A Few of My Favorite Things...#1 Make The Cut

So, I thought that while I wait for my eCraft to arrive, I would share with everybody some of my favorites.  My first is Make the Cut software. This software has completely changed how I use my Cricut.  I have used SCAL, but I found it to be pretty limiting.  I remember watching the first webinar that Andy (creator of Make the Cut) did with my mouth hanging open because I just could not believe that finally there is a software out there that can do what I have been wanting to do for so long.  I am going to share with you my favorite project using Make the Cut.  Here it is...

I used almost the exact same method that Jin used in her tutorial HERE. If you notice the peacock image in the header on my blog was used to create this.  This image was pre-colored with the patterns in the feather. I used Photoshop Elements 8 to convert the image to black and white and then did A LOT of adjusting the brightness and contrast to minimize the patterns in the feathers to where they were just the slightest gray.  From there I imported the image into MTC using Pixel Trace and I got this image.  From there it was just like doing a coloring page image which Andy demonstrated in that first webinar.  If you have not seen the webinars HERE is a link to a list of all of them.  They are extremely informative and I highly recommend watching them.

Since this is a pretty intricate cut, I used drywall joint tape to transfer all the pieces onto the main body to try and get them lined up right.  Once I was completed, I laminated the final cut and it is part of a wall art piece that I will share with you on a future post. Unfortunately the main image is a copyrighted image that I paid to get, so I cannot share the file.

Also, on a different note, I am thrilled that so many people have signed up to be followers.  If you have not signed up to be a follower, go to THIS post, become a follower, leave a comment and you will be eligible for my giveaway which has a lot a great stuff in it!