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Themed SVG Cut File Review (Baby, Beach, Winter, Dies, Christmas, Etc.)

LetteringDelights.com (sidebar) has some new, beautifully packaged SVGs. Just what I’ve been looking for. Cost less than carts, adorable color ideas, BUT…the one downside is that the files are not separated into cut layers–you have to figure all that out yourself. There are some cuts easier to do that than others. I would like them much better if they were simplified and pulled apart for cutting, but I’ve still bought several. They are offering FREE ones from time to time, which is a great way to test them to see if you like them. The “frames” svg files will probably be some of my most used. If you are confident with dis-assembly and separating colors by layer, go for it. If not, stick with images easy to separate.

SVGcuts.com does a better job of separating items for cutting, and the cuts are clean. The only minor thing I do not like about these downloads (for pay) is that within every group, the svg cut files are called “SVG files”. When I went to move my old files to a new computer, somehow I lost lot of files because all the subfolders had the same name. This should not have been a problem, but it was. I’m not sure HOW this happened, I just know it did. I’m hoping I can download another copy or get it all straightened out, but it’s a hassle. I recommend renaming them by cut file name when you download them rather than the generic “svg files” for each set. I have had great luck with these files and highly recommend them. They run great sales and often do a free gift set (full set) with the purchase of a couple other sets. Sign up for their newsletter for more info on sales. Great free cuts each week on their blog, too.

ScrappingTable.com is probably one of the best values out there as far as SVG cut files grouped by theme for download. You can buy it for a one time subscription and there are constantly updates. Just the other day a new one came out for girl pages. With a minimal price of a subscription, you get all subsequent files she releases FREE. These files are clean, and not too complex to cut quickly (not a lot of intricate paper piecing, which I don’t tend to enjoy as a rule). She also provides a lot of helpful tutorials, and alerts you when updates to SCAL come up (the software program which allows Cricut to cut any font on your computer, any appropriate jpg, or svg files).

One of my most used SVG sets is the “shapelies” by Penny Duncan. They emulate popular nesting dies and are worth looking into. Simply separate the images down to one or two images in the sizes your prefer, then cut! I got them in the “free” phase also, but you’d spend the money on just one of these dies, and she offers countless ones ready for cutting. Very well worth the $15 for all of them in my opinion.

Others you like? I’m only referring to “theme” sets for this post. There are LOTS of free SVG files out there just ready for search and grab!

January 24, 2011 at 11:35 am Leave a comment

Fancy Free Fonts I Love and How to Install/Organize Fonts

I LOVE LETTERS!

Here is a list of a few fancy modern fonts. (If you see one you like and want, simply search for them by name and download them free.) Below the list is a picture of what each one looks like by it’s name.

BY NAME:

Amazone BT (TT1040M_.TTF)

BahiaScriptSSK (TTF)

Beautiful Caps ES Swash Capitals

Belphebe

Blackadder ITC

Champignon

Civilian

Exmouth

French Script

Garamond Italic

Gayane StO Regular (first letter text)

HenryMorganHand

Hurricane (SupaDupaSerif)

Leafy glade (first letter text)

Leafyshade (first letter text)

Monotype Corsiva

Mutlu Ornamental

One Fell Swoop

Orphiel Demo

Here are a few I’m enjoying for use in my daughter’s scrapbook:

Feel free to right click|save to disk|print if the .jpg is something you can use for your own scrapbook.

HOW TO INSTALL THE FONTS ON YOUR COMPUTER:

The short explanation:

1. Download the font. It will be zipped. Right click and extract it. Open the zipped .tff file.

2. Drag the .tff file into your Windows Fonts folder

It is now installed and ready for use. Do not delete system fonts from your computer.

Suggestions:

download all fonts to a file you name and can relocate easily later. I use “My Downloaded Fonts” .
unzip all your fonts at once. I use a free program you can download like “UnZipThemAll” to unzip a bunch of files at one time, pronto. Highly recommend it.
leave your virus scanner enabled. It should scan any downloaded files. I use avast! free virus protection, home edition.
some people choose to leave all “downloaded fonts” in a folder separate from their main system fonts to avoid confusing when thinning down later. A program I discussed earlier, AMP or Nexus will run UNinstalled fonts. This keeps the Windows and other programs from getting too bogged down by running too many fonts.
when downloading or installing, you do not “need” every version of every font: for example, if the program you are using converts the primary font to bold and italic for you, you don’t have to also install a font with four versions which include bold and italic. This means that when you are using Word or Photoshop, you won’t have to scroll passed four versions of the same font name to view the next font on the list.

