How to make a clip for your journaling pad in Inkscape and Gimp

This clip is easier to make than you might think and it comes in handy to embellish many journaling pads, tags or notes that you might want to use in your scrapbooking. Let's make one together!

(This tutorial assumes that you have Inkscape installed in your computer and that you have at least a basic understanding of the software.)
If  you're not, please check out our past free tutorial and make some of them to get familiar with the software and then return here and do this one.
►Fire up Inkscape.
►Click on the Rectangle tool and, choosing the color of your choice, draw a rectangle, choose for the stroke, a lighter hue of the same color. Click on the rectangle you just made. You will notice it has 2 square handles an a round one.
►Pressing the Ctrl key with one hand and using the mouse with the other, push the round handle inwardly until you get rounded corners on the rectangle.
►Make a small rounded rectangle and duplicate it. Drag the small rounded rectangle and place it on top of the longer rectangle. Center it. Now drag the duplicate of the smaller rectangle and place
it on top of it. Make a circle, center it inside the uppermost small rounded rectangle and select it. Then, holding the shift key down, select the rectangle as well as the circle, now go to Path, Difference, to cut out
the shape of the circle. Now, with your mouse, select all the shapes and go to Object, Group. Now you can move them without them falling apart on you.
►Choose the gradient tool and fill the whole shape with a gradient of your choice. Click on the gradient, you will see a square button and a round button, click on the round button, it will turn blue, blue button means that the otherwise transparent part of the gradient is selected and you can change its color, click on the palette at the bottom of the page to select a color you want for the lighter part of your gradient and let the gradient chosen fill your image.
►To Save your clip, go to File, Export Bitmap and save as a PNG.

This is the basic clip you will have:

If you would like to add a texture to your clip, you can use a JPEG image in Inkscape. To do it, proceed as follows:

►Go to File, Import to insert your pattern as a JPEG, select it and then go to Edit, Objects to
Pattern.
►The pattern will now be available in the Fill and Stroke dialog. You will notice that it is very small. Select the pattern and then go to Edit, Objects to Pattern.
►When you see your pattern show up in the pop-up menu of the Fill/Pattern fill, your pattern is available in the Fill and Stroke dialog and you can apply it to your clip.
►If you find that too complicated, you can save your clip as a PNG Bitmap, open Gimp and apply whatever pattern you like best by simply using the Bucket tool in Gimp. Save again and bring it back into Inkscape.
►Make a narrow oval in White with the Ellipse tool to add a shiny highlight to the second circle of the clip, fill with White, right click on the Stroke and choose Edit Stroke, to remove it. On the little dialog menu, move the lever of the Opacity and of the Blur to where you like it best for a "shine" on your clip.
Repeat with a smaller oval on the top perforated circle of your clip. For the bottom of the clip, make a narrow white rectangle and also move the lever of the opacity and of the blur to where you like it best.
Save as a PNG Bitmap and your're done!

As you see, it's quite different from the plain, basic one. Try it with your own texture and enjoy using it on your next scrap!


Real Hope. . .