I’ll be the first to tell you—I’m in LOVE with the Silhouette Mint™! I started playing around with it the other day and have already mastered how to make awesome custom stamps in less than half an hour! The Mint is so easy to use and perfect for whipping up custom stamps for any occasion. ‘Tis the season for thank you notes for all the holiday gifts you received this year, so I thought it would be perfect to make a Mr. & Mrs.  stamp that I can use to address all my envelopes.

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

 

Make sure your Silhouette Mint™ software is installed! This is separate from your CAMEO/Curio/Portrait software. If need be, you can download the newest software and get instructions HERE.

 

Step One

 

Plug in your Mint to AC power and connect it to your computer, and turn the Mint on. Then open up Mint Studio™ and select an option. If you already have a design in mind or are doing simple text, you can hit ‘Design’ or ‘Library’ to check out the designs you already own. If you are looking for something new, you can hit ‘Store’ and be taken to the Silhouette Design Store where you can purchase a new design.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Two

 

When you open in a new project in Mint Studio™, you need to choose what size stamp you will be working with. Since I wanted a big square stamp, I decided to go with a 30 mm x 30 mm. Choose the size that corresponds to your stamp by selecting it from the Stamp Settings menu on the right hand side. This interface will automatically come up when you start a new project, but if you need to change your stamp size once you’ve already started, click the stamp sheet icon, which is on the top of the software and three icons over from the right.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Three

 

Once you buy a new design, you can hit the little book icon on the left side of your Design Software, where you can look at your recent downloads. I found a cute little Mr. & Mrs. design. Once you find the image or text you want, double click on it for it to be opened in your design space.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Four

 

Drag and drop your image until if fits within the white stamp space and drag the corners until it is the size that you want. Most designs that have solid black and white imaging will be ready to go from this point, but if you want to mess around with the texture of the stamp, you can add extra texture by choosing a filter from the Stamp Filters menu, which is the little paint palette icon at the top right of the software. For this project I decided to just stick with standard for a crisp black and white design.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Five

 

When you are satisfied with your design, hit the Send to Mint leaf icon at the very top right of the screen. Hit ‘Start Mint’ in the menu on the right hand side first and then insert your stamp sheet right side up with the pointed arrow going into the back side of the machine.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

The Mint works so quickly! Within seconds, my stamp had popped out on the other side, fresh and pretty.

 

 

 

 

Step Six

 

Take your stamp sheet and bend the bottom half of the cardboard back along the dotted line. Remove the black stamp portion out from the cardboard sheet. Remove any plastic sheeting that sticks to the front of your stamp.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Seven

 

Slide the stamp mount into the blocky stamp base until it clicks into place.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Eight

 

Remove the stamp’s protective cap, revealing a paper protective liner beneath. Carefully peel back the liner and then place your stamp onto the stamp block.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Step Nine

 

Using Mint ink, carefully squeeze some ink and trace over the lines in your design. I used black for the ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ portion and magenta for the ‘&’. Be careful to not let colors mix! Let sit for about five to ten minutes for the ink to absorb into the stamp.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

mr-and-mrs-mint-stamp-8

 

 

Step Ten

 

After five to ten minutes have passed, use a scrap piece of paper to test your stamp and to remove excess ink. Then stamp the included sticker label and adhere it to the top of your stamp block.

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America

 

 

And that’s it! A pretty Mr. & Mrs. stamp that you can use to address all of your thank you notes, letters, wedding invites and more! When the ink runs out, simply re-ink and let it absorb for more stamping fun!

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Mint Stamp | Erica Sooter for Silhouette America