Customizing Your Klic-N-Kut Toolbar

Hi Everyone,

I promised this short tutorial earlier and then got side tracked with the one for Print and Cut. I thought that some of you might not know how to customize your toolbars to add your most used favorite functions so they are handy and more accessable.

This is briefly touched on in the manual on page 15 but I didn't find the instructions very in depth and played around with it a bit to understand how to do it. Anyway, just remember my standard disclaimer and you will be ok!

What else...oh, is time flying for any of you like it is for me?? I don't know if it is my schedule (4 - 10 hour days) or what, but I go into work on Tuesday and then all of a sudden I am at the end of the day on Thursday thinking "woo hoo" tomorrow's Friday! Not sure what our plans are for the weekend, but I know that I have the normal laundry, etc. to look forward to.

I have also been doing TONS of sketches in my book for new files I want to create so I know I will be working on a few as time permits. I hope to be able to post a freebie on here by the end of the weekend as well.

Well, I guess that's about all for now. Hope you enjoy the new video. As always you can always email me any comments or questions.

Eddita :)

PS: I notice that a number of you are downloading Part 1 of the Print and Cut Tutorial but the number for Part 2 does not match the number in downloads. Not sure if you are aware that there are 2 parts. The second part covers the registration marks, etc. Just wanted to let everyone know just in case you were unaware.

Print & Cut Video Tutorial + Update

There have been a lot of questions lately on how to do print and cuts. It took me a few times of trial and error when I first tried to do it and so I thought this one would be a good one to tackle as a tutorial. The pretty butterflies at the top of the post are what I cut out, so as you can see, it is possible LOL!

To the left under the Quick & Dirty Heading, the tutorial is in 2 parts since this is a long subject. Again, even though the video starts to play when you click on the title, just ignore it (or press pause) and then click on the button below it to download. You will be able to see it clearly and large. Now they may take a little bit of time to download and I apologize for that. Please keep my standard disclaimer in mind...I haven't a clue what I'm doing (but it works for me) LOL!

Also, sorry about the voice blurring in places but I think you will be able to make out what I am saying in those couple of spots and figure out what I am talking about. On the second part where I tell you to refer to the manual for the setting and jogging my mind went blank as I didn't have the manual open. Please refer to page 49 and follow steps 8 on after you have printed out your image.

The first couple of times it might be a lot of work but as with anything else, practice will make perfect!

Try it out! It will open a fun new way to use your KNK!

Eddita :)

7/30/08 Update: Michelle Hessler from Paperthreads (Great Store and Forum by the way) gave me permission to post her comments here regarding my Print & Cut Video Tutorial. Thank you Michelle for the great extra helpful hints!

"Great little videos...couple hints that might make it easier...

1. Once you line up your cutlines with your image, you don't have to move them off the page before you print...you have two options, the first is to make the cutlines so the line is "invisible", OR, ARRANGE the cutlines, so they actually sit underneath the image. Then when you go to print, you won't see your cutlines on your printout. (*it saves you from having to line it up again later)

2. In the same sense, instead of moving your colored image away from the cutline when you go to cut, you simply do a SELECT ALL, and even though it selects the image as well as the registration marks and cutlines, the image part has no cut paths, so only the cutline and reg. marks show up on your cut screen. Again, this saves some steps, as for, if you want to use the file, you don't have to line it up again.

3. I often move my registration marks in as close to the image as I can get. This way, I sometimes end up with large enough scraps when I'm done that I can save them for other projects

4. When you get to the cut preview screen, you can "click" on the other white pages that are showing to make them "inactive", and it will just print the one screen with your image on it. This is sometimes better than using fit object...I also don't center mine, but prefer to put mine on the bottom right corner of my screen, so this way, again, I can be left with larger scraps that I can hopefully use later....(can you tell I like to conserve paper?? Yep, I'm CHEAP!!)

5. Another hint...try to match the outer color of the print image, and create a "bleed" line....this way you can get a good cut without having to be as precise.

6. Make sure when you go into the cut screen and set your reg. marks that you put your pen tool in, and that you use that to mark the center of those reg. marks. That allows you to be way precise.

