Layered Letters

 I had surgery last week, so I'm on couch-rest and getting caught up with blogging. Lots to show in the Cricut area of my life!

My brother and his partner finally bought their first house. Like many in their 30s, they struggled in the inflated housing market of southern Ontario. COVID was actually a blessing for them--with my SIL working from home, they were saving on commuting costs (and no more lunch time distractions in the big city LOL). On top of that, they were able to find a fixer-upper in the countryside that had the renos stopped because the owners were out of money due to COVID. It was exactly what they were looking for (although I'm sure my brother would have liked a bigger garage/workshop!). 

They were going to be renovating, so they didn't really have a colour scheme or styling in mind yet. I thought I would make these in shades of grey, since that's the hot colour in home decor, but I didn't like the pack of assorted grey paper. Megan felt these beachy colours were subtle and modern

I used the Zengo font again, and Inkscape. I am definitely getting better at this, though I was in a bit of a rush and I didn't smooth out some of the areas of the outline. 

I was having trouble keeping the layers flat. A letter like this is not an easy one to start with, and I have developed some tips to make it easier. Stay tuned for that post.

You can see how the inside curve of the C is not smooth. I also had trouble at the top of the C, getting the gold flat. The gold cardstock feels thicker, even though it was in the package with the rest (Recollections brand, one of their theme packs).

Another shot of those bumpy edges. 

I had trouble gluing the gold. Trying to re-align it caused creasing. I didn't use foam tabs for the gold layer, I used spray glue.

For the "&" I used a font I had already that had a bit of design to it instead of a solid character. Then I made a couple offset layers. I didn't add the gold layer (read on to find out why). I hadn't intended to have the pale blue as the top layer, but well, these things happen. I made the easels from the incredible website, Special Heart Studio. You'll be seeing more designs from Gjoa here! She really inspires me! The easel fit the M and the & well, but not the C. I made a few adjustments and it's better, but not as good as I'd like. I did the easels because I didn't want to invest in frames that they might not like. Cheryl says she'll probably frame them once they're done renovating. 

And now. It wouldn't be a TracyKM project, without an issue, the True Tracy Way. And boy, did I have an issue. I cut the layers of the C first, then went on to the M. I don't remember what order they were being cut in, but on the gold layer, the Maker SHUT DOWN MID-CUT. Yes. OMG. It powered off, blade down in the cardstock. It would not turn on again! The power cord had power. An error message appeared, it didn't help. I Googled, I YouTubed, I silently wept. Searched the Cricut FAQs and Troubleshooting. Finally another error message showed up and I followed the link. 

Apparently, using foil cardstock can cause static if the air is too dry, and the machine stops!!!!!!! 

The fix is to mist the air around the machine. Done. And... still no go. 

This was on a Friday night. I sent a message off to Cricut. And turned off the lights and left the room.

On Monday, I thought, let's just try again. I misted again, and pressed power. And it came to life! I had previously yanked the mat out so I worried about the rollers, but it seemed fine. I cut the gold layer again, said a silent blessing and got to assembling.

Last week in a Facebook Cricut group, a member posted that they were having trouble with their machine just shutting off mid cut and Cricut wasn't listening to them and helping.  I noticed it looked like foil cardstock. I shared my experience, and indeed, that was what was happening. She had even told the Cricut agent that it was foil cardstock! I wonder how many other times this happens!! 

Keeping it Bright

 After finishing the last bright blanket, I got going on the next. I kept it simple (I thought...the True Tracy Way). I was going to do plain old stockinette, with garter stitch borders. Simple.

Then. Pooling. Added a second strand to try to break it up. Then a third...

These pictures were to show how blocking can make acrylic yarns look better. The spots where I was carrying yarn up a row, or over a few stitches, needed some smoothing.

I knew I would probably not have enough yarn, based on the last neon blanket I made. I had hoped 5 stitch borders instead of 4 stitches would help. Yeah, not enough. 

So on the two short ends, I picked up from the cast on/off row, and worked a garter stitch border outwards. I used the leftover yarn from the previous blanket, which had very similar colours but much longer colour runs.

Above, and below, show the blanket after blocking. In this case, blocking was machine washing and drying, then steaming with an iron. It really helps it smooth out.

The colours on the second end are a bit shorter because I didn't want to repeat the same colours as the first end, and I was excluding the black parts.  Over all, this blanket doesn't read as bright as the first one. 

Taking a picture of the scale is the safest way for me to keep track of the weights. If it works, it works, right?

Yarn In:   6477gr
Yarn Out:  9,995gr + 602gr = 10 597gr
Balance: 4120gr gr more OUT than in!
Costs:  $140.68/349 days = $0.40 per day

I Had a Great Title...

 ...but I didn't write it down before I fell asleep LOL. 

