The Toolbar

The Basics of Cricut Design Space

I am creating this post to help explain the functions of the Cricut Design Space Toolbar that are listed on the lefthand side of your canvas. See photo below. Please stick around for the Ipad Application version of this tutorial- I will post soon.

 

Disclaimer- Please note that all information provided here is editorial. I am a participant in the Cricut Affiliate Program. Although this post may contain affiliate links and/or ads, this post solely based on my experiences and is 100% my honest opinion. I have not received any free items for this post. This post is for informational guidance and furthering education only and is based solely on my experience and research. Read more.

Let’s dive deeper into each of these functions.

• General Information
  • Some of these tabs open a screen over your canvas space.
  • You can tell which tab is open because it will be highlighted.

 

The “New” Button

• This button is pretty self-explanatory. It will open a new project and blank canvas for you to work on.
• Things to pay attention to with this function:
  1. If you have an unedited and untitled blank canvas, it will do nothing. It will just bring you back to that same unsaved blank canvas.
  2. If you have done anything on your canvas, pressing this button will prompt an alert on the top of the screen (as shown below).
     • This states, “A project already exists on the canvas with unsaved changes. Do you wish to save your previous project or replace it with a new project?”
     • The options listed are-

       • Save

         • This will save the project you were working on.
         • If it was untitled, it will pop-up a save screen (as shown on the right), where you can name your project and list if you want to make it public.
         • This will then open a new untitled project and a blank canvas.

       • Replace

         • If your project had not been previously saved, this button will delete your entire project.
         • If you had previously saved your project and you select this button, all your new edits and changes, will be lost.
         • This will then open a new untitled project and a blank canvas.

       • Cancel

         • This brings you back to your project without saving or deleting it.

 

The “Templates” Button

• This button is very interesting. In previous versions of Cricut Design Space, it was represented differently. It was more of a default than its now optional use. It also is much more useful in this version of the Design Space.

• The function of this button is solely for design purposes. 

  • Essentially these templates are placed on your canvas as a guide to your design.
    • For example, if you want to create a logo for a tee-shirt, opening a template will be very beneficial.
      • You can choose the size and style of tee-shirt (explanation to follow).
      • This will be a visual reference while designing.
      • The template will not be saved, cut, or printed. It will be as if it is not there. As I said, it is strictly for design purposes.
• When you click the “Template” tab, you will see a new page appear on your blank canvas, as shown below.

• Here you will find a list of 109 different types of templates.
  • They range from very common items (like tee-shirts, banners, drinking glasses, and electronics) to less thought of items (like guitars, lockers, pacifiers, and skis).
  • Each of these templates is customizable to however you need.

• To use these templates

  • Choose whichever template you need or want. You can customize most of them. One template I use the most is “Basic Canvas” (Pictured on the right).
    • With this template, you can choose a basic shape and then customize the size.
    • When you choose this template, it will default to a square with the size 12×12 (which is the size of a standard mat). This is really great when you are playing with things on a whole sheet and need a guide.
      • To change the shape, use the drop-down menu on the top portion of the canvas under “Type” (see below). 
      • To change the size of the shape, it is just as simple. Use the second drop-down menu under “Size“.
      • You can see that the to pre-set options are for the size of the cutting mat.
      • If you want to create a custom size, simply select “Custom.”
        • You will see a new section pop up, as shown below.
        • To change the size, just use the arrow keys, up and down.
        • You will notice that both the Width and Height remain the same and change with the other. This is because the ratio of the shape is locked, keeping its exact shape.
          • To unlock, simply press the lock symbol above the numbers. When unlocked, it will look like the image below. 
          • To lock in the shape again after you adjust the width and height, just simply press that lock symbol again.
    • You can use these skills to now try other templates and adjust them as needed.

    • ***NOTE*** 

      • You can only see the ‘Template Options’ after clicking on the canvas portion of the screen.
      • This may be tricky to figure out at first but you just need to click on the canvas bar. It is pictured below. 
      • Within that control bar you can do the following as well-
        • Change the color of the template. Do this by clicking the white circle (white is the default color).
        • You can also make the template invisible and or not invisible. Do this by clicking the eye symbol.
    • Some other cool features of this Template function include:
      • Templates for specific items. These include-
        • Converse shoes, in all sizes.
        • Electronic Slip Covers, in sizes specifically for iPad 2/3, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire 7″ and the Kindle Fire 8.9″
        • Kitchen Aid Mixers in sizes 5qt and 6 qt. (mine is red).

 

The “Projects” Tab

• The “Projects” tab functions as a go-to project screen for all types of projects. The “All Categories” selection is the default as above.
• You can choose different categories using the drop-down menu at the top.

• The categories that I think are most notable-

  • My Projects

    • This leads you to all of your saved projects.

