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CZ Design

Layout share: Forty-eight

March 24, 2014

Layout share: Forty-eight

I had a hankering to make a simple page celebrating my 48th birthday, which has since come and gone in glorious style. My approach? Create a grid of squares, group some of them together to form custom masks, plop in some favorite photos and digital paper, print onto photo paper and trim. That’s part one. Part two involved seeing this awesome layout by Lisa Dickinson on the BasicGrey blog. I was all: I have to make a title like that one. So it shall be. I asked Lisa what font it was (Halo Hand Letter, a free typeface) and set out to make my title. I played with it a little in Adobe Illustrator (joined the ‘g’ and the ‘h’ and then thickened the font by adding a stroke), and then I exported it as a PNG and opened it in my Silhouette software, traced it and cut it out. Part three was dropping the new digital PNG title right onto my layout file so I could place the text for the subtitle. Then I turned off the title and photo layers to print the subtitle directly onto my kraft cardstock. The final touch? A tiny little acrylic dot from Studio Calico. And voila, the finished page:

Final48

I kind of love it. And speaking about pages I love, I’m guest blogging over at AliEdwards.com today, writing about that very subject, featuring my all-time favorite layout. If you have time, by all means, check it out today. Find the template for this layout here.

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Comments

  1. heidig says

    March 24, 2014 at 7:10 am

    You lost me at Adobe Illustrator….but I love the finished page!

    Reply
  2. LoriAnde says

    March 24, 2014 at 7:51 am

    Fabulous. Once again.

    Reply
  3. Jacquie Desilets says

    March 24, 2014 at 7:54 am

    Everything is beautiful about this layout!

    Reply
  4. janel says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:05 am

    Fabulous…and that was going to be my next ? ~ the template~ Can’t wait to snag this one…so versatile and lovely. Thank you for sharing your talent.

    Reply
  5. Carol says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:05 am

    I’m with Heidig- you lost me, but I love it. The modern grid with the looping font makes for such a pleasing contrast.

    Reply
  6. Melissa O. says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:23 am

    I love it. Thank you for mentioning that you added a stroke to the font to make it fat enough to cut well w/ the Silhouette. This is a really simple idea but it honestly never occurred to me to do it. I usually just search for thicker fonts. Now I know, & you know what they say… “Knowing is 1/2 the battle.” (It’s ok, I’m singing “G.I. Jooooeeee” in my head too. lol)

    Reply
  7. abains says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:35 am

    hey lady, very cool with the 48 squares. I tip my hat to you, design queen.

    Reply
  8. cathy says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:55 am

    Yeah, its easy to do. Granted, you cant go too crazy with the weight, or you start to make the font too thick. I think I added a 4 px stroke. But I love this idea and it opens up some more fun with the Cameo and script fonts!

    Reply
  9. cathy says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:55 am

    Not bad for an old lady, right?

    Reply
  10. Patti says

    March 24, 2014 at 9:19 am

    Very clever and I love it! I always love a free font too. πŸ™‚
    Happy belated birthday!
    Patti πŸ™‚

    Reply
  11. Jennifer says

    March 24, 2014 at 9:31 am

    I love the way the “forty eight” looks. Very nice. Do you like the Silhouette? Is it difficult to use?

    Reply
  12. cathy says

    March 24, 2014 at 9:45 am

    I love it and no, its not hard to use. Im not super crafty on some things, but give me a little technology and Im golden. That said, I took Kerri Bradfords Getting to Know You class and it was awesome. She is my favorite Silhouette instructor. I like to say she taught me everything I know!http://www.kerribradford.com

    Reply
  13. MelissaL88 says

    March 24, 2014 at 9:51 am

    Oh swoon! You make this digi girl almost wish she had a Silhouette! I’m glad to hear you’re making this a template πŸ˜€

    Reply
  14. cathy says

    March 24, 2014 at 10:04 am

    Heidi, if you have PSE, you can do the same thing. Just add a layer style to the type and add a stroke!

    Reply
  15. Alicia says

    March 24, 2014 at 10:27 am

    Yeah! Can’t wait to get the template. Thanks & congratulations on 48!