The charity I make blankets for put out a call for some. They aren't collecting yet for their regular program, but they had been contacted by a place looking for blankets. I haven't stopped making them even though they weren't being collected, so I had FIVE I could run over.

From top down: Lionbrand Homespun, aprox 500gr; Red Heart neon stripes, aprox 580gr; chunky assorted yarns crocheted; green Bernat Mosaic (didn't get donated); chunky assorted yarns, knitted

This is the neon stripes I was working on but ran out of yarn.  Originally, I wanted to do something with short rows, to get some direction changes in the stripes. But I got bored, and worried it wouldn't work out to be the right size in the end. This is a boat load of stockinette stitch LOL. So, I ended up with this section at the bottom, then used the gauge and some math, to repeat the same thing at the other end. Then I washed it and steamed it like crazy.

Rob says it's going to make someone go blind LOL. I think it's delightful.

In the yarns I got from my Mom, who got them from a friend, was quite a bit of this Lionbrand Homespun. Rich jewel tones. It sort of glows, which is hard to see in the photo. 

Very crappy photo. My phone was misbehaving for awhile.

The other blankets were already blogged about. 

I don't have the exact weights for these blankets. I did weigh them, and wrote it down... if I ever find that piece of paper I'll update this post. 

Yarn In:   6477gr
Yarn Out:  1080gr + 8915gr = 9,995gr
Balance: 3518gr gr more OUT than in!
Costs:  $140.68/323 days = $0.44 per day

Rob's New Favourite Mask

 Megan asked me to make her a mask with pleats on the side. I just couldn't get it to look nice, so I just made a dart on each edge. It gives the mask more structure and projection. She said it was too big on her, but Rob tried it and loves it. 

I've included two ways to finish--with an opening for a filter, and without. Now the recommendations are really heading towards 3 layer masks.

Google Drive link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NbLijeWTjUPt9AbILel6RFZO0rIhBEAa/view?usp=sharing

Materials

2 pcs tightly woven cotton, aprox 7.75”x8.5” (19.6cm x 21.6cm)

2 ear pieces, aprox 8” (I used a 3/8” strip cut from a pair of thick skating tights. Cut up t-shirts, cotton-lycra fabric, pre-made ear loops, baby headbands, elastic, all work)

1 pc nose wire, aprox 3.5” (9cm). Many different options available. Look for coated wire. Curl the ends. Or pre-made nose pieces are available

Thread, scissors, sewing machine

Directions:

Mark the centre of the two shorter sides. Mark aprox 2.5” (6.3cm) from top and bottom. Pinch the fabric at those two marks and bring together, letting the excess go to the back. Pin. The fold should match the middle mark. Press. Sew from where the fabric meets (2.5” from top and bottom), towards the middle, aprox 3.25” (8cm). This creates a triangle of fabric on the wrong side. Trim, about ¼” from seam, finish as desired (serge, zig zag, pinking shears). Repeat for other short edge. Repeat for other piece.

Press top edge down ½” on both pieces.

On inner piece, sew a 3 sided rectangle, about 3.5” (9cm), centered; joining the seam allowance to the body. Before sewing the third side, slip in the nose wire, and stitch the 3^rd side (the 4^th is the top fold). I find using a zipper foot helps.

 

If you want the top to have an opening for a disposable filter:

Top stitch the top hems down, close to the fold, being careful around the wire. 

Place inside layer right side up. Place ear pieces on top, aprox ½” in from edges, loops towards the middle, tails sticking out the side. Pin at edge and in the middle to keep it out of the way. Place top layer, right side down over top. Ensure top edge is still folded down, and stitch from top corner, down side, across bottom, and up other side, at ½”. Ensure the tails of the loops are sticking out and you just sew over the piece at the seam. Turn right side out. Sew centre top edges together for about 9cm. This allows an opening to slide a disposable filter or tissue in.

 

If you don’t want a filter pocket:

Place inside layer right side up. Place ear pieces on top, aprox ½” in from edges, loops towards the middle, tails sticking out the side. Pin at edge and in the middle to keep it out of the way. Place top layer, right side down over top. Ensure top edge is still folded down, and stitch from top corner, down side, across bottom, and up other side, at ½”. Ensure the tails of the loops are sticking out and you just sew over the piece at the seam. Turn right side out, and top stitch top edge closed, close to the edge.

Layered Letters

As I mentioned in my post about my initial papercrafts with the Cricut Maker, I learned about 3D layered paper projects and was instantly hooked. When I first got the Maker, and started looking at designs available, I was not too inspired. Many designs seem to be really fussy to me. Multiple fonts used in one design, florals and flourishes, hearts galore. I don't do a lot of decorating (because Rob is so fussy on how things are hung on the walls), my budget is small, so I don't buy a lot of knick knack dollarstore items that I could customize, etc. 

