Add markers to get the details

Sometimes on a frame you are welding elements that have internal details - these are lost when the frame is cut due to the welding process (a feature of this first version of the software that could possibly be changed in the future?). For most of the frames I have done so far this was not an issue because they were shapes, but the little animals and train on the baby frame seemed "blah" without the details.

So, I got out my markers and decided to try to get some definition on these elements.

To do this I needed to first create a second mat with just the shapes so that I could have the markers draw them but not the frame. This is easy but a bit time consuming. First you need to create a new page by clicking on the page icon with the little "sun" at the top of the column of buttons on the left or selecting "New Page" in the "View" menu on the top bar. Then click on each item and "copy" it, move to the new page by clicking the tab for it and paste the item on the new page. Name your page by right clicking anywhere on the page and highlighting "untitled page" in the box - typing the page title and either clicking on Change Page Name or just "enter."
Repeat this process until the items are all showing on page 2. You also need to uncheck "weld" to get the details to reappear.

Here is a screen shot of the new page after all the copying, pasting and "unwelding"



Here is the preview with all mats showing



Here is the frame on the mat after drawing and cutting.



You can either draw, then cut or cut, then draw - some people recommend cutting first to be sure that the blade won't tear the slightly wet paper but you can also just let the paper sit for a while if you draw first. The important thing is to be very careful when you change the marker for the blade and vice versa.

When you change the blade after the first cut be careful not to bump the housing and be sure to press "load paper" again to put the housing back into starting position - this helps avoid misalignment by getting the machine to start from "neutral" and go to the precise spot where it cut before.

The issues I had with the results have to do with the thickness of the lines. Normally, if you are using the markers to outline a cut there is a thick line drawn and the blade cuts in the center of that line. The end result is a consistent line. Here some marked lines are cut and some are not so there is an inconsistency with the thickness as you can see in this photo.



I think it looks a bit out of balance but I do like the definition the marker adds overall.

This time I left the smoke bubble in the outer rim of the mat (just removed from the mat carefully and did not "punch" it out).



So, this is another option for you. I will link the revised version of the file here if you want to download it (you could also just follow my directions above and try to do it yourself).

Revised Sweet Baby frame with Zoo Balloo

I also separated the elements on the other version of this frame but have NOT tested this with the markers - I'll post it here if you want to try it.

Revised Sweet Baby frame with Animal Kingdom

One more set of Grid fillers - more troubles with George!

So here is the last set of grid fillers I have done so far - these are done in George using the silhouette feature and, once again, George is giving me angst!

For some reason the silhouette causes trouble and does not cut evenly - if you read my long sad tale about the doily design from February 1, you will know something about this. However - I do believe that the file will be OK for you to cut if your George cartridge is not acting up on you!

Same old problem with off center cuts on silhouette - made even worse by the small size and the use of markers - you can see here...






So, no guarantees - and let me know if yours works out as planned - I think I will abandon George on silhouette for the time being. I did think these would be nice as overlays for a photo if your subject was centered nicely in the shape.

Grid fillers with silhouette shapes

Grid Fillers used for Cards

Here are some more of the grid fillers - these are all done using just George and once again I chose to use the markers to outline them first. Here is another photo showing some of the flipped over so you can see how they look without the marker (obviously I couldn't flip the ones with works and have them make sense!):



These could be used on pages but are also great for cards - here I have just used the "predone" words from George but you can easily make up your own. I am planning on keeping a stockpile of these ready for putting together a quick card when I need one (using ready made cards and envelope blanks).

For the card I ran the cut design through the Xyron and placed a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 square over the back - this left a sticky 1/4 inch border all around that was adequate to stick it to the card. I had to rub off lots of stray adhesive and I think next time I'll just use my Creative Memories Precision Point adhesive pen which works great on small cuts.

Grid fillers with words for cards

More about the Grid Fillers and Markers

These are simple grid fillers that can be used on page or cards. I wanted to show how they looked with markers and without - for these simple shapes I like the markers but it is an individual preference and would vary by layout.

So here they are on the mat:



Here they are on a light background - marker side up:



And here they are flipped over so you can see how they look without the markers (obviously a few of them look a bit backwards - I guess it depends how you look at the moon!):



Grid fillers with solid shapes

A very versatile design tool

I have a tendency to like things to be symmetrical and often do scrapbook layouts in a grid style. I have used paper squares as "fillers" but got to thinking that I could make decorative "blocks" to fill in my layouts according to season, mood, message, etc. So, off to my trusty Design Studio software to try a system for making these.

Thanks to the talented Cricut message board members who figured out early on how to weld items within a frame - and having become an expert at "burping" my designs, I developed a grid with four 4x4 inch square, four 2x4 inch rectangles and one 2 inch square. Then I tried filling them with items that I could imagine using for layouts and cards. This is a fun project to work on while watching TV - once you get into the rhythm of adding in the center and deleting and then adding back one side of the block you can do lots of these. I made my grid and then I can do a "save as" to start a new group of blocks. I put them at a small distance from each other so I could use blocks of different colors for the items as I wanted them.

I tried first without markers in a dark orange ( at the top of this post) and then went back and did more in a lighter orange with the markers. The results are nice both ways but, in most cases, I think I prefer the marker outline - it makes the designs pop. Here is an example with the marker outlines - here they are on the mat:



and here you can see them on a light background:



If you cut a full sheet of 12 x 12 paper you will have a frame left when you take these off the mat.


Placing this on a black page and adding back the first elements I cut gives this result - but what about your photos?



Remove some elements in any combination leaving some space for your photos and journaling.



This idea can be adapted for various photos sizes. You can also lay out your photos without the full grid and use these as page titles or to even out your designs.

Grid Fillers - Autumn

Using markers with CDS

Here are a couple of designs I have done where I used the Cricut Color markers to outline the CDS design before cutting it. I think they are very effective but I like them a bit better on the larger one - on the small one they blend together a bit too much. More about each of these designs in separate posts.