trying to create a leaf in square shape to cut with my die cutting machine

Hi Moni,

what you are looking for is probably Path -> Difference, an operation which creates a hole into a shape. Or maybe, you only want the leaf outline itself.

I'm not sure if you understand the difference between a vector drawing and a raster image, so I suggest you read that part of our FAQ first before you go on: https://inkscape.org/en/learn/faq/#What_are_vector_graphics.3F

Remove all white squares first. You only want the outline of your leaf, no squares which would cause additional lines.

Then you need to find out what kind of image your leaf is: Is it a vector? Or is it a raster image?

If it is a vector image, you need to delete all nodes and the paths between them which you do not want to use. The easiest (not fastest!) way to do this is to hit F2, then click on the shape you want to edit, click on a node and press Del, click on the next node, press Del again,..., until you have removed everything you don't want.

If it is a raster image, you can either use the pencil tool to draw along the outlines to get the outline of the leaf, or you need to vectorize the image automatically and afterwards delete everything you do not need.
To learn more about vectorizing a raster image see here
http://inkscape.org/doc/tracing/tutorial-tracing.html
and
http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Trace.html

When you finally have the outline of the leaf as a single path, you can then create a rectangle, put your leaf above it, select both and do Path -> Difference to get your leaf-shaped hole into your rectangle.

Masking and clipping won't work with your cutting machine, as it does not remove paths, just hides them under another path, just like your white rectangles do.

Regards,
 Maren

thanks!