Learning The Cricut » Cricut Design Studio

Cricut Design Studio: Welding Basics

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:08:25 +0000

One of the most basic things you will want to do with the Cricut Design Studio is to weld letters together to form a single word. There are two ways to weld letters together. The first is to work with the word as one image that can be manipulated all together. The second way is to bring in each letter as an individual image that can be manipulated by itself.

As you type the letters in your word, you will notice that they show up on the cutting mat one right after another. When you select the group of letters by clicking on one of the lines, any changes such as size will be applied to all the letters at the same time. Another method is to type one letter and then hit enter before typing another. This makes each letter separate so that you can manipulate each letter individually.

To weld a word when the letters are all one group, follow these steps:

Click the word with the mouse so it is selected.
Kerning is the space between letters. Set this at -.005 or leave at zero. Hit apply.

The letters will move together, some may be touching while others may not. Select each individual letter in the word . It will become a dashed line when that particular letter is selected. Move it using the nudge arrows until each letter is slightly overlapping.

Select the whole word again and check the welding box under shape properties.
When you preview, the word will have dark lines showing where the cutting will be, while a lighter line will represent where it has been welded together.

There are times that you will need to work with each letter or image individually. This is particularly useful when you may want one letter one size and another letter a different size. To weld letters that are individual, follow these steps:

Select the first letter you will want to use. Make sure you hit enter to deselect the letter before adding a new one.
Select the second letter you will be using. Notice that when you select each letter, it is it’s own individual letter. It can be manipulated in any way and not effect the other letters.
Continue adding letters making sure to hit enter after each one.

In this welding method the kerning feature is not used. Simply select a letter, manipulate it to the size and look desired and check the weld box.
Select the next letter and manipulate it as desired. Move it to where it overlaps the first letter. The amount of overlapping is your discretion according to your design. Check the welding box.
Continue until all letters have been manipulated and the welding box is checked for each.
Preview the word. The letters that have had the welding box checked will appear as a dark line that will be cut with the lighter lines showing where they are welded.

If any letter is a solid filled letter instead, the welding box was not selected for that particular letter. Simply go back and select the letter again and check the welding box.

Welding is one of the most basic and most used functions in Cricut Design Studio. Follow the steps above and you will be on your way to using the Cricut in a whole new way. If you are more of a visual learner, many step by step guides to welding including screenshots are available online.

Cricut Design Studio: 7 Things Every Beginner Needs to Know

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:03:49 +0000

You finally purchased the Cricut Design Studio software. Most likely your next question is, “Now what do I do?” Here are seven things you need to know to jump start your learning of the program.

You can design with all of the cartridges, but you can only cut with the ones you have. Cricut Design Studio has every available cartridge loaded into the program. You can create all kinds of cutting files with any cartridge they offer. While that is fun for experimenting, just remember that when you go to cut the Cricut will ask you to load the specific cartridge used.

You can use more than one cartridge in a cutting. The options are endless. Bring letters and images from any cartridge into the cutting you are designing. When you are ready to cut, the Cricut will ask you to load each cartridge you used.

Connecting letters together to form one cutting is referred to as welding. In order to weld letters together it is important to remember to check the welding box for each individual letter or image. Another interesting tidbit about welding is that it removes any scorelines on the image.

You can use cut files from other Design Studio users. If you are low on creativity or time, your best solution is to use a file designed by someone else. There are Cricut Design Studio users that freely share their designs and ideas. The best starting point would be the message boards at the Cricut website. There you will find links you can follow to cut files all over the web. Simply download the file to your computer and the open it in the Design Studio.

You need to get updates to the Cricut Design Studio at the Cricut website. The updates not only fix any bugs in the program, they also add the latest cartridge releases for you to design with.

When previewing a cut, if it is welded together, the cutting lines will be in a bold line. If an image previews as a solid color then it is not welded. It is easy to miss checking the welding box on a letter as you are creating, and this is a sure-fire way to make sure that none of them are missing.

