See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

This weeks theme on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "Depths of Distress".   A few days back I was watching news reports about both the Eurozone crisis and the collapse of parts of the banking industry in various places around the world and it started one or two wheels turning in my head, but then I eventually thought no more of it.  When it came time to think about this week's challenge I had this idea of making an updated version of the Japanese proverb of the 3 Wise Monkeys - "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".  Luckily, in my house mansion, apart from my craft room, an entire wing of my spacious estate is devoted solely to stamps of animals and 3 of the rooms contain my entire collection of monkey stamps in various positions :)

A-n-y-w-a-y... long story short, on my way to my stampatorium I kept getting lost between my golf course and private day spa. Without access to my collection of monkey stamps, I had to abandon the monkey idea completely! That's when I thought back to the banking stuff I had been watching on tv and although they'd used different terminology, it wasn't a huge leap to realise that one thing the interviewed bankers kept implying was that they'd seen no evil, heard no evil and spoken no evil.  So there you have it, three '50s type bankers, complete with stylish modern accessories representing an update to the ancient Japanese proverb!

I spritzed the background card with a little water then dabbed on spots of Distress Stain all over it.  When it was dry I went over it with a few layers of white Distress Stain to soften the colour and stamped the Tim Holtz numbers stamp on top, finally finishing with more white Distress Stain.  I also wiped it with a baby wipe to make it a little more grainy.

I cut out the suits and hats from a sheet of Kraft Resist paper and coloured them with Distress Ink (you could also use Distress Stain but Distress Ink pad and blending tool give a much stronger contrast in the glazed areas of the Kraft Resist).  The shirts and ties were cut freehand with scissors (I didn't even draw them first, I just kept snipping until they looked right.  I know, I know, crafting without a safety net - I live life on the edge!).  The ties were coloured with Barn Door Distress Ink.

I stamped the clowns from the Big Top stamp set and cut out the central face from each image and coloured them with Promarkers.  The accessories were cut from black cardstock and I cut the ipod from black and white card and added twisted wires for the headphones.  I cut a half inch from the bottom of the two background figures so that the added height of the middle figure would make it look like the group was looming threateningly over the viewer.  The two background figures were mounted on black foam to raise them above the background, then the middle figure was further mounted above the duo behind.  I mounted the whole piece onto black card and then onto the front of a white greeting card blank.

So there you have it, a bit of crafting, a bit of Japanese religious history and a bit of topical commentary on society - what more can you want?  lol

Apology:  It has been brought to my attention that some parts of my story in the first two paragraphs are out-and-out lies - specifically in the parts that mention my home.  I've read and re-read it but try as I might I can't find anything wrong.  Still, I'd be failing in my duty, dear reader, if I didn't point it out to you!

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week, just make something for the challenge and you could the winner! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Converse Revisited

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while might feel that you've seen this card before. Well, you have....kinda. I made this card almost exactly a year ago, and a friend just asked me if I'd make one for her, but in green and blue. Always an obliging chap, here's the result! :)

I had made the background paper myself in Inkscape, so it was easy to change the colour from red to green and reprint it. It's matted on black American Crafts linen textured cardstock (basically their version of Bazill) and the shoes are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink then coloured with promarkers.

As ever, click the image for a larger view. See you tomorrow! :)

How to Pass

"Gothic Elements" is the theme over on the Gingersnap Creations blog this week. Hopefully you can see that the gothic element I went with was a gothic arch!

The solid arches and the frame borders for them were cut on the Cricut using the SCAL program, as were all of the hats and the moustache. The stamped images were coloured using shades of warm grey Promarker. The frame borders were stamped in Barn Door distress ink using one of Tim Holtz's stamps, then coloured with a yellow promarker. A piece of graphic 45 paper for the background and some TH memo pins complete the project, which is housed in a shadow frame (from Tesco, sadly they no longer have them).

BTW, I am so disgusted with the quality of this photo that I've ordered a new camera! This is probably an instance of a bad workman blaming his tools, but time will tell! :)

Pop over to the GC blog to see how the other DT members have interpreted the challenge - go on, you know you want to! :)

Video Tutorial - Alpha and Opacity in Inkscape

Someone messaged me asking for help with an Inkscape problem they were having. They were trying to draw squares using the rectangle tool, but it wasn't working. I got them to send me their file to take a look at, and this video uses their problem as a means of examining the alpha and opacity properties of objects created in Inkscape.

I hope you find it useful! :)

To see a full screen version, click here.

Saturday Freebie #32!

The Birdhouse in My Soul

[I've started to make my files available from my blog again and am adding a new set each week. Check out the "Cutting Files" tab at the top of the page to see which ones are available for download.]

Following on from the little birdhouses I've been making lately, I decided to give away the template for one of them as a freebie. These are so much fun to make, and simple too. Decorate with paints, inks, stamps or papers, you can just let your imagination run riot! I've chosen to give away the basic template used for the beach-hut style house shown above (the one with the yellow and brown striped roof).

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and may not distribute it to others in any form. I spend a great deal of time creating my designs, please respect the terms under which they are given.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next Saturday, it will be taken down, and new ones will replace it. Don't forget, if you have any requests, pass them on! I can't promise, but I will take suggestions into account when planning future templates.

These files may not be uploaded to a group, forum or website for sale or redistribution, or shared among individuals. They are expressly for the personal use of each person that downloads them from this blog.

There is only one file and I have put it into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the file out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save it.

There are 3 versions of each template:

• A printable version (PNG files) that you can import into a program like Word, then resize, print, cut out and use like any other paper template (these are NOT Word files, so don't use File/Open in Word! Use Insert/Picture to bring them into a Word document).
• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot program and then cut out on your Cricut.
• A DXF version which is Craft Robo friendly, and ready to be imported into your Robomaster software (I'm not a Robo user, so if there are any problems with this, please let me know!)

Simply right click on the appropriate button below, and choose "save link..." or "save target..." and save your template!

Any feedback on the templates is more than welcome, and if you have any suggestions for possible future templates you'd like to see, please let me know! If you make anything using one of the templates, please post a link to it here so that others can be inspired by how you've used them!

I hope you like the templates - let me know how you get on! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2009

Video Tutorial - Creating a Mother's Day Card in Inkscape

Someone on one of the Cricut groups I belong to asked for some help in making an SVG design she had into a Mother's Day Card. Upon looking at the file I realised there were a few issues with it that might not make it perfect for using in that way.

I created this video for her to show how to alter the file so that it would make a better card, and I include the SVG of the end result here. The original file came from someone else's blog so I can't distribute it here unfortunately, but if you want to mess around trying some of the things I demonstrate, you can use the file I've included on this page!

I hope you find it useful! :)

To see a full screen version, click here.



If you'd like a copy of the file that I produced at the end, you can get it by right clicking and saving here.

A Home Fit for the Obamas?

Well, probably not! It IS a white house, but it's nowhere near as grand as THE White House! :)

This is the latest incarnation based around my bird house design, cut on the Cricut. The door doesn't show up too well on this photo, but your imagination can fill in the blanks! There are also windows on both sides of the house. Click on the image for a larger view.

They say things come in 3s.....

....and it's certainly true of these Cricut bird houses. This is the 3rd and final one that I made on Sunday while hanging out with my friend Hels. This is also the last one that was cut using the original design - I have adjusted it again today, hopefully I can show the new design on here in the next few days!

Like the "Time" themed one that I made for Hels' Sunday Stamper challenge, this one has also been painted with acrylic paint applied with a moist baby wipe, and then stamped with versafine ink. The moon on one side is simply the circle cut out from the front of the bird house, with some shading applied on one edge. Click on an image for a larger view.

Ain't Life a Beach?

