CRICUT: Creating a shadowed word with Chalkboard Fonts

If you liked the Thank You card project that you made during the set up of your Cricut Explore here's how you can make a similar card using the Chalkboard Font cartridge.



If you don't have the Chalkboard cartridge you can purchase the individual font you need for $4.99 through Design Space. Or you can purchase the full cartridge for $39.99 or digital for 29.99. (The digital is currently on sale for $19.99)

(The other font used above is from the Art Nouveau cartridge.)


Here's what you need to do:

Type your word


Change to Chalkboard Fonts - Extended. (That's the yellow font)




Select your word and click Ungroup from the Layers menu



 Click on the eye next to the Shadow layer to Unhide it
  


The blue shadow layer will appear behind your word.



With just the Shadow layer selected click the Delete button.


Select your word again and click the Duplicate button from the Layers box



Move the second word below the first then using the X position move each word so that they are left aligned.



Select the top word then click on its letter in the Layers box. Click Write from the Line Type box.




Leave the second word set to Cut



Select the first word and click Ungroup. Then repeat for the second word.



Both words will now be split into individual letters.



At this point you can fix the letter spacing if necessary. I'm not happy with the R and the Y so I'll fix those.

Drag your mouse around the 2nd R in both words. Use your arrow keys to move them to the left slightly.



Repeat for the two Y's



Much better!



Click on the M in the top word, then click Contour from the Layers menu



Move your mouse over the letter and click on each of the "shadow" pieces to hide them.
 

When you have hidden each piece of the shadow click anywhere else on the canvas to turn off Hide Contour. You'll be left with just the outline of the letter


Repeat for each letter in that word.



Next select the first letter of the second word. This time you are going to hide the actual letter and leave the shadow.

Click on Contour then click on the letter.
Click back on the canvas and just the shadow parts will remain.



Repeat for the remaining letters.



 Select each word in turn and click Group from the Layers box


Move the top word down over the second word and align. Because you left aligned them earlier you will only need to move the word down. Use the figure in the Y properties box to make small adjustments if necessary.

When you're done it should look something like this..


When everything is aligned select both layers and click Attach.



In the example at the top of this post I added a card size rectangle behind the words, selected everything and then clicked Attach. Now your word will stay in the correct position on the card.


Happy crafting!  �





This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I will receive a small commission.

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love.


Using the link is totally optional. If you don't wish to purchase through the link, you can go directly to Cricut.com and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from Cricut.com. :)


Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. 


I have affiliates with Cricut.com and InLinkz �




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Cricut Halloween Giveaway

(Sponsored Post)

While Halloween isn't really a big thing here in Australia (although its popularity is growing) I still enjoy seeing all the amazing crafting projects that it inspires!

Enter to win the Cricut Halloween Giveaway, where you could win a Cricut gift card for $50, $75 or even $100! Winning designs will be posted on the Cricut Facebook page! 

Do you have any spooky crafts you have made with your Cricut? Why not enter them? Haven't started yet? You have until October 30 so get busy. O

Here are some designs from the Cricut website to get your creative juices flowing. If you need to stock up on your Cricut supplies in order to give your designs that extra bit of spook, great news�Cricut offers Free shipping on orders $31+ with code HALLOWEEN31.



Good luck, and may the best ghost or goblin win! Submit your Entry to Cricut's Halloween Contest here




Happy crafting!  �





This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I will receive a small commission.

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love.


Using the link is totally optional. If you don't wish to purchase through the link, you can go directly to Cricut.com and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from Cricut.com. :)


Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. 


I have affiliates with Cricut.com and InLinkz �



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CRICUT: CTMH Artfully Sent image codes

Finally.... I have finished editing the handbook for Artfully sent to add the Design Space image codes.

You'll find the links to the edited handbook (and the other CTMH handbooks) by clicking on the Handbooks and Design Space Image codes tab at the top of this page.



There are three images missing from Design Space. The "Today" Pocket Card on page 33 and Card 1 and Card 2 on page 50. I have advised PC and will update the handbook and link when they have been added.

These images have now been added!   The PDF has been updated. You can either download it again (use the same link) or you can take note of these codes:

Page 33 - Today Pocket Card - #M17D254
Page 50 - 4 x 6 <Card-1> - #M17D25D
Page 50 - 3 x 4 <Card-2> - #M17D261

Speaking of Artfully Sent.... Check out Paige Dolecki's blog. Paige created an awesome cheat sheet for using Artfully Sent with Design Space with lots of great sizing info and she is sharing it for free! Here's the link! Stampologist.com


Happy crafting!  �





This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a small commission.

