MACM – Thinking of You (Cricut/Sure Cuts a Lot)
Good morning, all!
This week’s Make a Card Monday video is a bit different. Basically, I wanted to try out something with my cutting machine, so I took you all along for the ride. :)
Hope you enjoy! And don’t forget to leave a comment on yesterday’s entry for a chance to win some of my favorite Hero Arts stamps! You have until 7:00 pm MT today. A winner will be chosen randomly, so good luck! :)
BTW, to see the computer screenshots easier, you can watch the video in HD over at YouTube.
this was awesome! Can Sure Cuts Alot be used like DesignStudio (i.e. welding images from cricut cartridges)? I haven’t gotten DS because it’s not Mac compatible, but I see you’re using a mac with SCAL
I don’t think you can use the cartridges with SCAL, but I might be wrong. Anyone else know?
No, SCAL does NOT work with the cartridges. You need one inserted, just so you can load/unload the mat, but it doesn’t matter which one.
AWESOME! I’ve been nervous about investing in the SCAL but this opens up a lot of possibilties. Thanks for showing how to do it from Illustrator to card. :)
July 13th, 2009 at 7:22 amLoved watching you make this card. I’ve been thinking for a while now that I want to invest in the SCAL to go along with my Cricut — and I think you’ve just given me that nudge to go for it — love the results.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:27 amI love seeing what the cricut can do. I don’t have one and I am debating between it and a silhouette? If you could only have one, which would you have?
Oooo… Tough question. Not really sure yet. I want to use the Cricut a bit more. Right now, the only real difference to me is the size. Cricut is 12″ wide, while the Silhouette is only 8-1/2″. Now… if there was a 12″ wide Silhouette… ;)
Wonderful video!! Have you tried dry wall mesh tape to transfer your paper cuttings? Works wonders. Love the stuff… I would have hated my Cricut Expression with out SCAL. SCAL just makes the possibilities endless to what you can do with the Cricut. Anyways thanks again for the awesome video and card inspiration!
Have a wonderful day!
July 13th, 2009 at 7:43 am=0)
Great card , i have the studio version but i think i will invest on SCAL .
x
Joana
PS does Scal have the option to double cut the images ( I use it a lot when cutting thick card )
That’s a good question… I’m not sure. I haven’t looked into it. Anyone else know?
In SCAL if you look under Cutter> Multi Cut> you can pick to have it cut up to 4 times.
HTH =0)
Thanks! I haven’t explored the software too much yet. :)
Is SCAL Compatible with the MAC ??
Yes, that’s what I was using it on.
A comment and a question. Comment first, I have downloaded the trial version of Cricut’s Design Studio it is free and it has some features that SCAL doesn’t. I have found that it is sufficient for me since I own SCAL for the fonts as you have mentioned. Now the question when importing SVG files into SCAL you referenced the size in Illustrator. However, if you purchase files, like the ones used in your Finally Friday is there a way to know the correct proportions? I have found that the information is not provided by the designer and requires some trial and error cutting. Do you have a suggestion?
The only time that I think the size would be an issue is if it’s sized for a card or envelope. And you can totally “eye-ball it” or estimate within SCAL by using the ruler/mat. That’s what I did when I cut the card and envelope for last Friday’s video. It just takes a bit longer, but it’s totally do-able. :)
Kristina, I loved the card. Thanks for showing the computer and cricut process. Wow, how time consuming but next one shouldn’t take as long, now that you’ve got the set up. But pulling off the cutting mat and gluing down all those letters must have worn on your patience. It sure would have mine.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:10 amWoW! So krafty! Kristina, always luving ur Cards!
July 13th, 2009 at 8:19 amhi kristina! great card! thanks so much for all of the daily inspiration you provide! i’ve got you showcased on my blog today! have a super week! :)
July 13th, 2009 at 8:22 amWow! I think u r truly starting a new trend with the tone on tone cards you have been making! Great tutorial!
July 13th, 2009 at 8:37 amLove the idea. I do not own the Expression, I have one of the original bugs, but I could see doing a tone on tone with some of the sayings that are on each cartridge. Cool Idea, thanks.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:56 amI have to get me a cricut one of these days…
Lovely card as ususal!
July 13th, 2009 at 9:15 amCool card! Thanks for taking us along!!
July 13th, 2009 at 9:16 amThis is brilliant!!! What a beautiful card.
