Ornaments

• Debossed and Pen lines are timeless elements in matting, and the Wizard can draw any figure with precise detail. But is the traditional outline around the entire opening always required?

• These elements begin as closely spaced pairs of vertical lines with decorative elements at one end. They are designed to be close to the sides of the opening – and they can certainly be at the sides of a rectangular line if tradition dictates.

• In the past, these Ornaments would be manually snapped into place after the opening size was changed. This collection uses the Ornamental Template, though, and the vertical Ornaments are integrated into the rectangular line. The mat is ready to cut after the size is changed - without extra steps in Trace.

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

• Open a design and change the opening size to suit the current project.

• The decorative Ornaments will automatically remain symmetrically at the sides of the opening as the size changes.

• Change the Border widths and the Outside size to suit the current project.

• If the design is to your liking, it is ready to cut.

• Now that the mat is a different size, though, the proportions may have changed and the Ornaments may seem misplaced. You may even have a different vision on how the Ornaments will be used in the project. There are several alterations to consider – but none are mandatory.

  • The Ornaments can be moved higher or lower in the design.

  • The Ornaments can be made larger – or stretched a bit.

  • The opening can be rotated 180° so that the Ornaments are oriented in the opposite direction.

  • A rectangular line can be added between the ornament and the opening.

Layers and Reveal Widths

• But first, like any other template, the Number of Layers, and their Reveal widths can be changed.

• Select the opening and click the Properties tab at the top.

• Click Reveals under Options at the lower left.

• The large arrow at the bottom points to the fields where you make these changes to the opening.

Layers and Reveals in the Ornamental Template

• Understand first, that mat layers are used a bit differently with the Ornamental Template.

• In this illustration, the Reveals tab is clicked, and you see that this opening has 3 layers – even though in a picture framer’s view, this is a 2 layer mat.

• Layer 1 in this design contains only the Ornaments.

• Layer 2 contains only the opening in the top layer of the mat.

• Adjusting the Reveal width for Layer 2 changes the distance between the long inner vertical line of the ornament and the opening in the top layer.

• Both these items will be cut on what we traditionally think of as the “top layer” of the mat.

• Finally, Layer 3 contains the bottom layer of the mat.

• Adjusting the Reveal width for Layer 3 changes how much of the bottom layer is exposed.

• Note that in all these designs, this reveal is 0.14 inch – slightly more than the usual eighth inch.

• Changing it to 0.125 inch is easy, if that is your preference.

• Note the small arrow in the middle of the previous illustration. It points to the Ornaments button under Options at the left.

• Click Ornaments.

• This illustration shows the fields that will open where you can adjust the Ornaments’ size and placement.

• The label above the white field is Ornament Groups.

• Under Group inside the white field, select Bottoms.

• In an Ornamental Template design, there can be many Ornaments.

• In this collection, though, all the mat designs have only one pair of Ornaments at the sides, and they are all anchored to the bottom.

• Hence, the label for the group is Bottoms.

• Selecting Bottoms selects the pair of Ornaments in this design.

• Any changes will be applied to both Ornaments.

• Change the value in the Offset field.

• The pair of Ornaments will move up or down.

• Traditionally, elements like these Ornaments are positioned somewhere below the center of the opening. Glance through the designs in the collection and you will see this in all the designs.

• Below the Offset field are the Width and Height fields. To the right there is also a Keep Aspect Ratio checkbox.

• These Ornaments will be drawn or debossed. The Wizard will render them any size without problems.

• Make the Ornaments larger, just keep in mind that these are meant to be small additions. Make the Ornaments smaller, but remember that the spacing between the elements will also become smaller. Details may become unclear.

• One useful formula is to uncheck Keep Aspect Ratio then stretch or compress the Ornaments so that their length is better proportioned with the size of the project.

• There will be some change to the curves and angles, but experiment. Several designs in this collection use this.

Rotating the Opening

• At the left, just above Options, there is a Rotation field.

• Enter 180 in the Rotation field and the opening will turn upside down, and the Ornaments will point the opposite direction. There are a few examples in the collection that make use of this.

