More Scout Frames...(and how to change them)

I have had a few requests lately for help with changing the Scout frames I did last year. I originally designed an Eagle Scout frame for my son's display table at his Eagle Scout ceremony - here is a LINK to that post.



Above you can see the table in the reception hall and below is a photo of one version of that frame.



At the same time, I also made a plain fleur-de-lis version of this frame (here is a LINK to that post).



Well, one thing led to another and I had a request for a Boy Scout frame so I did that...



Then a request for a Cub Scout Frame...so I did that...well, you get the picture!

In the past few days I have helped Leslie with the Cub Scout ranks and also had a request for a Cub Scout Frame in an 8 1/2 x 11 format for some albums a Cub Scout Den had already created in that size.

I am posting links to download the files for all the variations of the Scout Frame that I have done and here is a quick lesson on how to change these (in case, somehow, we missed a rank!).

Start by opening the file you want to adapt and do a "save as" to create a new file (name it with the new rank you will be adding/changing).



Then, select the words that need changing and check the Shape Properties Box to see the size of the letters. Move your cursor to the left side of the mat (by double clicking or using the arrow keys on your keyboard) and type in the new word after setting the sizing slider bar at the proper size.

Grab the new word by the free move handle (top left) and place it over the original word. At this point you may want to use the single direction stretch arrows (bottom center and left center) to perfectly size the word to fit in the space. When you have it adjusted to fit the space nicely you can delete the original word. Be sure that you check weld on the new word. For these frames I make sure that the top and bottom of the letters are touching the "bars" but I do not nudge the letters together - I think it is easier to read this way. I also adjusted the large fleurs-de lis on the sides of the word, making smaller ones that are welded to the bottom bar only since the word I added is longer than the one it is replacing and there was not enough space to leave them as they were.




If you follow these steps and then preview, you will probably get something that looks like this - the welds are not operating as they did in the original frame. This is due to the way the software reads the design. You need to build from the center outward and make sure that the outer frame is added last.

In this case, since you simply substituted a word, the upper bar of the frame is "older" than the new word so you need to replace it or "burp" the design. (The term "burp" was coined by a Cricut Message Board member, by the screen name of sboz and it really helps if you think of this process as "letting the air out")



Select the bar at the top (as shown in the screen shot above) and then click Copy-Delete-Paste. The buttons are shown in the screen shot below.



By replacing the bar with an identical bar that is "newer" (added after the word) you have restored the order of elements for welding.



Above is a screen shot of the top of the frame after "burping" the design.



Make sure that your new letters are slightly overlapping the bars above and below - on my test cut I realized that I had moved them a bit too low. so the letters did not connect at the top (I have corrected this on the file I am sharing). You could use it this way but the frame will be a bit stronger and easier to stick down if the words are welded top and bottom.



Here is one more photo of the resized Cub Scout frame - I needed to change the length of the bars and adapt the numbers and placement of the fleurs-de-lis to get this to work.

This is a full sheet design and, depending on your individual machine, you may have to adjust the placement of the paper on your mat slightly - you can read about the issue I had and how I worked around it in the original Eagle Scout post (LINK)

I hope this explanation has helped - let me know if you have more questions. Have fun with your scouts!

Frame files:

Tiger Cub

Cub Scout 8 1/2 x 11

Cub Scout

Wolf Scout

Bear Scout

Webelos Scout

Boy Scout

Eagle Scout

One More Time - Boy Scout Frame

Well, I did an Eagle Frame, and a plain Fleur-de-Lis Frame and a Cub Scout frame so, by yet another request, here is one more - a Boy Scout Frame.

Remember to follow the directions from the Eagle Frame post linked HERE to have the paper positioned correctly for this full 12 x 12 page cut.

If there are any more variations you are needing - let me know! You can also change the frame yourself by downloading the file, doing a "save as" and eliminating the words or shapes you don't want and then adding in the ones that suit your project. You will need to delete the side of the frame you are working on and then add it back when you have your other elements added (in other words - "burp" the design).

Here is one more photo showing the use of the background filler which is on page two of the file.



Boy Scout Frame

Cub Scout Frame

A Cricut Message Board member contacted me because she was having some trouble adapting my Eagle Scout Frame (see post on April 5th - LINK HERE)

I revised the frame and sent it to her but I thought that there might be many others who would be interested in this version of the frame (after all there are many more Cub Scouts than Eagle Scouts) so I am posting it today for others to use.

Please use the link above and read the directions on the placement of the paper to make sure that your cut works correctly with even outer bars around the frame.

Cub Scout Frame

Eagle Scout Frame

Both of our sons have become Eagle Scouts. The Eagle Scout ceremony is followed by a reception where it is customary to have displays of each boy's scouting "career." Our younger son was the only boy in his year to stay in scouting and reach Eagle rank in our Troop so, even though he is a freshman in college, his ceremony will be next month along with two boys a year younger who will graduate from high school in June.

I started to work on getting the display items together and thought of designing a frame for his photo the day he passed his Board of Review - I will see if the families of the other two boys would like to have one to display their portraits. I am sure there are some readers of my blog who have or know of a boy becoming an Eagle Scout so I am sharing the frame .cut file here.

I first used DCWV (Die Cuts with a View) paper which has a white core. While I do like the texture of this paper I do not care for the white core. It cracked when I folded my bags (see post on Easter bags, March 29th) and I found that with an intricate cut like this, some of the white inevitably shows.

Here is a close up photo of the cut on the DCWV paper still on the mat - please notice that the paper is not placed exactly in the corner but offset a bit lower and to the right to compensate for the "uncuttable" area on the mat (more about this in my next blog entry)



and on red background paper



a closer view is below - even when the cuts are cleaned you get some white showing...



Here is the DCWV frame on white paper - the white core is less distracting when it can blend with the background.



I prefer the frame cut from solid core paper - I didn't have quite the shade of blue I wanted on hand but here is a photo of the cut.



I also did a background filler for this size of frame, it is on page two of the file. Here is the frame cut in a medium blue solid core card stock with the filler behind the design



Here is the opposite effect, using the leftover center square to fill that area and white card stock for the page behind the frame.



If you have an Eagle Scout many congratulations to you and your son - as we all know "it takes a village" (and in particular some very supportive parents) for a boy to accomplish everything required to reach this milestone!

Eagle Scout Frame