Creating Custom Die Cuts with Kira

Hey there!  It's Kira and I am back with a fun tutorial to share with y'all!  I don't know about you, but I love that almost all of the products we receive from Citrus Twist Kits are also available in digital form.  But if you're like me, they're likely just sitting on a file on your computer, unused.  Well, today, we are going to change that!

First off, I don't have Photoshop, so this tutorial is specifically for people looking for a cheaper alternative to editing the digital stamps.  Gimp is a free photo editing program that I use regularly, but it has a steep learning curve so it might take some time to get comfortable using.  But you can easily use a word document to create your own custom die cuts too!

Let's talk Gimp first...

Step 1:  Click "File" and then "Open..."
Step 2:  Choose your digital stamp (I start with my base and work my way up)
Step 3:  Use the "Bucket Fill Tool" to change the color of your stamp from black to whatever color you want!
Step 4:  Click "File" and then "Open as layers..."
Step 5:  Choose your next stamp and change the color using the bucket fill tool
Step 6:  Repeat steps 4 & 5 as many times as you'd like
Step 7:  Size images to fit together by clicking "Scale image"
Step 8:  Click "Merge visible layers" and export image

You can now print the image and fussy cut, or import into your electronic die cutting software to print and cut!

Now, you can also use Word to create a custom die cut, but it's much more limited with things like color.  But it is super easy!

Step 1:  Insert image (again, I start from my base and work my way up)
Step 2:  In "Picture Format", change color
Step 3:  Change "Wrap Text" to "behind text"
Step 4:  Repeat steps 1-3 as many times as you'd like
Step 5:  Either print directly from here and fussy cut, OR use the snipping tool to create a .png of your image to import into your die cutting software.

Here's a few examples of some custom die cuts I made from the Chasing Curiosities digital stamp set:

I added one of my die cuts to this travelers notebook layout.  I layered it over one of the exclusive cut files and some paint.  I finished off the layout with a few other embellishments from the Life Crafted kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kira