Wood and Leather Notebook

If you do not know the outline size of your cover page it is always a good idea to make an outline so you can know where the project will fit on your cover. My book measured 140mm x 210mm, so I created a box in XCS that is that exact size. You will want to make sure you turn off the output option as this will keep the laser from cutting the design.

I thought this vine heart was perfect for this project but it was just a picture so I had to use the tools inside of XCS to trace the object. You select the picture that you want to trace and click on the Trace Object button. This will bring you to a page that will show you what the traced object looks like. If you need to adjust any of these settings you can, but mine looked great with the standard settings. 

Once traced I had to resize the object to fit inside the notebook. As you can see this is why the outline of the notebook face is important. 

I added the name of the client with the text function. The settings are in the screenshot I used. An important step if you want all the letters to flow together is to use the weld function with the letters. you can delete and add the Name you want. 

What I will do is look at the design and see any artifacts in the design that are floating. Floating is where they are surrounded by a cut. Sometimes you want this but in this case you do not. You need to create a bridge between the part of the design you are going to cut and the part that will be cut away so you have a support. I just use rectangles and put them like a bridge between the two parts. I will then select both of the objects and hit subtract. This makes the design remove the part and as you can see in the final design I have bridged all the spots that make the design work. 

Note: You will also need to do this with the words too. Think of it as stencils and you need to bridge the gap so the letter parts dont fall out.

Select both the cover outline and the design you created. You then want to click on the centering button and choose “Horizontal align center”. This will make the design line up and then you are ready to cut. Make sure you frame the design before cutting to make sure your alignment is correct.

Now all of our prep work is going to pay off. I usually do a trial run of a score engrave before I do the cut to make sure it looks good. This also helps assure the cut is aligned how I want.  When ready this is where you send it to the machine.

I added a backing to help highlight and give something extra to the project. It doesn't have to be leather like I used, it could be a sheet of paper or felt or really anything. You can even leave it as is. The project is all yours. Hope you enjoyed.