Thanksgiving Card with Design Studio

Last weekend I shared a quick and easy way to make Thanksgiving cards using sections of patterned paper from a Debbie Mumm stack - here is a LINK to that post.

Today, on Cutting Above, you can see a card I created using Design Studio. This one is much more complicated but, if you like it, you are in luck!  I have done all of the design work for you and you can download the file from my post on Cutting Above - here is a direct LINK to the post.

You will need Stretch Your Imagination and Wild Card to cut the file but you can alter the file and substitute another font cartridge for the sentiment if you don't have Wild Card.

Be sure to check Cutting Above tomorrow too.  My fellow Design Team member, Happy Happy Joy Joy (one of the fabulous Christmas with the Cricut team), will have a Thanksgiving card to share.

Today I am busy getting some swaps finished up and out the door - I may be back later today but maybe not...  Tomorrow I will post the booklet for Pagoda - the third cartridge I was able to get at Michael's this week.  I have already used it for one of my swaps and this is a definite keeper - check back tomorrow to see why I think so!

Sugar and Spice - in any size you want!

Here, as promised, is the updated file for the Sugar and Spice design which I have recreated using the new technique for "grouping" that I explained in the tutorial I posted on August 21st. Here is a LINK to that tutorial and I will keep a link at the top of my blog to help those that are just getting started on this new method of welding which produces finished designs that can be copied, pasted, resized, rotated, flipped and manipulated in the same way the a single element could be in the prior version of the software.

One IMPORTANT thing to note is that after you complete the design you should not use the "apply" button in the Shape Properties box after you enter new values in the x and y coordinates or in the height and width boxes. The "apply" button is only for kerning and if you hit it after entering new values in any of the top four boxes it will make all of the elements "jump apart" and you will have some difficulty getting the design back to where you started. For this reason, I would suggest saving a backup file with a few copies of any design you make so you can retrieve one if you somehow hit a control that takes your design apart!

I decided that the cupcake needed a bit of bling so I added Stickles glitter glue for the frosting and cut an additional cupcake in the correct size so that I could cut off the "wrapper" portion (I first tried just adding pen lines as you can see below but I thought more contrast was needed to make the cupcake stand out!



To cut the extra cupcake you need to first size the full design by using the handle in the lower right corner and then click somewhere else on the mat, select the cupcake from the celebrations cart and move it over the design, using the handle in the lower right again to size it exactly the same as the one in the welded design.

Select, copy and paste that single cupcake to a new blank page (and be sure to delete it from the page with the full design) then load a mat with paper, cut the cupcake and trim off the "wrapper" portion (just two small snips as there is a design cut at the wrapper level. I do wish that we had the option of keeping some of the detail lines when items are welded - perhaps in another update?



My favorite thing about this technique is the ability to create a design the would work for a small card, a large card and a full page layout by designing once and then saving and copying and pasting to create a new size for your project.



The cards in this photo are 5 x 7 on the left and A2 (4.25 x 5.5) on the right. This is such a time saver, however, I still hope for a true single click "select all" and "group/ungroup" feature to be added to the program.

Sugar and Spice (grouped)

Cricut Design Studio Update 08/08 - Group your designs for resizing and copying ease!

I realized this morning that with the new update to the design studio software we have new options for creating our designs and some can be created in "groups" that can be copied and resized easily.

I made this tutorial to explain this in more detail - I am trying to be complete in my directions but I have not yet had enough time to experiment with all the possibilities and to discover all of the potential flaws. I did spend most of the afternoon trying to get this tutorial prepared so you can enjoy the increased flexibility we have with the newest update of the software. Please add comments and contact me with your problems or solutions as we figure this out - I am very excited by the projects that will be possible now but still have a few "wish list" items.

I am putting this up before I test cut the design I am showing and, as always, will not post the file until I have tested it - so check back later if you would like it. I did test cut the Sugar & Spice and Camp Fun designs that I posted in screen shots last night and will get them up soon - I woke up with the idea about grouping and it has consumed me all day!

So let's get started.

To begin, open a new project and choose the cartridge you would like to use to start your design. With school starting around the country, I chose the phrase "School Days' for use with all of those first days of school photos.

Type the phrase on the mat either by clicking on the virtual keypad or typing on your computer keyboard (be aware that you can't use "shift" on your keyboard).

I used Plantin Schoolbook (for obvious reasons!)

The word will look like this

You will use the "nudge" arrows in the control panel to manipulate these letters. The big improvement with this version of the software is the addition of the up and down arrows for vertical nudging (we have been able to do horizontal nudging since the program was released). Be sure to check the "weld" box.

