Unexpected Hobbies to Try With Your Silhouette

From the Cameo and the Curio to the Portrait and the Mint, Silhouette's family of creative machines can inspire anyone to become a designer or maker. The hobbies that are enhanced with a Silhouette machine represent a wide range of interests and artistic styles.

Some of the more popular DIY projects and activities for Silhouette fans include personalizing water bottles, vehicles and even T-shirts. You can also create die-cuts, stamps and printed designs for scrapbooking and card-making.

As a more experienced Silhouette user, you have probably already tried most if not all of these popular and basic kinds of projects on your machine.

You might even have attempted some original projects on your own, testing and exploring the capabilities of your Silhouette cutting or stamp-making tool. If you're ready to take your Silhouette skills to the next level and embrace a new hobby, this list includes a few new types of projects for you to try.

These unexpected Silhouette undertakings could also be a way to go from hobby to a full-time business, should you desire.

Planner and Journal Stickers

Despite the prevalence and convenience of digital planning and organizing tools, the physical planner and journal industry continues to thrive. A study from the NPD Group found that sales of these paper tools have actually grown over the last few years, with more than $340 million in annual sales.

One of reasons that physical planners persist is the level of personalization they allow, which most digital programs don't provide.

This has given rise to a hobby that has become an industry all on its own -- planner and journal stickers. From marking to-do lists and special events, planner stickers add a fun style and personal touch for paper planner enthusiasts.

With its "print and cut" feature, the Silhouette Cameo is the perfect tool for designing and creating your own stickers to organize or just decorate your personal planner or journal.

Or, like many others, you can start a business on Etsy or your own website by selling unique themed or functional planner stickers.

Jewelry and Accessories

Another potential Silhouette hobby that you may not have thought of is the crafting of jewelry and accessories. The Silhouette machines, especially the Cameo, Curio and Portrait, offer the potential to design and customize a range of jewelry -- from the beginner level of monogramming round stud earrings to engraving metal and even creating faux laser-cut wood earrings.

Your Silhouette machine is also the perfect tool to create truly one-of-a-kind accessories for yourself, friends and family, and even customers if you decide to monetize your hobby.

Some examples of accessories your machine can perfectly style include acrylic key chains, cut fabric and other materials to make original bows and other hair accessories, and much more.

These small items make perfect, unique mementos and keepsakes for yourself or others.

Custom Magnets

Magnet-making is another hobby that you can take up, thanks to your Silhouette. Your magnet customization projects can range in difficulty depending on your skill and experience level.

On the easier end, you can create a design to print on sticker paper and then apply to a magnet, or you can create a stamp design to stamp on blank magnets. With Silhouette's magnet sheets, you can fully design, print and cut your own completely original magnets.

Silhouette machines open up a world of hobbies and DIY ventures that you may never have considered before now. These three are just a few of the projects that you can try on your Silhouette.

Many more ideas can be found on the Silhouette School site and Silhouette Facebook groups.