Talk About It Tuesday #1 - Fonts

Starting a new series with today's blog post - Talk About It Tuesday. During my Scrapbook with me events we often chat about tools, techniques and tips. I want to use this series to share my thoughts on the topics we discuss. This week to start things off let's talk about FONTS.

Last week we talked about the fonts I use with my Cricut and I was asked to put together a list of my favorite fonts. I figured I would share the list here with you along with some tips for using these fonts with your Cricut.

To start with I definitely would classify myself as a "font addict". I have, over the years, collected thousands of fonts and have them on my computer. I often find them through free links on different sites. My favorite sites to get free fonts from are: FontBundles and DaFonts. 

FontBundles does a Free Font Friday so if you sign up on their site you will get an email with links to the free fonts each week. DaFonts is great when you are searching for a particular font.

I download fonts from these sites and save a copy to the cloud so if I ever have to reinstall it I have a backup. I am on a Mac so I just need to double-click the font to install it using the FontBook app that comes with the Mac OS.

For those new to collecting and installing fonts you will notice that most fonts come in both a TTF and OTF format. I usually install the OTF version of the font since it will come with some advanced typesetting features but it really does not matter which one you install.

After I install a new font I use a feature I love in FontBook to add the font to collections I have created - Script, Disney, Fun, etc. I also have a Favorites collections for my most-often used fonts. I have two types of fonts I tend to use - scripted fonts and regular. 

Script Fonts

Regular Fonts

You can find a downloadable PDF of these lists of fonts with links to where to get them - here (Script) and here (Regular).

I am always adding new interesting font lists to my Pinterest board so make sure to follow me on Pinterest.

Using Fonts with your Cricut

The fonts I have shared here are from outside of Cricut - they are not part of any Cricut cartridge collection or a font you can purchase through Cricut. To use these in your Cricut you just need to have them installed on your computer. If Cricut Design Space is already running when you install a font, you may need to quit the program and then restart for the font to show up.

My main tips for using any font with your Cricut is:

1.  Use a ruler to measure the space where you want your element to go on your layout then use the arrow on the lower right corner to drag and resize the element to what you want. Using this does a proportional resize so the length and height stay in proportion to each other.

2. You can also resize just one element by clicking on the padlock on the lower left corner to unlock the proportions and stretch the title in either direction using the green cross in the lower right corner.

3. These tips apply to fonts of any type. When working with script fonts you will need to make sure to Weld the element before cutting or you will get odd cuts. Script fonts do not automatically place to letters next to each other so you will need to use the Letter Space option on the toolbar to move the letters closer.

4. Sometimes when you use the Letter Space option as the spacing decreases the letters start to overlap each other too much in some spots and not enough in others to weld properly. To use a script font in this instance you will need to create a text box with each letter separately then move each one together to place just where you want the overlap. Once you have them in place you can select all and then weld them together.

5. Once you have them welded you can adjust the height and width to your needs. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this Talk About It Tuesday topic. Make sure to follow my blog to see upcoming posts.

Patriot's Place

With the COVID pandemic going on I think we are all getting a little stir crazy so Mike, the girls and I decided to head out one day to take a short trip down to Patriot's Place. For those not familiar with it - this is a shopping and eating area right next to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. We had fun wandering around the area and I knew I wanted to scrapbook this during my most recent Scrapbook with me event. This is my finished layout from the event.

This layout was a complete Scrap-Your-Stash layout as the cardstock, paper, flowers and buttons were all from my stash of retired products. I used paper from the retired Elemental collection from Close To My Heart for this.

The sketch I used came from the 4x6PhotoBlog.

You can find this sketch along with others here.

The title was cut on my Cricut using the Beradon Script font. During the event we talked a bit about fonts and the Cricut so I will be sharing some of my favorite fonts and some tips on using them in an upcoming post.

I added some flowers and buttons from my stash to complete the layout.

If you are interested in joining me for one of my Scrapbook with me events, make sure to follow my Facebook page so you will get notifications of any upcoming events.

I hope you liked the layout. Thanks for stopping by!

September 2019 Monthly Recap

I am continuing to catch up on my scrapbooking through my Scrapbook with me sessions and working on more monthly recap layouts with my group. This layout is from a recent event and is a recap of September 2019.

