Lettering Delights' Try Me Now Tool

Today's post comes from Lettering Delights. This was posted on the LD Facebook page on Thursday but it is such a great explanation of the Try Me Now Tool that I requested to reprint this on my blog for those of you who do not have a Facebook account.

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Thursday's Tip: Try Me Now Tool Tutorial
by Lettering Delights

The Try Me Now Tool is designed to help you avoid the hassle of having to download and install all of the products you purchase from LetteringDelights.com. Not only do you have instant access to your products online, but you don't have to use up your valuable hard drive space. Plus, you can copy, save and print images directly from the Try Me Now Tool.

To access the Try Me Now Tool, log into your account on LetteringDelights.com and then click on My Library. Select the type of product you want to use (lettering or graphics) and select a product. On the right side of the product, you will see a box with a wrench in it. This is the Try Me Now Tool.

Use the Try Me Now Tool to create titles instantly (using alphabets or fonts), select a single graphics image from Graphics Sets or Clipart Sets, pick a single doodle image from the DoodleBats set, etc. Plus, you will have access to all of your freebies including the ones received when signing up for our creative newsletter.

Make your first title
For quick and easy titles, simply

1) select an alphabet from your library,

2) type a title (you can make it larger or smaller by changing the resolution),
3) save to your hard drive.

Your title will be saved as a PNG file (or .jpg if you are using an older alphabet). The title will be saved with the name you put in an underscore and then the name You can then open the title in a variety of programs to print or add to digital designs.

If you don't see an product to fit your project in your library, visit our huge selection of alphabets, graphics sets, fonts, etc. for sale. You can instantly add more products to your library.

Print your title or image
You can print the title or image directly from the Try Me now Tool, or you can open the saved image and print from another program. You can use a word processor, desktop publishing or graphics programs or incorporate into digital page designs.

To print your title or image, click on the "Print Now" tab located underneath your image preview inside the Try Me Now Tool. From here, you can select your print options such as image size and position, page layout and paper size. You can also print from any program that supports images. Open your program, create a blank document, insert the title, and click Print. Many of our customers use Microsoft Word to print their titles; see below for more information about printing from Word.

To print from Microsoft Word
Open a blank document. Select Insert, Insert Picture from File, and browse to find the location of your title image. Click OK. Click Print to send the title to your printer.

Change the size
You can preview and save titles in three different sizes to fit your project: small, medium or large. Each size will deliver a crisp image at the saved size. The title will be saved as a high quality PNG file.

To resize a title in many programs, including Word, click on the title to select it; when the corners appear around the image, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to resize the title.

To size the image to exact dimensions, right click on the image, select Size, and enter your required size in inches. You can always size down a title in a word processing or graphics program, but we do not recommend sizing up a title because image quality will decrease.

Graphics programs such as Photoshop also allow you to enter the exact pixel dimensions to resize the title image.

Can I copy and paste titles to another program?
You can right-click on the title you created, select Copy and then Paste it into another program (with Internet Explorer there is a Copy button). However, we recommend saving instead. For Windows users, copying a transparent alphabet will use the Windows clipboard, which will remove the transparency and replace it with a white background. You can keep transparency by saving the products as a PNG image and then opening it in another program.

What does "transparent" mean?
Transparent alphabets have no white background around the letters and the graphics have no white background around the images. They can, for example, be put on top of a colored background, and that background will show up right behind each letter. Preserve the transparency of your titles by saving them as PNGs. Transparency allows you maximum creative freedom to layer your titles.

Nontransparent alphabets and graphics have a white background, which is evident when layered on top of a colored background. Our more recent alphabets and graphics are transparent. Our older alphabets and graphics, however, were offered as JPGS, which do not support transparency.

How is an alphabet different from a font?
Fonts are only black and white; they can be changed to a single color in some programs (such as Word). Lettering Delights alphabets are images rather than fonts. In a Lettering Delights alphabet, each letter is a full-color illustration or image. Without the restrictions of font files, our artists can design alphabets in an endless variety of themes, from flowers to holiday ornaments to soccer balls and more.

To type with alphabets, use the Try Me Now Tool or install them into the Creative Delights Companion.

Can I change the color of an alphabet or graphics image?
You cannot change the colors in the Try Me Now Tool or in a word processing program. You can however, modify colors in Photoshop or similar programs.

Can I change the color of a font?
Yes you can, but only the black portion of the font. Inside the Try Me Now Tool, click on the color pallet to the right of the title you typed. Select a color and click on the Select button (bottom left). The color should be applied to your font. Hint, using thick black fonts works best to see the change of color.

