Joining Shapes to Letters - MTC Tutorial

I was skimming through the Make The Cut forum the other night and came across a post where a woman was having some problems with joining a shape to a letter. I of course thought it was a quick fix but it wasn't! I tried to boolean join *okie still really wonders what in the heck that means* and all the options for it didn't produce the desired effect. After trying several other things it finally dawned on me what to do...I know this might seem time consuming and complicated but it really does go fast and I am including pictures since I have a hard time explaining things.

Step 1 - Choose your letter and image, set objects to desired size and position. In this case I used the letter M and a baseball.

 
Step 2 - Click on the baseball (or object of your choice) and do a "break". After the images is broken then select the inside of the image, or guts if you will *okie cracks up laughing*. Now hit "copy" and then delete. If you are unable to get all the pieces then just do a "copy" and "paste in place" to a new mat until you have all the pieces removed.

Step 3- You should be left with the letter and what is now the base layer of the image.









Step 4- Weld the two objects together.









Step 5 - Now do a "paste in place" with the parts you deleted and weld together and POOF! You have your image and letter as one image. 








I am really not sure how Make The Cut works since I am fairly new to the program, all I know is that all the welding and joining options wouldn't work for me. The lady who was needing the help was able to quickly join her shape and letters with the instructions I gave her. Another lady gave some instructions about a "import to a raster image" which I have no idea what that even is but it might work more easily if you know what it is and how to do it. For me this method worked fine and really did go quickly!

Birthday Card - Graphic45 Proper Gentleman

I think I mentioned earlier this week about being excited when I found the few sheets of Proper Gentleman and how it is difficult to make a masculine card sometimes. Well even after I had my cuts all done for the base of the card I had problems thinking of what to put on the card to embellish it! As you see I finally came up with a pocket watch, a small snip from one of the sheets and then the sentiment.

Supplies Used:
Graphic45 Proper Gentleman
Various cardstock
Make the Cut
My Creative Time All Around Birthday
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Stampin Up Punches
   1.75" Circle
   Word Window
   Modern Label
Hallmark Card Studio

I got the idea for the card base of Pinterest but once I got it done I was stumped on what to put on it for embellishment. I got the little piece that looks like a postage stamp cut out and put together but it was just too small to be the focal point. I literally thought about it all evening and part of the next day before coming up with the idea of the pocket watch!

I found a clipart image of a pocket watch and I chose this one since it looked like the front of the watch included. This way I can cut it with or without the front for future use. I love how you can really change a file so easily in Make The Cut!

I measured the stamp and then put a circle on my mat to adjust the size of the pocket watch to match the stamp. I love the My Creative Time stamps. They always give a good impression and Emma has some wonderful designs. She also has dies to match quite a few of her stamps and they work wonderfully! I forgot to shade the front of the watch but I think it looks okay anyway.

The sentiment on the front and inside was done with Hallmark Card Studio. I just used the same sentiment a for the the card from yesterday and tweaked the font a bit. I started to add "old man" but decided that it might not be appropriate for everyone's taste.

The file for the Pocket Watch Card is available for download and includes the base cuts of the half circles and half top note shape *okie calls it that since that is what Stampin Up calls the shape* as well as the Pocket Watch. You can delete the extra shapes since I cut 6 at a time.

Download the file here --> Pocket Watch Card (MTC file)  

Uplifting Birthday - Yep, It's A Card!

Linda spotted some really fun looking cloud paper when we went to the scrapbook store last weekend and when she got a few sheets I knew she would do something fantastic with hers and I would be jealous she had the paper and I didn't. I couldn't let that happen so I got a few sheets too! I told her I thought it would be good to do a card with hot air balloons. This one turned out to be my favorite card out of the 5 different designs I did over the weekend.

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Miss Kate Cuttable's File
Studio Calico Here and There Collection
Various patterned cardstocks
Cri-Kits Gel Pens
Brads
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Stampin Up Markers

I will not be offering this file for download since it was purchased from Miss Kate Cuttlables. You can purchase this file here - Hot Air Balloons, for a mere 50 cents. I did tweak mine a bit and welded the basket to a balloon so I could have a solid base layer.