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love.

Using the link is totally optional. If you don't wish to purchase through the link, you can go directly to Cricut.com and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from Cricut.com. :)

Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. 

I have affiliates with Cricut.com and InLinkz �


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CRICUT: October Mystery box

If you like Christmas cartridges and need 12"x12" Cricut mats then you might be interested in the October Mystery box.

Now that shoppers have been receiving them the contents are no longer a mystery! Here's what's in the box:

Teresa Collins December 25th Cricut cartridge
Merry and Bright Cricut cartridge
Two Cricut blades (not the German Carbide blades but they still work in the Explore)
2 Cricut 12" x 12" Cricut mats
1 roll of Terrifically Tacky Tape
Provocraft Knifty Knitter  Supplies of the Knifty Knitter have been exhausted and has now been substituted with a 3rd Cricut cartridge! (Possibly Sweater Weather.) O

The price is $29.99 and if your order is over $30 you can use the code HALLOWEEN31 to get free shipping! (I have heard that the free shipping code is working when just purchasing the Mystery Box. Make sure you select Standard shipping and are logged in for the code to work!)

Here's the link to purchase the Mystery box: OCTOBER MYSTERY BOX

The mystery boxes usually sell out fast so don't miss out if you really want those carts! And sometimes the contents will be substituted if stocks get low!


Happy crafting!  �





This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a small commission.

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love.

Using the link is totally optional. If you don't wish to purchase through the link, you can go directly to Cricut.com and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from Cricut.com. :)

Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. 

I have affiliates with Cricut.com and InLinkz �


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CRICUT: Using Inkscape to create a split letter monogram

Many of you have tried creating a split letter monogram in Design Space. It can be done, but when using the Regal font things can get messy.

It's much easier to create your font outside of Design Space and import it as a SVG file. Here I'll show you how to do that using the free program Inkscape.

You can download Inkscape from www.inkscape.org. Make sure you only click on the download button for Inkscape. There are no other programs you need to download/install!





Click on the link for your operating system. It will most likely be the second (Windows) or third (Mac) icon.

Select the correct version for your computer. (For Windows that will be 32bit or 64bit.)



Click the Download Inkscape link (circled below)


You will see the "Your download will start shortly" message. Don't click on the box underneath that. It's just an ad for a program you don't need! Just wait for the download to start.


Save the download file to your computer. When it's finished downloading click on it to start the installation.

One other thing: The font used in this tutorial is called Regal. It can be downloaded for free from http://www.fontspace.com/aldus/regal


Now that you've installed Inkscape....

1. Open Inkscape. (If you get a dialog box pop up that says "There is no disk in drive..." click Continue. You'll probably have to click it 3 times. Then wait a few seconds and Inkscape will open. There is a fix for that error but I'll explain that in another post.)

2. Click the Text tool


3. Click inside the design area box. Don't drag a box for your text... just click!

4. Type your letter. (Remember... if you are going to be using Regal Font you must use upper case.) The letter will appear in whatever font is currently selected.



Tip: Press the + key on your keypad to zoom your view! 

5. Click on the Select arrow in the top left of the screen and your letter should be selected. You'll see 8 outwards facing arrows around it. If that doesn't happen drag your mouse around your letter.

  

6. Hold down your Ctrl key then drag any of the arrows that are around your letter and resize it so it's easier to see. Provided you hold down the Ctrl key your letter will hold its proportions. No need to worry about exact size yet.


7. Double click your letter so that the cursor appears.


8. Hold down your Shift key then use the left or right arrow key to highlight the letter.


9. Click on the down arrow next to the fonts drop down box in the top left of the screen.


10. Scroll through the list to find your font and select it. Your letter should now appear in the correct font.



Next you'll resize your letter. I generally set the height of my letters to 8". You'll still get to change the size of your finished letter when you get it into Design Space.

11. Click on the Select arrow (top left) again and click your letter so you see the arrows.


12. Click on the lock icon at the top of the screen to lock the proportions



13. Click the arrow next to px (pixels) and change to inches (in)



14. Type 7.00 in the height box and press Enter and the width will change accordingly.


Now you need to convert the text to an object (or a path)

15. With your letter selected click on the Path menu and select Object to Path.




Now we'll split the letter.

