Fonts – what have you got and what do they look like?

Have you ever wanted to see what something looked like in a different font, or even in several different fonts? If so, join the club.

I have been pondering over this conundrum for ages – I know you can go into your fonts folder and see an example of any font on your computer but that is not the easiest solution.

After trawling the internet I have found 2 solutions that seem to do exactly that.

One is a free programme that you can install on your computer directly and it will gather all your fonts so that you can choose one or several fonts, type in a word/phrase and even change the colour of it to compare different fonts of your choice.   You can also categorise your fonts into different files which is a really useful tool for finding fonts specific to particular events/occasions without having to trawl through your whole library.  This is called Nexus Font

 

www.https://nexusfont.en.softonic.com/download

 

The other is a web based programme, also free but here you have to copy all the fonts into your library – it takes a little while but I found I could maybe copy 12 at a time and drag and drop them into the library. Again you can type in a word/phrase to see what it looks like but not sure there is a colour option. I don’t however think that is particularly a game changer. This is called Creative Fabrica Font Colud.

The one thing I did find with the second option that there is a “Private Use Area” (PUA) which I have never come across before! Certain fonts have this area which offer extras similar to those found in the Special Characters File and there are a myriad of wonderful things lurking here – really exciting.

On the downside of the second option it does take awhile to load the fonts into your library however you can copy several at a time which makes it a little quicker.  Once they are there job done you don’t have to do it every time.  You can load something like 10,000 fonts for free so more than enough space.

On a positive note it has lots of freebies in the font and graphics department as well!

https://fontcloud.creativefabrica.com/apps/files/

Since using the web based option I have realised is that I have not installed all the fonts on my computer so I have more  than I actually thought so that was a result.

I haven’t done a video on these as there are loads I have since found on YouTube but if you have any questions or would like me to do one then please send me a message.

I trust you will find these useful and no doubt there are other similar applications out there but for me I am happy with these and will quite likely use both.

Happy crafting 

Anne 

Basic designing and cutting Vinyl

Hello everyone

Well it’s been a long time since I posted but as they say “better late than never”!

I actually did these videos at the beginning of the lock-down/confinement however I had problems getting the 2nd part of the video off my phone and have only just been able to resolve this problem.

This is a ‘back to basics’ video so if you are confident in your knowledge of your machine then it might not be for you

In the first part I show how to import, manipulate, replicate and group items in readiness for cutting either on a 12 x 12 mat which can be done on either the CM machines or the SDX machines or on the roll feed option which is only for the SDX machines.

Here is the link to the video – part 1

In the second part I am concentrating on cutting on the machine, weeding and adhering to a shiny surface such as a mug .  I now only have an SDX machine however, the CM machine using the 12 x 12 mat is very much the same procedure.  It is not possible to use the roll feed on the CM machines.

I do have to apologise about this video however.  I made the video not thinking about the fact that part of me would be visible in it.  Had I realised I would have worn something other than my ‘onesie’.  It was a Sunday and because of lock-down I was confident that no one would call unexpectedly so decided to have a ‘dress-down day’ – opps 🙂  It could have been worse, that’s all I’m saying!

Here is the link to the video – part 2

Hope this is helpful

Anne x

Automatic Machine up-dates for SDX machines

Hi everyone

I often see comments relating to updating our SDX machines automatically over WiFi so have done a short video showing how this is achieved.

I have assumed that you have already set your machines up to accept WiFi so have not covered this however, if you want me to cover this no problem just drop me a note.

I have not had a chance to edit my video so when you come to the second part where I say that I have paused the video to save you watching paint dry, you might want to fast forward a tiny bit and I didn’t click pause immediately!  Sorry.

