Simple Stars from Tag Shapes (revisited)

I was asked a question by a reader that reminded me of the tag stars I did a couple of years ago.  These were originally done with punches but I designed some files to make them easier to do and less bulky since you don't have to put some many layers together.

I will just post a few photos and the links to the original posts for those of you who were not reading my blog back in 2008. 

You can see in this screen shot that these are done by simply overlapping silhouetted tag shapes to create a new image.  There is some quick hand trimming of the points involved (you could actually add shapes to the file to make these cuts but I didn't bother because they were such simple snips).

This was the first star I designed using a tag from the Wedding Cartridge.  You can read more about it at this link Tag Star.

The second variation was done with the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge and the post can be found here Tag Star 2.

A third variation was adapted to a six point snowflake (there are two overlapped in the image above) and can be found here Tag Snowflake.

Now that I am thinking about these designs again I have a few ideas about more variations that can be made with some of the more recent cartridges.  I need to find more hours in the day!

We have both of our sons home now and Tuesday turned out to be a crazy day with so much to do before Christmas.  I hope to get a chance to post the scalloped tag  file later in the day but I wanted to make sure all of you who subscribe have something in your in box Wednesday morning. 
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Variation on the Gypsy Star Card

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to test the file for the card I posted yesterday.  I actually took a bit of a break today and did not have a chance to send the file out - but I did retest it and it is ready to share.  I left the first page in the file - that page shows the element I used and has my original design which I resized to fit an A2 card.

I don't think I explained yesterday that the star cuts on page three of the file could be layered on the card for another effect so I put together another card to demonstrate this today.

Here is the card base after you cut and score the card.

The layer is made from the same star that I used for the cut out in the card so it will fit perfectly on top of the cut out.  You do have to pay attention to align the layer to the star because the design is not perfectly symmetrical.  Just try various points at the top until you find the perfect fit and then put a pencil dot on the back of the top point to help you find it again once you have added adhesive.

I usually add a liner to make this type of card more practical for sending a message.  I cut a piece of good quality, text weight paper at 8 1/4 x 5 1/4 and fold it in half.  Then I put a strip of adhesive near the fold on the back of the card.

I place the folded paper on the front side of the card, making sure that it is centered and aligned with the fold.  Then I fold the back of the card to the front and press along the fold to be sure that the liner is adhered.

This method gives you plenty of room to write, stamp or print your message and preserves the impact of the cutout image on the front of the card.

Here is another view from the top.

The contrasting star has a nice impact but could be "fancied up" a bit - with pen stitching, Stickles...

...or gems!  I added these tiny diamonds at the tips of the star and a slightly larger gem at the center of the star.

You can download the .gypsy file HERE.


I wasn't online much today so I am a little behind on answering email and comments.  I'll do my best to catch up tomorrow.  I hope you are enjoying the long weekend.



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Star Card - Hiding Contours with the Gypsy

I have been having fun exploring the "new" Gypsy.  The features that have been added are some that I have been waiting for ever since the launch last year.  I designed these stars and a card with a star cutout using the Gypsy and the two exclusive Gypsy cartridges.

I started with this kite shape on the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge.

With a little bit of calculation (yes - math is helpful sometimes!) I determined that I could create a five pointed star by rotating the shape in 72 degree increments (360 degrees divided by 5 points equals 72).  Then I aligned the shapes, using the outer edges as a guideline.

For the star shapes, I welded the five kites together.  With the Gypsy, I was able to group the five shapes (even though they were at different degrees of rotation) and then quickly copy and paste ("duplicate" in Gypsy lingo) the entire group.  This ability to group images that have been individually altered is one of the "missing" capabilities in Design Studio.

Here are the test cut stars - I was thinking of the Fourth of July when I made these but the stars could also be used for Christmas.

I used the "hide contour" function to create this card with the star cutout.  In order to make this sort of design you just have to look at shapes and imagine the cuts that would result if the outline line of the design was not cut.  This is one of my favorite types of card.

This screen shot is from Design Studio - the light blue lines are the hidden lines.  On the Gypsy, the hidden lines will be gray.

I originally chose this shape to use for the base of the card.  It appears to be a rectangle but I noticed it looked a bit odd on the Gypsy screen.

After I cut out the card and put it on my Scor-Pal to score I found out that the shape is definitely a bit off kilter.  So I went back to look for a true square or rectangle that I could use to cut the card shape.

I found this square on the Gypsy Font cartridge (I was trying to create something that could be cut by anyone with a Gypsy and the two Gypsy cartridges are preloaded on every Gypsy).

I was able to trim the first card I cut to even up the sides making it just a bit smaller than standard A2 size.  When I substituted the square from the Gypsy Font cartridge and cut the card again the size and shape were correct.

To hide a cutting line with the Gypsy, select an image and then tap on the icon that looks like two corners at the lower right of the group of buttons.  The button can be selected if there is a purple line showing.

