Crystal Apparels

MAKE CUSTOM RHINESTONE TEMPLATE WITH ANY DESIGN Source: Silhouette America Blog by Alissa Lines

Have you ever wanted to turn a regular cut design into a rhinestone template? In just a few simple steps you can create gorgeous rhinestone designs out of any shape.

In this example I chose to use an adorable font called ZP Ask Me Anything by ScrapNfonts from the Silhouette Design Store to create a monogram on a journal for one of my daughters. The techniques shown here can be applied to any shape or font.

You Will Need:

Rhinestone Starter Kit
Pick-Me-Up® Tool
Silhouette CAMEO® (or Curio or Portrait)
Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition (or Silhouette Studio® Business Edition)
“ZP Ask Me Anything” Font (Design #106585)
Iron (or heat press)
Scrap fabric or lightweight towel

STEP ONE: CHOOSE SIZE AND EFFECT FOR RHINESTONES

(1) Open a new file in Silhouette Studio®.

(2) If you’re using a font, type your word or letter. (In this case I typed the letter “C.”)

I’m going to be turning this “C” into a rhinestone template, but you can turn anything into a rhinestone template. To do this, we’re going to use the Rhinestone Tool. Here’s how:

(1) Open the Rhinestone tool pane (shown below).

From the Rhinestone panel, you can choose the size, effect, and spacing that will make your design look as close to the way you want it as possible. If it isn’t quite right you can make a few quick changes easily.

(1) Choose the rhinestone size you want. (I used 10ss.)

At the bottom of the Rhinestone tool panel, you can see how many rhinestones you will need for your project. You can see from the sample below how the different sizes of rhinestones look in the design. This will vary according to the size of your design.

(2) Play around with the size to see which way you like it the best.

You will also want to test the rhinestone effects. Choose which effect best fits the style you want for your project. Once you have the size and effects of the rhinestones situated, it’s time to play with the spacing.

STEP TWO: SPACE, PLACE, AND SMOOTH RHINESTONES

The spacing is set as a default to .039 inches. I would recommend not going lower than .019 inches as you will need some space in between each rhinestone.

To change the spacing between the rhinestones on your artboard:

(1) Drag the slider bar to the right to increase the spacing.

(2) Drag the slider bar to the left to decrease the spacing.

Or too increase/decrease the spacing, you can manually type in the number.

Now is also a good time to size your design. Simply select a corner and drag to re-size your design.

Notice how the layout of the rhinestones changes according to the size of your design. Keep in mind the final size you want the design to be for your project. And if you are not completely happy with the position of your rhinestones , you can easily re-position single rhinestones to where you want.

To change the position of individual rhinestones:

(1) Select your design.

(2) Right click on the design (CTRL + click on a Mac®).

(3) Select “Ungroup” from the drop down menu.

(4) In the Rhinestone tool panel, select “Release Rhinestones.”

Now you can select individual rhinestones and move to desired position.

Remember to leave a space in between each rhinestone, otherwise your template won’t work.

You can also smooth out design by adding extra rhinestones:

(1) Select “Single Click.

(2) Place new rhinestones where you want.

Once the design looks the way you want, select the whole design and group it back together. You do this similarly to how you separated the rhinestones—just reverse the order.

(1) Right click on your design.

(2) Click “group” from the dropdown menu.

Now you can move your design as one.

STEP THREE: CUT AND TRANSFER RHINESTONES

This is where you will need your Rhinestone Template Material. I like to use as little material as possible so I have extra for other projects. Be sure to give yourself a cushion by cutting your template material a little bigger than your design.

To cut Rhinestone Template Material:

(1) Place the rhinestone template material on your cutting mat. Make sure that the cut screen and actual mat and material line up the same direction.

(2) Load mat into Silhouette.

(3) Open the Silhouette cut window and select rhinestone material.

(4) Select “Send to Silhouette.”

To prepare and adhere rhinestones to your project (in my case, a personalized journal):

(1) Pull cut template material from backing.

NOTE: The template material is very sticky on the back so weed any circles that may be stuck as you go.

(2) Carefully place the template material on the rhinestone backing board and pour rhinestones on the template material

(3) Use the rhinestone positioning brush (included in the Rhinestone Starter Kit) in gentle circular motions to place the rhinestones.

This is where the Pick-Me-Up® tool is so useful, because you can use it to place rhinestones in any empty openings

(4) Carefully place transfer tape over the rhinestones.

This can be tricky, so be patient. The trick is to place from one side to the other without raising the tape. Or go from the center. And press down to secure the rhinestones to the tape.

(5) Peel the transfer tape from the template material, removing the rhinestones from the material.

With your rhinestones now perfectly in place, you can transfer your design on your project. Don’t forget to press the rhinestones in place firmly.

STEP FOUR: ADHERE RHINESTONES TO PROJECT SURFACE

Now that you’ve got the perfect rhinestone placement, it’s time to put your design on your project. To adhere your rhinestones to your project surface: