Quick Easter Digital Layout Using SVGCuts Files

Want to scrap a quick page of your Easter photos this year?  Want to make your cut files do double duty?  Try converting your cut files into digital format (.png), clip some paper to them, and put together a page in no time!  The easiest way I've found to do this is to get cut files from a page that's already been laid out for you, and Mary at SVGCuts has done just that.  I chose to use the scrapbook page from Poplar Street Tulips to create this layout of Easter 2010.

Easter cuteness!

To convert the .svg files I imported them into Make The Cut(MTC), and exported them as .png so I could use them in Photoshop.  There are other programs that will convert files, such as Inkscape, you can even do it in Silhouette Studio, but I find MTC to be the most convenient.

Once the files were in Photoshop, I arranged them on a 12x12 layout just as Mary did.  I clipped some Easter papers to some of the shapes, and applied a glitter style to the egg, the background lace, and the trim at the top of the photo frame.

Since the frame did not have shapes to clip the photos to, I created them using the rectangle tool in Photoshop.  They were sized slightly larger than the openings in the frame, placed underneath the frame, and the photos were clipped to them.

Next I added some drop shadows and two elements not in the SVGCuts file but from the digital collection I used.

And there you have it, a layout that took me under an hour, and that includes the time spent converting the files and deciding what photos and paper to use.

As much as I love making things with paper, when it comes to getting layouts done, I really like going digital.  And when the layout is already done for you (thank you Mary!), it's super fast!  

Making your cut files do double duty as clipping masks makes buying templates unnecessary and stretches your crafting dollar!

So, what do you think?  Have you already done this with your digital scrapbooking?  Would you like to learn more about it?  I'd love to hear, so please leave a comment!

Have a Crafty Day and a Happy Easter!

Items used:
Make The Cut!
Photoshop
Easter Mini Theme by Echo Park
Poplar Street Tulips SVG Kit
LD Those Kids (font-2010)

I'm an affiliate for Make The Cut! and SVGCuts because I LOVE them and you will too!

 

Calendar Day: Summer Shines On

Wow.  How could the last real month of summer be here so quickly?  August is upon us and thankfully, summer is still shining on in my neck of the woods.  Have you done everything you wanted to do this summer?  I sure haven't, but there's still time, so I've got to get to it!

My digital calendar for August is all about the sunshine and that warm summer feeling.  I created my own template for it in Make The Cut!, saved it as a PNG file and clipped papers to it in Photoshop.  Take a look:

Keep on shinin' on, Summer!

I love the colors of this paper designed by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park.  And yes, I bought it at the One Buck Wednesday Sale at Snap Click Supply Co., where I've bought most of my digital supplies, until recently.  I've since discovered another place I heard about on the SVGCuts Facebook page.  It's called Sassy Designs, and it's where I purchased the "wave" template in the upper three squares of my calendar.  This site has tons of digital paper as well as design elements, album templates, frames, and plenty of freebies.  The last sale everything in the store was .25, and I've read there have been sales where everything was only .12!  Then one day there was a deal where you could get unlimited downloads until the end of December for $25!  Of course I jumped on it, and now every time I go there I feel like I've died and gone to heaven!  If you've never been there you MUST go!  Yeah, I guess I'm a little excited. I just love finding awesome deals!

Supplies used:
Make The Cut! software
Summer Bliss Paper Pack 1
Summer Bliss Element Pack 1
Gioviale font by Laura Worthington
3 Waves Layered Border from Sassy Designs
 
So, that's about it for this calendar day.  I hope your summer keeps shining on and Have A Crafty Day!

 (I'm an affiliate for Make The Cut!, because I love it and you will too!)  

June Calendar Day

Ahhh, sweet June has arrived!  Summer is on its way!  Only a few more days left of school for my kids, and the lazy days of summer will be upon us.  I'm not sure what we're doing this summer, but I'm hoping for plenty of days at the beach!  What will you be up to?

I finally got to work on my June calendar, which to me looks more whimsical than lazy days of summer but here it is:

I really like the color scheme of this collection called Snap Happy by Dani Mogstad.  I picked up this digi collection, which has a boat load of images, at Snap Click Supply for 1.99 during the One Buck Wednesday sale.  You should check this sale out if you haven't already, but be careful, it's dangerous to your wallet!  Luckily, DH doesn't read this blog.

Getting back to the calendar, there's only a few things I did differently.  I made my own checkerboard pattern for the grid, and I used the pre made tags included in the collection for the days.  I also used the included alphabet for the title and numbers.  The only place I used a font is for the noted holidays or events for this month.  As much as I like the alphabet for the numbers, it made getting them all lined up a bit more difficult than if I had used a font because each number was on a separate layer.  Of course if I had named the layers as I went along it would have made it much easier!  Hint: Naming layers as you drag them onto your project is a good habit to get into, it helps you keep everything straight as you work.  But you already knew that, didn't you?  Well, let's just say it took me a while to realize it, OK?

Here's what I used in case you like what you see:
Snap Happy Collection by Dani Mogstad
Background Masks Collection by Samantha Walker
TXT Modern Mom (font) 

Hope your summer is a crafty one!
 

Calendar Day...And A Tidbit About Clipping Masks In Photoshop

Ready for Spring yet?  I most certainly am.  Too bad we've got to get through February, and perhaps most of March, before hints of Spring start to show.  That good old groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania saw his shadow, which means six more long weeks of winter, ugh.  One holiday that helps ease my winter blues is Valentine's Day, (I think it might have something to do with chocolate) and my calendar for the month is all about it.  Instead of the usual calendar grid, I created rows of hearts for the days and clipped paper to them.  Using clipping masks is one of the most basic things to do in Photoshop, but I think it's tons of fun.  Take any shape you have and make it look the way you want.  This adds value to your cut files because you can convert them into PNG files using Make The Cut! and use them as clipping masks.   Check out how I did this in my calendar below:

Hearts A Plenty!

Underneath "February 2014" is a notebook shape that started out as an SVG file from SVGCuts.com.  I imported it into Make The Cut! and saved it as a PNG file.  This is necessary since Photoshop will not import SVG files.  I imported the PNG file into Photoshop and clipped some notebook paper to it by putting the paper above the shape and pressing CTRL+ALT+G.  Make sure your paper is completely covering the shape, it helps to magnify what you're doing to be sure.  Depending on the size of your shape you may want to scale down your paper.  You can move the paper layer separate from the shape layer to get the look you want.  When you're all set, press CTRL+E to merge the two layers together.  You now have your paper in the shape of the notebook paper, pretty cool.  The heart shapes for the days and the pink mat underneath were already PNG files I'd purchased.  The cool thing about those is if I decide I want to cut them, I can convert them into SVG files using Make The Cut! as well.  Now that's thrifty in my book, but then again, I most definitely am not the queen of thriftiness (just ask my husband).  So what do you think?  Have you tried this already?  If not, give it a go and have some fun!  Let me know how you do!

Here's what I used to make my calendar:
Make The Cut! software*
Photoshop
Love Story Paper Pack 2 by Echo Park (Valentine papers)
Love Story Element Pack 2 by Echo Park (Journal cards)
Be Mine Element Pack 2 by Echo Park (XO Border)
Babysitting Adventures Paper Pack by Lettering Delights (Notebook paper)
LD Charming Bold Font
LD Remington Portable Font
LD Jub Jub Font
Notebook SVG from Miss Baker's Classroom SVG Kit
Carina Gardner Photo Masks MEGA Collection 

Whew, that was a long list!  Keep warm, and Have a Crafty Day!

*I am an affiliate for Make The Cut!  Thanks for your support!