    Reply
  16. Andi Walsh says

    March 24, 2014 at 10:29 am

    Love this so much!!!!!

    Reply
  17. bdaiss says

    March 24, 2014 at 10:34 am

    Gorgeous. I do love your design style. And joie de vivre. πŸ™‚ Happy Monday! (Off to Ali’s next…)

    Reply
  18. janiepearson@mac.com says

    March 24, 2014 at 11:35 am

    One of the reasons I enjoy your blog has to do with all the bits of knowledge you share along the way. You are a very good teacher! I love this free font and downloaded it right away. I also loved learning how to thicken it with a stroke! Thank you! Would you be willing to share sometime about drop shadows? What’s best for fonts and for photos without over-doing it? I’m also curious as to how to get a drop shadow for a photo that is the same on all four sides.

    Thanks again. Happy belated 48!

    Reply
  19. cathy says

    March 24, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    Janie, yes! I could do something on drop shadows. Right now, Im not using any on anything, but… I would have to look into PSE and see what kinds of settings do what! : )

    Reply
  20. cathy says

    March 24, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    Thank you.

    Reply
  21. Vickie says

    March 24, 2014 at 1:25 pm

    I kinda love it, too! And I’m looking forward to your mosaic design template.

    Reply
  22. Donna M says

    March 24, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    Love this and will be watching out for the mosaic to buy:)

    Reply
  23. Juli says

    March 24, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    I was going to ask how you create a grid of squares and group them into custom masks like you said but then I see it will be available soon as a template (yay-and thanks) however, I would still like to know how to do that. Do you have a tutorial? Thanks! I love this layout:)

    Reply
  24. Brenda Howell says

    March 24, 2014 at 11:01 pm

    Gotta say I love how you are a professional yet keep it real!!!
    That template is already on my “get it now” list!!!

    Reply
  25. Jenny B. says

    March 25, 2014 at 1:16 am

    This is a great page, Cathy! I really like the “blink” page on on Ali’s blog too. I just turned 38, and I consider you to be a virtual mentor. No pressure. Ha! πŸ˜‰

    On another note, I keep getting sucked into that retro Target commercial because of the awesome song in the background. I looked it up, and it’s “Forever” by a group called Haim. Have you heard of them? I found several of their songs on Youtube, and this one kept making me think you might like it, so I thought I’d share it: “Falling”

    Reply
  26. cathy says

    March 25, 2014 at 7:43 am

    Juli, I dont have a tutorial for that presently. : ) But it might be a good one to do! Thanks for the suggestion. : )

    Reply
  27. cathy says

    March 25, 2014 at 7:45 am

    Thats my goal. A real pro. ; )

    Reply
  28. cathy says

    March 25, 2014 at 7:46 am

    Ive never heard of this band. : ) Thanks for the link. : )

    Reply
  29. dawn says

    March 25, 2014 at 9:37 am

    WOW!! This is so awesome and so YOU!! I love your style Cathy, you never cease to amaze me with your layouts and simple yet gorgeous style. Keep it up!! Enjoyed the one at Ali’s blog too.

    Reply
  30. Tracey says

    March 25, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    I’m new around these here parts, and commenting here on your June 22, 2007 post: “I was a Roland Girl”, because I thought you may miss it over (back?) there!

    So, speaking of Grieco…totally my fave, too. So you MUST have been a “Booker” fan!

    I remember driving back to college after break and getting stuck in traffic, as it dawned on me that I was going to be late and miss it that week. This was waaaay before DVR, and we didn’t even have a VCR to tape it – waaaaaaahhhhh! Seriously, I did actually weep. Oh, how I loved him so.

    PS – I love your layout above – so cool!!

    Reply
  31. Tracey says

    March 25, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    (OMGoodness…was it really more than half my life ago that I was obsessed with Mr. Grieco. What?!? )

    Reply
  32. JoLynn says

    March 26, 2014 at 11:10 pm

    I kind of love it, too πŸ™‚

    Reply

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