Where do I find those images, you ask? Well, these days I primarily find them on Pinterest, but I don't pin them, but instead save the images to my computer and use Picasa to edit and print them. (The link on the word Picasa will take you to where you can get the free download) For the Valentines tags I print 9 images per page, set at 'Wallet' and 'Shrink To Fit'. Here is an image just for you ... simply put your cursor over the image, right click on your mouse and choose 'Save Image As' and save it to your computer.
This is one of my favorite vintage Valentines images because it is so sweet and simple! Once you have saved this to your computer and printed out numerous copies (In my case 9 on one sheet) you want to 'fussy cut' these sweet puppies out from the white background.
What is fussy cutting? Well, according to definition.net, it is to cut pieces of fabric (or paper!) so that a particular part of the printed design is centered or featured. In the case of these images you can simply cut around the whole image, removing the white around it.
The only really hard part of doing this is leaving 'just the right amount' of white outside of the printed area. It really does make a huge difference if you do this! Here is what I mean ...
I know the picture isn't great, but it's hard to get a very up close photo without it being a bit fuzzy. But do you see what I mean? Just a tiny bit of white outside the printed area is all you need.
One thing that I do suggest you have for this process is a pair of good 'detail' scissors. The pair I have now is great! I bought them at the 2012 Scrapbook Expo nearest me for $1 and they work great. They have think sharp blades and a pointed tip. When I went back to the 2013 Expo they had gone up in price to $2 ... but still a great value for these wonderful scissors!
The scissors I use are about three to three and one half inches long. The blue ribbon tied to one of the finger 'holes' is because there are several of us at my LSS who have them, and with the blue ribbon I know this pair is mine!
And what do you get when you do the fussy cutting? Well, you get a neat and clean image, ready for turning into something pretty!
Do you see how pretty those little images are? They will look great on some valentines tags once I have inked the edges and prettied them up a bit. But that's for another post! Thanks for visiting today, and I look forward to showing you more about how I make some really sweet Valentines tags! Blessings,