....if I think of any more, I'll add it here!"

When she says here she means the Paperthreads forum, if you haven't already go to the link on the side and sign up! I will add any others she may have here as well.

Have a great night!
Eddita

Sunday Freebies: Free .KNK File & Free .GSD File

Good Morning! I woke up early and put my pork butt (hehe) into my crock pot for tonight's special...Pulled Pork BBQ!!! Yummmmmm..my favorite!

Since I had time, and since I could not share my meal with you, I came up with another way to share a little LOVE with you! Here is a quick and easy ribbon slide which you can use on cards or as an accent to a layout. The best part is that it is comprised of ONLY 3 pieces!

I have also finished another quick and dirty that I will be uploading shortly on how to customize your toolbars in the KNK program.

I have gotten good feedback on the other little videos I have shared, which is nice to have. Right now I am just doing ones that I know would have helped me starting out. I do have a few that have been requested on a list, but if you have any specific ones you would like to see, I will do my best to create. Just send me a quick note and let me know.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day!

Eddita

Love Ribbon Slide .KNK

Love Ribbon Slide .GSD

Summer Vacations - Road Trip

I added a new file to the featured window on the left called Road Trip! With summer here a lot of people are still gathering their family together and hitting the highways for their vacation.

When I was growing up, as my Dad was a firefighter, he would work a revolving schedule (3 day rotations). Every other year however he would get a full 30 days off for vacation. It was during those times that we would drive to Mexico to visit my Mom's family from up here near the Nation's Capital.

I looked forward to those trips! My mother knowing how kids attention span is limited, would in advance set aside shoeboxes and during the year purchase small (identical) little gifts for us. Each one of these she would gift wrap until the box was full of cool stuff. Everyday we were good and didn't whine and complain she would allow us to open our wonderful box and pick one package to unwrap.

It would be full of really neat stuff! Let's see how many of you can remember some of the following:

Magnetic Scotty Dogs
Number Slide Puzzle
2 piece wire puzzles
Flip Books
Pez Dispensers
Pez Refills
Little Round Maze Puzzle (it would have a little ball that you would roll around and have land on the right spot)
ETC!

We also had road bingo boards, Magnetic Face Boards with the metal filings where you could drop shavings to make beards, eyebrows etc) and Silly Putty.

OH....and WE SANG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I grew up learning all of the patriotic songs from my Dad as well as the fun ones like She'll be coming 'round the mountain...and Froggy went a Courtin...I still know them all by heart.

The file also reminds me of the way the car was loaded up...I'm sure your cars were as well!

Hope you enjoy!
Eddita :)

How to Pounce (not like a cat) and Blackberries!

When you make or purchase a file it may include "pounce" lines. This of course is not to be confused with a dashed line which sometimes is just meant to be cut out. The pattern instructions will be very clear when you should pounce and when you should cut. In almost all of the cases that I have seen (in my little time as a cutter) pounce lines are used for fold lines when making 3-D gift boxes, bags, peek a boo windows and when making a card base.

It is a very easy feature to use and I have added it to my list of Quick and Dirty Tutorials on the left for you to download and enjoy....remember my usual disclaimer...I don't know what I'm doing, but it works good enough for me! LOL!

Now onto Blackberries! I purchased a couple of canes at the end of the season last year from Gurney's Mail Order Catalog and planted them. They really didn't look like much but let me tell you they have taken over!!! The plan this weekend is to make blackberry jelly and can for later use. I now have 5 cups puree in the fridge, sugar, pectin and my jars. I still need to run out and get the lids, but that's just a small detail!

I started canning 24 years ago thanks to a wonderful friend. She is Morman and she explained to me how important it is to put away a years worth of food. Now I have never done that but I was impressed how she would go to the farmers market and purchase boatloads of tomatos and vegetables and would can away! Now being the craft crazed woman (girl at that time thank you very much!) that I am, you KNOW I couldn't just sit back and not join in! LOL....Her husband found me a used Presto Canner for $ 25 and she and I would take turns at each other's home preserving foods and making jellies and jams. Once she visited a friend who had a concord grape arbor and she came home with (and I am not kidding) 75 lbs. of grapes. Can you say Grape Juice and Jelly for 2 years!!! But BOY was that yummy. It was just like Welch's but free except for the labor and sugar.