16. Select Object, Ungroup



17. Click the Square icon on the toolbar



18. Click to the left of your letter and drag your mouse to create a rectangle across the letter. The length of this rectangle isn't important. Just make sure it is wider than the letter.



19. Click on the lock on the top toolbar and unlock it. (This time you want to change the height of the rectangle not the width.)



20. Type 2.00 in the Height box. (These are the measurements I use, but you may want your rectangle bigger or smaller. The size you make it equals how much of the letter will be removed.)



21. Click on the Select arrow and move the rectangle up or down to place it where you want the split to occur. Some letters will look best split right through the middle. Some others (e.g. those that have a cross bar like the A and H) look better if you split it above or below the cross bar.

If you want to split it exactly in the centre...

(Skip step 22 if you don't want it centred.)
22. Drag your mouse around the letter and the rectangle so they are both selected

Click the Object menu then Align and Distribute

The Align and Distribute dialog box will open.
Click the Centre on Horizontal Axis button. The rectangle will move up or down and be placed in the centre of the letter.


23. With the letter and rectangle still selected click the Path menu, then select Difference.


Your letter has now been split!



Now you need to add the two bars

25. Click the Square tool from the toolbar and drag another rectangle over your image and place it so it is just overlapping the bottom of the upper part of the letter. I generally set the height at .25" and the width one inch wider than the width of the letter. (In this case the width of the letter was 6.558 so the width of the bar would be 7.558).

Make sure the Proportion lock is still unlocked if you're going to set it using the measurements.

But you can eyeball the height and width if you prefer.



26. Click the Select arrow then click on the bar you just created to select it.


27. Click the Layer menu and select Duplicate Current Layer. This layer will be placed right on top of the existing one. While it is still selected use your down arrows to move it so that it is just overlapping the top of the lower half of the letter.



Next you'll align the two bars so they are even on the left and right of the letter.

28. Select everything by dragging your mouse around all your objects (or click Edit, Select All - but only do that if you don't have any other objects on your Inkscape screen)


29. From the Align and Distribute dialog box (Object, Align and Distribute if you closed it earlier) click the Centre on Vertical Axis button. Now your two bars will be centred vertically on your letter.




Next you'll weld the bars to the letter.

30. Select everything


31. Click the Path menu, then Union



You now have one object with the two bars welded in position.


You will want to be able to move the top and bottom parts of the letter individually so you can make room for the name that goes between the split.

32. Click on your letter to select it then click the Path menu and select Break Apart.

Don't panic! It's going to look really odd..


33. Drag your mouse around the top half of the letter (including the bar) then click Path, Combine.




The top half is returned to its former glory!

Now repeat for the bottom half

34. This time drag your mouse around the bottom half of the letter (including the bar) and again click Path, Combine.



You can now move the top and bottom parts of the letter individually.

A quick note..... It's better to not move the letters apart. Particularly with letters like S, M, N... (any letter that has angles or curves basically...) as the letter looks wonky and out of proportion then. 

I generally make my letters 8" tall and make the split rectangle 2". That gives me approx 1.5" space between the letters after I have welded the 1/4" rectangles.




35. Select everything then click Object, Group




36. Click File, Save As.


37. Give your file a name, select where you want to save it, select Inkscape SVG as the type of file (you can change to Plain SVG but it's not necessary for using this file in Design Space) and click Save.




Guess what? You just created your first split letter!

Your file is now ready to import into Design Space using the Vector upload option.

It looked like a lot of steps didn't it? But it's super easy to do and with practice shouldn't take more than 5 minutes!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Maybe you'd like to post a picture of your Split letter project made using this tutorial! Just use the InLinkz link tool below!

Happy crafting!  �







This website and its posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a small commission. 

I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use and love. 

Using the links is totally optional. If you don't wish to purchase through a link, you can go directly to Cricut.com and purchase from their shop. Please note there is no price difference to you between using the affiliate link and purchasing direct from Cricut.com. :)

Any commission I receive is used to offset the costs of maintaining this website (domain fees etc) and file/photo storage fees for files that I share with my readers. 

I have affiliates with Cricut.com and InLinkz �

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