You can use several layers when creating a design. For example, If you are creating a shadow for an image you need to open a new layer just for the shadow. Otherwise, when you go to cut it will cut the image and the shadow at the same time using the same paper. When previewing, the user has the option as to whether or not other layers show through to the one they are working on.

Are you looking to learn the ins and outs of the Cricut Design Studio? Check out my video-enhanced ebook- Cricut Design Studio: The Missing Manual at http://www.LearningTheCricutDS.com

We Are Giving Away TWO Cartridges!!

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:33:41 +0000

Okay ladies… Many of you know that am teaching at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Tulsa in a couple weeks.
A lot of you also know that I am also taking care of my MIL who has brain trauma as a result of brain surgery to clip an aneurism nearly four months ago. She has no short term memory and I am by her side nearly 24/7.

What does this have to do with you?

Well, as I was racking my brain as to how in the world I was going to deliver a super class jam packed with value while taking care of mom at the same time, I got a gentle (okay, maybe not-so-gentle) nudge in my Spirit asking why I always have to do things MY way (which is usually the more complicated way!). And so I decided that instead of stressing myself out for the next two weeks creating Design Studio files to give to my class, I would humbly, down-on-my-knees, beg you Design Studio super stars to graciously share a file with me that you have made.

Here are the details:

*Everyone who leaves a comment with a link to a file you have personally created will be eligible for a chance to win a cartridge. You can also just leave a comment saying you emailed me and contact me directly at info at learningthecricut dot com. I still need you to leave a comment though so I can include you in the give away.

*Gypsy files are fine also, as long as I have permission to convert them to Design Studio files as well.

*By commenting and sharing your file, you are giving Learning The Cricut permission to share your file on a dvd to the class attendees at the CKC Tulsa Convention.

*ALL files used will be given FULL credit including name, blog info, and any other info you would like me to provide with your file.

*The files will be used ONLY for this particular class and will not be redistributed in any other way.

You are probably wondering what the cartridges being given away are, huh?

You will be able to choose from:

Hello Kitty Font
Basketball Solutions
Mini Monsters
Robotz
Graphically Speaking
From My Kitchen

I will randomly pick two people who have shared their files to each win a cartridge. I’ll announce the prize winners on Wednesday, August 18th. Thank you so much for sharing with me. I absolutely LOVE the community of Cricut users!

Time to Update Design Studio

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:37:53 +0000

Cricut has released a font update for Design Studio. The last update for the actual software was November of 2009. If you have not updated to this version, you’ll need to go ahead and download the update. Everyone else will only need to download the “font pack” which will add the new Cake Basics cartridge and the Once Upon a Princess cartridge.

Let’s Update! Design Studio and Gypsy

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:22:06 +0000

It’s time to update!

Click HERE to go to the update page for the Design Studio software.

If you have a Gypsy, there is a new update for us. When you registered your Gypsy, there was a program installed on the computer called “GypsySync”. You need to hook up the Gypsy up to your computer and run the program. It will load the update to the Gypsy and turn off automatically when it is complete. This will add the latest cartridges to the cartridge list.

Design Studio Update Video

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:57:21 +0000

LTC Newsletter & The Gypsy

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:50:14 +0000

You can view the latest newsletter by clicking HERE.

Have you heard the news?! ProvoCraft is releasing a hand held device for the Cricut! Check out the newsletter for more information.

A Peak Into Cricut Design Studio:The Missing Manual

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:18:08 +0000

Many of you have been curious about what exactly is in our video-enhanced ebook, Cricut Design Studio:The Missing Manual. Well here is your chance to take a peak inside.

Newsletter Now Available…with Update Details for CDS

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:13:49 +0000

The latest update for Design Studio is out, and you can read about it in our latest newsletter.

Click here for June 12, 2009 Newsletter

Ice Cream Card: Doodlecharms Cartridge

Mon, 18 May 2009 04:10:40 +0000

Here is an ice cream card I made from the Doodlecharms cartridge. I used Design Studio to make it into a card. I flipped the second image so they would line up correctly. The pink and red are Bazzill Bling and I accented with Stickles.

I would love to share the file, but I can’t seem to find the file on my computer. If I do, I’ll be sure to post it.