Tips and Tricks

Video tutorials, tips, and tricks for using Pazzles product!

Zig Zag Stitch Card

While perusing the different Scrapbook and Cardmaking magazines, I noticed that using a sewing machine to stitch around paper is really popular. In my past life, aka Before Pazzles, I did a lot of sewing, so I love this look. However, I don’t have room to keep my sewing machine up and I hate hauling it out for a little project. I have already been using the fabulous Pazzles Pen Tool for stitched or dashed lines on my projects. But I wondered; could I make my project look like zig zag stiching that is joining 2 pieces of paper together?

Simple Gifts

Recently my daughter had pictures taken of her 3 month old baby boy, Dustin. I was along, of course, as I like to help pay for the photos. Little Dustin was so cooperative and it seemed like every picture was a “keeper”. As usual, I went a little overboard choosing pictures. Once the pictures were distributed to all the relatives we still had a bunch of wallet photos left. I turned to my Inspiration to come up with a way to use those cute little wallet photos.

The Little Things

Our lives are full of big things and little things. The big things take all our time, the little things hold all the meaning. A school supplies note, we have all had one in our hands at one time or another. Just another errand to run; another item on our to-do list. But these little things are the things memories are made of. This is what scrapbooking is all about, the little memories. This is also what makes the Pazzles Inspiration so suited to my scrapbooking, it is the one tool that makes my memories what they truly are; unique.

See Things from a Different ...

The Inspiration Studio Software has so many amazing tools that we often lose track of some of the smaller but no less useful features. The Italic tool is one such feature. We are all familiar with the term Italic, but perhaps familiarity makes us unable to see the potential hidden there. You may ask, “What is she talking about? Italic is for fonts, right?” Let me help you look at this tool from a different angle. (Pun intended. :))

Feeling A Little Pressure?

We have all experienced it….THE BOX finally arrives at our door. We clear a spot in our craft room or craft space, we set the kids in front of a video and we open THE BOX. We are so excited. We have had visions of the wonderful things we will create, so much so that we can’t sleep at night. We KNOW it won’t be instantaneous. We are not after immediate gratification, we know that something this fantastic will take some perseverance to learn. But WE ARE READY!! We set the Inspiration up, admiring the pretty color and shiny surface. We install the software, download the upgrades and dive in to creating. It doesn’t matter whether it is a star, a circle or a word….we are almost shaking with anticipation. Now is the time to CUT IT OUT….

Eureka!!

I will admit that sometimes I am stumped when it comes to choosing a topic for Tricky Tuesdays. At those times, I usually just start playing with the Inspiration Studio Software hoping to come up with…Inspiration. That is how this lesson began. I was exploring the Draw Polygon tools and realized that I could easily make scalloped circles! Eureka! I had done this technique ages ago (Yes, I am a dinosaur when it comes to Pazzles!) and tucked it back in the furthest recesses of my mind. Was I ever excited when I remembered it.

Can’t Find it? Make ...

I think one of the most valuable attributes of the Pazzles Inspiration System is the ability to create anything I need for a project. I can choose from hundreds of fonts and most of them are free on the internet. If I can’t find exactly what I have in mind I can make it look the way I want. I have COMPLETE CONTROL over the results. I don’t need to buy a new cartridge or download to get the look I want. I don’t need to settle for something that is so-so. I don’t need to pop in one cartridge and keyboard overlay, cut ONE thing, pop in another cartridge and overlay, cut ONE more thing and repeat, repeat, repeat. In the Summer Splash page pictured here, I altered the fonts to fit the theme. Simple ways to alter fonts are to tilt the letters or resize them as I did for the word ‘laugh’. (Use the Break text by Character option under the text menu to separate the letters.) But did you know that you can change the fonts in other ways?

