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:
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.
heidig says
You lost me at Adobe Illustrator….but I love the finished page!
LoriAnde says
Fabulous. Once again.
Jacquie Desilets says
Everything is beautiful about this layout!
janel says
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.
Carol says
I’m with Heidig- you lost me, but I love it. The modern grid with the looping font makes for such a pleasing contrast.
Melissa O. says
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)
abains says
hey lady, very cool with the 48 squares. I tip my hat to you, design queen.
cathy says
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!
cathy says
Not bad for an old lady, right?
Patti says
Very clever and I love it! I always love a free font too. 🙂
Happy belated birthday!
Patti 🙂
Jennifer says
I love the way the “forty eight” looks. Very nice. Do you like the Silhouette? Is it difficult to use?
cathy says
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
MelissaL88 says
Oh swoon! You make this digi girl almost wish she had a Silhouette! I’m glad to hear you’re making this a template 😀
cathy says
Heidi, if you have PSE, you can do the same thing. Just add a layer style to the type and add a stroke!
Alicia says
Yeah! Can’t wait to get the template. Thanks & congratulations on 48!
Andi Walsh says
Love this so much!!!!!
bdaiss says
Gorgeous. I do love your design style. And joie de vivre. 🙂 Happy Monday! (Off to Ali’s next…)
janiepearson@mac.com says
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!
cathy says
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! : )
cathy says
Thank you.
Vickie says
I kinda love it, too! And I’m looking forward to your mosaic design template.
Donna M says
Love this and will be watching out for the mosaic to buy:)
Juli says
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:)
Brenda Howell says
Gotta say I love how you are a professional yet keep it real!!!
That template is already on my “get it now” list!!!
Jenny B. says
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! 😉
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”
cathy says
Juli, I dont have a tutorial for that presently. : ) But it might be a good one to do! Thanks for the suggestion. : )
cathy says
Thats my goal. A real pro. ; )
cathy says
Ive never heard of this band. : ) Thanks for the link. : )
dawn says
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.
Tracey says
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!!
Tracey says
(OMGoodness…was it really more than half my life ago that I was obsessed with Mr. Grieco. What?!? )
JoLynn says
I kind of love it, too 🙂