The first letter or object in any grouping is not "nudgeable" - you move it by using the blue handle in the upper left corner of the light gray outline that surrounds the word (the selection box). Click on the second letter "c" to make it "active" - it is "active" when the outline turns to a dotted line as you can see below

You could just start nudging from the original positions of the letters after entering the letters, but, to make the process quicker, it is easier to using the "Kerning" feature. I usually try -.01 as a value and see how that works out - here is the box where I have entered that value.



Once you click the "apply" button next to the kerning box the letters will look like this



This brings them closer together for you to start "nudging' them around. With the new buttons you can vary the positions up and down and get a more graceful looking weld (some letters don't weld well next to each other and can become difficult to read).

I decided to move the "c" up a bit like this



I continued to use the "nudge" arrows to get the other letters in a pleasing arrangement and then I previewed the welds by click on the "eyeball" in the left column next to the mat - this is how it looked at this point



Now it is time to work on the second word,"Days," which I wanted to place below the word "School." With the previous version of the software, I would need to start another group in a new box but by using the up and down keys, you can keep all of the elements together.

I started by selecting the "D" and nudging it to the left. You can hold down the nudge key instead of repeatedly clicking, but be careful with this. I am not sure if it is the software or my computer, but twice I had the problem of the nudge key "sticking" and I lost control of the design and had to start over!

Here is the "D" nudged into position



As you can see, the other letters "followed" the "D" to the left - they don't seem to follow up and down - just left and right (but I am still figuring things out!). After more nudging the letters are all in position and I checked the welds again



With this method you can create word images similar to the ones on the new Graphically Speaking cartridge, but I have not yet found a way to alter the angle of the letters within the group (and I am not sure if there is one...yet).

Now I was ready to have a bit more fun - so I went to the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge for the schoolbus image (yes - you can mix cartridges and image sizes - that one of the exciting aspects of this program!).

I guessed on the size - two inches was too big so I used the "backspace" key on the keypad to remove it and tried a few other sizes - eventually settling on the one inch bus. As far as I can tell, sizes on images are determined by the height of the item but if you guess wrong and want to change the image use the "backspace" key NOT the delete button on the left which will delete the entire group!




Here you can see the bus when it was first added



and this is how it looks after nudging it down and over a bit and previewing the welds



So far, so good. I decided to add some sort of frame around this image (another improvement - in the earlier version welds inside frames would not work properly and you had to "build" a frame from other elements to get an image welded in a frame). I went to Fabulous Finds and found a label holder (not sure if that is the technical name!) and decided to try it - I thought it might look cute on a cover page for a school album.

Once again, remember to keep the original design selected as you try various additional items and remove them ONLY by using the backspace key on the virtual keypad.

Here is how the mat looked after I selected the frame - at this point you want to be sure that your original design is over to the left side of your mat to allow room to add the frame - if you are having trouble getting it to add in the same box you should change your mat size to 12 x 24 on the pull down view menu to give yourself a bigger working area.




I moved the frame over and to the left and then discovered that it was a bit too large



So I backspaced and changed the size on the slider bar and added a new frame to the mat - this one was more appropriate and, interestingly, it appeared in a position similar to where I had nudged the one I removed and not far off to the right side as the first one did



With some more nudging I got it into position and checked the welds



I now have a completed design - all in one selection box! This means I can use the handles to manipulate everything at once - below you can see the preview preserved on the screen while I pulled the handle to enlarge the design (by the way - if you want to quickly remove the preview use "control L")



I can also copy and paste the design and slide the new one into a different position as you see below



and even resize and rotate this new image!



I hope that this information will help you to create lots of fabulous designs. Please contact me by emailing or commenting if you have any questions. I will continue to work on figuring out ways to use these new features (and I will get those files posted soon!).

This is not the ultimate solution - what I really hope for is the ability to "select all" and "group" the elements - but, all things considered, it is a great improvement!

Full Page (well nearly) Leaf Frame

I am not sure why I have such a fascination with frames but here is another one! I had been working on a frame with lots of flowers using George for the rectangles and keep running into the dreaded "red X" screen when I tried to finish all the welds. I think I read on the Cricut message board that there is a "glitch" with the rectangle on George. So...not to be defeated by a mere cartridge...I thought "there must be a rectangle on Plantin Schoolbook for all the Expression owners, I'll try that!" I chose the leafy branch from Stretch Your Imagination as the decorative element since many people would have it if they purchased the four cartridge bundle version of the Expression. Once again - if you have mastered "burping" your welds you can put in whatever images or words you desire for your pages.

