Jewels

• Sometimes picture framers work too hard at things - mat decoration cut with the Wizard, for example. What attributes of cut decoration do we regard as important? Intricacy, accents of color, the look of complexity, the illusion of depth… to name a handful. Often, framers turn to Trace to invent unique shapes with these attributes for their designs.

• However, we should not overlook a less complicated way to include decoration. The Template Library is full of shapes. Their size, placement, rotation, and number of layers can all be easily manipulated in the design screen without resorting to Trace.

• One traditional idea for arranging decorative elements is to place them symmetrically at the sides of an opening. The spacing with the opening will be the same, but the vertical position of the elements allows more placement choices. Tradition suggests that the elements could be positioned somewhere between the bottom corners and the middle of the opening. Placing a Jewel along the bottom is also a subtle way to include a spot of color and interest when cut with an opening.

• These designs are meant to be used as the beginnings for projects.

• The Jewels contain two layers. When they are merged with the opening, this generates even more cutting intricacy, adding a thin sliver of an elongated shape as part of the second layer.

• Open the design you would like to use.

• Select the Opening and click the Ungroup Selection button under Tools at the upper right. This separates the merging of the Jewel from the opening.

• Unselect the Jewel and click only on the Opening.

• Change the Size of the Opening.

• Change the number of Layers and the Reveal Widths if necessary.

• Move the parts of the Jewel inside the opening before setting the Border Sizes and the Outside Size. This ensures that only the rectangular opening is referenced as the borders and outside size are set.

• Make sure that Dynamic Outsides is de-activated once the Outside size is set for the final project. As the parts of the Jewel are being re-assembled and positioned to complete the new design, the Outside size must remain unchanged.

• Click Options at the top and make sure that Auto Align Openings is activated.

• The Jewel in this example design is the semicircular shape. It is two layers.

• The Jewel must be positioned so that the Bottom layer of the Jewel and the Bottom layer of the opening are 0.2 inch apart.

• Switch the Positioning button so that the alignment tools reference the Bottom Layers. The small arrow at the right shows that the arrow of the Positioning button points down and the label reads Bottom.

• Add a Horizontal Guide 0.2 inch from the bottom of the large rectangular opening.

• Snap the Jewel into place so that its top is snapped to the Guide.

• Move the Jewel horizontally near the center and Auto Align Openings will flash a bright blue line when the centers of the Jewel and the opening are aligned.

• The round cornered rectangle will become the elongated accent shape in the design. A slice of it 0.14 inch wide will be exposed below the bottom of the rectangular opening.

• Switch the Positioning button so that the alignment tools now reference the top layers. The arrow now points up and the label reads Top.

• Add a Horizontal Guide 0.14 inch from the bottom of the rectangular opening.

• Snap the round cornered rectangle place with the bottom against the new Guide.

• Again, move the round cornered rectangle horizontally, and Auto Align Openings will flash a bright blue vertical line when its center is lined up with the centers of the opening and the Jewel.

• Select all three elements and click the Group Selection button at the upper right.

• The three overlapping top layers will be merged into a new shape.

• The project is ready to cut.

• All the example illustrations of the finished mats show a different accent color under the Jewel shape.

• Tape a piece of colored paper – matboard surface paper, for example – under the Jewel opening before assembling the layers of the finished mat.

• Notice in the step-by-step illustrations, there is a Rotation field in the Properties of the Jewel.

• For many of the Jewels to be correctly oriented, they must be rotated. When a design has Jewels on the sides, the left and right Jewels are usually rotated differently. The rotation values will be listed for each design.

• As you experiment with different sizes of rotated Jewels, you will need to adjust its rotation. Zoom in and change the rotation more precisely under the Advanced Tab.

• For instance, you can rotation a Jewel just enough to make one it its straight sides parallel to the opening.

• For any decorative elements at the sides of a mat design, the vertical placement is the most useful variation. The character of each of these two part Jewels can be further varied by experimenting with the registration of the Jewel and the elongated shape. The parts can be symmetrical and balanced, or dramatically offset.

