Crafting with Andie: Designing and Making Cloud Earrings

I'm a Senior Data Consultant who works every day with data in Microsoft Azure, commonly referred to as "the cloud". I also like making geeky things that complement what I do, so I came up with the idea of creating some cloud earrings.

I started with a simple teardrop shape earring design which I had obtained from Make It Create.

I chose this one because I liked the shaping and figured I could easily substitute the inner design with my own cloud icon from Power Point. To obtain the cloud icon, open Power Point, click on Insert > Icons then search for "cloud". It will be among the results, as shown below.

Click on Insert to insert the cloud into the Powerpoint presentation. Size it up so that it nearly fills the slide. This will provide a clearer edge when it is sized down to fit earrings.

Right-click on the enlarged cloud icon, and select copy.

Switch to Silhouette Studio and press ctrl-v to paste it into the design area. The cloud icon comes along with a white background which will have to be removed before it can be used in the design. The image will also have to be traced.

Click on the Trace icon in the right-side button bar.

Click on Select Trace Area.

Draw a rectangle around the cloud to select the area. Upon releasing the mouse, the cloud will turn yellow indicating that Silhouette Studio has recognized the cloud shape as what you want traced.

Click on Trace in the lower part of the Trace Panel.

The gray box will disappear, and the cloud icon should now have a faint red outline around it. Move the Powerpoint icon image away, leaving the cut line behind.

The original Powerpoint icon may be deleted a this point. Select the cloud then in the main menu select Object > Simplify to remove extra points from the cloud. Most Powerpoint icons are relatively "clean" images, but it's still a good idea to Simplify it.

Now, the teardrop will need to be modified to remove the original inner design since all we need from it is the teardrop shape outline. Duplicate the original teardrop and select a different color for it such as red so that it will be easy to see the difference between the two copies.

Resize the red version to fit inside of the original. Its edges should align with the inner edges of the original design as shown above. Move the red version aside.

Right click on the original and select Release Compound Path. Repeat with Red version. Move the two designs to the side. This will leave behind some little piece which had formed the inner cut out. Delete those pieces leaving just the filled in teardrops. (if you wish to keep the pieces, select the set and move it off of the mat)

Center the red teardrop over the black one.

The thick black line is what we want to keep and the red teardrop is now the shape we need to remove. Select both. Open the Modify panel. Click on Subtract All to remove the red shape from the black shape.

Select just the red shape and delete it, leaving behind the teardrop outline.

Click on the cloud and move it over the teardrop. Resize it to fit comfortably inside of the teardrop.

Select both the teardrop and the cloud. Right-click and select Weld.

The cloud will turn black to match the teardrop indicating that now both shapes have become a single shape.

Resize the design to about 2.25" tall, which is ideal for earrings. Copy the design and paste the second copy next to the first. Right-click on one of them and choose Flip Horizontally to create a mirrored pair.