Home Accents Large Medallion

The addition of the "Hide Selected Contour" feature to the Design Studio software opened up many appealing design possibilities. I used the hide contour feature to create this medallion which could be used for a title page or to mat a special photo. This cut could not be made without the hide contour feature.



Above is a screen shot of the element as it appears when selected from the keypad at about 10 inches tall. The width is approximately 11 inches.



I resized the element to be 11 inches wide and 11 inches tall and rotated it 90 degrees to place the flowering arms at the top and bottom of the page.



This screen shot shows the shadow cut of the element as it is designed on the cartridge.



Above, you can see how this shadow looks behind the original cut, in a preview of the cut.



This screen shot shows all of the center contours hidden to create a large central area in the shape with the delicate outer sections still set to cut in full detail.



By hiding the center portions of the cut (they appear in pale blue in this screen shot), I created a different medallion image with the large central area for a title or a photo.



This screen shot shows the blackout version of the cut - the center is not solid but has a solid shape behind each section of the design.

Since the shadow cut and the blackout cut available on the cartridge did not give the effect I wanted for this page, I used the "Hide Selected Contour" option to produce the cut.

***Remember, to hide a cutting line, you left click exactly on a line of the design to select the line you want to hide - it will turn into a red dotted line. Then you right click and choose "Hide Selected Contour" from the bottom of the pop up menu - the line will turn pale blue to indicate that it will not be cut.

I made several test cuts and have added some photos below.

My first test was done on paper that is an orange shade on one side and a design that looks like damask wallpaper in yellow orange and green on the other side.



Above and below you can see the offcut from each side of the paper placed on a brown background paper.



The strong contrast makes the medallion shape very distinctive.



Here is the actual cut medallion layered on pale multi colored wash paper - the look of the cut medallion or the offcut sheet layered on a backing sheet is nearly the same.



It is important to choose papers with a good contrast between the shade and intensity of the color and background. Very busy patterns in nearly the same color value should be avoided since they easily confuse the eye and make the design very difficult to see and appreciate.



The second test cut was done on paper that has a busy daisy pattern on one side and a subtle pattern in a bright pink on the opposite side.



I think the pink and pale green work well together.



Above and below are photos of the the offcuts layered on contrasting papers



The busy pattern makes the design harder to see.

This design is one of many that you can create easily by using the "Hide Selected Contour" feature. I used this same shape with the contours hidden for another project that I will share very soon.

It is fun to play around with the hide selected contour feature - all sorts of interesting patterns can be created. I'd love to see some of your creations using this designing tool.