I looked around for different SVG files for hot air balloons and there are a few out there. Some were quite elaborate and I knew I didn't want to spend time putting together tiny little pieces for a card. If I had a layout to do I would have loved to used a more elaborate file, but this one worked well for the card I was wanting to make.

I did make my banner in Make The Cut and I used the Cri-Kit gel pens to get the sentiment on the banner. I moved the letters around to get them to work on the wave of the banner.  I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the card, the inside sentiment reads "An Uplifting Birthday" and it was done using Hallmark Studio. I was able to match the fonts, which is another feature I love about using Make the Cut.

I usually always use mounting foam to add dimension and this card definitely needed dimension to add to the over all theme. I added it to one of the clouds and then the larger balloon.

The dimension on the banner was done by curving it in several places and then just adding glue to the part that is under the balloon and then on another wave *okie isn't sure if that made sense or not and wonders if there are classes for being able to give clear instructions and then decides she is too lazy to even google it*. I guess you will just have to take my word that it was easy and it made the banner look really cute and wavy looking.

Over all I would say my "get back into the groove of card making" weekend was a success. I know I would have gotten more done if it weren't for that stinking True Blood marathon I was doing but I still say that a total of 30 cards isn't bad for a weekend of crafting!

Cupcake With A Cherry

This is the other card I made from the Cratepaper Party Day collection. You can download the card file - Cupcake Cherry.

Supplies Used:
Cratepaper Party Day
Graphic 45 stripe paper
Bazzil Swiss Dot
Make The Cut
Queen & CO. Pearls
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Stampin Up Marker
Mounting Foam
Signo White Gel Pen

The card seems pretty plain to me, but remember I have been out of the swing for awhile. I started to do more faux stitching but I got lazy and just left the paper inked and slapped the beech together. Okay to be honest, I've gotten hooked on True Blood and that really interrupted my creativity over the weekend.

I turned the image of the liner at an angle so I could get the diagonal stripe like what is printed on the paper. I lucked out that some Graphic 45 I had matched well with the Cratepaper paper.  I think I should have made the shadow a little thicker, but what's done is done.






The pearls did add a little extra to the card and made it not be so plain.

I swear tomorrow's card will be better!

Big Vinyl Wall Quote

I must be getting into another vinyl phase. I swear my obsessions cycle around. Sometimes it goes from scrapbook layouts to cards to vinyl to etching to...well etc etc etc and then starts all over again!

My daughter and I saw a canvas we both loved that had a lot of words on it when we were in Hobby Lobby recently and I had her take a picture of it so I could create something with the words. I had forgotten my cell phone but ya know how kids are...attached at the hip, and for once I was grateful for the cell phone obsession kids have!

It took me quite awhile to make the file in Make The Cut, not because it was hard but because I used so many different fonts and trying to find ones that looked good and would cut fine was a bit time consuming. I can now understand why people would charge for their files.

I cut this one to the size of filling up a 12x24 mat, which was a lot of weeding!

One of the things I did to make the weeding a bit easier was to run my Cutterbee Scissors along the lines between the words. If you have ever done a large project you know how the vinyl can stick to itself and cause havoc by pulling up parts you want left down! This method allowed me to pull off a row at a time and not have the issue happen. 






Here is the project with all the main weeding done. Taking out the inner pieces can be time consuming, especially for something this size but it doesn't seem such a daunting task when you are watching TV while doing it.

I thought I was waiting for Walking Dead to come on AMC but when it got time the stupid movie Anaconda came on and I was not pleased! I did not want to watch J'LO and her big azz, I wanted to watch my zombies!! Evidently the cable company I have, CableOne, made a mistake. At first they tried to blame AMC and say no one was getting the feed but finally fessed up and said it was their mistake. The show came on at 11pm, just a mere 3 hours late! Now I am wondering if I would be better off getting Dish or DirectTV with the mistakes the cable company keeps making. I just keep hearing bad things about satellite tv and how it goes out when it's too windy, rains or snows. I guess nothing is perfect.

Wait...wasn't I talking about a vinyl project??

Here it is on the wall. I am not sure what type of transfer tape I have but it just wasn't wanting to release the vinyl for me. I left the whole thing on the wall overnight and it did release better then.