Do you know I still use that same canner! While I have moved a few times in the interim, every time that I pull it out she is standing right next to me. If you go into my basement I have shelves with peaches, tomatos, soups and jams and jellies. It's great to be able to open a jar and know that what is inside is what I put into it. My DH says the best thing in each jar is the Love he tastes! Isn't he sweet, I think I will keep him another day LOL!

Anyway, enough rambling for now. Take care and I'll talk to you all later!

Eddita :)

SPLAT PIG & New Card

I found this really cool pig at a novelty store and immediately thought of a friend with whom I had not spoken to in months. I went ahead and purchased it to send to her, since she really loves piggies and even collects them. The neat thing about the Splat Pig is that she can squash and throw about and it will maintain it's pig shape. I then thought that I would make a really neat card to go with it. To that end I came up with this one: "PIGS REALLY CAN FLY" and "EDDITA REALLY CAN WRITE!".

I created the flying pig file all the time laughing and thinking about how much she would like it. As I was finishing it up, the phone rang...guess who?!! My friend Eveline! Her ears must have been on fire and I told her so. We have not spoken for a couple of months and there she was Calling ME!!

I immediately told her that I would be posting something tomorrow for her so she should keep an eye out for the mailman. We caught up and set a date to get together (in September!) when both our schedules worked out!

Well, I just wanted to share that with you. It's nice to catch up with old friends, and if you haven't lately because of time constraints, you might want to pick up the old phone and give someone a ring. I know how nice it was for me today.

Eddita :)

PS: I see some of you have gone and found the free file. Glad you got it!

Block Nesting Tutorial and FREE File (.KNK & .GSD)

Have any of you ever tried block nesting? If some of you are thinking of the nesting cubes and cups you played (or are playing with) your children, you are on the complete wrong track!

This is a cool little feature of the KNK program which allows you to save as much paper as possible without waste. I hear sounds of joy coming from those paper collectors out there who shudder at the thought of tossing the slightest little bit of scrap because they "KNOW" they will be able to use it with some other project...you know who you are LOL!

This is a feature I use a lot, especially with text, to maximize my material. I have added it to the list of Quick & Dirty Tutorials. Let me know if they are helping and if there is something you would like to see.

Now for the freebie. This time it is a hunt and go seek file. Just go to my gallery at Cutters Market and search through all of the different catagories. Both the .KNK and .GSD versions are available. Need a hint? Here you go:

Has anyone other than me noticed how hot it is out there? Well, I have and when the weather gets hot you see these these more and more. Think you got it?

Hope you enjoy! Thanks again for stopping by!
Eddita :)

Quick and Dirty Video Tutorials!

I have really been enjoying making quick little tutorials to help answer some of the questions I see about how to use certain features, or how to do something in particular with the KNK studio.

I have tried to upload on this blog, but have not been too happy about the quality so to that end if you look at the top of the column to the left you will see the Heading "Quick and Dirty Video Tutorials".

Quick because I just do it fast off the top of my head and Dirty because they are not the big dollar stuff and are really just done to help me get the job done LOL!

To begin, make a folder somewhere on your computer so you know where you are downloading and can find quickly to watch. After you have done that, just click on the link and it will take you to a place where you can download them to your folder. Don't worry that the video will start to play, nothing is wrong, just look right underneath for a button that says something like download now. Go ahead and do it and save to your computer. You can then open it from your Windows Explorer and view full size.

Now here is my disclaimer "I don't know what I am doing, I'm just making this up as I go and showing what I have found to work for me"

If you're ok with that follow me ROFLOL!

What else, oh yes, I have been continuing to work on my Washington DC files and have added a new one to my gallery. Here is the Lincoln Memorial:



Ok, so that is all for today, I will be working on a free file to share shortly, but just wanted to give you an idea of what I am working on. If you have any questions about your KNK just send me a quick email and I will try to see what I can come up with for you.