Thanks, Andrea! BTW, hopefully our HP screening will work out tonight… Trying to find out when we can redeem our passes. Hopefully we won’t need to stand in line for a long time. I’ll let you know. :)
Man do I love this card!!! You are a genius girl.
No, Patti, you are a genius! :) See you tonight!
Are the hearts a font or something you create?
I love the card, really really cool!
Julchen
I drew them, actually. :)
They are cute. Good job :)
Love this card! Thanks for showing the Cricut in action. I just got a Silhouette, but I might be asking for the Cricut for Christmas now ;).
July 13th, 2009 at 9:54 amGood job on demo-ing the Cricut and SCAL. I’ve been using SCAL with Cricut since May 08 and absolutely love it. One tip – you can run your cardstock, through a Xyron (leave the backing on the paper), stick it to the cutting mat, cut and the letters will already be sticky. You do need to use high pressure and full blade depth.
Ooo… what a great tip! I’ll totally have to try that! Thanks! :)
Hi Gals,
The other way to stick the letters down perfectly is to lay the left over peice (the negitave) over the card front and do it like a jigsaw, after you’ve fitted the peices back in, remove the negitive and they are perfectly placed. Easy
BEAUTIFUL CARD!!!!
July 13th, 2009 at 10:24 amLove the tone on tone card! The glueing down looks so tedious. Wonder if you could have laid down the cardstock the letters were cut out of as a guide for placement. Just a thought.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:42 amHi Kristina! I love this card! I’ve been debating about SCAL but have Design Studio and hate the amount of money I’d be spending to have both but it seems like both have advantages. I was wondering what font you used. It looks so cute!!! LOVE IT! Thanks!
Clarendon. :) One of my favorites.
awesome tone on tone card!!
July 13th, 2009 at 11:56 amLove this tone on tone card, really sophisticated. Could you make the letters into stickers to save time and glue?
July 13th, 2009 at 12:05 pmI love SCAL!
A tip – run cardstock through the Xyron and then cut – Put negative over your card and place letters perfectly just as your design. No guessing.
July 13th, 2009 at 12:24 pmI wondered the same thing Sandy did. Could you have used the negative as your placement guide? Put some repositionable glue on the back, place it on your card, then glue each letter into the openings? Worth a shot if you decide to try it again. :) Great card. Love the tone on tone too.
July 13th, 2009 at 12:59 pmlove your card! :) i was debating on getting SCAL myself. looks like it might be a good investment. thanks!
July 13th, 2009 at 1:01 pmI am on the fence about whether or not I NEED a cricuit.
I LOVE that you can create your own text because that eliminates the need for EVERY cartridge. Thank you for showing us this on the video!
The design on your card is really nice with the big & and the small hearts repeated.
My only ‘thumbs’ down about the entire process is that it would take so long to glue each and every letter down….Makes me just want to use stickers….or stamps….Esp. for titles on scrapbook pages and cards. And I’ve seen lots of people rip their smaller lettering when trying to remove it from the cricuit backing sheet.
I appreciate hand-made things and I sort of feel like the hand-made part is being done by the machine…except for the boring ‘gluing’ step.
I will probably still ask for the cricuit for Christmas…I am just worried that in the long run, it will end up gathering dust because of the amount of time it takes to use the machine over a stamp or a sticker.
Anyway, thanks for your video! I appreciate all your work and time! You have an awesome blog!! ;-)
July 13th, 2009 at 1:11 pmThe negative as a guide would be my first guess. I have been trying to decide which cutting system to go with so this video was a great example of what cutting systems can do.
Thanks for all the inspiration.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:14 pmHey Kristina, great card! I wanted to let you know that when I use my cricut, I always set my blade to 6 & it will cut your stampin cardstock good. Now if you are using papertrey cardstock, since it is a little thicker, I always set the SCAL to cut 2 times & that feature is @ the top where it says “cutter” & choose how many times you want it to cut! I use this feature all the time when I’m cutting chipboard! I just wanted to share that tip of the day with you & I hope it helps!!:)
Thanks! I’ll have to try that. :)
The card is awesome…just like your blog, your talent & the inspiration you provide all of us with. Thanks….bring on the Hero Arts.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:58 pmHow cool! The tone on tone letters give it an embossed look…thanks for a great tutorial!
