fbpx
Creative Scrapbooker Magazine's Village of Inspired People promotional image featuring a collage of industry experts and instructors. The black background is decorated with daisies, and text highlights 'Join Now & Boost Your Creativity,' '43+ Classes Available Now,' 'Intimate, Interactive Online Classes,' and '100+ Live Demos & Printable Step-by-Step PDFs.' The main image features smiling individuals ready to teach creative classes.


Pull out your Sizzix Eclips2

eclips2

There are thousands of different free fonts that are available on the internet and they can be easily installed and cut with the Sizzix Eclips2 using the free Ecal Lite software that comes with the machine. I can see that I will soon need to upgrade the ‘lite’ software so that I can cut svg files, but that will be the topic of future blog posts. Today I am focused on installing, resizing and welding a font to make a title for a scrapbook page. This blog post isn’t meant to be a comprehensive step by step tutorial but will give you an idea of what is involved. I found it easy and wanted to share my first attempt. I’m sure, like anything else, it will improve with time and practice. If you’re interested, there are some excellent videos on the internet that will guide you through the process and provide helpful little tips as you are getting your feet wet.

To begin with, go to my favourite font site, www.dafont.com, or try typing ‘free fonts’ in the search engine of your internet browser.   Dafont.com has over 25,000 fonts. The number and variety is simply mind boggling. Have fun browsing through all the styles and download some of those that strike your fancy. Keep in mind that not all fonts will be easy to cut with an electronic die cutter – try to avoid those styles that are not solid because the cutter will try to cut out every little space in the letter or shape. Font files are usually downloaded as a zip file. After the files are on your computer, they will need to be extracted to be usable. I have windows 7 on my computer and there is a button on the top left hand corner that is labelled ‘extract all’ that magically appears when I highlight a zipped file. I press it and the font files are unzipped and ready to use.

For today’s example, I chose the font ‘Marlboro’. I downloaded it from the internet, extracted it and then temporarily installed it onto the Ecal software by selecting ‘Text’, load font file. The font is only there while you are using the software.   It does not load into the computer’s font library and if you closed and reopened the Ecal software, Marlboro would not be there any longer.

load font

load font marlboro

After the font is installed, simply select the type tool (the capital “T”) from the selection bar on the left side of your computer screen and type the words you want onto your virtual cutting mat. Move and resize as desired. If you want, it is quite straightforward to ‘weld’ the letters together so that they cut as one piece instead of individual letters. To do this, you need to ungroup the letters (select Object, Ungroup) and then adjust the position of each one so that they overlay each other slightly. Click weld in the text appearance box. You can then also regroup all the letters into one object for ease in resizing and moving about the cutting mat (using your select tool, draw a box around the word, then select Object, Group).

first

ungroup

letter adjust

There is an awesome 5 minute video on the welding process available here. http://svgcuts.com/blog/2010/06/02/sure-cuts-a-lot-2-welding-101-video-tutorial/

Just think about the possibilities. You can cut any letters in a variety of fonts and sizes, welded or apart, any time you want, limited only by your imagination. Here’s the layout I did with the Marlboro font title.

first day

Supplies: Sizzix Eclips 2 electronic die cutting machine, Simple Stories patterned paper, Brother sewing machine, Beacon Adhesives, pencils.

While I had everything out, I thought I’d make a quick card. I downloaded the ‘creampuff’ font, loaded it into Ecal, typed hello, repositioned the letters slightly and clicked the weld box.

creampuff

Isn’t it a pretty font? It’s easy to cut a few different sizes of your word to see what looks best, add a bit of stitching with the Brother sewing machine and call it a day.

brother

hello card

Supplies: Sizzix Eclips2 electronic die cutting machine, Simple Stories patterned paper, Brother sewing machine, US ArtQuest Mica D’Lights, May Arts ribbon.

Have Fun!

connie

 

 



Author



Write A Comment

VIP Zoom Crop

Friday January 17th Zoom Meeting:
Link to replay: CLICK HERE

Saturday January 18th Zoom Meeting:
Link to replay: CLICK HERE

December 30/24 Online Class

CLICK HERE for the Link for Your Crafty Homework

This includes the eBook and printable materials for the class.
Please note: You’ll need to provide your email address, as Nadine Milton will send the information directly to you.

CLICK HERE for the Link for the Information PDF

This includes the supply list for this class.

VIP Zoom Crop
Friday November 8th: 7:00pm - 10:00pm MST
Saturday November 9th: 10:00am - 10:00pm MST

You will need the ZOOM App on your computer or phone.

Nov 8th - Friday Night
Topic: Zoom Crop #43 - ArtFest hosted by Dooreen Rousseau - FRIDAY NIGHT!
Time: Nov 8, 2024 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87256071707?pwd=F7077MJSL1JLNEK7CMXygrHC0hVAlw.1
Meeting ID: 872 5607 1707
Password: 309205

Nov 9th – Saturday
Topic: Zoom Crop #43 - ArtFest Hosted by Dooreen Rousseau - SATURDAY
Time: Nov 9, 2024 10:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87925186090?pwd=EEPjhi54pyB6YQ3olyaJaYggcGRGxP.1
Meeting ID: 879 2518 6090
Password: 222409

Zoom Crop Information PDF: CLICK HERE

July 12, 2024 - Zoom Crop

WATCH THE REPLAY: CLICK HERE

Here are the times of the demos
1:12:07 - Demo - Page Builders Club House with Tracy Pounds
Here is the PDF link for Tracy's demo with the instructions and products she used: CLICK HERE

3:03:27 - Demo – Infinity Crafts with April Floriant

Thanks so much to everyone who joined and hope to see you all again on Friday, August 9th – from 10:00am to 2:00pm MDT.

July 24/24 Online Class

View the Class Video: Click Here

View the Info PDF: Click Here

Link to purchase the Craft Along Kit: Click Here

April 30/24 Online Class


View the Info PDF: Click Here

Link to purchase the Craft Along Kit: Click Here

December 9/23 Zoom Crop

8 Hour Zoom Crop: Click Here

After Hours Zoom Crop: Click Here

September 27th/23 Online Class


View the Info PDF: Click Here

Link to purchase the Craft Along Kit: Click Here

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more

VIP Zoom Crop
Saturday February 15th: 10:00am - 6:00pm MST

You will need the ZOOM App on your computer or phone.

Join Zoom Meeting Link will be available right here on our designated CROP DAY. See you all then!

Zoom Crop Information PDF: CLICK HERE

FREE Layout Template Guide: CLICK HERE