Print-n-Cut Layering Image

Good afternoon y'all!   I hope that y'all are having a craft filled day today and enjoying every second of it.  I collect images.   I love vintage images and all things vintage.   So, I was perusing my images and looking for inspiration.   I came across one that was going to take a mini challenge to get it done.   I printed the images and cut them out by hand and got them layered and it is awesome.   But, I thought, why in the world would I spend my time cutting out the images by hand, when I can cut it out on my machine.

So, I merged  the jpg image into my Silhouette Designer Studio.   I done "trace and detach" on the image.  That took away all the background image and left nothing but the images that was on the pic, so to speak.   I could then go back into trace with the smaller images and "trace outer edge", that gave me my cut lines.   There are many "tracing" tutorials on YouTube and Pinterest, so I am not going to try to teach you tracing.

I just wanted to try to show you, in depth, what I done.    I brought the images into my software and loaded them onto my 8.5 x 11 mat and put the registration marks on the virtual mat.   I then sent the virtual mat to my printer and below is the print out.  You can see the registration marks in the top two corners and the bottom left hand corner.    The cardstock is on my mat, and it is actually already cut.

The image below, is the white space left from pulling the cut-outs away.   As you can see, it cut very nicely around the images.   I love doing print-n- cuts, and this is the reason why.

Ok, below is some of the images.   My printer is running low of color ink, and of course, it showed up in these images, but I went ahead and cut them out, because I wanted to share with y'all, just how good the print-n-cut feature is.

More of the cut images below.

Ok, the pic below shows the four pieces that it takes to make this layered image.   You can also see how great the cutwork is.

This pic below shows on the far left is the small boot that I cut by hand and managed to get together.   Then, closest to it, is the machine cut boot that I got put together and then another boot that is unassembled. 

I will tell you here that I inked all the edges with markers that was just a shade or two darker than the images.   That, to me, really helps the layers pop.

This pic shows the layering of the images.

The pic below shows more layering.

A diff angle below, to show more of the layering.  You can see all four layers clearly.

This is the finished boot.   I forgot to mention anything about the bling.   How can I do a Victorian boot and not bling it up? ggg 

This final pic shows the size of it next to a quarter.    This boot is actually 5" tall.  The  small one I made by hand was 3.75" tall.   I really love making these layered images.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these pictures and I hope you decide you can do the same thing.   Just Google, YouTube, Pinterest "vintage images" and "print-n-cut" and you will find more info than you knew even existed. ggg   Give it a try, it's fun!

As I leave you this evening, I ask you, "do you ever feel like you are being tempted by the enemy?"   If you do, let me tell you, then you, my friend, are in good company.  

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Yep, you read that right.   Jesus was tempted by the devil.   So, when you and I are battling, every day, with temptations, remember, Jesus was tempted also.     The Holy Spirit had led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted in every way that you and I are tempted.   Jesus, in His humanity relied on the Holy Spirit's direction to face the temptations of Satan, the enemy.   Jesus had the opportunity to disobey His Father.    How may opportunities in a day do you and I have to disobey our Father?    On the other hand, how many opportunities do we have in a days time, to obey our Father?   We have the same help that Jesus had!    The Holy Spirit is our helper also.   The Father has a purpose for each and every one of us.    When we give in to temptation, sin, we allow the enemy to block God's purposes for our lives.   Call on the Holy Spirit to help you to resist the enemy!   When we call on the Holy Spirit, we are getting ourselves ready to walk in and live out God's purpose for our lives.    I pray for you to resist temptation.

I hope and pray that y'all have a wonderful night.   Good night, y'all!   Hugs and be blessed, Patty

Finishing on a high note!!!

Good evening y'all!   I wanted to finish 2013 on a high and positive note.   I have another small project to share with you this evening.   One of my friends from a Secret Santa Swap gave me a beautiful Christian Stamp set for one of my gifts.   I really love the set of stamps.   Well, I wanted to be able to layer a stamp with a shape of the stamp.

So, what I done to remedy that was peeled all the stamps off the mylar film that has the black images of the stamps on it.   I placed it on my scanner with a sheet of white cardstock on top of it so the images would pop when scanned.   Then I brought the scanned images up in my Silhouette Studio Designer Edition and I just done a trace of the images and then I done an offset of 0.175 with each image.   Now, I can just cut the shapes and stamp them, water color them and pop them on  a card front.   Another thing I done was to take the original offset of 0.175 and done another offset of it at 0.175 again and that gave me a layered effect and I really like that.  Here are some pics. 

This first pic is of each stamp cut twice, and then one of them has another offset cut beneath the stamped image and that one then will be layered.

The one above is of the cross with the flowers and lilies and then the word Rejoice.   I inked the edges of the bottom layer and when I put it on the front of a card, because the edges were inked, they will really pop.

The same thing on these.   I used water color pencils and then a water brush to blend the colors on all of the top layers.   Then inked the edges of all the bottom layers.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these.   I can't wait to do more just like these.   It really adds a new dimension to stamps for me now.

I pray for each of you to have a safe and Happy New Year.   I hope that 2014 is the best year ever for all of us!   I pray that if you haven't asked God to be the driving force in your life, then 2014 is your year to do just that.   It's not easy living your life based on the principals and precepts of God, but it is rewarding.   The sinful world does not like it when someone makes life choices based on who God is to them.   We all make choices, every day, whether we realize it or not.

Joshua 24:15     English Standard Version (ESV)
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua chose well and he set a great example for the people of his generation and for the people of this generation.    We have to choose whom we will serve.  Not making a choice IS making a choice!   Choose wisely.

God bless you as we close up 2013!   God bless you more as we usher in 2014!!!   Thank you for hanging out with me this year and I look forward to hanging out with y'all next year!

Blessings, Love and Hugs, y'all, Patty