The layout features papers from the current Close To My Heart Core catalog - Lovely collection and Wood Grain paper packet. For this I used this sketch from December 2017 from the Page Maps Blog.

You can find this sketch along with others here on the Page Maps blog.

The title was cut on my Cricut. I have been using a similar title format for each month in 2019. The floral embellishments were stamped from the October 2020 Stamp of the Month - With All My Love. I used Intense Black Exclusive Inks and colored in with Triblend Markers. I love being able to use stamps on my scrapbook layouts.

If you are interested in attending one of my Scrapbook with me events, make sure to follow my Facebook page so you will get notifications of any upcoming events.

I hope you liked the layout. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies List:

X8015B - Lovely Paper Pack

X8015C - Lovely Coordinating Cardstock

X8017 - Wood Grain Paper Pack

S2010 - October 2020 Stamp of the Month - With All My Love

Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Inks

Z2486 - Dull Green Triblend Marker

Z2496 - Pale Pink Triblend Marker

Z2494 - Hydrangea Triblend Marker

Z4191 - Silver Glitter Gems

Tougas Farms

It's apple picking time here again. Even with the pandemic going on we still got to get in an apple picking trip up to Tougas Farms here in Northborough. I enjoyed creating this layout to document our adventure at one of my recent Scrapbook with me sessions.

For this layout I used the following sketch I found through Pinterest. This sketch came from the Basic Grey blog and can be found here.

I combined some papers I had remaining from the Bloom with Grace collection along with paper from the coordinating Mix-Ins paper pack. I love how the Mix-Ins Close To My Heart offers in each catalog really do "mix in" and expand the use of the paper collections in the catalog.

I created the title and side bracket elements using the Stitched Scallop Bracket Thin Cuts. The title was stamped using the retired Erin's Hand alphabet stamp set. The leaves were cut using the Leaves Thin Cuts.

If you are interested in joining one of my Scrapbook with me sessions make sure to Like and Follow my Facebook page so you get notifications when I am having an event.

I hope you liked the layout. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies Used:

X7260B - Bloom with Grace Paper Pack

X7260C - Bloom with Grace Coordinating Cardstock

X9019 - Mix-Ins Paper Pack

Z3688 - Stitched Scallop Brackets Thin Cuts

Z3692 - Leaves Thin Cuts

Thanksgiving Cards and a card workshop

I just completed making my Thanksgiving cards for this year and had so much fun creating these I knew I wanted to share the results with you. I had started making these on National Card Making Day during my Zoom event using a 14 Card One-Sheet-Wonder technique I found on Pinterest. I cut the pattern pieces and started working on the card pieces during that event.

I knew when I started making these they would be Thanksgiving cards using more of the Bloom with Grace paper and embellished with stamped images from the With A Grateful Heart stamp set. I am so pleased with how these came out. 

I adapted the cutting guide I found on Pinterest to create the following guide for the piece of 12" x 12" Bloom with Grace patterned paper I started with.

Once I had the patterned pieces cut I worked with Espresso, Fern and French Vanilla cardstock to mat the pieces and create each of the cards.

I used the Woodgrain Embossing folder on a few of the card pieces as well as Espresso Ink and a waterbrush to create a splatter effect on some. 

The embellishments were done with stamped images from the With A Grateful Heart Stamp Set + Thin Cuts as well as Cricut cuts from the Close To my Heart Complete Creativity Cricut collection.

If you are interested in making these for yourself you can purchase the full directions to this workshop at the end of this post following the Buy Now button to my shop.

Cards 1 through 4

Cards 5 through 8

Cards 9 through 12

Cards 13 and 14

I hope you liked the cards. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies List:

X7260B - Bloom with Grace Paper Pack

CUSTOM12 - Custom Cardstock Pack 12 sheets

    6 sheets Espresso, 3 sheets Fern and 3 sheets French Vanilla

Z3775 - With A Grateful Heart Stamp Set + Thin Cuts

Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Ink

Z2829 - Espresso Exclusive Ink

Z3225 - Medium Round Waterbrush

Z3696 - Woodgrain Embossing Folder

Z3682 - Fancy Borders Thin Cut

Z2519 - Gold Yellow Triblend Marker

Z2517 - Burnt Orange Triblend Marker

Z2486 - Dull Green Triblend Marker

Z2513 - Red Brown Triblend Marker

Z2512 - Muted Brown Triblend Marker

Z891 - Versamark Ink

Z2068 - White Detail Embossing Powder

X254 - White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack

Here is what you will receive with the workshop files:

• Welcome Page 
• Cutting Guide with color photos of the papers and directions for cutting the papers needed
• Card Guide with supply list and color photos of the completed cards
• Consultant Release
• Social Media image for you to use in promoting the workshop for your customers

I hope you enjoy creating these cards just as much as I did creating them!