I really do like this big vinyl wall quote sign thing *okie really isn't sure what to call it* and I had to put it in the laundry room/hall from craftroom to kitchen since I couldn't find another place for it. Next time I think I will reverse the procedure so I don't spend an hour walking through my house wondering where to apply the vinyl!

Bee Mine - Valentine Card

Are ya'll getting sick of Valentine cards? I am starting to get tired of them but I still have to get the ones for my McCall's clients ready and also for my friends who will be coming to the card making party next weekend.

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Daisy D's Pattern Paper
Glitter Cardstock
Various Cardstock
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Signo Gel Pen
Mounting Foam

I will have to admit that little flourish is not for the faint of heart and if I use that cut again I am not going to do the top layer as it was a beeotch to cut *okie thinks she won't even discuss the gluing* because of the thin lines. The problem is that it really looks nice on the card *okie feels so torn*. I really gotta start paying more attention to the pressure settings on the Pazzles. I am not use to having 50 different settings and I have always thought more is better but I am finding out that less will get the job done, at least when it comes to low and high pressure settings! The Pazzles did cut the glitter paper with two passes and the vellum for the wings in one easy pass and no tearing!

If you would like the file for this card please see below:

Love U Card - Completed

I got these cards embellished and decided to post the completed project with some better pictures.

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Love U MTC File
DCWV Pattern Paper
Various Pattern Paper
Various Cardstock
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Mounting Foam
Ribbon

When choosing some accent color I decided to go with orange and it reminds me a bit of those heart candies that always come out at Valentine's day and taste like chalk, well at least to me they do! The touch of orange for the ribbon and circle seemed to really help in adding "POP" to the card.

I am always amazed at what a little extra embellishing can do to a project and I have been addicted to embellishing since right after starting my hardcore papercrafting hobby!

Love Heart Banner - Completed

I didn't do much else to finish the card on the cuts I posted last week, but I did want to show some better pictures.. I added a light colored mat to the card base to help the images pop a little more.

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Make The Cut Heart Banner File
Little Yellow Bicycle
Various Cardstock
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Mounting Foam

I used the conical tool in MTC to get the "Love" curved to fit the banner across the heart.

There are quite a few layers for the banner cut, Shadow, Base (grey pattern in the picture), Banner filled (red in the picture)  and top outline cuts (pink in the picture). And then of course there are two layers to the "Love" that goes on the banner.

I wasn't sure how the image would cut because of some of the fine lines but it did seem to cut fine. Not sure I would try to cut it any smaller though as some of the lines might not make it through alive.

Adore Valentine Card

I just fell in love with these lips and wanted to use them on a card and had a hard time figuring out exactly what to do. I was pleased with the over all effect, which is something that doesn't happen often!

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Little Yellow Bicycle paper
Various Cardstock
Glimmer Mist
Glossy Accents
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Brads
Mounting Foam

Glimmer Mist, in Pearl, was spritzed on the top layer of the lips and then after putting the layers together I added Glossy Accents in the light pink area. It's a little difficult to see in the picture but it did give it a nice look.

Once  got the cards put together it seemed like it need a little something else so I added 3 small light pink brads in the bottom left hand corner and that seemed to finish it off nicely.



For download click the links below:

Independence Day - Layout

It's been a bit cold this winter and one evening when it was particularly chilly I thought I would work on something that reminded me of warmer days so I chose to do a 4th of July layout. I got the "map" from the Scrapbook Page Maps 2 book. I really love those books for ideas for layouts!

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Varies Pattern Paper
Various Cardstock
Stickles
Glimmer Glaze
Mounting Foam

I added some Glimmer Glaze to the fire on the rocket although it is hard to see in the picture. The stitching around the blue seemed to make the rocket look better as well.

I have had this paper for a few years and can't remember who makes it right off the top of my head but I loved that it was a bit darker than most papers for the 4th of July. The words on the paper also just seemed to fit the occasion since we were having a cookout at my Aunt Betty's house that day.





I didn't like how the title looked after I got it cut but since I already had it done and didn't want to waste paper I used it. I had to play around with the firecracker to get it where it looked good. I might have cut it a bit big for the page but it's done just the same.

You might be able to see the Glimmer Glaze effect a little bit better in this close up picture. I used an old paint brush to apply. The glaze comes with a brush much like nail polish but I feel a regular paint brush gives me better control. I will just have to remeber to use it only for the glaze since it does have some sticky effect to it.

