The very talented
Leanne Allinson was recently a guest on the blog and I really adored the way she took my Pie Chart Love Digital Cut File and filled it with beautiful papers on her
Simple Awesome layout. Her layout inspired me to create a tutorial to share with you on how to create your own inlaid backgrounds with digital cut files. I will warn you this is a long tutorial and the process of filling in background die cut images can be time consuming. However, I really believe that the end result is worth the effort. Especially if you love playing with pretty paper!
Inlaid Backgrounds with Digital Cut Files | A Silhouette Cameo Tutorial
In this tutorial, I will show you how to create an inlaid background similar to the one created by Leanne Allison. This tutorial will help you decide what colors and/or patterns of paper to use and how to cut out all of the pieces that are from the same color or pattern.
Begin by opening the digital cut file background image with the Silhouette Software.
Open the Fill Color Palette. Do this by clicking on the small bucket image on the tool bar at the top.
Select the image and then pick the color you want to change it too. We are using the image that Leann created as a guide. Since she cut the main image from white cardstock, I choose to fill the image with white. Once you have the image selected and have clicked on the color you want it to be, it will change to that color.
Select all of the hearts and move them off to the side. Once they are off of the main cutting area, your cutting machine will not cut them. Now cut the background image from white cardstock, remove it from the cutting mat and set it to the side.
The next step is to begin selecting what colors or patterns of paper you want to use to fill each of the openings in the pie charts. But first, select the image, right click and select Release Compound Path. This will release the inside pie shapes so that you can add color to them and cut out the individual shapes.
Once you have clicked on Release Compound Path, all of the images will turn the same color.
Now, begin selecting which shapes you want to be the same color. Use the Fill Color Palette to once again change this color to the color that you want the shape to be. By making them the same color, this will let you know which images you want to group together to cut from the same paper.
Continue selecting the different shapes and adding colors. Each of the colors will correspond to a different color of paper or even a patterned paper that you want to use.
Once you have all of the images filled with color, select the entire image filled image, create a new file and copy the image to this new file. You will use this as a reference for filling the image later after you have finished all of the cutting. ***It might even be a good idea to save this image just to be on the safe side.
Next, return to the hearts that you had moved off of the mat. Selected all of them and give them a color.
With all of the hearts selected, drag them back onto the mat to see how they look with the rest of your design. Make any adjustments to the colors that you want at this time.
Now select the hearts again, move them off of the mat and group them together to make it easier for cutting. You will save paper by placing the images close together that you will cut from the same paper.
The next step is to begin selecting all of the shapes with the same color and move them off to the side of the cutting area.
Continue to group the same colors together. Keep the images like the ones that I have circled together. This way if you cut them from paper with a pattern it will all match.
Repeat this entire process with each of the colors until they have all been removed from the cutting area. You will then be left with the background image. Select this image and delete it because you no longer need it.
The final step is to select the group of same colors and place the group onto the cutting area. Adhere the paper you are going to use with that group to your cutting mat and cut out the shapes. After you have finished cutting that group, remove the group from the cutting area and repeat with another group. Continue this process until all of your shapes are cut out.
Once you have cut out all of the colors/patterns, use the image that you copied and saved to help you put the "puzzle" back together. It will take some time to do this, but be patient. The finished project will be worth the effort!
I hope you enjoyed this Inlaid Backgrounds with Digital Cut Files Tutorial and that you will find it helpful for creating your own unique and beautiful backgrounds with pretty paper. It's also a great way to use up scrap papers.
If you are looking for more backgrounds that will work with this technique, you can visit the
17turtles Etsy Shop.