Create vertical titles
You can create a vertical title by typing and saving each letter separately and then lining them up vertically in Word or the program of your choice. Or, you can download the Creative Delights Companion program.

Mix and match products
You can only use one product at a time in the Try Me Now Tool. As with creating vertical titles, you can, however, type and save each letter separately or select a single graphic image and then arrange them in order in Word or another program.

Rotate titles and images
From a word processing, desktop publishing or graphics program, you can rotate your titles and images. For example, in Microsoft Word, click on the title to select it, and click on the circle that appears above the middle of the title. A circular arrow will appear. Hold the left mouse button down and drag to rotate the title image.

Video Tutorial: How to cut letters so that the negative is 1-piece.

Tami, yesterday you asked me how you can "fix" the letter B so that the whole negative is part of the cardstock that it was cut out of. This quick video tutorial will answer that question. :-)

Tutorial: How to Print Lettering Delights' Papers with Make-the-Cut

Do you know that you can print Lettering Delights' papers with Make-the-Cut? I usually print them with Adobe Photoshop but you can also print the papers with Make-the-Cut v3.2 (or v3.2.1).

Today's tutorial will show you how to print a paper from the Lettering Delights' Love is Sweet Paper Pack with Make-the-Cut (v3.2.1).

Step 1. Load paper or cardstock into the printer.

2. In Make-the-Cut, click on the Import Basic Shapes button (next to the SVG button). Go to the Polygons tab, scroll down and double-click on "rectangle" to bring it to the mat. Close the Basic Shapes window.

3. Back on the mat, select the rectangle and bring your mouse to the top where the X,Y,W,H is. Click on the lock to unlock the aspect ratio. Change the X and Y values to 0 and the W to 8.5" and H to 11". Hit Enter.

 

4. Bring your mouse back over the rectangle and right-click to Change Color/Texture, then Select Texture.

5. Locate your paper and hit "Open" and then "OK".

 

6. The "Choose Texture" window will close and it may seem like nothing is happening. Just wait for a few seconds and you will see a shadow of the texture inside the rectangle on the mat. Because textures take up a lot of memory, the length of the wait may depend on the amount of RAM on your computer and also the size of the texture being imported.

7. Go to the Virtual Mat tab on the right and uncheck "Outline Shapes"
 

8. Go to File, and click on Print Preview and if you are happy with what you see, just click Print!

That's all there is to it! Super easy, right? ;)

I print the Lettering Delights papers on White Cardstock by Georgia-Pacific. You can find it at Walmart where a pack of 150 sheets costs around $6+. Also, I have to mention that one of my favorite Lettering Delights paper packs is the Love is Sweet Paper Pack. This pack contains 10 different designs of paper! For only $2! The papers are also definitely suitable for use all year long.

Here are a few more Lettering Delights paper packs that I like or have used for my cards. Even though some may look seasonal, you can definitely use the papers all year round too. 

 

 

 

 

To see more Lettering Delights paper packs, just click here.

Edit (on 2/15) to add:
To print papers, I mainly use my Canon PIXMA MP250 Inkjet Printer. You can see the box in my post here. Occasionally I do print with my Samsung Color Laser Printer and for 12"x12" papers, I use my Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II.

By the way, for those of you who prefers to watch the instructions on a video, here is the same tutorial on video:

How to convert a 4-layer Lettering Delights SVG into a 2-layer cut-out using Make-the-Cut.

So in yesterday's post I mentioned that I converted the Lettering Delights 4-layer wreath svg into a 2-layer cutout using Make-the-Cut. 

Today I will show you how I did that. In case the video tutorial is too fast for you, the steps are as follows:

1. Import SVG

2. "Reverse Order"

3. "To Each It's Own"

4. "Delete" white bow base

5. "Break" pink bow

6. "Boolean Join" bow and wreath front

7. "Join" bow "holes" with wreath base

Enjoy the tutorial!

1 min Video Tutorial: How to import Lettering Delights SVG file for MTC

Is everyone having fun playing with the LD svgs? If you have not downloaded your free svg files, just go here to add them to your cart.

I have made a quick 1 min video tutorial that shows how to import a LD svg image onto the MTC mat. I am currently using MTC v.3.0.0 beta and I have found it necessary to use the "Reverse Order"  command to correct the order of the layers before using "To Each It's Own" in this version of MTC. The video below will show me doing that.

Enjoy!

 

MTC v.3.0: How to Print-and-Cut tutorial

If you are wondering how to print-and-cut with the new MTC update, here is a short 3mins video tutorial by Kay of CleverSomeday:

Cupcake Wrappers Video Tutorial 3: Cut-and-Print with Circular Text

In the previous video tutorial, I mentioned that for the text to look right when cut and printed on the cupcake wrapper, it has to be on a circular path. This video tutorial will show you how I do that in Adobe Photoshop.