On my cuts the top of the rocket was white and I cut it off with some scissors because I wanted the top to be red. I can't remember if I fixed the file for that or not but you can check it out if you download it.

I wanted the spark part from the firecracker to be red but cut the wrong color so instead of wasting paper I just added some Diamond Stickles to dress it up a bit. I used a white gel pen to add the stitching around the stars.



To download the Fireworks file see below:

Not All Things Work!

I am having a lot of fun with the option of using any font on my computer with Make The Cut but I am learning a few things, such as....NOT ALL FONTS ARE GOOD TO CUT!

I had decided to put names on some disposable tumblers and thought I found a good Christmas font but once I got all the names cut I found that some parts were too thin because of the size of the letters or they were a pain in the arse because of the small pieces that had to be removed. As you can see in this picture there is barely enough vinyl to keep the "E" together!

After working on another one I gave up and am going with a different font that is more solid and will cut a little better.

I guess anything new is a learning process especially when you are trying products you haven't' used before, like this chrome vinyl and MTC!

I May Be Going To Hell...

Well if sinning against ProvoCraft makes one go to hell that is. First off let me say I have been a very loyal and strong advocate for ProvoCraft over the years and I still feel they have the right to protect their company, products and interests

Now...about my sin....and how it took place...

I have had the Make The Cut software for a long time, way before the big lawsuit took place. I had opened it a few times and since I didn't know how to use it and I want to just make my chit and not have to look up how to use a program I never messed with it...UNTIL NOW.

I have never knocked anyone for using the "software that shall not be named" *okie cracks up remembering everyone saying that when referring to MTC or SCAL* and I have some very wonderful crafting friends that I disagreed with about the whole lawsuit thing, and we just agreed to disagree at that point and went about being the happy merry friends we were and still are.

I am not sure if everyone is aware but there was a long wait for quite a few of the new carts to get updated in Design Studio. I had a few that I couldn't use because as we all know I am rendered useless with my Cricut without my beloved Design Studio. Okay, I'll be honest and say I did use CCR for a project but only because I had no other choice. That LITTLE PROJECT that should have taken me about 15 minutes to get laid out and cut ended up being an ordeal that took a few hours. It also required a lot of curse words as my friend Linda can attest to since she was on the phone with me.

Discussing the whole dilemma with my friend Carmen and me telling her that I decided if I needed to start looking for another program to learn I wanted one that must meet a few requirements...
1. NO INTERNET NEEDED
2. NOT GLITCHY
3. IMAGES DO NOT JUMP AROUND
4. I CAN SEE THE IMAGES AND SCREEN CLEARLY
Well this lead Carmen saying "You've had MTC for a long time why not try it".

Anyway long story short *okie thinks it might be too late for that*, with the help of Carmen and a little finagling *okie is so glad that spell check knew that word because she had it all jacked up*  I was able to get my MTC up and running. So far all I have done is play around with the fonts on my computer and I did a title for a layout that I will hopefully get posted tomorrow.

For now I thought I would share a picture of the title. I was able to do the double layered shadow very easily and I do love that! Of course if ya know anything about me ya know how I love my shadows on images. I just think it makes them go POP! I could have spent hours looking for a font to use since I believe I can now cut with any font on my computer but I didn't want to take time looking forever. Now ironically enough, the name of this font is Hurry Up. My friend Amy got a kick out of that irony. Amy is a big time MTC user and has been from the get go I do believe. I know her and Misty probably have some kinda evil drool running down their chins and rubbing their hands together maliciously as the salivate at the idea of me "turning to the dark side" *okie suddenly thinks she might have some pretty weird friends, shrugs and figures they think the same about her*.

Now I want to be clear about this whole thing, as I think my friend Joy, aka HappyHappyJoyJoy might have had a slight heart attack last night at my announcment on Facebook...
I STILL LOVE MY CRICUT
I STILL LOVE MY CARTRIDGES
I STILL LOVE MY DESIGN STUDIO

However, if it gets to the point where ProvoCraft doesn't support Design Studio then I believe I will have to find a high powered divorce lawyer and  file for a divorce on the grounds of neglect and abandonment. At that point I sure hope ProvoCraft remembers I never signed a prenup!