Font Management Programs:

I have about 900 fonts. I have used “The Font Thing” for many years to help give me a better visual of the exact text I want to see. It works well. Using that program, I have also sorted fonts by category to quickly find fonts needed. Recently, I’ve transitioned to Windows 7, and this program doesn’t install easily on Windows 7 without a workaround (install program every time you want to use it, and no updating of this program).

Curious about other options, I’ve recently reviewed new Free Font Programs. After a couple weeks of using several font programs, (AMP and Nexus), I think Nexus is my next font program manager. Both are good, but Nexus seems to keep everything on horizontal text lines, which my mind seems to prefer. AMP is good as well, but switches to a grid of boxes of fonts for some views. It’s worth a try as well.

Here is the list of categories I have developed to sort my fonts. I sort by file type, but also by what will cut well on my Cricut machine. You should develop categories that make sense to you for your uses.

The categories I use are Cartoon (images of superman, etc.), Christmas, clear cut calligraphy (images that would cut clearly on a Cricut), Clear Cut Fonts (fonts that would cut well on a Cricut), Color & Print (for card-making, not cutting), Dingbat Clear Cut, Fancy Calligraphic, Fine Line Clear (clear, but needs to be made thicker in the cut program to cut well), Frames, Handwritten, Image Letters (letters that have other images on them), Labels, Tags, & Boxes, Music, and Ornamentals (generally not good for cutting).

“Sure Cuts a Lot” Font Cutting Program for Cricut:

I mentioned cutting fonts. If you would like software that allows your Crucit to cut out of cardstock any font on your computer, try SCAL (Sure Cuts a Lot) for free trial. Is great for sign-makers, teachers, scrapbookers, or automobiles decal makers. You can even cut vinyl for windows and autos.

It’s currently on sale ($59.95 Limited Special Offer). Here’s a Baby Album Using Cricut and Sure Cuts a Lot where I downloaded elements off the internet for cutting, and here’s some projects where I used a lot of free fonts. I prefer this to buying a cartridge for even $15. Most often, the cartridges are $30-$60 per font. I love this program and use it daily. Updates are free, and the support community is great! Click here to see some of my current projects using SCAL.

I plan to update this list within the week with even more beautiful fonts I’m finding, so be sure to check back or subscribe by RSS feed so you don’t miss them.

Favorite Font Sites:

Here is a great list of free font sites from the blog Cutting Time. My all-time fav is probably hers as well: www.dafont.com. It’s very well organized and easy to scan for new fonts.

January 2, 2011 at 2:26 pm 14 comments

Baby Album Using Cricut and Sure Cuts a Lot

A baby album with elements cut with my Cricut and Sure Cuts a Lot lately to make a first year baby album for my little niece for Christmas.

I found a great set of baby cut files by The Scrapping Table. These files were bought with a subscription, however, there are tons of free files out there you can use with your SCAL cutting software and Cricut. For this project, I just wanted to find files already grouped together for me, and I loved these. All her files are well worth the small subscription fee. The files are easy to use, stored by theme, and clean to cut. I also enjoy the emails she sends out with links to how-tos on updates to the SCAL software as Craft Edge releases them. I am not being paid to endorse her site, I just love it.

SLIDESHOW OF ENTIRE ALBUM:

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My favorite adhesive so far for piecing is tape dot roller. I just got a pink ATG gun on sale at Jo-Ann’s, so we’ll see how that goes.

INFO ON FALL .SVG FILES:

The autumn title (see slideshow above) is a free file from a cut file internet seller called www.svgcuts.com. They also have great files for small charge bundled by theme (like cartridges), so that they are tested and easy to find. I’ve bought several from there usually very reasonable prices with great sales (join their mailing list for free weekly files and promotions). I created the Halloween title myself by welding letters together in SCAL with a pumpkin welded in the middle for the “O”. The scarecrow is the most complex paper piecing I did, but I had made it for fun during some down time the previous fall–he was just waiting for a page!

SPRING SVG FILES:.

The Easter embellishments are for her first Easter photos this spring. Everyone who sees the cut embellishments can’t resist holding onto them and rubbing them for a while! Even me. We laugh at each other at our scrap group…you just have to hold them! You just can’t help but want to touch and hold them. I know, it’s crazy, but textiles are just that way!

The donkey and cross are three layer file–they look great and were easy to assemble.