This screen will appear - the image is shown with one of the lines or contours in red.  If you want to hide that line, tap "hide" on the right.  If you change your mind the button will say "show" when a hidden line is selected and you can tap it to bring the line back.  You can use the "prev" and "next" keys to scroll through the lines or click on the top left silver button to select each line in turn and then hide the ones you do not wish to cut.

Another great improvement in this Gypsy update is the ability to name the tabs for the layers and to "turn off " the layer so the images will not show while you are working on another layer.  To do this you simply click the little eyeball on the tab to open or shut it.  You can drag the tabs back and forth to rearrange the layers (the tab that is being dragged will turn green).  The blue tab is the active tab and the pink tabs are the inactive tabs.

To label the tab, put your stylus on the tab without moving it and two choices will pop up - rename or delete.  Rename will take you to the keyboard screen to type the tab name.

I have transferred the file back and forth between the computer and the Gypsy using the Gypsy Sync.  I believe that the file is correct but one time I needed to redo the grouping and weld for the star cutouts.  I am happy to share the file but I would like to ask for someone to test it before I put the file up for general downloading just to be sure that everything is working correctly after the transfers.  You can just leave a comment or send me an email or message on Facebook.


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Eight Pointed Stars

Last October I did a file for a Tag Star using a tag from the Wedding cartridge (here is a LINK to the post) - these are formed by overlapping silhouetted tag shapes and trimming the points to produce a star shape. The photo at the left is the first tag star I designed.


In December, I did two additional versions by request of a reader, using the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge (here is a LINK to the post for the star and a LINK to the post for the snowflake).

I recently had a request from another reader for a tag star similar to one she had seen on a card - I don't have the photo to post here (and I couldn't use it since it isn't my photo) but the card had a double layered eight pointed star made from diamonds which met directly at the center. If I can get a link to the original design I will try to add it to this post.

At first I thought this would be a simple star to put together, but then I remembered that the diamonds available on the cartridges are of an unusual dimension - the angle is larger than 45 degrees so the eight sided version would not work using a predesigned diamond.

I needed to build the design in pieces. Unfortunately, since elements needed to be turned at angles, I could not make this an adjustable design. However, I did spend the time to do it it three sizes and in both George and Plantin Schoolbook so it would be useful to many people. You can even cut this with only the trial version of the design studio software.



Here is a photo of the three sizes of stars these files will produce.

In order to waste less paper, I adapted the design to eliminate most of the extra length on the points so only slight trimming is required. Below is a photo of the stars before trimming - you could actually use them this way if you like the look!



It is easiest to trim the points by using small, sharp scissors and cutting toward the center - first going around the design in one direction...



So the star looks like this...



and then trimming toward the center and going around the star in the opposite direction.

Below is a photo of the remainder of the paper after removing the stars - another interesting design



Due to the slight difference between the uncuttable area on the baby bug mat and the Expression mat, if you try to cut the George file on the Expression you will have to do a bit of trimming.

Below is a screen shot of the star on the baby bug mat



and a screen shot on the Expression mat - notice how the uncuttable border is a bit wider.



For the Plantin Schoolbook file I moved the design but, I know that some people have the Expression and George but not Plantin so you would need to do a small amount of hand trimming - the cut will look like this on the mat



Trim each side on the angle toward the center







and then carefully remove the cut from the mat (I used my favorite wide putty knife for the job).



(all of the above is irrelevant if you cut the Plantin version on the Expression mat!)

Here are some photos of the various sizes and colors layered to give you some ideas....



Two cuts on a card front



Triple layers in two colors



Same sizes layered in two colors - yellow on top



Same sizes layered in two colors - purple on top



Triple layer variations

I decided to adhere vellum to the stars to build an ornament for a card. I used my Creative Memories Precision Point Adhesive and dotted it on the back side of the frame



When the adhesive dried to clear I adhered the stars to some vellum (this was office supply vellum and not as pure white as I would like but I used it for the test version).



Then, once again trimming toward the center, I cut away the excess vellum



When they were trimmed, I gently curved up the edges...



and then placed the smaller one in the center



Here is the unadorned star on a 5 x 7 card..



I first tried putting the layers together with a foam dimensional



However, I thought it was a bit too high and the center moved out of alignment easily, so I decided to use several glue dots on top of one another to adhere the center - this seemed to be more stable.



If you happen to have this paper stack from last year



....you could even try fussy cutting and adhering the stars on top of the printed stars for an interesting effect.



You can go on to add as much or as little bling as you like - be sure to let the Stickles dry completely or you may end up with a few smears (as I did since I was in a hurry to finish this to photograph and post!)



Don't throw away all the little leftover triangles - you can use them for another project!



There are so many possible variations - I'd love to see some of the cards and ornaments you might make using these cuts.

Eight Pointed Star - George

Eight Pointed Star - Plantin Schoolbook