Comfort & Joy Scrapbooking Workshop

I worked on this scrapbook workshop design last weekend while doing a Zoom crop with some friends. I continued working with the collections from the September/October Idea Book from Close To My Heart to create workshops for you. This workshop features the Comfort & Joy collection. 

This workshop creates 8 12" x 12" scrapbook pages - 4 2-page layouts. I love the traditional color patterns in this collection - so perfect for scrapbooking those holiday memories.

If you are interested in creating this workshop for yourself or with your customers, there are 3 ways to get the files:

1. Follow the Buy Now link on the bottom of this post. The files are $12.00 (USD). 

2. Place a purchase on my Close To My Heart website for $35 or more (before taxes and shipping).

3. Join my Close To My Heart team, all team members have access to my workshop files.

Sharing a few more pictures of the layouts you will be able to create with this workshop guide.

Supplies Needed for this Workshop:
X7261S - Comfort & Joy Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet
X7261C - Comfort & Joy Coordinating Cardstock
X7261D - Comfort & Joy Picture My Life Cards
X7261E - Comfort & Joy Gold Glitter Die Cuts

Z1985 - Gold Shimmer Trim

Z3312 - Gold Glitter Gems

Here is what you will receive with the workshop files:

• Welcome Page 
• Cutting Guide with color photos of the papers and directions for cutting the papers needed
• Layout Guide with supply list and color photos of the completed layouts
• Consultant Release
• Social Media image for you to use in promoting the workshop for your customers

I hope you enjoy creating these layouts just as much as I did creating them!

May 2020 Monthly Recap

I continued with my monthly recap layouts today during my Scrapbook with me event. I focused on photos from May of this year with this layout and had fun playing with the current Mix-In papers.

For this layout we worked from this sketch by Even More Scrapping. 

You can see this sketch along with other variations on it here.

I cut the title using my Cricut and cut the bracket for it using the Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cut. The rick-rack strips were done using a border punch from my stash.

Added some die cut stars and some silver glitter gems for embellishment.

If you are interested in joining me for one of my Scrapbook with me events, make sure to head over to my Facebook page to follow me so you will get the notifications for upcoming events.

I hope you liked the layout! Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies list:

X9019 - Mix-in Paper Pack
X9020 - Mix-in Coordinating Cardstock
X6047 - Black 12"x12" cardstock
1385 - White Daisy 12"x12" cardstock
Z3686 - Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts
Z4191 - Silver Glitter Gems

25 Years Together

I knew as soon as I saw the Silver Foil Pattern paper in the current Core catalog that I would use it for this layout. My husband, Mike, and I went out in Boston last weekend to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. With the 25th being silver I decided to pair the foil paper with some of the current Mix-in paper for this.

I did this layout on Monday with my Scrapbook with me group and we used this sketch from Stick It Down as inspiration.

This sketch is their October 2-page challenge sketch. You can see this sketch along with others here on their blog.

I changed it up a bit and used fewer photos that were slightly larger for my version.

I cut the title from silver glitter paper using the font that is part of the CTMH Artbooking cartridge. The Artbooking Cartridge has been my go-to set for a long time. You can see this cartridge along with others here on my Cricut affiliate link.

I added some silver shimmer trim and some miscellaneous embellishments to add some more sparkle to it.

I hope you liked the layout! Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies List:

X8018 - Silver Foil Patterns paper pack

X9019 - Mix-Ins Paper Pack

X6047 - Black 12" x 12" cardstock

1385 - White Daisy 12" x 12" cardstock

Z3239 - Silver Glitter paper pack

Z1799 - Silver Shimmer Trim