Please come on over to my new blog and follow me there -
http://thenon-craftycrafter.blogspot.com.au/

I'll be transferring information to there from this blog as I get time. Any new tutorials/info will be posted there!


Monday 26 January 2009

Resetting the Cricut

Here's the info from Cricut.com on how to reset your Cricut:

TECH SUPPORT NOOK - Reset Process
If your machine freezes, experiences power problems, cutting issues, or anything out of the realm of normal Cricut behavior, this reset procedure is a good place to start the troubleshooting process. Nine times out of ten, this will resolve the issue:

- First, turn your machine on with no cartridge loaded. Then you are going to roll all your gray dials (the two on the left and the one on the right) down to their lowest setting.

- Then you will want to grasp the green/gold cylinder blade assembly and use it to pull the entire gray carriage car unit (the one with the Cricut bug on it) along its track to the other side of the machine. Back in the cave where the gray carriage car usually sits there is a red button. Press that button and hold it down for about three seconds. Let go and then move the gray carriage car back into place.

- This next step will sound a bit odd, but many times it can fix your little "bug". You're going to roll all your dials all the way up and all the way down three times--three times for each dial.

- Then you are going to hit the "Cut" button and turn the machine off. Let the machine sit for a few minutes (15-20), load a cartridge, turn it on, and try a practice cut.

If this does not solve your problem, give us a call toll free at 1-877-727-4288 7am to 6pm MST Mon-Fri (make sure you are by your machine) and someone here will walk you through some troubleshooting tips and determine if a replacement machine is needed.

Friday 23 January 2009

Forgot to back up!

So I was sick of how my blogged looked and decided to pick a new template. Did I make a backup of the blog? No, of course I didn't. (What could possibly go wrong???)

So, I change the template, save and lo and behold - all my gadgets were gone. All the links to other sites and blogs. My page counter, my followers.... everything!

I've managed to get most of it back, but still need to add the sites/blogs. Some of them I have no idea of the addresses.

And to make matters worse - I still hate the look of the blog!

Monday 19 January 2009

Vertical Welding

There are two ways to create vertical welding.

  • Placing all your letters/pictures all in one object box. Using this option allows you to move/resize etc the whole word at once.
  • Making each letter/picture its own object. Each letter must be moved/resized individually

Here is how you do it the first way:

  • Select a cartridge. This example uses the Base Camp cartridge.
  • Type the word you want to weld. I have used the word BASE



  • Using your mouse select the A. The outline will turn red.



  • Using the Nudge buttons in the Properties box move the A down and to the left until it is under the B.

    Make sure the top of the A is just slightly overlapping the bottom edge of the B.





  • Select the S and again using the Nudge buttons move it down and to the left so that it is under the A and the top is overlapping the bottom of the A.



  • Select the E and Nudge it down and to the left so it's under the S and its top is overlapping the bottom of the S



  • Tick Welding in the Properties box



  • At this point you can increase/decrease the size of your word by using the bottom right sizing handle.

  • To check that the word has welded correctly open a new page in your design by clicking the New Page button.



  • Click the Preview button.



  • You should see something like this:



And now to the second way of welding vertically.

  • Type the word BASE. After typing each letter press the Enter key. That way each letter will become its own object.
    Notice how there is an object box around each individual letter.



  • Select the B

  • Select Welding from the Properties box



  • Select the A. Using the Free move handle (top left) move the A underneath the B. Make sure it is slightly overlapping the bottom of the B

    (Hold down the ALT key to make the handles disappear. This makes placing your object much easier.)



  • Click Welding in the Properties box

  • Select the S and move it underneath the A. Check that it is overlapping the bottom of the A

  • Click Welding

  • Select the E and move it underneath the S. Check that it is overlapping the bottom of the S

  • Click Welding

  • Open a new page in your design to check the welding by clicking the New Page button



  • Click the Preview button



  • If any of the letters are a solid colour, it means that Welding has not been selected.

  • If you need to adjust the overlapping of any letters, go back to the page with the design on it and adjust as necessary.


Here is the word BASE done both ways. They look pretty much the same. The difference is that the first one is easier to resize/move.