I intended to have the frame exactly 12 x 12 and set up the rectangles to go to the edges of the mat (having lost my fear of going off the mat when I did the lattices in my last post) but my Cricut had a mind of it's own. Here is the screen shot of the design



Looks like it should work but there was a bit of a problem. Here is a photo of the cut design on the mat



If you look closely you will see that the outer rectangles vary significantly in width even though they were all designed to be 1/2 inch wide.

Here are close ups of the corners - upper left (as you look at the CDS screen)




Upper right



Lower left


Lower right



As you can see, the sides vary from just under 3/8 inch to just over 5/8 inch - to get a pleasing result I had to trim the frame - here is a photo of the cut straight off the mat showing the uneven sides.



I couldn't leave it lopsided so I used my CM 12 inch straight trimmer and took 1/8 off each of the "thick" sides. This wasn't quite enough so I took another 1/8 off for a total of 1/4 inch.



Here is the trimmed page with the four "slivers" removed (you can do a full 1/4 inch and trim only twice - I was not thinking clearly as I did this!)



While this was not my original plan, I actually like the frame with the very narrow outside border (approximately 1/8 inch of the black paper underneath shows on each side).

So now I will work on some more variations of this file. If you try this file, just remember to get your paper on the mat precisely - load the mat carefully and be prepared to do the small trimming adjustments. (If you try this file and do not need to trim please let me know - I may be doing something wrong on my machine!)

So here again are some ideas of possible ways to use this with your photos. The center opening is exactly 7 x 7 inches and you can place a matted 4 x 6 photo at the top, center or bottom as the next three photos show








This leaves room for a title or journaling but I don't really like the effect.

I would recommend a special photo cropped square to center in the frame or possibly four 3 x 3 photos (could replace one or more with journaling or a title) or a few wallet size photos arranged in the center square as shown in these last photos

.



12 x 12 Leaf Garland Frame

Fancy Anniversary Frame

I have been playing around with lots of ways to frame and mat photos - some simple, some not so simple. We just had a wonderful vacation with my husband's family in Florida and I started to think about some of the family photos from the past few years. My inlaws had their 50th a few years ago and I have completed a few album pages from that celebration but haven't done a page with just their portrait so I created this frame. I may recut the frame in a gold cardstock for that photo.

Many people celebrate "milestone"anniversaries each year so this frame can be adapted to suit the occasion - the number at the top can be changed as needed (just remember to "burp" the design after you change the number). You could also change the occasion by substituting "Birthday," "Prom," or what have you.

I hope you can use this for a special occasion layout in your scrapbook. I will be posting a few variations in the next few days.

Fancy 50th Anniversary Frame

Four Seasons photo mats - take the concept and run with it!

I have been working on various designs that can be adapted for many different scrapbook pages or cards. When I do workshops or individual sessions with clients in my Creative Memories business and my custom scrapbooking work these will be useful and adaptable for many projects. I am trying to build frameworks that can be customized for particular situations.

I decided to try some photo mat overlays. I did an entire set with the openings at exactly 4 x 6 inches before checking and then realized that they needed to be slightly smaller since "4 x 6 photo paper" is not always exactly 4 x 6 inches. So I went back and adapted them, reducing the openings by just a bit to ensure full coverage. I do not want to post anything that I have not tested out first since that would not really be a time saver or help to anyone else if they had to repair my errors!

So, with many "burpings" to get the welding correct I have made horizontal and vertical versions of photo mats for the four seasons using the phrases from Stretch Your Imagination and George for the frames.

Here are some examples of how they look over a photo


I did try the markers again and did not care for the way the lines almost completely filled in the words - they also did not show up as clearly on the photo as you can see below:



Of course this would depend on the contrast to the area of the photo that the words overlay and I do like the way the markers look if you choose to use the overlay/mat for a journalling box instead of a photo, like this:



You could do a page with a photo for each season (two vertical and two horizontal) and even use the little 2 x 2 grid filler in the center like this:



Here they are with the opposite set of mats and a different center:



Once you have the .cut file you can go in and do a "Save as" and changed the decorative bit to a phrase, a shape, a name - anything you want. You can also move the decorative word or shape to a position that suits your photo the best. Just be sure to check "weld" and do a preview to see if the cut is correct. If it is not,"burp" the design to get the frame to work - just click on one of the frame rectangles and "copy" and "paste" it and pull it off to the side. Then delete that original rectangle and add the new one back in exactly the same place (you can check the positioning information in the upper right corner of the screen in Design Studio). Preview to check it and then Happy Cutting!

Here are the links for these mats:

Vertical Winter

Vertical Spring

Vertical Summer

Vertical Autumn

Horizontal Winter

Horizontal Spring

Horizontal Summer

Horizontal Autumn

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