I love my Cameo, sketch with pen and cut on full page labels

Sometimes I am not very happy with the results that I get from my printer when it's printing very fine detailed text, in black on white cardstock. Perhaps it is because I'm using the back feed on my printer, perhaps it's because there is an overspray from the ink in the cartridge.

 Rather than trying to figure out and test all of these I recently decided to just combine using a rollerball pen as a sketch function to get the text and frame drawn around the text.  What I was trying to do is get labels that I could stick on the backs of my handmade cards and other things I make.
I love using full page labels to make my stickers, See postings here, and here, and here.   I get mine from online labels and it's very inexpensive and rather than use the ink in my printer to do this I decided to let the cameo do the work with a rollerball pen.  I wrapped a little washi tape and then covered with a foam pen holder (cheapies from Dollar store) which I had cut to fit pen, then inserted into regular cameo blade holder and adjusted so when the mechanism came down, the pen would make its mark.  I thought it was amazing that such small text came out so well, better than my printer.  The font I used is one I got in one of my old Hungry JPEG bundles, called Azurra Script--

The following pictures show you the results and I am quite happy with them what I did was turn on and off the various elements that I wanted to either sketch with the rollerball pen and then turn those elements to "No Cut"  when it finished, IMPORTANT, do not unload the mat!   I had a slight offset around the frame that was made "uncut" in the sketching phase, and after that was completed, I set the text and frame to "NoCut" and set the offset line to Cut, and using the Silhouette Settings for white sticker paper, and adding the ratchet blade set at 8, I then "sent to silhouette" (remember, mat was never unloaded),   The pictures below show the results

making inexpensive washi tape using printer and Silhouette Studio Designer Edition

Happy NEW Year everyone  here are two videos showing new ways to use the Silhouette software with Designer Edition.  Sorry for 2 videos but I forgot a few important items covered in Part 2 and have not found good way (and the time) to edit them into one video

Very Inexpensive multimedia background papers

In my continuous play and experiments, esp with background papers, art journaling techniques and finding new uses for silkscreens, stencils, etc I have made a neat discovery.

I bought a package of full page shipping labels very cheaply from Amazon $12.97 for 100.  I thought it would be great to paint and then peel off back and already have adhesive on the paper.  Some I did just this way, then I could cut into shapes, or whatever to use as needed.  Also could gelli plate print them.  Then, purely by accident, I painted the wrong side, that is the part that peels away with no adhesive on it.

I  had fun using credit card to spread paint, underneath was a texture sheet which leaves nice texture as I go.  Also, very economical since only a thin layer of paint is used when spreading with credit card.  I liked it , especially the nice satiny finish of the paper until I realized it was the peel away part (maybe plasticized? somewhat?)  It had a nice feel when the paint was on it.  Then I thought, these labels are printable with either ink jet or laser, but perhaps not the wrong side?  what if I printed something on it, would inkjet ink stick?  I have an Epson WP4530 inkjet printer, so I set it up for thick paper and used the back loading tray and printed these gals on it.

Then I thought what if I painted the other (right) side, would I mess up this side in anyway, i.e., bleeding through, etc.  I knew the other side was the one that would have a full coverage of adhesive, but this one would not, and to use I would have to add adhesive.  So I painted away, even using some embossed cardstock underneath to create some texture and here is the resulting other side with silver paint scraped onto plastic stencil as well.

Next shows when I fold over, the other paper o the other side with no bleeding through, although I did get a little on the edge as I scraped and moved page onto some paint, nothing major though