Complex Starbursts with Silhouette Studio

The Silhouette Studio software makes it fun and easy to create intricate original designs.  By mirroring, rotating and arranging simple elements, you can quickly end up with something quite complex and interesting.  I have purchased the designer edition of the software but haven't upgraded my program yet.  All of the designs I have created so far were made with the basic free version of the program.

If you are thinking about getting a Silhouette Cameo, you can download the software from the Silhouette site to "test drive" it.  You can find the download links HERE.

Once I created the starburst shape, it was a simple matter to overlap the points and create a four by three grid of stars.  I sized the group to 5 x 3.75 inches to fit on an A2 card with matting.  Whenever I create a design like this, I also cut a rectangle around the grouped shapes the size of my mat.  This gives me a secondary shape that I can use on another card - I hate to waste anything!

For the first cut I made of this design, I set the material to "heavy cardstock" and checked the box for a double cut.  I do this when I use the Cricut often to insure that the cut will be clean if it is very detailed like this.

The extra cut may have been overkill on the Cameo - some of the tips on this design are a bit ragged and I think it is from the second set of cuts.

I did another cut of the design, just slightly larger (for a 5 x 7 inch card) and set the machine for a single cut - it cut perfectly.  I'll have to try the smaller size with a single cut to see if it was the size of the design or if you really only need one cut.  My blade was set at 5 and I was using a Cricut mat (I have so many of these that I thought it was worth giving them a try since Silhouette mats are not readily available locally).

Here are the two cuts on a plain blue A2 card base - the star grid above and the "offcut" frame below.

I had planned to mat the cut with a layer of white on the card front.

When I looked at the design, I thought the edges needed more definition for the star grid cut.

The frame will work nicely for another card with the white layer cut at the same size (5.25 x 4 inches).  I could also cut a slightly larger piece of white cardstock to get a thin white line for a different look.

You can also take all of the leftover pieces that you remove from the mat to create the negative of the design by adhering the offcut squares in the frame. 

I decided to add an additional layer for a framed effect on my card.  I cut a piece of the same red  cardstock to 4 x 5.24 inches and trimmed the white cardstock to 3.75 x 5 inches.

It is tricky to adhere such a delicate design to the card mat.  You could use spray adhesive but that can be a bit messy (and you need good ventilation for the fumes).  I use LetraTac adhesive for these cuts (you can read my first review of the LetraTac adhesive HERE).  You place the cut on the adhesive and cover the cut with the release sheet, then rub with this little scraper.

When you lift the cut off the adhesive sheet, there are lots of tiny dots of adhesive that will hold the cut to your card or page securely.

Here is the card with the layers and the design adhered.  Of course, I couldn't just leave it like this - it needed a bit of bling!

I added small blue gem stickers to the outer ring of stars, and placed medium size clear gems on the two center stars.  I alternated red and blue stickers in the open spots between designs in the center.

I made this card in red, white and blue for Memorial Day.  I think it would also be pretty with the design cut in green and stickles added to the tips of the stars - they look a little bit like tulips to me!

If you have any questions about how I made the design, please leave a comment and I'll try to answer.  If you have the software already - just start playing with it.  You may be surprised at what you come up with!

After a weekend of beautiful weather we may get rain today - we are lucky that it stayed away for the holiday.  Have a great Tuesday!

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