Circle edge text – will it work? Try it and let me know!

So I have gotten a few queries about the way I put the text around the edges of my ATC coins. I use a function in my program called “Attach Baseline to Path” under Path Binding. It makes the text run along any shape. inside it or outside it, forward or reverse, hugging the baseline or a ways away, and showing the path or not. It is interesting to play with. I have been trying to work out a way to share something you can use and had no luck. If you don’t have (and know how to use) a program that does this then I suspect, well, you just can’t.

I think I finally worked out something useful, if not perfect. You will need:

• the download below, printed at 100% exactly (more on that later)
• a 2 inch punch
• a 2.5 inch punch

(you can try to make circle dies work or cut by hand, but the punches are the best option.)

Here are a few of the coins where I have used this technique:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The first thing i did was create some text in a circle. Much like those booklets of useful arty words that you can peel off and stick, I made circles of text that can only be use in limited ways. I have tried to pick phrases I see a LOT, that could work for a few different situations, and where I have grouped them, I’ve tried to make the sort of GO together, so if you wanted to use the whole circle, you could. This is what it looks like – this image will not print the the exact right size for the instructions I will be giving you – download the PDF HERE

Firstly, print the PDF. Be sure that your printer is not trying to re-size the file! For some unknown reason mine always tries to print it at 103%. Change it – in my case I have to tick SCALE and then enter 100

The fine grey lines are to help you line up your punches. If you are hand cutting, or trying to line up circle dies, they will be helpful. The outside dimension is 2.5 inches, the inside circle is 2 inches. This is how I do it:

• 

  Punch out the inner 2 inch circle

• 

  Line up and punch the outer 2.5 inch circle

• 

  Cut apart the phrases if you prefer

Don’t be alarmed by the mis-spellings in the PHOTO, they have been corrected in the PDF. When you have the phrases cut, you can edge them using a marker – and I love the Sharpie Chisel tip – for a fine line, or a dauber and ink for a more smudgy look.

• 

• 

Now, I think most of these could be made to work with any generic, pretty or arty ATC. It isn’t a crazy difficult process so I would be open to further suggestions if you care to eave them down in the comments – if I get enough that I feel are likely to be useful to many people I might do further sets. Hope this is useful!

Arty Envelopes to download

My ATCs have begun to land and I am getting a LOT of questions about the envelopes. I thought I would do a post about them again, with some to download, made from freebie images and free digital papers.

The thing is this – the program I use to do this kind of work (and by the way, the book folding templates) is no longer supported. The Mac mini I use is from 2009 and while it is not the last one this program will work on, the new ones running Big Sur break the Intaglio completely. So I am nursing the poor thing along, doing frequent back-ups, and hoping it stays healthy. So while I COULD explain how I do these, there is little point. I have downloaded a few potential replacements and frankly none of them work as well as Intaglio.

Here are the ones I made. Clicking this link will download all four but you can print just the one you want if you select that page and print only the selected page.

• 

• 

• 

And this one, which I like a lot.

The original files were pretty massive, so this PDF has been reduced using a Quartz filter. If the images are less that crystal clear and crisp, it was either that or a 30+mb file to download and stored on my blog. Trade-offs, ya know?

The images came from a variety of places. The quirky face is from CraftyHodges on YouTube, who I have linked to before. She has a number of downloads that would work very well for the sort of low-tech solution I will walk you thru, and I will use one of her sets to shoe the steps. The crazy cat dressed as Brunhilde comes from a free image collection from the Library Of Congress. The butterfly is from The Vintage Moth – old site, but still with some nice images. The lovely face is from Freepik, which is a site I have a paid membership to so am able to use and share the images without copyright concerns. I think the digital papers came mostly from Freepik but some might just be from my collection, the download link lost to time. You can use Freepik personally without attribution, for this sort of work, so go have a look. I’ve had a membership for years and it is well work the yearly fee for the wide range of digital goodies it has.

Rather than go into some long explanation of my steps to make digital envelopes, using a program that you can’t get anymore, tomorrow I’m going to explain how you can do this in a more low-tech way and show you the steps I would use. You will need a scanner at the very least, to make your own digitally, and to print at will, but you COULD use a photocopy machine in a pinch! I will try to add a lot of links to freebies so you can have a go.