This cute little guy makes coffee making a little easier in the morning.
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I didn’t have a real solid plan for using my Silhouette Cameo when I bought it. I knew it would be a helpful tool for all my paper crafting, and it would be great boost for holiday crafting (banners, garlands, gift tags, cards).
But I wasn’t sure about the off-season.
Turns out it is helpful around the house as well.
We bought a new coffee maker recently, and while we love it, it does have an annoying issue. The previous coffee maker had a water container that was removable, so you could fill it and hold it up to eye-level in the light to check the level of the water against the markings.
The new one doesn’t have that, so when you pour water in, you have to stoop over to check it again the white markings. This is a bummer early in the morning, for either one of us with our bifocals in a dimly lit kitchen (on purpose – no bright lights before coffee please).
The other day I saw a neat measuring cup that had markings in it you could view from the top. I wished the coffee maker was similarly constructed.
And then I realized I could make it that way. Suzer style 🙂 .
In Adobe Illustrator
I drew up a little crab with his claws outstretched. And a big smile. The file needed to be pretty simple because he’s going to be small. I exported him as a DXF file since the basic version of Silhouette Studio doesn’t support EPS files.
In Silhouette Studio
In Silhouette Studio I set up my cut specs for Silhouette Vinyl, even though I used Contact paper instead. Contact paper is inexpensive and removable, so if I get tired of looking at Mr. Crab each morning I can swap him out. Or, you know, cut an arrow like a normal person or something.
When you buy Contact paper, make sure it’s the kind that has a liner to it – they have a low-tack shelf liner version that doesn’t, and that won’t work in the Silhouette Cameo.
You can cut this without a mat using standard Silhouette Vinyl settings. Or if you are using a scrap piece, place it on the mat, but I find I need to change the blade setting up one click if I do that.
I cut and weeded the crab, and then carefully filled the coffee maker with water to our normal level. And then fixed him on the back side slightly off center so I could see him from above. I didn’t need to use transfer paper to move him – I just used my spatula tool to lift him off the liner paper and then very carefully stuck him so his claws were just under the water level.
The view from above with the crab water level marker showing me how much water to put in. He’s on the outside back of the water container. There is no water in this photo so you can see him more clearly in a photo.
And now coffee making in the morning is a lot easier. And cuter.
Brilliant idea, must admit our water tank is fixed and not easy to judge, although does have markers on the side
So simple, so practical. This is brilliant and the idea could be used for all sorts of hard to see levels, not just coffee machines.
I’m totally with you on the low lights first thing, none of that brightness unless it’s the sun streaming in the window please!
Brilliant idea. You could use this technique for lots of things x
This is so adorable and great idea. Thank you for sharing at Dishing it and Digging it link party. We love having you.