Cutting Masks & Stencils

[La Fonz]

Does anyone use their Silhouette or Cameo to cut masks & stencils?

Since stencils to match stamps have become so popular, I'm thinking I want to do this.

Once an image is stamped, scanned, imported into the Silhouette software & traced, you should be able to use the tracing to cut a mask & stencil. I'm thinking a tiny internal offset would be needed to cut a mask & a bit of an external offset to cut a stencil. Wondering if anyone has figured out what the offsets should be.

Has anyone tried this? What do you cut a mask from? I have Eclipse Tape that I could affix to cardstock to cut out.

What material do you use to cut a stencil? I'm thinking those clear Mylar dividers would be like the commercial ones that match stamps. Anyone have cut settings for Mylar?

[shazsilverwolf]

I've been using OHP film to cur stencils from, just using normal paper settings. Not sure about your offsets, I've just been making stencils of shapes etc.

[poppydarling]

You could use the positive and negative of stamp die cuts to mask and stencil. Might be simpler? Or have you tried that already? If you cut out of sturdy card stock you'll get at least a few uses out of it…

[BohemianBelle]

I got a pack of 12" x 12" Mylar off Ebay and that is what I cut my stencils out of. However, I'd like to find something a little thinner. I worry that I'm killing my blade.. lol

[lharnish]

I haven't specifically made stencils for stamps but I have used overhead projection sheets for stencils to paint on wood objects and I cut them with my Cameo. Because overhead projection sheets are becoming "old school" and everyone is using projectors hooked up to laptops, many offices are throwing unused boxes out. They're not overly expensive to buy at Staples as well.

These blog posts might help:

Making Stencils on Your Silhouette

Acetate in the Silhouette Cameo - Finding Time To Create

Hope this helps :-)

[toodme]

I use overhead projection sheets or a stencil film purchased from amazon.
I never considered trying to create a stencil from a stamped image. This intrigues me. I would love to hear your results!

[La Fonz]

Leslie, thank you for the helpful blog links on cutting stencils & acetate.

In my online search for info I came across the Scan n Cut by Brother.
Here's a video demo
[URL][URL]
Yikes! She scans & cuts with same machine. Makes a mask & stencil from just one cut as poppydarling suggested. No offsets for either.

When I make a mask by hand, I always cut a bit inside the image to prevent a halo so I thought an inner offset would be necessary. I would assume you would have to cut a bit outside the image to be sure you get your image colored without a halo inside the image if you are using it as an overlay stencil for coloring an image.