Using Layered Cut Files

Thankful Pumpkins Digital Cut File Juliana Michaels 17turtles

Happy Monday all! I hope you had a great weekend. Fall is coming. At least that is what the calendar says. However, the temperature outside right now says it's still summer. Either way, I thought it would be fun to share a quick tutorial with you about how to use one of my layered digital cut files called Thankful Pumpkins, available in my 17turtles Etsy Shop. These fun layered pumpkins should certainly help get you in the mood for cooler weather, pumpkin spice latte's and falling leaves.

When you first open Thankful Pumpkins Digital Cut File in your Silhouette software this is the image you will see. This file contains 3 titles and 3 layered pumpkins with stems and vines.

Layered Digital Cut Files Tutorial by Juliana Michaels 17turtles

Select the titles and move them off of the main cutting mat area. Did you know that if you move something off of the central cutting mat, that your machine will not cut it?

Select the stems and vines and move them out of the way as well.

Now begin separating the layers of each pumpkin. You will see that each of the pumpkins has four layers that can be separated and cut from different colors and patterns.

Once all of the layers are separated, you can then select which pieces you want to cut from whatever colors and patterns you choose. Group the pieces together that you want to cut from the same thing and keep them on your mat to cut.

WELDING LAYERED CUT FILES

Another option for you, if you don't want to do layers, is to Weld them. There are 2 ways to do this. One is to use your mouse to select all of the layers for that pumpkin.

Welding Layered Digital Cut Files Tutorial by Juliana Michaels 17turtles

Right click on the image with your mouse and select Weld from the list of options.

The second option is to remove the top 3 layers and move them out of the way.

Select both the stem and the bottom layer with your mouse. Then right click and select Weld.

Repeat the welding process with all 3 pumpkins using whichever method you prefer.

BACKGROUNDS

One final use that I want to share is how to create die cut backgrounds. I also shared this same technique last week on my Four Ways to Use Leaves & Acorn Digital Cut File Tutorial. Begin by positioning all of the welded images in a group. Select all of the images and resize them as a group to a smaller size. Right click with your mouse and select Copy and then Paste.

Move this copied image into a different location on the mat. Repeat until the mat is filled and then rotate and move the images around until you like the placement of them.

So there you have it. Some fun new ways to use a layered digital cut file. Does this make you stop and look at your digital cut files a little differently now? I sure hope it inspires you to play with them and use them more too. And don't forget to visit the 17turtles Etsy Shop to check out my latest new cut files.

If you are looking for a sample of my Thankful Pumpkins Digital Cut File in action, check out this Fall layout by the talented Katrina Hunt from Paper, Scissors & Glue.

17turtles Etsy Shop

6 comments

LindaSeptember 8, 2014 at 9:48 AM
Thanks for the great tutorial. You can also print and cut the layers as they are also. Love the colors!
Patricia RoebuckSeptember 8, 2014 at 4:22 PM
Adorable and great tutorial!
Julie Tucker-WolekSeptember 8, 2014 at 8:27 PM
Loveeeeeeee this! Thanks for the tips!!!!!
Cynthia BaldwinSeptember 8, 2014 at 9:32 PM
Thanks for the tutorial! I have a bunch of different cut files, but I know I don't use my Silhouette to its fullest extent. I appreciate these ideas!

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

HUGS!
JULIANA

Using Layered Cut Files | A Silhouette Cameo Tutorial