Hope this helps at least someone

kind regards

Anne x

 

Foiling

Hi all

Just thought I would share a photo of a couple of cards I made recently. The first one is a split monogram courtesy of Font Bundles.  Done with the new WRMK foil quill on the Scan N Cut and then I used the waste via my GoPress and Foil machine – bits of foil missing were due to the fact that I didn’t tape the foil down correctly when I adhered it on my sNc – so user error!  Great result though nevertheless

The second card was using the medium blade to foil a simple greeting

Anne x

Foil Quill Tool

I received my We Are Memory Keepers Foil Quill on Friday and am very happy to say it was so easy to use and gave an amazing result.

To this end I have done a video to show you it used in conjunction with my Scan n Cut machine.

There are 4 adaptors in the packet so it can be used with other types of cutting machines – the adaptor I used was the “B” adaptor – which is very easy to remember as it stands for “Brother”!  The nib just screws into it and then it is ready to pop it into your blade holder on either the CM or DX machines.

There is a choice from 3 different “nibs” – fine, medium and bold and each nib comes with its own USB attached – you can plug the USB directly into your machine, into a USB power pack or, as I did, directly into a USB socket in a power point.

The nib doesn’t take too long to heat up so I would recommend plugging it in before you start to prepare your card stock and by then it should be ready to go.

It comes with a little metal protective plate to place under the nib whilst heating up however with the DX machines it was impossible to place this with any accuracy so I just left it heating on the side and placed it in the blade holder when I was ready to foil.

You must remember to set the design to a “draw” and not a cut file – I did show my project using both as I wanted to cut round the design after I had foiled it and this is very easy to do on the sNc

 

Thanks for watching

Anne x

Using Original sNc cutting mats on the SDX machines

Hi folks

I had a thought about the number or us who have the new SDX and still have original mats or scanning mats from our first machines.

It seems crazy to me that they aren’t interchangeable so I set myself a challenge to rectify this problem.

I have made a YouTube video of how I did it and the results I had – I was elated that my challenge worked out really well and the fact that you can use the Auto Blade facility on the old mats as well.

Remember: If you want to cut out something like a card blank you will have to scan in the card stock to ensure you have your ‘object’ in the exact spot as the mats are not the same size!

I must, however make a disclaimer here.  I have not had permission from Brother to do this therefore they may decide that should you do this it would void the warranty on your machines.  I think it would be pretty churlish of them as this doesn’t mean we won’t be buying the new mats but we are using stock we already have. Naturally we will  use the new-style mats alongside and  when we need to buy a new mat then we will get the new ones.

Hope this helps and you enjoy the video

Anne

SDX1200 UK Launch Friday lunchtime

Hi everyone

Just a heads up to let you know the new SDX1200 is being launched tomorrow (Friday 30th) in the UK on Create & Craft – not too bad a deal, I have to say it was cheaper in France but I still think it is quite a good deal and it is a fabulous machine so certainly worth tuning in to view the launch and see what I have been raving on about recently!

I still have my CM900 but have to say since owning the new machine it sadly hasn’t had a look in so I will have to consider selling it now as I don’t want it languishing in a corner feeling resentful and unloved!

On a positive note, since owning the SDX1200 I haven’t had one duff cut whilst using the automatic blade so I am delighted as no wasted media.

Anne

Universal Pen Holder

Hi just a quick link to a video I have done using the Universal Pen Holder.  the video was made using my SDX1200 however the pen holder was one I have used with my CM900 for some time now and the basic principle is the same with all the Scan N Cut machines – the only real difference is the position of the bar for drawing on the SDX machine, everything else is the same.

Unboxing Scan N Cut SDX1200

My lovely new machine arrived yesterday afternoon and naturally I couldn’t wait to have a look at it so I decided to create a little video showing how it came and describing it to you.

One thing I mentioned was a lock/unlock switch on the left side of the machine, I thought initially this was to keep the front panel secure, however this is not the case, it is for use when scanning so please ignore that remark!

Here is a link to my video : www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6D1qxhK-TY&t=15s

I will post another video showing the first cut shortly

Happy crafting

Anne x