  • My Favorites

  • Cricut Access

    

    • This one is important to me. You will notice the little “a” in front of “Cricut Access” (shown on the right). This can be found on the border of some of these projects listed. Any project that shows this “a” symbol, is included with the subscription service “Cricut Access.”
    • Cricut Access is a subscription service provided by Cricut.com. You can find out more information here.
    • Some of the benefits of Cricut Access include-
      • Unlimited access to over 400 fonts
      • Unlimited use of over 30,000 cut-ready premium Cricut images, including exclusive designs
      • 10% savings on licensed fonts, images, and ready-to-make projects
      • 10% savings on all product purchases on cricut.com, including machines, accessories, materials, and more
      • Up to 50% savings on designer fonts, images, and ready-to-make projects
      • Free economy shipping on orders over $50

 

• Once you choose the project you want to use, clicking it will allow you to see closer details and options.

• Here you can see a lot of different things.

  • “Share”

    • To Facebook or Pinterest.

  • “Favorite“

  • It also shows the skill level (this one pictured is Easy).
  • The estimated time to create.
  • A description of the project.

  • “Print“

  • The “Materials To Cut“

    • All the materials you will need that will go through the Cricut.

  • “Everything Else“

    • This refers to all the items that you will need that are not going to be cut (Such as tape, the cutting mat, and a weeder). 
  • You will also see the Cricut Access Logo at the bottom right hand of the screen, as well as a price (as pictured on the right).
    • This is important because this shows it is part of the Cricut Access Subscription.
    • If you do not have the subscription, then it will cost you $4.99 to use this project. (In my opinion, for another $5 a month, you could use countless other projects, fonts, images and more.)
    • There are also many projects that are free as well.

• The next step is to choose whether you want to “Customize” or “Make It.”

  • Customize” will bring you to the project canvas screen, where you can then customize the project as you would like. 
  • “Make It” will bring you straight to the “Prepare” stage of cutting, which sets up your cutting mats for the final cutting process.

The “Images” Button

• 
  

  The “Images” function is very interesting to me. It says that there are over 60k+ images available.

  • Now there are multiple different types of ‘images.’
    • Single Layer Images
    • Multi-Layer Images
    • 3D Objects
    • Backgrounds & Textures
    • Borders
    • Cards & Envelopes
    • Frames
    • Phrases
    • Printables
  • The part I find difficult is to assemble the 3D objects once they are in your project. There are no directions that I could find. If you know of a place I could find them, please let me know!
  • The other interesting part is that within images, you can find things that you might think would be in projects. This would include flowers and cards.
  • Within “Images” you can also find a long list of images within the Cricut Access Subscription. There are also countless free images too.

 

The “Text” Button

• When you click the “Text” button, a text box will pop up on your canvas.
  • If you do not see it at first, you may want to scroll up or down on your canvas. Sometimes it places the text box in a weird space.
• If you click outside of the text box on your canvas, the text box will disappear and no longer exist.
• You will need to click on the text box, and type your text where it says, “Add text here.”
• As a default, the following settings will apply.

• Once you type your text, you will see a screen similar to the one above.
• Stay tuned for a detailed post on all that you can do with Cricut Text. For now, I will give a brief summary.

• The defaults for my setup are:

  • Font- Cricut Sans
  • Style- Regular
  • Font Size- 72
  • Letter Space- 1.2
  • Line Space- 1.2
  • Alignment- Right
  • Color- Black

• There are numerous different options for your text.

  • You can change the font- Cricut even offers fonts at a price, as well as part of their Cricut Access Subscription.
  • Depending on the font, there are multiple styles.
  • You have the option to separate your letters further apart or closer together.
  • You can even go to the advanced feature and separate each of the letters into individual layers. This is good for when you want one letter closer to another but not all of them closer to each other. I will go further into this in a future post.
  • A new option is the “Curve” option. I have yet to explore this, but my mother has and she loves it! I will be trying it out for my next post.

 

The “Shapes” Button

• The “Shapes” button is quite useful at times. The biggest things to note are-

  • Within this tab, you will find the “score line.” This is a major feature if you ever plan to make score lines when you want to fold your project in specific places. I will go into more detail about this topic in a future post- stay tuned.
  • You can choose one of the shapes listed. Once in your project, you can manipulate the shape into whatever you need it to become.
  • These shapes become individual layers and can be used in the same way as any other layers.

 

The “Upload” Button

• The “Upload” button is where you will need to go for uploading anything from your own files.

• This includes both basic and vector images. They can be:
  • .jpg
  • .gif
  • .png
  • .bmp
  • .svg
  • .dxf
• In this process, you will be able to remove any parts of the image that you do not want to be cut. I will also be posting another post with a detailed break down of uploading an image on Cricut Design Space.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series: Uploading an Image to Cricut Design Space.

See all Instructional Guides Here.