Then I learned about 3D layered art! I watched many videos about mandalas and I loved them, but they were still a little too "decorative". Through YouTube's "Suggested Videos", I came across PattyAnn's Place's video on doing a single letter. Oh boy! I had learned enough that I thought I could do this in Inkscape. 

Of course, the first one I try is an M, for our last name! 

It's only 4 layers, but how much fun that can be? I just picked 3 colours from a pack of themed paper from Recollections. The 4th colour is the top black layer. Each layer is elevated  by foam double sided squares, except the top, which is glued to the layer beneath. It could probably have been raised too, if I had the tiniest foam dots. 

One thing I didn't like was the file had some edges that weren't very smooth. See towards the bottom of the picture? It's a free font though, so if I want it smooth, I can do that myself. I couldn't back in August, but I think I can now. 

While at the cottage this summer, I had wanted to watch lots of Inkscape tutorials. I couldn't though because the wifi wasn't very good. I could, however, use Inkscape without wifi. I started playing with L, for Lucy. I wanted to do it Tricolour (Queen's University).

This one, she deemed too red.

This one is too blue. We realized whatever colour is on top is going to dominate, and for Tricolour, none can dominate. So we went with black on top.

There are 5 layers. I needed someway to show case this in her "dorm room" (Hugh's bedroom that became a guestroom got a makeover and a new desk and she uses it for her online university classes). I found the free easel file at an incredible website, "Special Heart Studio".

That website is incredible. So many free layered designs!! There are a lot I want to make, and she keeps creating more!! If you're on Facebook, join her group. It's very helpful.

I decided to try one for Nya, in her school colours for her dorm room. The N looked good at first, but when I did the first offset (in the grey), some of the areas filled in totally. My personal assistant didn't know what might have happened. Sometimes Inkscape holds on to "artifacts"--nodes that didn't get removed before saving, but didn't show up (on a hidden layer, or just very tiny). I'm not sure I have the skills to fix this. The font (Zengo) is free, so I can't complain. I will try again using her last initial. Or find another free alphabet.

I had to pay the little girl that did Megan's papers while we were away. I made the envelope with her name cut out. What I didn't realize was that there were score lines in the file that needed to be changed from cut to score. So, it cut the front out of the envelope and each flap for the back was separate. I took that front piece, covered it with clear book protector film (from Dollarama--a cheap option to transfer tape) and essentially laminated it. I told her it was a magical bookmark to remind her that mistakes can become something wonderful. She was so excited by that! More than the money!

For her card, I shrank the L down, and did just three layers--the solid dark pink, the light pink with the scrolls cut out, and the gold. 

Stuck it to a card (cardstock folded) and there you go! Personalized card! I think I'll make one up for someone else in my family that needs a card right now. 

I have another layered letter project to share, but it deserves its own post. 

Inkscape

 Once I entered the Cricut world on Facebook and YouTube, I kept hearing about Inkscape. The design software you use with Cricut is good, but has limits. The biggest one being that you save your projects to Cricut's servers--you don't save actual files on your own computer. There is no way to access them outside of Cricut. No way to share them, or sell them (there is a way to share within the Cricut website). If you change brands of cutting machines, you can't access these designs in their software.  If you create something really cool and want to use it in different formats (printed, for example), you're out of luck. It was time to learn Inkscape for myself, and not rely on Hugh for everything. 

I had watched random videos of people using Inkscape to do things with the Cricut. However, without knowing even the most basic things, I was pretty lost. My graphic design experience has been limited to Windows Paint LOL. I was told about TroyTube's tutorials, so I went with them. This link takes you to the playlist of Inkscape tutorials. He has lots of other videos on it too, but I followed these and it was a great progression. Note that he is using an older version of Inkscape. If something doesn't seem to work, take a look at some newer videos that show the difference between the versions.

This wasn't one of his challenges, but I was just playing around using what I had learned.

I was impressed with how easy it was to create this pumpkin. I didn't finish the challenge with the Starbucks logo, but I got the idea of what I was doing.

I would also suggest at this point to watch Crafts by Two's Font Art in Inkscape playlist.  As they are Cricut users, they use fonts differently than other designers might.

I started seeing all these layered designs and I really got interested in them. I found this video and wondered if I could do it in Inkscape. So cool! I'll show more of these layered items in a separate post.

I found TJ Free's YouTube channel and Inkscape tutorial playlist.  It's not geared for the Cricut but goes into more real design elements. There's a lot to go through and you might think "when will I ever use this?" You may never use many of the features, but until you get into doing things, you just won't know. Although you can follow along with the tutorials and do what he's doing, you'll have to use your imagination on how apply it to Cricut designs. 