The images used in the video are Lettering Delights' Thanksgiving Art and Funky Owl. The paper is Owl I Want for Christmas.

Enjoy!

Cupcake Wrappers Video Tutorial 2: Cut-and-Print Personalised Cupcake Wrappers

 

For this tutorial, I used the scallop edge wrapper from LD's Provincial Princess Cupcake Wraps and paper and graphics from the Harajuku Collection.

I will show you how I extract the shape of the wrapper and replace the color pattern with a LD paper. I will also show you how to add graphics to the wrapper. Even though I added text to the wrapper in the video, please note that for the text to look right, it should follow the contour of the wrapper (i.e.circular text). That will be in another tutorial.

Enjoy the following video tutorial and let me know if you manage to make some of your own personalized cupcake wrappers. I would love to see what my readers come up with.

Cupcake Wrappers Video Tutorial 1: How to "Cut-and-Print" LD Cupcake Wrappers

In the following video tutorial, I used Adobe Photoshop and this image from LD's Provincial Princess cupcake wrap graphic set:

Even though I had used Adobe Photoshop in the tutorial, any other graphics editor with similar tools should work too.

  

There are basically 3 parts to the tutorial: 

Step1 : Measure the size of the wrapper in Photoshop

Step2: Trace and Cut in Make-the-Cut

Step 3: Adhere cutout over printed image and print again.

The most important part of the process is making the measurements. When MTC traced the wrapper, the contour of the curved part is not the same as that of the printed image. The cutout is more curved than the printed image. Adjustments to the "curve-angle" has to be made by unlocking the aspect ratio and entering the dimensions of the wrapper manually.

I also enlarged the wrapper image before adhering the cutout over the printed image because:

(a) it helps as a guide when I position the cutout over it.

(b) it ensures that the whole cutout will be printed on. 

If I leave the image as-is (without enlarging the size), I risk not putting the cutout in the exact position over the image because it is hard to layer it when I can't see the image on the bottom of the cutout. If the cutout is the exact same size as the printed image, more often than not, the ink will miss the border of the cutout and will thus leave a white unprinted edge around the wrapper cutout.

I chose this Lettering Delights image to use in my tutorial because it is a very basic design. The idea is essentially the same for the other LD wrapper graphics. It may take a little bit of adjustments but the concept is the same- measure in PS, cut in MTC, then print again in PS.

Once the basic steps have been figured out, it is really simple to go a step further and personalize these wrappers. Tomorrow I will show you how I did just that. 

Video Tutorial: How to Cut a Lettering Delights envelope template with your Cricut

Isn't it scary how fast time flies? In just 6 weeks, my kids will be going back to school. :-(  As mentioned previously, I am slowing down on my blog posts to spend time with them. I will be posting once a week until September when I can (hopefully) post more often. 

Thank you for the great response to my first video tutorial. To date, the video has been viewed 433 times on youtube! I would love to know if you have made any cuts with SCAL or MTC with my method. It would be fun and I would be happy to make a special post on my blog that features your work done using the Photoshop-MTC method. :)

I have spent this past week making a couple of cards with my paper scraps and this Lettering Delights Mulberry Lane Too graphic set. The images in this set have nice unbroken lines and I thought that they would be easy to convert into MTC-Cricut cuttable files. 

Using the same method as illustrated in my tutorial, I cut out the flowers with MTC. For the first card, I embossed the card front with my new Cuttlebug's Polka Dots embossing folder. I'm always using the Swiss Dots folder that I thought it would be fun to change that up a little. The sentiment was stamped with a Hero Arts stamp.

This card front of the second card was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder while the "Smile" was stamped with a Hampton Arts wood stamp that my kids found in the $1 basket at Michaels'. I love this stamp but I love it even more that my girls found it for me. :)

I had such fun making the first video tutorial that I thought I would attempt a second one. This time I will show you how I use Make-the-Cut to cut out a Lettering Delights envelope template. Did you know that Lettering Delights has several envelope templates on their site? There is a graphic set called Card Cafe Ala Envelopes that has envelope templates. The template that I am using for this tutorial is "envelope 10"  from the graphic set called Peppermint Holiday Envelopes. 




Tutorial: How to cut out a Lettering Delights envelope with MTC in 5 steps:

Step 1: Open MTC

Step 2: Import and Trace.  

Select envelope and trace by selecting Import Objects>Pixel Trace.

