Scrapbooking Supplies

If you want to know everything there is to know about Cricut Design Studio and how to make the most of it, this guide is for you. Written by Brandi Gore, this guide tells you everything you need to know about using the Design Studio which doesn’t come with the program itself. A self-proclaimed tech-savvy gal, Brandi herself admits to troubles with the program when she first got it.

In this manual, she takes all the frustration and confusion out of Cricut Design Studio so that you can get right down to what you really want to do- make your designs. This manual is a 50+ page walk-through of everything you need to know to succeed with Cricut and making your designs.

Even if you don’t consider yourself to be very technologically challenged, you can learn to use this program with ease after reading the manual. You can also keep it handy for any time you forget something important or just need a refresher course on certain aspects of using the design software.

You may already know that you won’t find the directions you need to create in Design Studio just from the manual that it comes with. This basic manual tells you little more than the basics on the program and it won’t help answer your questions about how to do certain thing.

You could spend many frustrated hours trying to figure it out yourself through trial and error or you could take the advice of someone who has already been there and done that for you. This manual will teach you how to:

• weld individual images and letters together to form one cutting
• create shadows for welded words and images
• quickly find the exact shape you need without searching through each cartridge
• position the cutting precisely where you want it on the mat (you can use those scraps of cardstock you've been saving and know for sure that they will line up with the cutting)
• update your Firmware...and why it is vital you do it
• how to manipulate a letter or image to make it the exact shape you need for your project
• use multiple cutting mats and layers in one project
• weld an image inside of a frame

And many more fantastic hints and tips. If you’ve ever known the frustration of having a great idea and being unable to get the machine to do what it’s supposed to so that you can make your design a reality, then you will benefit from this manual.

If you’ve ever wasted specialty paper cutting something you thought you were doing correctly only to discover it was ruined, you will benefit from this manual.

Cricut Design Studio: The Missing Manual tells you everything you wish you had been told when you purchased the program. It will discuss:

• cartridges and the cartridge library
• quick key icons
• shape properties
• pull down menus
• welding images
• and more

Your confidence with the program can increase after just a few chapters of reading. You can work through the program at your own pace learning as much or as little as you want. Since it’s all in writing, you can go back at any time and review things that you may have forgotten.

At this point, the only real downside we can find to the guide is that it is in eBook form so you will have to read it on your computer unless of course, you decide to just print it out so you can have a “real” copy to hold in your hands. However, the good thing about eBooks is that you can get them instantly when you purchase so there’s no waiting. If you run into problems at 2 in the morning, you can get help right now.

If all that is not enough, the manual also comes with a great bonus that introduces you to Cricut shortcut keys that will make using the program a real cinch! You will wonder how you ever got along with Cricut Design Studio without this manual. Even if you’ve had the program for a while, it might be able to help you learn and discover new aspects of the Design Studio that you were not previously aware of.

Brandi has been working in the scrapbook industry for over 10 years and she teaches classes at a local scrapbook store so she knows full well what people want from a program like Cricut. She was also able to recognize what the “official” manual was missing and create one that really helps scrapbookers just like you and me.

To order, just visit The Missing Manual

Filed under: How To