Need some new ideas for creating page titles? Want to get out of the template rut? Your computer is a great tool for creating titles. Combine an infinite array of fonts with an assortment of printing mediums, and the possibilities are endless. Computer-generated titles save both time and money - many fonts are free. Visit your office, craft and fabric stores for unique printable products. At your office store, look for ink-jet compatible transparencies, canvas, magnets, colored vellum and more. At your craft store, look for printable shrink plastic. It comes in several varieties, including white, clear and transparent. Then visit the fabric store and pick up some printable fabric. Created with crafters and quilters in mind, you can print a cozy title on fabric, or even print your photographs on the fabric for an interesting effect. Experiment and have fun!
In this issue, we will take a look at elegant vellum embossing, fabric printing, rubber-stamp fonts, and shrink art. Watch for more ideas for computer-generated titles next month, including transparencies.
Love the look of embossed rubber stamp art? Your computer makes it easy! Try printing your titles on vellum and heat embossing. There are a variety of embossing powders from metallic to pearlescent. Fonts without a lot of detail work best - avoid pictorial fonts because most of the characterization will be lost when heat is applied. Click on the Flower Girl layout for tips on embossing with vellum.
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Want to add a warm, inviting feeling to your layouts? Try printing on fabric. June Tailor makes cotton fabric with a coating on the back, to make the printing easy. Simply run it through your printer instead of paper for a unique page embellishment. The "Bundle Up" layout includes more details. Fabric titles are appropriate for various pages from soft baby layouts to rugged outdoor styles.
Love the look of rubber-stamping but not the thought of stamping on your layouts or investing in stamps? Rubber stamp fonts provide a fun, informal look to your pages without the mess of inkpads and cleaning up. For the "Snowbound" layout, use Fulton Artist Stamp font in various colors to create the journaling and photo frame. Here are a few other stamping fonts to try: Stamp Act Jumbled, Stampede, Stamperface and Rubber Stamp LET Plain.
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Remember shrinky dinks? This nostalgic medium is available in ink-jet varieties. Keep in mind that the final product will be half the size of your original, so use a large font size, such as 48 or 72. Also remember to punch a hole in the shrink art before shrinking if you plan to use fibers or create a tag. See the "White Christmas" layout for details using this technique.
If you are stuck in a title routine, try some of these computer-generated titles and add new interest to your pages.
A few places to download free fonts:
Teacher’s Parking Lot - great for seasonal fonts
http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/dos/1232/page04kfall.html
Acid fonts, subscribe for updates
http://www.acidfonts.com/afonts.htm
Typewriter fonts
http://www.free-typewriter-fonts.com/Fonts.html
Search for a font
http://www.fontseek.com/
More free fonts
http://www.scrapvillage.com/fonts.htm
Web sites to purchase fonts:
Two Peas in a Bucket, click on fonts
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop.asp
http://www.letteringdelights.com/
http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/shop/category_new.ihtml?cat_id=11
Provocraft fonts, and Paperkuts fonts
http://www.pccrafter.com/
