Celebrate Card with Daisy Cutouts

This is a very simple card with a twist.  I used the hide selected contour option in Design Studio to create the border of daisy cutouts.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that this is one of my favorite features in the Design Studio program.  I have heard that it will soon be available on the Gypsy as well.

This screen shot shows the location of the daisy in a circle that I used to make the card.

By using "hide selected contour" to eliminate the circle, the negative space will cut into the card.

There is an issue with the "hide selected contour" feature.  If you only hide one line of an image, it will not stay hidden when the file is closed and reopened.  I figured out a way to solve this problem and wrote about it back in February of 2009 (here is a LINK to that post).  I thought I'd explain it again since many people who are new to my blog or Design Studio might not know how to do this.

As long as the image that you are using has more than two contours this solution will work.  You need to copy and paste the item or group of items so that there are two identical copies to work with.  Then use the handles to move the new set to one side so you can see both sets clearly.

Remember, to hide the contour you left click on a line of the design.  The line will turn pink or red.  Then right click on the mat and choose "hide selected contour" from the bottom of the drop down menu.  When the line is hidden it will turn pale blue.

When you do this you will find that "hide selected contour" is not available on the copied set of images (it will be grayed out in the drop down menu).  Simply save the file and then reopen it from the file menu - this will make the feature available to use on the copy.

To solve the problem of hiding only one line you should hide the line you want hidden and one more line in the image.  Then, on the second copy of the image, hide all of the lines except for the one extra line that you hid on the first copy.

When you have hidden the proper lines, check the X and Y values for the original image by clicking on a line to make it active (handles showing).  Then select the copied image and enter exactly the same values in the X and Y boxes for that image.

Now, when the file is closed and reopened, your design will still work.  If this all seems like too much work, you can also put a note on the file reminding you to hide the lines each time you use the file.  I go to the trouble of setting the file up this way so that when I share files with new users they won't run into a problem when they try to cut the design.

The "Celebrate" sentiment is also from the Straight from the Nest cartridge.

Here is how the card looks after cutting.  I may try to lift the petals and transfer them for another card.  This is a interesting way to use the offcuts but I am not sure if these will be too small to transfer successfully.  When I looked at the centers of the flowers, I thought that they could use an embellishment but the mood of the card was too casual for "bling" in the form of gems.

I looked around my studio and saw this bowl of "Skittles" (small plastic flat-backed drops).  These were very popular a year or more ago but they come in bags of thousands - I can't be the only person who still has a lot of these still sitting around!

It turns out that they are a perfect fit for the centers of the daisies.

I tried several options for the sentiment.  First, some blue gemstone Core'dinations (at the top).  This looked too formal for the light mood of the card.  Next, some plain light blue cardstock which seemed too flat and a bit too bright to coordinate.  Finally, I settled on some textured Core'dinations cardstock in a darker shade of blue.  I thought this one was "just right."

The cardstock I used for the card was from a Martha Stewart baby boy stack.  It is solid green on the opposite side and will be suitable for writing without an additional liner needed.

This is a simple card but it has just enough of a twist to make it interesting.  I hope you like it.  If you make one from the file I'd love to see it.  You can post it on the new Capadia Designs Facebook page, here is a LINK.

Daisy Border Card