The Truth About Chipboard

I was browsing the internet for chipboard to buy and really getting a headache over it. Not because I couldn’t find any, there were lots of places that sell chipboard for very reasonable prices in every dimension I could think of. Where I really got stuck is on the thickness of the chipboard. I knew I wanted something with some rigidity and thickness to it but not so thick that I couldn’t cut it. All of these websites were referring to their thickness in things like “caliber” or “50 point” or “0.022”…0.022 what?! Is it a caliber, a point, an inch? What do those even mean? Have you ever been in my shoes? If you haven’t, lucky you! But whether you have or have not had to deal with this headache I am here to shed some light on this tricky issue

Create a Font

Do you like your own handwriting? I have to admit that I don’t like mine very much. But it is mine and anyone who knows me will recognize it immediately. I remember as a teenager I envied the girls who were making their own beautiful lettering and doodles. I always wished I could do that but I struggled to get a decent grade in penmanship so making a beautiful signature was always something out of reach. I think I am too old to reinvent my penmanship but I do wish mine was prettier.

Star Attraction

I hope you had a great Fourth of July! I know I did. I ate way too much food, stayed up way too late and had way too much to clean up on Monday. Now that I have recovered it is time to look at the pictures I took. I have 9 grandchildren who live nearby and the annual fireworks-in-the-backyard event gives me lots of great pictures to scrapbook. I had one picture of my grandson, Jeshua, from last year that begged to be the ONLY picture on the page. I like the idea of featuring a single picture on the page but don’t always want to fill the page by using a lot of journaling. That is when I like to use paper lace overlays. They fill the page, add dimension and are a lot of fun to design. Pazzles sells a wonderful CD of paper lace designs but you can also make them yourself.

Make Your Own Fonts

Did you know that you can make your own fonts in the Inspiration Studio Software? YES!! You can! You could take your own handwriting or maybe your children’s handwriting and turn them into fonts to cut. You can also take a favorite font and turn it into a single stroke font for journaling with our Pen Tool.

Make Your Own Paper Lace

Paper lace has to be one of my favorite inventions of all time. I love using them as overlays for my pages and there are just so many different designs and ways to use them that the ideas just keep coming! Many of you have already seen our Paper Lace CD (a personal favorite) and been inspired to create your own paper lace designs. But, making them yourself can prove to be a little trickier than you might expect! Thankfully I've made enough paper lace designs that I have it down to a science...well ok, almost.

Measuring with Rectangles

Recently, someone asked on our forums how to measure just one part of an envelope. There were many answers. Each person had their favorite method, some used the measuring tool, others liked to use line guides. It didn’t take long for me to realize that my favorite is to draw a rectangle or square.

This is so Distressing!!

But, I’m not really upset because my paper is what’s distressed. I recently wrote an article and created a project for a magazine that featured the Pazzles Distressing Tool. I fell in love with the distressed look all over again. I realized that distressing is a whole lot more than a bit of sandpaper on some white core cardstock. I used to think of distressing as being somewhat imprecise but with the distressing tool I can be very detailed.

My Magic Carpet Bag

I am beginning to think the Inspiration Studio software is kind of like Mary Poppins' carpet bag. Everytime I look in it, I pull something else out. What amazes me is that sometimes what I find is not really related to cutting at all. Summer is just around the corner. That means vacations, gardening, camping, swimming and...... boredom. If you have children you know what I am talking about. Boredom is as inevitable as scraped knees and grass stains in the summer. It can be frustrating for moms especially when their own time to craft and create is cut short.

Hidden Treasures (Font Mania- Part ...

Have I mentioned that I LOVE fonts! They offer so many possibilities for creativity and can be huge time savers. In my first blog on fonts, I showed you where to find fonts, how to download them and how to use fonts without installing them. My second blog was all about Dingbat fonts, those fabulous fonts that are images instead of letters. Today, I want to encourage you to look at alphabet fonts a bit differently and find the amazing potential for designs hidden there.

New Wall Vinyl in 12 ...

