How, how, HOW do people cut their own titles??!?!?!?

After you run your item through the Xyron, emboss around the edges with an embossing tool or stylus before you pull apart the layers.

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I use repositionable Xyron adhesive and always outline it with a stylus or pen before removing the top cellophane sheet. It becomes permanent after a couple of hours. The repositionable allows any of that stickiness around or between the letter to just be rolled up with a finger.

I have never used a Silhouette font. I just use what I have on my computer or go to dafont to find a new one. I choose fatter ones so that they cut well. I often use the offset tool on the Sil to make a background for the title.

Maybe try a different brand cardstock that cuts cleaner? Or do you need a new blade?

I don't use my xyron - I use liquid adhesive in a fine tip bottle (for very fine cuts) or just regular tape adhesive. The other thing you could try is adhering the double sided adhesive before you cut, but you'd need to play around getting the right settings for the slightly thicker material.

and when people say trace/outline around the edges - that means all edges - even the interior ones!

After LOTS of frustration with cutting titles on my Silhouette, I can share what works for me...I second what Scrapincin said about making sure the font isn't too thin. I tend to buy fonts in the Silhouette store and look for some that will weld well, but that don't have the super thin bits. (ZP Xiphoid and SNF Party Script are two scripts that I have been using lately and both cut well, although they have a more casual feel than some script fonts.) I like things that will weld mostly so that I am not dealing with individual letters. Sometimes I will shift individual letters over as well to get them to join together in the design.

As for paper, my LSS says that its all about finding a paper that doesn't have too many loose fibres, and that smooth cardstock tends to cut better than textured...for titles I like Recollections brand and American Crafts both (even though the latter is textured), but have cut Bazzill and others as well. I do find that I have to play around a bit to get the sweet spot for my machine with blade depth, speed, etc. If you are smarter than me you will write down these custom settings so that you know when you go to use the same brand of cardstock the next time

For adhering, I just use a repositionable dot adhesive (similar to what Shimelle uses in her videos). It doesn't take a lot to make the title stick and its quick, easy and not too messy. That said, I don't have a Xyron, so that may be the better option for you.

Good luck!

I have a Cricut and I agree, the cardstock makes a big difference. I never use the the DCWV cardstock. I get fuzzy edges. In fact, I gave all of it to the grands to play with.

I like Echo Park's double sided cardstock, as well as those listed above.

Let us know @zingermack, how the press n seal works!

That might work. Great idea!

I have the X Xyron, which has the clear layer on top, and a 5" that does not. It may be older than the X model.

I trace the letters on the clear layer with a pencil before peeling it back, a tip that I learned here. That helps tremendously. I also use a rubber cement pickup square to get any remaining bits of glue.

I hope you get your problems figured out, OP. Cutting titles on the Silhouette is so fun. My favorite cardstock is Recollections from Michael's. It cuts like a dream, and the letters snap right out. Most of the time I will set it to double cut. If I'm using Bazill, I will double cut it twice. Save the Kraft paper for a die cutter. It's too fibrous fro the Silhouette, as others have mentioned. Take some time to get to know how to set the blade (in the software) for various papers. I have the original Silhiuette, and I have to redo my settings for my pink blade each time I open the program.

Good luck! You can do it!

I have the same problem, it's frustrating!

Years ago I bought a 5" Xyron and would run my titles and cuts through it, trace over the protective sheet with a pencil to sort of "cut" the adhesive. That works ok but it's still just more effort than I want to put in. So now I take my cut and use a big Zig glue pen (has about a 1 inch wide tip) and just press and smoosh the glue all over the back of the cut and stick it down. That works better than the Xyron ever did and it's way faster.