Sure Cuts a Lot Mini Series

***Update! Just heard that Sure Cuts a Lot 3.0 isn't compatible with Cricut:(  It is compatible with Craftwell eCraft™, Black Cat Cougar/Lynx™, Boss Kut Gazelle™, Pazzles Inspiration™, Silhouette SD™, USCutter™. Is this series still helpful??? Please leave a comment & let me know!
It's finally here- the Sure Cuts a Lot Mini Series!

I've been promising this for ages and now it's here:) Every Tuesday in July I'll be helping you learn to use this amazing tool! Trust me if you have a Cricut you NEED Sure Cuts a Lot. I did receive my program for free from Craft Edge awhile back, but even if I hadn't I definitely would have bought it. 

Want to read my full product review? Go ahead- I saved it for you here

And in case you're still on the fence or wondering what you can do with SCAL here's a sampling of some things I've done with it. 

So now that I've got you drooling just a bit let's get started!

Today we're going to learn about using Fonts

I love funky fonts! My cricut came with 1 font and it was in all caps. Kind of limiting. With SCAL you can use any font you want! Some great resources for free fonts are:

• Dafont.com {my fav!}
• Urban Fonts
• Font Squirrel

If you haven't downloaded new fonts before don't be intimidated. Here's what I do, but you can Google it to get specific instructions for your operating system.

1. Hit Download on the font site

2. Extract the file. Most fonts come in a zip folder- once it finishes downloading you'll have the chance to extract the font file. I just follow the extraction wizard and save it wherever- it doesn't really matter. 

3. Copy the font file- it will most likely be a True Type file with a "TT" symbol on the thumbnail or a green "O"

4. Go to My Computer then Local Disk (C:) then Windows then Fonts. On some computers it will tell you it's  "hidden for safety" or something like that, but go ahead and open it. {just don't do anything else crazy while you're there...}

5. Paste your file

Now that you have your font downloaded here's how to use it!

Use the text tool to write out whatever you want

Over on your sidebar you'll find an area with all of your text tools. It's below Position Size & Appearance. You can use the drop down window to change your font. If you just downloaded a font you can use the reload fonts button and then your new font will show up. 

You can also choose your font height. This measures from the highest point of your word {like the top of a "t"} to the lowest point {like the bottom of a "y"}. 

The width changes how "chubby" your letters are. Tracking adjusts the space between each letter. You can adjust width and tracking letter by letter by highlighting portions of the text before changing the settings. 

Vertical offset moves your letters up and down. Highlight one letter at a time and choose a positive or negative offset. 

You can also rotate your letters so they're stacked up and down. If you just want to spin your word rather than rotate individual letters you'll use the little curved arrows at the corner {they're showing up on the word skew in the picture}. You can also skew your letters to get a slanted look 

Down at the bottom you'll also see a font table. This shows what all of your letters & symbols look like. If you downloaded dingbats {like my snowflakes}this is the easiest way to use them. Otherwise you'll just be guessing which letter to type to get the right symbol. 

Phew...I think that covers it! Let me know if you have any questions about Fonts or anything else and we'll get to it. Come back next week for Shapes!

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