Hand Cut Titles

by rowarrior

Hand cut titles give your layouts a certain something that just can't be achieved with rub-ons or letter stickers, but how exactly do you go about creating them?

There are 2 approaches – the first is to use a lettering template and the second is to utilise the many fonts you have no doubt collected on your computer. No matter which you use, the best way to outline your letters is to draw them or print them backwards onto the back of your paper or cardstock, then when you turn them over you can't see the guidelines you used to cut them out. With a lettering stencil this is quite easy – you just flip it over, but with the computer it's a little more challenging.

Computer guide to creating your outline:

Firstly you will need to open up Word (or word-processor equivalent)

Once in you will need to go to Word Art, and select the option in the top left hand corner, which is for outline letters.

Type in your text and choose your font and the size you want it to be.

Now you need to reverse it. There are 2 ways to do this:

•  Select the text box, go to the ‘Draw' menu in the drawing toolbar, choose the ‘Rotate or Flip' submenu and then the ‘Flip Horizontal' option

•  Alternatively you can use your printer to flip the image for you if your printer dialogue gives you the option to print in reverse

Remember to put your paper into the printer so that the printing will be on the back, and hit print.

To cut out your outline, there are again a number or ways of doing this:

•  Use sharp, pointed scissors

•  Use a sharp knife on a regular cutting mat

•  Use a sharp knife on a glass mat (nothing fancy here, just a sheet of glass)

•  Use a combination of the above

Whichever way you choose to cut your title, make sure that the implement you use is extremely sharp to allow you to get into tight corners, and to make sure there are no little ‘burrs' where you've moved the knife from the paper to go round a corner.

Here are some examples – enjoy!