Genius: Silhouette Pen Holder

Silhouette has a new design for their pen holder, which we carry at MakeitScrappin.com, so I decided to try it out.  I was curious how it would do drawing a sketch I found online...so I went with a DaVinci.  Go big or go home, right?  :)

da Vinci's Mechanical Wings sketch

My version, using my Silhouette Pen-Holder and a fine tipped marker.

First, I had to open the image using Silhouette Studio, and use the "Trace and Detach" function to get my image "drawable."  I played around with the settings until it covered most of the sketch, and then drew in a few lines of my own using the "free draw" tool to cover for areas where the lines had been too hard to capture.  (For how to get images from online turned into cut, print, or draw images, see my post on DIY: Print and Cut Designs. However, you will likely not want to increase the threshold so much for a sketch.) I kept many of the messy edges because it felt right for the look of this old sketch.

So, in using this pen holder, I found that for the type of pen that I was using, it was necessary to make a slight modification.
If I put the pen entirely in, and then locked the pen holder into place on my Silhouette with it locked all the way down (as far down as it will slide in), the pen would drag and leave lines whenever it moved to start drawing from a new place, because the pen was too close to the paper to start with.

I am not sure if this is just because of the type of pen that I had, but this was the case that I had with my regular ball-point pen that I tried this with as well.  But, not to worry, it was EASY to fix, and totally worth the outcome, I think. 

So, do a small test with whatever pen you are using in this pen holder (ball-point, sharpie, etc.) to be sure the pressure will be correct on the paper.  For my pen, I found all I had to do was lock the pen holder in slightly higher than I normally would (i.e. not let it drop all the way in before locking it into place), and it worked perfectly for this particular pen. 

This solved the problem, and I got my sketch, along with some sketched text to go with it.

I added a little color using some colored pencils (by hand) on the final product...

Genius--sketch a little yourself on the finished product, adding a little color from colored pencils.

 ...and voila--a unique and cool looking inspirational image to hang on my fridge, frame for my office desk, and possibly to recreate and send as a post card. (Fun.)  I'm really excited to see this neat little piece of history and inspiration in my room, thanks to my Silhouette, my pen holder, and MakeitScrappin, for makin' it possible! ;)