Step 3: Break and Delete
Break and delete words and the duplicate layer of envelope.

Step 4: Smooth and Simplify
Use CTRL-G to remove excess nodes. In my video, MTC was not able to simplify any further. I still added in this as a step because I believe that it is a good habit to CTRL-G everytime before you send the Cut command.

Step 5: Cut! 

At this point you are ready to cut out the template but depending on the size of the envelope required, you might want to adjust the size before you click on the "Cut" button.

 
That's all for this post. I hope that you are all having a great Summer!

Video Tutorial: 10 Steps to Convert a Lettering Delights graphic into a MTC file

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Notice: Provo Craft/Cricut does not endorse the use of any 3rd party software. Cutting or communicating to any Cricut machine with any 3rd party or non-Cricut endorsed software or device will void the warranty of the Cricut cutting machine. As such, it might be prudent to wait until the warranty expires on your Cricut machine before trying out this tutorial.

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It’s here. I’ve done it. So many of you have asked me for this tutorial and I am so excited to tell you that IT'S DONE!! :-D

Thank you everyone for your patience. This is my very first video tutorial and it was truly a learning experience. For all of you who have ever made one of these, I applaud you. 

This video tutorial will show you how I convert the whale from Lettering Delights' Seven Seas graphic set into a Make-The-Cut file. I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 in this tutorial but I understand that the same tools that I used in PS is also available in Photoshop Elements so if you only have PSE, you should still be able to do the same conversion.

You are free to share this video tutorial on your blog or craft forum but I would really appreciate it if you would point back to my blog. I have worked hard to put this tutorial together and I would be grateful if you could support my blog by using my affiliate link when you make a purchase at Lettering Delights . You can use the coupon code "SpendTen" for a $10 discount when your purchase totals $20 or more.

Video Tutorial: 10 Steps to Convert a Lettering Delights Image into a MTC file




I know that this video tutorial could use a little more polishing and I realized that it might be a little too fast. If you miss a step, press the Pause button on your video player or refer to these instructions that I have written out here for your reference:

Step 1: Prepare your tool.
Select Magic Wand. Set Tolerance to 50.
 
Step 2: Open Lettering Delights file.
 
Step 3: Create the layers.
Select Blue Polka Dot layer and right-click to Layer via Copy.
 
Step 4: Increase Canvas Size
Select Image>Canvas Size and set height to 20.
 
Step 5: Hold down the CTRL key and the left mouse button to separate the layers.
 
Step 6: Make the image black and white. Select Image>Mode>Grayscale
 
Step 7: Sharpen the image with the Brightness/Contrast feature.
Set Brightness to -150 and Contrast to 100
 
Repeat Step 7.
 
Step 8: Save your converted image. This graphic is now ready for MTC or Inkscape.
 
Step 9: Import the new file into MTC. Trace.
 
Step 10: Adjust the size and split the image. Your LD graphics is now ready for cutting!


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If you enjoyed the tutorial, please leave a comment below and tell me what you think. 




Thanks. :-)

Tutorial UPDATE: Canvas Painting with the Cricut.

So when I posted my last tutorial, I mentioned that I was pretty sure that I was doing something wrong. I think I have figured out at least one thing. This new and improved tutorial will make painting on canvas using Cricut cut outs a lot easier. Read on to find out what's changed....

The supplies are still mostly the same but do you notice that the paper cutouts are missing?

Tada! This is the "secret ingredient". Good old contact paper that you can buy from Target or Walmart. I had struggled to get freezer paper to stick on canvas and then I had an Eureka! moment. I could use vinyl but why not the cheaper alternative?

So instead of cutting the images out on cardstock, I cut them out on contact paper and use them as my stencils for painting on the canvas. I cut the contact paper out at the following settings: Speed 3, Pressure 3, and Blade Depth 3.

The first steps remains mostly the same as the last tutorial. Basically, you want to give the canvas a good base coat. I think I did 3 layers of paint. You have to remember to let the paint dry in between layers.

When you are certain that the base layers are dried, it is time to lay down your stencil. You must make sure that the stencil sticks to the canvas as much as possible. I use a craft stick to rub down the contact paper. This is especially important with the edges. You really want as little paint to run under the stencil as possible. Don't be afraid of rubbing down the contact paper. It will stick to the canvas but it will not pull up the paint. If you are not sure if your contact paper is too sticky, try it on one of the painted sides. Rub it down hard, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then pull it off. If paint comes off with it, then you need to use a different roll or brand. I did not use vinyl for this but I don't see why it shouldn't work.

For this project, I am using the apple image from the Create-A-Critter cartridge. I cut it at 6.5". Before I started painting on the apple, I pencil in the edge of the stem so that I know where not to put red paint on.

