You know what can put a damper on your day….running out of return address labels! Of all things! They’re one of those things that you don’t really ever think about but still a necessity! I love my self-inking stamps but for smaller envelopes, you just need the good ‘ol labels. Why am I rambling about the most random topic you ask? I ran out of my return address labels the other day but needed some ASAP! Silhouette to the rescue!
I use Silhouette’s White Sticker Paper for a lot of different projects as you saw on the Birthday Card + Sticker Combo project. So, why not use it for practical home needs?
This is one of my favorite projects thus far because I can create a variety of designs I actually like vs getting multiple sheets of one design that I only like for a month. #creativepeopleissues I also love that by using the Silhouette cutting machines I can create labels of any shape!
Supplies needed:
- Visit the Silhouette Design Store for cute designs. You can filter your search by choosing “Print & Cut” under “Cut Type” for ready-to-go graphics. If you choose one that is not Print & Cut, no big deal! You can color in your design using the “Fill Color” and “Line Color” options. For mine, I chose Design ID #181693 and made some modifications which I explain below in the “Follow these steps” section.
- Silhouette White Sticker Paper (remember to also use promo code 10OFF)
- Color Printer
Next, follow these steps to make yourself cute return address labels for real happy mail:
- To re-create the cactus labels I made:
- Open Design ID #181693. Right click and ungroup. I did not use the middle cactus so deleted it from my design.
- You will notice each cactus has a hole at the top because these are originally created as tags. To remove the tag hole, select one cactus and right click and ungroup. This will separate the colored cactus image from the red cut line border (that has the tag hole).
- Right click on the red cut line and choose “Release Compound Path” and delete the inner red circle of the tag hole. See picture below.
- DID YOU KNOW? You can quickly zoom in by holding down ALT on your keyboard and scrolling on your mouse! I love shortcuts! 🙂
- Next, right click again on the red cut line and choose “Edit Points” See screenshot below.
- Delete the points on the tag hole red line to create a border that wraps around the cactus. This may require adjusting the blue point handles, which I’ve circled with a yellow circle in the screenshot below
- For the remaining cactus piece, I removed the red cut line entirely because it was going to serve as “clipart” within my return address label design.
- Next, I created the main label piece by creating a rectangle approximately 2″ wide and 0.5″ tall. I set it off to the side on my drawing area in Silhouette Studio®.
- I resized the cactus pieces until I liked how it looked on the rectangle label. There’s lots of freedom to do whatever you like here! I purposely let my taller cactus overlap the rectangle so that I would have a uniquely shaped label.
- asdfa
- Next, I clicked on both the cactus red cut line and the rectangle. Then, chose “Weld” in the Modify window. See picture below. Tada! You’ve created your label shape!
- Almost there folks, hang in there! Now, time for your address info!
- Add your text. For some fonts (mostly script fonts), you will need to weld so that it becomes one piece.
- Really important step here! Be sure to choose “No Cut” under “Cut Settings.” You simply want this text printed not printed+cut. See screenshot to see where you can find the “No Cut” setting
- Lastly, fill in text using “Fill Color” and “Line Color”…whatever you choose here is whatever your printer will print. A suggestion: I would choose a dark color for your text so that it’s legible since these labels are fairly small.
- Once you’re done creating your label, group it!
- Next, set your Registration Marks so you know where you can actually place your labels. DID YOU KNOW? You can adjust your inset positions to maximize print area? I type in 0.3″ and it defaults to 0.394″ as the lowest value. It’s just faster for me to type “0.3” than “0.394”…time is of the essence friends! 🙂
- Next, duplicate your label and fit as many as you can within the red line. I stress this because your Silhouette machine will only cut whatever is within the red line!
- Ok, this is a neurotic step but save your file! You put a lot of hard work into creating your beautiful return address label so save your masterpiece! In fact, it’s a good habit to save your file as you go!
- Then, print your file on the best setting. This will ensure your small text is crisp and legible!
- Lastly, place your printed file on your cutting mat and send to Silhouette using the “White Sticker Paper” setting. Now you have the coolest return address labels!
