter #3Dprinter #laserCutting #laserengraving

Trevor Jan 4

Had the #Cricut humming tonight! Middle child loves Epic: The Musical, so we collaborated on this sweet hoodie. They drew the art in Procreate on their iPad and I traced and tweaked the images in Inkscape before bringing them into Cricut Design Space. This uses an iridescent gold foil heat-transfer vinyl. I love the look so much. I only sort of burned myself once! And only accidentally ruined one piece of vinyl. (I'm gonna blame Design Space for that, though.) We're learning!

I am starting to understand why people get kind of obsessed with these things...

#maker #crafts #vinylcutter #EpicTheMusical #MakerDad #Inkscape

PistonPin Jan 3

First #FreeCADing of the year: I've bought a second MGN9 mini rail and modified my #vinylCutter mount for pens, brushes, and whatnot.

#3dPrinting #penPlotter

Show thread

Trevor Dec 5

An update to that #Cricut experiment: I decided to stress-test it a little bit and see how it would handle a complicated image trace! I brought a photo of the reverse side of my Centennial mug into #Inkscape and traced the image, then back into Design Studio, cut in the same white vinyl, and applied. To pull back the curtain a bit, I actually cut it at the same time as the front design - but I quickly discovered that I'd need a proper weeding tool to do this justice. My sizing is all over the show here, but I'm not upset about it. I'm slightly more upset that I wasn't paying that much attention while weeding (I was watching The Diplomat with my wife at the time) and weeded out part of the actual design. Whoops! Still looks awesome and if I spent more time (and attention) it would have turned out even better. I'm really enjoying learning this stuff.
#maker #crafts #crafting #vinylcutter #Canadiana

Trevor Nov 30

Latest #Cricut experiment: a version of my Canadian Centennial mug that I don't feel anxious about using. I love Centennial memorabilia, but 60 years old is a little old for an everyday-use cup. This is very much a project done to learn, not as a polished final product, and boy did I learn. I recreated the graphic in #Inkscape and made a couple of editorial choices, like increasing the line weight. The ring of text pushed the machine's ability to cut small details in some spots, and it underscored the need for good weeding tools and good weeding practices (for example, putting the vinyl on transfer tape first before weeding so the design actually stays in place). The cut needed either more pressure or another pass. And I don't think I trust this "smart vinyl" to cut properly when not on a cutting mat. I definitely had to reconstruct some words! But you know what? This is great for an everyday mug and I learned a ton.
#maker #crafts #crafting #vinylcutter #canadiana

PistonPin Nov 9

Enough #FreeCAD shenanigans for the weekend! I've designed and printed two trays that bolt to the printer and hold tools and parts (the #vinylCutter add-on, some spare Revo Six nozzles, a flush cutter, and a small wire brush) to tidy it up a bit. 🙂

#3dPrinting