I’m sure you will all agree that it is very hard to keep a secret. Especially when that secret is really exciting and you KNOW that others will be just as excited as you are when they find out. We, here at Pazzles have been sitting on a secret for a long time now and today I finally don’t need to hold it in ANY longer! We are introducing a new line of Wall Vinyl in addition to the vinyl we already sell. The Wall Vinyl is in a mat finish and comes in 12 amazing colors for practically any décor style.

A (Line) Guide to Cutting ...

I’m back after taking a week off. My newest little grandson, Dustin, decided to surprise us all by arriving 3 weeks early! I have been busy taking care of my 4 other grandkids and helping my daughter catch up on her work. I have to say that I am exhausted and I salute all of you Moms out there! I had forgotten how much work 4 kids can be. To make it up to you I have added another video on making peaked scalloped frames and borders. This week I wanted to give you some great tips on positioning your scraps so that you can easily cut out several pieces at one time. There is no need for a gimmicky laser light to find the edges of the paper. The method I am showing you today is just as fast and easy too. As I am working, I have one big bin that I place my scraps into. When I have a chance or when the bin is too full, I sort my scraps into colors and store them in separate containers. When I start a new project, I decide on my color theme, look for a base or background paper and then go to my scraps. Sometimes I don’t find anything but usually I can find a piece or two that will work. I love it when I can cut virtually everything from scraps but that does mean a lot of small pieces of paper to cut.

Is it Good to be ...

Long, long ago in a time now considered ancient by many of you, there was a TV show called All in the Family with Archie Bunker. He had very little patience for his wife Edith and often called her a “dingbat”. That was not a nice use of the word and it was absolutely FORBIDDEN in my home. Thankfully, the term dingbat has become an acceptable term due to the popularity of dingbat fonts. Dingbat fonts are fonts that use shapes and designs instead of letters and numbers. Type an A and you might get a candy cane, type B and you see a reindeer. I entered “dingbat fonts” in my Google™ search window and came up with several dingbat font sites. I was really surprised at the variety of fonts available. I even found SpongeBob™ and Winnie the Pooh™ dingbats. The Dutch Tile here was made using a Dutchmen font and a POrnaments font.

Making Scallops

Who doesn’t love scallops? They are so much fun and I don’t think they have ever NOT been fashionable! Big scallops, small scallops, mini scallops and scallops on scallops can be found everywhere in scrapbooking and card making projects, home decor and fashion. The trick is how to make those scalloped looks yourself without pulling your hair out in the process!

Handprint Memories

A while ago, I created a photo mat for a picture of my granddaughter Kirsten. What made this photo mat special was that Kirsten’s photo was framed inside of a cutout of her handprint. I also had scanned and cut out her signature. The result? A framed photo of Kirsten at age 5 with her handprint and signature done at age 5 as well. I loved it so much that I used it on our HSN segments. It became very popular and quickly ended up in our consumer convention booth. I am sure many of you have seen it. What was it about that project that resonated with so many people?

Getting Out Those Kinks!

By now, I would imagine that a lot of you have been exploring the ability of the Inspiration software to convert clipart to cutting files. The process of auto tracing (vectorizing) a drawing, photo or clipart never ceases to thrill me each time I use it. I can let so much more of my own personality show in my projects by being able to use the design I want instead of settling for a “whatever works” image.

Finding Clip Art

I really love to vectorize my own designs, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it. But I’m really not an artist and it’s hard for me to make something up out of thin air so I usually start with a clip art file. My only problem is that I am cheap. I mean I am REALLY cheap, so I don’t want to have to buy clip art. One really amazing source for clip art that I have found is sites that offer public domain clip art.

Embossing Tool

Recently, a Hobby Lobby store opened in our area. Now, I know some of you have had Hobby Lobby stores near you for a long time but this is the first one in Idaho. My daughter, Leslie and I have gone a tad crazy in the home décor section of the store. We have been inspired to spruce up certain dull areas of our homes. Leslie has been redecorating (or should I say finally decorating) her back porch bathroom so that her little girls will use it instead of Mommy’s bathroom.

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