• Remember that the Ornaments in these designs are anchored to the bottom. When an opening is rotated like this, the Ornaments are now effectively anchored to the top. Increasing the Offset value will now move the Ornaments down instead of up.

• Click Reveals under Options at the left.

• Layer 2 in this illustration is currently the top layer of the opening. The black square with the angle symbol at the right of Layer 2 (see the small arrow) is the indicator that the layer will use the 45° cartridge.

• This black square is also the button to change the cartridge.

• Click the black square.

• From the list that appears, select Deboss.

• The debossed line will default to the Wide cartridge. Click the white square to the right of the black square to change the line to deboss using the Thin cartridge.

Changing the Reveal Widths

• In this illustration, layer 2 has been changed to cut as a thin debossed line and the reveal widths have been changed.

• The Reveal width for layer 2 sets the distance between the long inner vertical line of the ornament and the rectangular debossed line.

• The usual separation between two debossed lines is 0.08 inch. Here, the distance is set to 0.1 inch.

• The Reveal width for layer 3 is set to 0.32 inch. This is the distance between the rectangular Debossed line and the top layer of the opening.

Adding a New Inner Layer

• Note that when the top layer of the opening was changed to a debossed line, the mat became just one layer. Restoring the inner layer is nothing more that adding another layer.

• Make sure that Reveals is still clicked under Options.

• Increase the Number of Layers to 4.

• A new inner layer will appear.

• The new layer will likely arrive in the design with the default reveal setting. In this illustration, see that the Layer 4 reveal width has been changed to 0.14 inch.

• Remember that the Ornamental Template uses layers differently.

• Layer 1 in this design contains only the Ornaments.

• Layer 2 contains only the rectangular Debossed line.

• Adjusting the Reveal width for Layer 2 changes the distance between the long inner vertical line of the ornament and the rectangular debossed line.

• Layer 3 contains only the opening in the top layer of the mat.

• All three of these will be cut on what we traditionally think of as the “top layer” of the mat.

• Layer 4 contains the bottom layer of the mat.

• Its Reveal sets the width of the inner mat that will be exposed.

• The explanations of making these alterations were short. They are meant to focus attention on what must be done, which buttons to click, and which values to change.

• There are more things to discover about the Ornamental Template, but they are not all pertinent to the designs in this collection.

• The Ornaments and the rectangular line in the designs are set to use the thin debossing cartridge. Either of the other Debossing cartridges can be used, too.

• But it is most important to know that the Ornaments can also be set to be drawn using the pen cartridge.

• To change the Ornaments to use a different debossing cartridge, click Reveals under Options at the left.

• The blue square button beside the top layer indicates that the layer is set to Deboss.

• The white square to its right with the T inside indicates that it is set to use the Thin debossing cartridge.

• These squares are also the buttons to change the tools.

• Click the white square with the T inside.

• A list of the Debossing cartridges appears.

• Select the one you would like to use for this project.

Changing the Ornaments to Draw Using the Pen Cartridge

• Click the blue square button beside the top layer.

• From the list that appears, select Pen.

Size Recommendations

• Pen work can usually be 20% smaller than Debossed work. But clear definition between the elements is a primary concern. The working rules are that spacing between debossed lines must be 0.07 inch, and 0.05 inch between pen lines.

• Always consider, though, that different Pens draw different line widths, and the spacing may need to be wider.

• Start with the designs as they are, make them smaller, and assess the results.

• Ornament mat designs use an Ornament Template that has unique decorative inserts embedded into it. These ornament templates are then plugged into Template 112. Template 112 can be thought of as the “player” that presents the decorative inserts in a mat opening. Template 112 also has “parameters” like other templates that can manipulate the size and placement of the decorative inserts that are contained in the ornament template that is plugged into it.

• As with any other mat design, changes are made to the opening size, the number of layers, the reveal widths, and the outside size to suit the current project – in addition to the changes that can be made to the decorative inserts’ placement and size.

• In a design that uses an Ornament Template, the main Template ID at the top reads 112: Ornamental.

• The specific ornament template that is used in the design is shown in the Name field below. In this example, it is Curved Circle 1.

