my cricut... coming soon

[dogcarbon]

I am soon to be a proud owner of a cricut expression, but the cash needs to be saved completely before I allow myself to buy it with my credit card.

But that doesn't stop me from trying to figure it out

Here are my questions:

1. For a Layered layout, say Mickey Mouse, and you have all those different colored papers(red, black, white, yellow), do you have to "stick" a new piece of paper each time on the mat, OR can you position the smaller pieces of paper on the mat in the right order and let it do one cut? OR, can you place a few piece of paper on the mat and the Cricut will cut thru mulitple layers?

2. and for SCAL: If you want to scan something in, I guess you need a scanner, but can it be scanned in as a .pdf (like I can do at our work photocopier) or am I gonna need to invest in a scanner too to make it .jpg or .bmp or whatever to use in inkscape/paint?


Thank you

 

[kkbeaton2]

I can't help with the scal question, but the other one I can. When you have a layered item like MM, you can do it multiple ways. You can place a whole sheet of the color you are cutting, and then change it each time you move on to a different color. You can place several small pieces of each of the colors you need in different locations on 1 mat. Then you would just use the arrow keys to position where you want the cutter to start at (according to where you have placed each color), and then have it cut. You cannot place several sheets on top of each other for it to cut through, because the sheets will have nothing to hold them down. The mat is sticky, so it will hold the first sheet down. I do suggest that when you first start with your cricut and doing layered ones, start at cutting at least 5" or larger. They are a bit hard to figure out at first (until you get the hang of it), and if you cut smaller, some of the pieces can be quite small! I also suggest cutting out the black layer first (with the cut lines) so that you can see exactly where each piece is supposed to go as you cut it. That way you can place it down on the black layer as you go along.

 

[dogcarbon]

ah, you can position the blade to the right spot... that makes sense....

and thank you for the other beginner tips too!