More Designing Tips in Klic-N-Kut Studio

by | Mar 31, 2009 | Easter Eggs - Designing, Hot Keys, Polyarc, Shortcuts, Transformation, Welding



The main purpose of this video is not so much about the Easter egg, but rather to illustrate a great assortment of tools and hot keys available in KNK Studio… functions you will be able to use elsewhere in your design work with this wonderful software. Some of these have been covered in other videos and the usage of them in this video will be a reminder. But there are also a couple of new things I show.

While watching the video, take note of the following functions:

  • Tranformations: used to distort images -I use it to convert an oval to an egg shape. As a reminder when using the functions in this window, you get different results if you also hold the Ctrl key versus the Shift key versus no key. Try it out!
  • In Polygon editing mode, select any two nodes and then press “I” on the keyboard to insert nodes
  • Similarly, in Polyarc editing mode, there is a Divide icon in the Smart Bar which allows you to insert a specific number of nodes along the path between any two existing nodes.
  • Use the Stroke and Fill tools to thicken any open path and then use the Basic Weld tool to convert to a closed path.
  • Select an image and place the cursor over the center. Hold down both Alt and Ctrl keys on your keyboard and drag the center. A copy of the image will be created and you can only drag the image horizontally or vertically to keep it aligned with the original.
  • When Object A is on top of and extends beyond Object B, use the AND Weld tool to trim the excess from Object A to fit Object B.
  • When moving an object on the screen, hold down the Shift key while using the arrow keys on the keyboard and the object will move much faster than if you only use the arrow keys alone.

    If you have ANY questions about the use of these functions, be sure to post. And here’s the link to the Easter Egg Video!

    • It’s Spring! Let’s Design a New Flower!

    by | Mar 24, 2009 | Array, Flowers - Designing, Free Files, Free Videos, Outlining Images, Transformation



    Thanks to Pam Z for requesting help in designing a particular kind of flower to cut from vinyl. As always, these requests motivate me to try new things in the software and I found a way to design a different kind of petal and then use the circular Array function to create a quick flower from the petal. The video can be viewed at:
    Creating a Hollow Petal Flower
    If you’d also like the .knk file of the two flowers I show above, then just grab it from here:
    Hollow Petal Flowers

    Meet Me In St. Louis!

    by | Mar 12, 2009 | Events and Retreats, Retreats, Training


    Kelly Daggett and I are hosting a Klic-N-Kut Retreat in St. Louis from May 29-31. It will actually be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Collinsvillle, Illinois (just outside of St. Louis). I will be teaching 6 KNK classes with workshops and projects. This is for anyone who owns a Klic-N-Kut or uses KNK Studio GE to cut to a Silhouette/Craft Robo/Wishblade. Kelly will also have some make-and-takes and prizes for you and the workroom will be available until 1 am for crops or chatting with other attendees.

    The retreat will be $350 based on 25 attendees maximum; this does not include your room, but there is a special of $89 per night per room and you can split the room cost with someone else, if you like!

    Here’s the preliminary schedule:

    Friday May 29th:
    3 pm: Hotel check in
    5 pm: Meet and Greet, followed by dinner at 6 pm
    7 pm: Class and workshop
    9 pm – 1 am: Open crop

    Saturday May 30th:
    8 am: Breakfast
    9 am: Classes and workshops
    Noon: Lunch
    1 pm: Classes, workshops, make and takes, give aways!
    6 pm: – Dinner
    7 pm: – Class and workshop
    9 pm – 1am: Open Crop

    Sunday, May 31:
    8 am: Breakfast
    9 am: Class and workshop
    Noon – 4 pm: Open Crop

    If you would like to sign up, we are now accepting $100 deposits with the balance being due May 1st. This will be a non refundable deposit, unless the retreat has to be cancelled for some unforeseen reason. You must call the hotel yourself to book your room at the special rate of $89 per night (not per person) plus tax. Their number is 1.800.551.5133 and our event is the KlickNKut event with Kelly Daggett. These must be reserved by May 1st also. Your $100 deposit may be made by Paypal to ifyourwallscouldtalk@gmail.com or if you need Kelly to send you an invoice to pay (you do not have to have a paypal account to pay by invoice, you can use your CC), please let her know. Email her at ifyourwallscouldtalk@gmail.com and note if you would like to pay the full amount or just the deposit. Also, let her know if you want to send a money order or cashier’s check, and she will give you her address.

    Here are the classes and description:

    Classes Include:

  • Cutting Thicker Materials: learning to cut stiffened felt, chipboard, acrylic, and more
  • Text-ra Special: breaking from tradition to make your titles and greetings look fabulous
  • Tracing Your Way to Success: Achieving better results with auto and manual tracing
  • P&C Perfection: Mastering print and cuts and using it with text
  • Embossing / Engraving: Three KNK ways to add embossing and engraving to your crafts
  • Designing Dynamics: Ten designing tips to help YOU become a KNK Studio artist

    • Hope you can join us! I would love to meet all of my readers in person!

    Sandy