July 13th, 2009 at 2:58 pmGreat card. It must have taken FOREVER to glue down all of the letters. Thank goodness it “worked” and didn’t wind up in the circular file. :-)
July 13th, 2009 at 3:28 pmThanks Again Kristina! I am learning more and more what my Cricut can do…I am off to get me a copy od SCAL! : )
July 13th, 2009 at 4:04 pmYour card is Great!!! Thanks for all the inspiration you provide us on your blog.
Enjoy your day!!
Marcy
July 13th, 2009 at 4:22 pmI had no idea Cricut had this for the computer. I have the first Cricut and never use it. I will have to check it out. what is the cost? I also love what you can design with the Silhoutte. Thanks for sharing your creative idea with us. The card is very handsome and would be a nice masculine card idea also. Like camo?
July 13th, 2009 at 4:41 pmthanks for an awesome card just have two questions.
I have the cricut expressions and is thinking of purchasing SCAL but in the tutorial you refered to creating design in illustrator and then exporting it to SCAL.
If I don’t have illustrator will I also need to buy that too.
If this is the case how hard is illustrator to use?
sorry for the questions
I’ve heard of some people using a program called Inkscape. Not sure if it’s free, or maybe just a small fee, but a lot of SCAL users also use Inkscape to design their SVG files. You might try googling that. :)
Inkscape is a free, open-source vector illustration package that many SCAL users use. You can get it at http://www.inkscape.org. There is a learning curve, but there’s one with Illustrator as well. My best suggestion is to read whatever you can find, find tutorials (screencasters.heathe… has some good ones), and just play. As with most things, it gets easier with practice.
Thanks, Heather! Since I use Illustrator, I wasn’t familiar with Inkscape. :)
Thank you for the help.
looks like I’m off to do some more investigating
Hi Kristina,
July 14th, 2009 at 1:04 pmHave you used the new product from Provo Crafts where you can create your own cuttlebug embossing folder with the Cricut? I just purchased the materials to do this, but haven’t played around with it yet. I also bought the kit to make your own rubber stamps with the cricut. I would love to see a video on you doing something with this if you’ve tried it out.
Thanks!
Hey Kristina………..dont have the Cricut , but I do have the QK Silhouette. Will you be making any card videos on this tool? Would love to see your creative idea using this machine.
Thanks!
Probably not since I have my Silhouette at work now, and I do all my crafting at home. The Cricut is my only diecutting machine at home now. :)
I don’t have any of these products, but I enjoy watching your card-making process. Here is a thought…what if you had your design in reverse print and when it was still on the Cricut sticky mat, you put Tombow glue on all of the letters in place, right on the sheet, then attached your cardfront carefully over that. When the glue dried, you could scrape up the letters and peel off the non-glued negative space part. Would that work? I was wondering if it would for something that you are using with placement exactly as you designed it on screen. ??
July 14th, 2009 at 10:15 pmI like Staci’s idea, but also wondered if you could have placed the lettering sideways so you could have taken out the letters you used and used the stencil portion for your card–perhaps by mounting a quarter sheet of Kraft cardstock behind it? Just trying to figure out if I NEED to get a Cricut. I just would not have the patience to place all the letters you did. But I absolutely LOVED the look!
July 15th, 2009 at 9:35 amStaci, I had that same thought too. Anything really to avoid having to line up that layout all over again by eye. LOL
July 15th, 2009 at 9:55 amHi Kristina,
Love the card!
So I just bought SCAL and I’m trying to import my svg file from illustrator, but the file is blank in SCAL :(. I tried a tip I found online about saving the file without “preserve illustrator editing capabilities” checked, but the files are still blank in SCAL. Did you also run into this?
July 15th, 2009 at 10:42 amThat is a really cool card! I’ve been debating between a Cricut and a Slice. I always show my husband your videos that feature your Mac. This last one he said, “I wonder why she’s not in my database?” So here’s a shameless plug for my husband’s store: MacDocs, 1435 South State Street, Salt Lake City, 801-485-6855. :D
Thanks for putting so much out there for us. You always inspire me!
July 15th, 2009 at 8:26 pmLove the card Kristina! I have a Cricut but no design program…yet;)
July 16th, 2009 at 11:28 pmHi Kristina! I don’t have either the Cricut or the QK Silhouette. I plan on getting a new Mac soon with ADobe Illustrator on it. Does the Silhouette work with this or would you recommend the Cricut? Thanks so much!
July 17th, 2009 at 9:56 am