• The rounded triangle is the Jewel in this design. It has two layers.

• Switch the Positioning button so that the alignment tools reference the Bottom Layers. The arrow points down and the label reads Bottom.

• Add Vertical Guides 0.2 inch from both sides of the rectangular opening.

• Snap the rounded triangle into place so that its right edge is against the guide.

• Move the rounded triangle vertically to suit your vision of the design.

• Zoom in on the right side of the mat.

• Rotate the rounded triangle to mirror the position of the other Jewel.

• Snap the rounded triangle into place with its left edge against the Guide.

• Move the rounded triangle vertically and Auto Align Openings will flash bright blue lines when this Jewel is lined up with the rounded triangle on the left side.

• The trapezoid will become the elongated accent shape in the design.

• A slice of it 0.14 inch wide will be exposed along the sides of the top layer of the mat.

• Switch the Positioning button so that the alignment tools now reference the Top Layers.

• Add vertical guides 0.14 inch from both sides of the rectangular opening.

• Snap the trapezoid into place so that its left edge is against the guide.

• Move the trapezoid vertically to fashion the overall shape of the ornament to your liking.

• Rotate and Snap the trapezoid on the right side of the opening into place with its right edge is against the Guide.

• Move it vertically, and Auto Align Openings will flash bright blue lines when this trapezoid is lined up with its counterpart on the left side.

• Select all the elements.

• Click the Group Selection button at the upper right.

• The top layers of all the items will be joined into one new shape.

• The project is ready to cut.

Most of the sizes for Jewels and for spacing in these designs are not the typical decimal equivalents of fractions. The sizes for things in this collection are 0.45 inch, 0.55 inch, 0.7 inch, for example.

Refining the sizes and positions of small shapes like these requires more precision than the usual sixteenth inch per click of the plus and minus buttons. Hold the Alt key on the keyboard while clicking the plus and minus buttons on any field in the program and the value changes by 0.01 inch (0.2mm in metric).

Note also that the narrow Reveal of the openings in all these designs is 0.14 inch. This is perceptibly more than the usual eighth inch (0.125 inch). Slightly more color is exposed. This is proportionately better for larger pictures. Change it to 0.125 inch, though, if that is your preference.

It is important to make this test and refine the spacing for your machine. Otherwise, your results may be less than pleasing – both from a visual and a cutting perspective.

• For the Jewels to appear integrated with the opening, it is important that they be as closely spaced as practical. Throughout the information written in the Jewels collections - and in the designs themselves - the suggested spacing between Jewels and openings is 0.2 inch. But machines are slightly different, and this distance will vary.

• Design a small rectangular opening and add a half inch square and triangle. Orient the triangle's point toward the side of the opening. Space them 0.2 inch from the side of the rectangular opening. Space the two small openings 0.2 inch apart vertically, too. Make a test cut.

• Examine the overcuts on the back of the mat. They continue past the bevel. If another opening is too close, these overcuts might slice up the narrow strip of matboard between the items causing it to fall apart. Angled cuts, like the point of the triangle, cause the most problems with their longer overcuts.

• If the narrow strip of matboard between any of the openings is not sturdy – or if you prefer the effect of the Jewels being farther away from the opening – move the small shapes a few hundredths of an inch farther away and repeat the test.

• Once you arrive at your ideal spacing (it could easily be as much as 0.26 inch, for example), make a note of it. Then every time the Jewels Reference Sheet mentions the 0.2 inch separation, substitute your preferred separation as you continue to work with the design.

• The Jewels are intended to be small accents in the presentation. Their sizes in these designs are most often around half an inch. But it is important that their shapes and construction be apparent in the example illustrations. To show the details of the Jewels better, the openings in the illustrations here are small. One confusing result is that the Jewels appear more dominant than they should be.

• In your projects, the openings will be larger. The Jewels will then return to their intended proportions and play their role as small accents of color.