Slicing Images in Design Space - My First Vinyl Project!

Hi, everyone, it's Charlotte C.  I finally decided to work with vinyl, starting small, and wanted to share some quick info with you about splitting not just letters with your Explore, but actual images. 

This is a bit photo heavy, but please bear with me. A few things to keep in mind at the start:

1.     You need to have a single layer image.  So if the image you choose has a layer or layers, just delete them before you start.

2.     The latest update of DS has an “insert shape” button on the left panel where you can grab a square and then just unlock the lower left corner and create your rectangle.

3.     Use your arrow keys when moving the bottom of your split image so you keep everything aligned.  This becomes obvious later on.

4.     Turn on your grid.

First bring your single layer image and a rectangle on your canvas.

 Size and place the rectangle where you want to split your image, highlight it and your image and click Weld.

 

Create another narrow rectangle and bring it centered on top of the rectangle you just welded, highlight everything and click Slice.  Slide the cut pieces away and delete the little pieces, but hang on to the rectangle.

Now bring that sliced rectangle on top of the bottom half of your image. line it up right to left, and pull it down to cover the entire bottom half.

Highlight everything and click Slice. Your image should look like this.  Then slide the rectangle away and delete it

Use your arrow keys to move the bottom half to make a space for the word or name you want to insert in there (about an inch apart).  Now highlight the whole image and click Attach.  You’ll see top and bottom move together as one. 

Now create your text, highlight it and click Attach. Slide your text in the space you created; stretch it out to fit but don’t have it touching the top or bottom of the split. (I did notice my “h” was touching the top line and I did adjust that before cutting.)

It's time now to decide whether you want to cut the name the same color as the image or not.  If you want two different colors, you’re set, because when you hit Go, two mats will come up:  one color for the image, one color for the name. 

If you want to cut everything the same color, highlight everything (or Select All) and click attach.  You can see the difference here.

 

I am so excited I was able to personalize my laptop with my first vinyl project.  Not a great picture (silver on silver), but here it is.

Thank you for stopping by today and I look forward to seeing you all next month.