 Go ahead and paint a few coats of red and green and then let it dry fully.

Once the paint has dried, you may lay down the new stencil for the body of the fruit and the leaves. Again, rub it down hard, especially at the edges. Do not remove the first stencil.

Paint in the stem, eyes, and mouth. Paint in the the blush too. Again, you might want to put down 2 coats of paint for this. Let the whole thing dry.

Finally, gently pull off the contact paper to see your complete artwork.

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Now, be aware that there is a lot of texture on canvas and that paint will want to go where there is unevenness.

I was impatient and did not rub down the leaves stencil as much as I should and paint got under the contact paper. I used a sanding block to sand off bits of the green and then paint over that with more yellow.

I really like the end result. I hope that you will give this a try too.

You can download your apple stencil here:

Click HERE to download your apple stencils 

 You will need Cricut Design Studio to open the file and to cut the images. CDS is wonky at times. For the apple's blush, I have used the hidden contour feature to hide one circle of each pair of blush. If the circles are not hidden when you open up your downloaded file, please hide them again as you do not want to cut out the extra circles. When you preview the file, it should look as exactly as pictured above.

Enjoy!

Tutorial: How I paint on canvas

 

That's right. The title of this post is "How I paint..." and not "How to paint..." because I am not an artist and I am pretty sure that I am doing something wrong here. I managed to get my critters on canvas using my way but if you know of a better method, do tell. :-)

To begin, let me just say that I have tried the "freezer paper method" but it did not work for me for canvas. The freezer paper did stick somewhat but it really wasn't sticking like it does on t-shirts. In the end, I thought it was more trouble than it was worth so I decided to do this my way.

Also, if you are doing this for the first time, be aware that it takes quite a while to finish the project. You need to allow the paint to dry before applying a new coat. This is not a project to do when you are pressed for time or when you have to babysit an impatient 4 year old. 

Having said that, here we go:

These are the supplies that you'll need. Well, except for the eraser, which you might not have a need for. I'm not sure why I even put that in the picture. You will also want to have some Painter's Tape too. I forgot to include that in the photo above. Remember: No to eraser, Yes to Painter's Tape.

I bought the 8"x8" canvas from DickBlick.com but you can easily find these in Michael's and probably Joann's. The Create-A-Critter panda was cut at 6.5". Just place it in the center of the canvas, hold it down with one hand and...

..paint the first coat of red with wild abandonment.

This is how my canvas looked like after the first coat.

After the paint dries, do the exact same thing again with the same stencil to paint a 2nd coat of red. If you feel like it, go ahead and paint the 4 sides of the canvas too.

Once the red paint has dried,  place the 2nd stencil and hold it down with painter's tape.

This time go over the canvas with white paint.

When that dries, go ahead and paint a 2nd coat of white. Then, clean up the edges with some red. I used a #4 round brush for this but you can use any paint brush you are comfortable with.

Acrylic paint is pretty thick and it dries quickly. Once you remove the stencil, you should see that the thickness of the dried paint forms an edge that helps to define the outlines. Imagine that when you run your fingers over the white paint, you can feel where it ends. That is useful because it helps to guide the paint brush later.

To paint the eyes and nose, tape down the new stencil and trace the pupil (eye) with a pencil. This is to define the area to NOT paint when you start with the black layer.

You can use your paintbrush to paint the black.

Next, remove the stencil and replace it with the negative, as seen in the next picture:

Time to paint more black. Again, use the paintbrush for this and not the foam brush.

You can start with the ears...

...then the arms, and finally the legs. Or you can start with the legs. Or the arms. I won't judge. Promise. Just remember to paint 2 coats of black. Or not. Since black is so....well, dark, you might get away with just one coat. I painted 2 coats on mine.

Finally, fill in any rough/unpainted areas and paint the sides with one more coat of red.

Put your paintbrush down, crack a huge smile and make everyone nearby address you as "The Artist".

Final step: Once the paint has dried, hang it up, then stand back and admire your handiwork. Give yourself a pat. You have painted a new art piece for your home.

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That's it! Even though it's a little time-consuming, I found painting to be rather therapeutic. Give it a try and do come back to share your new art work. You can find all the supplies at Michael's and probably even Joann's. Just go buy your supplies and come back here to download your stencils and you are ready to paint!

Download stencils here:

Click here to download stencils

I used Cricut Design Studio to weld the base layer with the 1st layer to make the  3rd stencil shown in this post. You must have the program in order to open my file.

I hope that you enjoy this tutorial.

Have a Great Wednesday!