Loving Craft Artist

When I bought Craft Artist Professional (CAP to us addicts) last year I wasn't entirely sure how I'd use it - but it just seemed to do so much that I knew I needed it.

And how right was I!  CAP has become such a useful bit of software that when Craft Artist Professional 2 was launched I bought it immediately.  It has a few new features and some nice enhancements to the old favourites.

The software (either version) is easy to use - but it does have a learning curve and if you are new to it I really recommend checking out some of the video tutorials on DaisyTrail and just playing around.  The beauty of playing with an online tool of course is that you can 'undo' to your hearts content and you don't waste your favourite papers and embellishments on learning.

One of my favourite tools in CAP (and CAP2) is the cut out studio - which allows you to cut part of an image away from its background.  The three projects here all started with a photo that I thought needed to be 'transplanted' and the cut out studio made that possible!

Freddy the Wonder Dog

First I tackled a card for my niece Sarah - starring her amazing dog Freddy.  The source picture was taken last Christmas, you can just see Dylann hiding behind Freddy the wonder dog while we were playing cards (Rummoli in this case - a Christmas family favourite).

I cut away the background in CAP, added a paw in front of the cards (basically just cut and paste of his other paw), added in some beer cans, and moved the 'Mortgage Money' jar in a little closer.









I print out the new version, added a few Spellbinder circles, an embossed bit of craft card and a 'Beware of Dog' sentiment and voila - a card!

Inside the card it says 'He's gambling away your savings.'








Lean on Me

This second project started with an old photo of my parents from the 1970's that has always made me smile.    

I cut them out of the photo, and placed them in the middle of a field of flowers (created using the brush feature).  I added a title and a bit of journalling to finish the page.

One of the things I love about CAP is that you can create the layout in the software, and save it to print or email as a flat picture, OR print and cut the individual elements to make a more dimensional physical page.

In this case I've done both!

The digital page will be part of a digital scrapbook I'm making, but I also print out the elements to make this layered page.

The background page was print from CAP and then I added the cut out of my parents.  I print a few pages of the flower field which I cut across randomly to create 4 layers of flowers to provide a bit of depth.  I love this shadow box.   It is a really nice way to display pages with the added benefit that they can be switched out really easily.

Bon Voyage

This final card was made for my friends Shirl and Gav who this morning have flown off for a fabulous well deserved mid-life 'gap year'.

The photo was taken a few days ago as a 'before' image (thus the exaggerated glum faces), and we expect a sunny smiley tanned duo in the 'after' picture!

I used CAP to cut them out of the original photo and then placed them on to a cartoon London setting.

I cut out a zillion Union Jack bunting triangles and hung them across the top of the page and added a 'Bon Voyage' sentiment.

Inside the card I added a faded blue Union Jack, and the happy couple again - this time with fake moustache and crown.