Thanks for your visit (really makes me feel like I'm not just talking to myself!)

Eddita :)

I am completely WOWED!

Do you remember when I asked if anyone would be interested in test cutting a file for me? Well Karen was one who answered my call. She just shared with me her layout using the Lady Liberty file...I don't know what to say except WOWWWWWW!!!

I really love the way she added the firework image behind the torch, it really makes it light up! Compared to hers, mine is a piker LOL! I guess that means back to the drawing board!

Here it is:



Isn't it just great?! I love to see what people create using my files!

Great Job Karen!

Eddita :)

Using the Accuscan Function in KNK

Hi Everyone,

Tazz asked a good question on the Paperthreads forum today regarding how to import an image and then use her KNK to cut it out. She was getting a little frustrated because everything she tried did not seem to work and so she asked for some help.

This is something that everyone tries to do and I know in the beginning I had quite a learning curve so I thought I would do a quick little tutorial which hopefully will be something some of you can use.

I am basically following the steps outlined on page 35 of the wonderful manual. I started by finding a coloring book page on the internet and then importing into my KNK program and used the "Accuscan" function.

Understand that any image you find on the web belongs to the creator so you cannot sell due to copyright protection. It is available for personal use only (unless you write the designer directly and obtain permission).

Well, that's about it for now...enjoy the video and if you have any questions I will try to help.

Eddita :)

Converting .KNK files to .GSD

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't been on for a little, but I have been a little busy creating new files and uploading for sale. In the interim, my friend Shelly and I have been emailing back and forth on the easiest way to convert .KNK files to .GSD.

She was describing using Inkscape and I was describing how I use the Screen Capture method located in the manual. As sometimes, I cannot explain everything the way I want to, in the end I told her it would be a lot easier if I just did a little video which is attached below. There is a small part in the middle in which the voice is garbled (and I can't figure out how to fix it) but no great loss...I tend to ramble anyway! All I am saying in this section is if you click outside of the area, and then go back and click in the center, you can drag your .bmp off to the side before deleting. If you have any questions, let me know.

There may be even faster and quicker ways, but this is what I have been doing for a while and it seems to be working. If you have larger or more intricate pieces you may have to do a few pieces at a time and save as multiple .bmps. I found this to be especially helpful when I converted the Lady Liberty file.

Hope this helps to clear up the "mystery" a bit!

Eddita :)

Statue of Liberty File Now Available!

I want to begin by saying Thank You to Karen, Vanessa and Sussann who all 3 were kind enough to test cut the .GSD file for me. They have promised me a picture of how they used it which I will share with all of you here. I can't wait!

Based on their suggestions, the file is now available at my gallery at the Cutters Market site.

They do suggest that when cutting the .GSD file you slow the speed down to 1-2. I have found the same with the KNK and for the intricate areas slowed down to between 50-75.

I am really proud of this file. It took me some time to create and I think that when you finish cutting it out it will add that "WOW" factor to your layout! I just started mine...here is what it looks like so far:



Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Eddita

Happy 4th of July!

Depending on where you are located the weather may or may not be cooperating with your celebration plans today, but where ever you are, I hope that while you enjoy the food, drink and merriment that you pause for a moment and reflect how blessed we all are to live in this country and all of the freedoms it affords us.

Also, take a moment to remember our brave men and women, past-present-future, who keep us safe and who fight for everything that our founding fathers set out for us and future generations to come.

We always stay close to home on the 4Th and I'm looking forward to biking into town and enjoying the day. Our city really pulls out the stops and has different areas along with park which hosts music from different genres throughout the day. A few years ago we saw the band "America" (remember them?? Horse with No Name, etc.). Of course like today, it's probably going to pour, but that's why we carry the umbrellas! LOL!

Tonight's fireworks are supposed to be extra special as well, so unless there is a deluge, we hope to get out to see them as well.

Well everyone, enjoy your day!
Eddita