Add markers to get the details

Sometimes on a frame you are welding elements that have internal details - these are lost when the frame is cut due to the welding process (a feature of this first version of the software that could possibly be changed in the future?). For most of the frames I have done so far this was not an issue because they were shapes, but the little animals and train on the baby frame seemed "blah" without the details.

So, I got out my markers and decided to try to get some definition on these elements.

To do this I needed to first create a second mat with just the shapes so that I could have the markers draw them but not the frame. This is easy but a bit time consuming. First you need to create a new page by clicking on the page icon with the little "sun" at the top of the column of buttons on the left or selecting "New Page" in the "View" menu on the top bar. Then click on each item and "copy" it, move to the new page by clicking the tab for it and paste the item on the new page. Name your page by right clicking anywhere on the page and highlighting "untitled page" in the box - typing the page title and either clicking on Change Page Name or just "enter."
Repeat this process until the items are all showing on page 2. You also need to uncheck "weld" to get the details to reappear.

Here is a screen shot of the new page after all the copying, pasting and "unwelding"



Here is the preview with all mats showing



Here is the frame on the mat after drawing and cutting.



You can either draw, then cut or cut, then draw - some people recommend cutting first to be sure that the blade won't tear the slightly wet paper but you can also just let the paper sit for a while if you draw first. The important thing is to be very careful when you change the marker for the blade and vice versa.

When you change the blade after the first cut be careful not to bump the housing and be sure to press "load paper" again to put the housing back into starting position - this helps avoid misalignment by getting the machine to start from "neutral" and go to the precise spot where it cut before.

The issues I had with the results have to do with the thickness of the lines. Normally, if you are using the markers to outline a cut there is a thick line drawn and the blade cuts in the center of that line. The end result is a consistent line. Here some marked lines are cut and some are not so there is an inconsistency with the thickness as you can see in this photo.



I think it looks a bit out of balance but I do like the definition the marker adds overall.

This time I left the smoke bubble in the outer rim of the mat (just removed from the mat carefully and did not "punch" it out).



So, this is another option for you. I will link the revised version of the file here if you want to download it (you could also just follow my directions above and try to do it yourself).

Revised Sweet Baby frame with Zoo Balloo

I also separated the elements on the other version of this frame but have NOT tested this with the markers - I'll post it here if you want to try it.

Revised Sweet Baby frame with Animal Kingdom