Tuesday, January 26, 2010

How'd she do that?

I mentioned last week that we're having a CHA crop over at the Scraptiv!ty show and tell board. Today I'm posting a crop challenge with extra instructions right here on my blog. This is a specialized challenge for those who own a digital cutting machine (like the Silhouette or Cricut), and my directions are only for Silhouette owners, but don't let that discourage you. There are a lot of other great challenges going on on the board that are not so specialized. Now on to the directions!
Do you want to know how to do lettering like this on your Silhouette?
Here are some directions:
1. Open your ROBO Master cutting program and select your document size.
2. Choose the text option from the left hand column.
3. Type your phrase (here I will use "Birthday" for the demonstration) at the desired size and click OK.4. Now you should have the word Birthday on your cutting document.
5. Right click on "Birthday" and copy and paste the word. The copy and paste "Birthday" will appear directly over the original "Birthday". Do not move them apart.
6. Right click on "Birthday" again. This time choose "Offset Shapes"7. Choose your settings:The following options are available:
  • Offset Value: The greater the number, the farther away the traced shadow or mat will be
  • Direction of Offset: "Outside" should generally be selected. This traces your shadow or mat outward. "Inside" will give you a reverse mat and trace your image inward.
  • Method of Join: This is the style of shadow or mat you wish to create.
    • Miter - This will provide sharp edges; There is an optional "Miter Limit Value" which will determine how sharply the traced edges bend
    • Round - This will provide smooth edges
    • Bevel - This will provide blocked edges
8. After choosing your settings click "OK". Your document should now look like this:
9. You can now separate your shadow from your word.
10. You can now cut your word and shadow.

Here's another example made for a previous Scraptiv!ty kit.
I can't wait to see what you make. Don't forget to post an image of your project using words that have a shadow in the gallery at http://www.scraptivity.com/show/showgallery.php?cat=584 by Friday, January 29, 2010 at midnight Pacific Time to enter the contest.