• To change the ornament template, click the Name field and the Ornaments section of the Template Library will open. Choose a new ornament template for the design just as you would choose any other new template.

• Change Number of Layers and Reveal widths.

• The Ornamental Template has the capabilities of the Mixed template.

• Beside each layer, you can click the Template ID numbers – all 3 layers read 101 here. The Template Library will open, and any layer can be set to a different template.

• At the right of each layer, click the cartridge selection button – the button that is currently black with the angle symbol inside. There will be a drop down selection and you can choose any of the cartridges for any of the layers. With Template 112, it is even possible to set a V-Groove or pen line on a lower layer of the opening.

• Click the button at the right – the white squares that have an N inside in the illustration. Choose one of the options for each tool.

• If the 45° bevel cartridge is chosen, as in this illustration, the options are Normal, Reverse, or V-Groove.

• The N in the white button indicates that Normal Bevel has been chosen.

• This works exactly like adjusting a layer’s parameters using the Mixed Template.

• If a layer’s template has been changed to a template with parameters, click Params.

• First, select which layer’s parameters are to be adjusted in the Params For Layer field, then adjust the Parameters for that layer to your liking.

• Click Ornaments to the right of Params.

• There will be a long button below it. In this illustration it reads Ornaments.

• There will be 2 different labels for this button. Think of this button’s labels as questions about what you want to be shown in the white field below.

• When the button reads Ornament Groups, (as it does in the illustration below), it is asking, “Would you like to change what is inside the white field so that you can edit the Ornaments as a group?”

• Click it and the label above the white field will read Ornament Groups, as it does in this illustration. (And the long button’s label changes to Ornaments).

• Inside the white field, the Ornaments are shown as Groups.

• Select the Group in the white field. When you make changes to the Ornaments’ size or placement, they will be applied to both Ornaments in the Group.

• When the button reads Ornaments, (as it does in the illustration above), it is asking, “Would you like to change what is inside the white field so that you can edit the Ornaments individually?”

• Click it and the label above the white field will read Ornaments, as it does in this second illustration. (And the long button’s label changes to Ornament Groups).

• Select one of the Ornaments in the white field. When you make changes, they will be applied to only the selected ornament.

• At the right of the names of the Ornaments are 3 columns.

• The column labeled L indicates the Layer where the ornament is attached. In this example, both Ornaments are attached to Layer 2, the middle layer.

• The column labeled S indicates the Side where the ornament is attached – Right, Left, Top or Bottom.

• The column labeled A indicates where the ornament is Anchored - Right, Left, Top, Bottom, or Center.

• These 3 columns are informational only. They cannot be changed.

• At the bottom left, change the Width and Height fields to change the size of the Ornaments. Note that there is a Keep Aspect Ratio checkbox above. When it is checked, the Ornaments remain in their originally designed proportions as you alter the size.

• Realize that as you change the size, it is not always evident exactly where the Ornaments are measured. In most of the Ornaments, there are necessary extra lines that add to the size. Think of size changes as being relatively larger or smaller, not the absolute values that are shown in the Height and Width values.

• At the bottom, there is a Use Original Size button that will return an altered ornament to its original size.

• Compare this with the previous illustration. There is no Use Original Size button when the Ornaments are edited as Groups, only when they are edited individually.

• Change the Offset setting to move the Ornaments.

• Again, when the label above the white field is Ornaments, select an ornament to move just one ornament at a time.

• When the label above the white field is Ornament Groups, select a group of Ornaments and they will be moved together.

• The Ornaments will be moved one way or the other depending on where they are anchored. As examples, if Ornaments are anchored to the Bottom, the plus button beside the Offset field will move them Up, and the minus button will move them Down. If Ornaments are anchored to the Right, the plus button on the Offset field will move them to the Left, and the minus button will move them to the right.

• Remember, though, if Ornaments are anchored to the Center (either the vertical center or the horizontal center), they will remain in the center and cannot be moved, regardless of changes made in the Offset field.

• Once the new design is completed, it can be saved like any other mat design.

• The ornament template will be saved, the ‘Parameter’ changes made inside Template 112 will be saved, and all the Layer and Reveal settings will be saved.