Welcome back to Day 3 of my Valentine's Day Digital Cut File week! I hope you've had the opportunity to check out the
Hugs and Kisses Cut File and the
Valentine's Day Titles Cut File that I've already shared this week.
I really enjoy creating cut files and sharing them with everyone, but that hasn't always been the case. Last year when my 17turtles Etsy shop was open, that love for creating cut files started to die and I could feel it effecting my creativity. I will admit that most of this change came after I returned to work full time. I felt like I "had to" create and share them on a set schedule and that sort of pressure just didn't work for me. Scrapbooking and crafting should be fun, and I decided the only way I would get the fun back was to close the shop and return to doing them for free. Instantly a weight was lifted and I knew I had made the right decision. It's been wonderful to be able to enjoy the process again and I sure hope you all are enjoying using them as much as I'm enjoying creating and sharing them with you!
Today, I'm sharing a new cut file design called
String Art Heart. You can download it below. This design was inspired by the recent trend of string art and of course some of the awesome Jillibean Soup Mix The Media String Art that I've help create this past year.
As I started on this layout, I began with the photo of Danny and Lincoln. I knew I wanted to create a design that would focus on the love that is shared between these two. That is when the string art heart idea occurred to me.
When I was first planning this layout, I was originally going to leave the die cut white and adhere it to my background paper. However, after looking at it a bit more, I decided it looked kind of plain and needed some more color. To create the solid heart image and to fill the negative space of the String Art Heart, I created a new cut file using my Silhouette software.
How to Fill The Negative Space of a Digital Cut File:
1. Open the file in your Silhouette software, select the image, right click and select Release Compound Path.
2. The image will look like this after you click Release Compound Path.
3. With the entire image still selected, right click and click on Weld.
4. This is what the image will look like after you have clicked Weld. You are now ready to cut out the large heart image to place behind the main String Art Heart design. Super easy peasy!
Another change I made, was the addition of the red floss. Originally, I didn't have the red floss on the heart. It was an after thought once the layout was nearly finished. Thank goodness for Un-du. Seriously, I couldn't scrap without the stuff!
Like I said above, I hope you are enjoying the free cut files and I invite you to let all your friends know about them too!