The first non-Cricut thing I created were these signs for the students and hubby working at home. The one above is for Lucy and is in the Queen's tri-colours, along with a tiny bit of engineering purple.

This one is for Megan.

Then, I really started going hard core graphic designer. Logos by Nick is another great YouTube channel with lots of how-to videos for Inkscape. I followed his tutorial for creating neon text!

From a distance, there's not much too it. Up close though, you can see all the details, the multiple layers, the use of gradients and opacities. 

A quick door sign for the hubby.

Although I don't expect to have many uses for neon text, I wanted to practice a bit more so I solidify what I've learned. I decided to make this, and sneak it onto the desktop computer as a subtle hint for Rob. It worked! New knives as an early anniversary gift. 

This is what it looked like before making it the desktop background. I had to make some changes to the grandients so it would work well with the two rows of text.

Another group of videos I watched was about creating line drawings by tracing pictures. The first try was a picture of Megan, which I haven't finished. I've reached the point where I've got several design projects on the go LOL. At least they don't take up space like knitting and sewing! The house was the cottage we stayed at with the extended family. I just did another one of another house, my brother's first house! This one went much quicker! They love it! I did include their actual address, but I edited it out to post it publicly!

I wanted to create a simple layered poppy (I recently blogged about it, so scroll down). It was hard at first, and then I pretty much started all over because it had gone too far wrong and the "spokes" needed to be thicker. Then I had some real headaches about how to size/scale it in Inkscape so it keeps the right size when it imports into Cricut. Ever since doing the neon exercise, I've been looking at everything I see online, in print, etc with new eyes. I watched a lot of Logos by Nick's videos and so much looked so complicated. Having to start with basic shapes to make anything; layer, duplicate, difference, union.... I look at this poppy and see a circle with four dimples. I started with Inkscape tracing a photo of a plastic poppy. For the second try, I sliced the poppy in half vertically and mirrored it. That gave me some symmetry but I know I need to view it as four lobes. I can't help but divide it by the petals (pie shaped pieces) but from a design perspective, I'm not sure if that works best or if it should be divided vertically and horizontally. When I find some free time (LOL), I will play with it some more. I also just bought some pens to use in the Cricut and realized I could also do this poppy with drawing lines, instead of cutting those fine spokes. 

I highly encourage anyone who uses a Cricut to learn how to do some simple things with Inkscape. Being in charge of your own SVGs is huge. Design Space has a lot of issues, and it is necessary to use it to cut designs, so doing what you can outside of Design Space will give you added security. 

Paper Crafts with the Cricut

After struggling with the logo for my community band, it was time to re-examine what the Cricut can do with paper. With my niece getting her Canadian citizenship, I figured a card was in order.

I was really disappointed to find out that the weekly free images on the Cricut Design Space, are only free for the week--you can't save them and use them later for free! What?! So disappointed! But if you're a bit techy, you can take a screenshot and import it as an image. However, often it's not very "clean" and there's lots of bits to erase and it gets tedious. If you're lucky, and have a child who is also learning graphic design programs, you can send it off to them and they can start fresh and make it all shiny clean for you! Shhhh. My secret! 

My skills have really come along as far as figuring out how to place it on the shape. I used a silver holographic paper behind it instead of plain white. I used all the little heart cut outs as confetti inside the card

I hadn't done anything more with the Draw function and pens, so I took the letters cut out from the envelope and used them inside the card, then we all wrote messages. 

I did know that in order to get the middle of the 'a' to stay, I had to slice a bit out of the letter (or, I learned later, use a font designed to look like stencilled letters). I was able to get the name placed exactly where I wanted it. I didn't line it, but used the back side of the card against this side of the envelope. 

I also needed to make her a birthday card. I wanted something more complex but I don't have a huge stock of cardstock yet (it's improving). I found this design and got going...and then was like...."How do I assemble it--all those little pieces--get them in the right spots?!" I had seen very detailed paper designs on https://www.3dsvg.com/ so I watched a couple videos there. Their designs have little spots cut into them so you can line pieces up. I was going to have to do this card freehand! OMG.

It turned out okay, I did lose one of the P centres so I had to leave both out, and I lost the A centre. When I finished, I wasn't any more enthusiastic about paper crafts. But then. Somehow I found this:

Mandalas and layered 3D designs are a hot item right now! I was surfing around YouTube and came across a video by PattyAnnesPlace. She was making these awesome layered letters, using Inkscape. I can't remember now which came first, me trying Inkscape, or if I started off with this letter. I knew I had to learn how to do things for myself instead of frantic emails to my child. 

It's not easy to see in this photo. I think though that these layered letters need their own post. They were like a gateway drug into more paper crafts LOL. So, this is a little teaser of what's to come!