Another day, another of my Cricut bird houses, this time with a beach hut feel to it. I'm not yet completely happy with the design of this file, so I'll continue to tweak it a little.

Notice that this one doesn't have the scalloped roof that yesterday's did - I'm still deciding which I prefer!

Video Tutorial - Creating Paper Piecing Files from a Coloured Image using Inkscape software (free from inkscape.org)

Someone asked me for hints on how to do that, and I thought that making a video would the quickets and clearest way to do that!

This will work for both the Cricut with SCAL and the Craft Robo (and related machines). Just remember that Inkscape saves as SVG by default, so if you're a Robo user, remember that when you save your files, you'll need to choose "Save As..." and then select DXF as your file type from the drop down list at the bottom of the save menu.

I hope you find it useful! :)

Video Tutorial - JPG to SVG

I know there are several tutorials already out there on how to do this, but since someone asked me to do it, I thought I may as well give my take on it!

Although I use Paint Shop Pro in this video to get my image ready for tracing, all graphics packages these days have similar tools, so you shouldn't have too much trouble adapting it to your own program. It also demonstrates the basics of tracing an image in Inkscape. I hope you find it useful :)

I talk of saving the file as an SVG and cutting it on the Cricut in Sure Cuts a Lot, but obviously, you could also save it as a DXF file and cut it on the Craft Robo or related machines.

Video Tutorial - Aperture Name Card in Inkscape

Following a couple of email requests, I decided to make a video showing how to make one of these cards in Inkscape. Soon after, someone else in one of the Cricut groups made a video on the same topic (great job Heidi!), so I changed my plans slightly. I'm still making the card, but I've included some stuff on how to use rulers and guides and a couple of methods to manipulate text so that the letters join up to make a continuous word.

Video Tutorial - Setting Inkscape's Default Page Properties

When I was making last night's video, I thought to myself "maybe some people will wonder how Inkscape always starts up with a 12x12 page on my computer" and thought I might do a short video on how to set that up. Then today, someone asked about that very thing, so I knew it was a good idea! :)

UPDATE April 2015
I received a comment on this post today, saying that this technique no longer works on Inkscape v. 0.91 (the current latest version at time of writing). I have stuck with version 0.48 ever since I installed it so I thought I'd better install the new version and check it out for myself! I installed v. 0.91 and the process for setting up the default page size to 12", as shown in the video below, still works just fine as far as I can see, it's worked for me anyway.

Video Tutorial - Creating Word Books in Inkscape

Following several questions in various groups I belong to, I've decided to make this video. There are several ways of making word books like these, so I stress that this is my way of doing it, others may do it differently! :) Although I mention Sure Cuts a Lot frequently during the video, obviously you could save your files as DXF and use them to cut on the Craft Robo or related machines.

If you want to see a full screen version of this, click here.

It was a *really* tight squeeze fitting this into the 10 minute limit, so I had to remove the title page and opening introductory comments, so forgive me for that! :)

Video Tutorial - Removing Parts of an SVG Image

In one of the online groups I belong to (SureCutsALotUsers) there has recently been some discussion about ways to remove parts of an SVG image using the Inkscape program. I decided to make this short video to demonstrate a couple of the methods I use.

I hope you find it helpful!

Video Tutorial - Basic Inkscape Tools

In this tutorial, I show how to create a simple holly wreath in Inkscape which can then be saved as an SVG or DXF file, for cutting on your Cricut or Craft Robo. Hopefully you'll see that the techniques I use can be adapted to create any shape you like!

I don't claim to be an Inkscape expert by any means, but hopefully, if you're new to the program, you will see how shapes can be created simply just from a collection of straight lines and a little tweaking! After cutting the wreath shown here, I added "berries" created from red card with a hole punch!

[Edit - Thanks for your question Carolyn, I should have mentioned that in the video! Yes, when you're finished if you save, it will save as an SVG by default. If you want to save a DXF for cutting on the Craft Robo, choose Save As and select DXF from the filetype list at the bottom of the save window.]