Taming The Green Bug - How To Make Stunning Cricut Desings

I was frustrated! The feeling of having an idea full of creativity and not being able to translate it into reality can drive someone crazy.

CDS is awesome… but has left most of us pulling our hair to baldness out of frustration because the software doesn’t come with a comprehensive manual. They expected us to figure things out by ourselves.

Well, not anymore!

If you have a wild creative side and you’ve been struggling to translate your ideas into reality because you just can’t get the software to do what you want it to do, then I’m excited for you that you’ve found this page.

You’re about to learn the little known Design Studio features that can make HUGE differences in the look and originality of your creations.

Making a stunning scrapbooking design depends on two things: your creativity & how well you know your tools...

Taming The Green Bug is a new book about the cricut and specifically the cricut design studio software. It teaches how to use all the features of the cricut design studio and make stunning designs.

Cricut Design Studio - Three Ways to Maximize Your Creating Time

The Cricut electronic die-cut machine paired with the Cricut Design Studio software has opened up a whole new world of designing possibilities for scrapbookers and cardmakers alike. While many of us have an abundance of tools and materials, the one thing we seem to be lacking more than any other is time. It is important to use the time we are able to find to the fullest if we want to complete more projects. Here are three ways to maximize your time spent creating.

1. Maintain proper maintenance on your machine, blade, mat and tools.

If you spend the few extra moments it takes to keep your machine in good condition it will save you time and money in the end. The two biggest culprits seem to be the blade and the cutting mat. Replace your blade when necessary to keep from wasting paper after paper with torn or less-than-perfect cuts and the time it takes to re-cut your images. If you try to stretch out the use of your mat too long the papers will begin to move and slide as the machine cuts. It's more than worth it to implement the age old advice of doing things right the first time.

2. Become familiar with the people who can help you.Getting to know the resources available to help you will save you time when you get stuck using the machine and software. The most important resource in my opinion is the Cricut message boards. There are some wonderful people on there more than willing to answer any question you have and help with ideas.

3. Don't reinvent the wheel.Unless you just enjoy designing and playing with the software, there's no reason to recreate a file someone else has already made. There are numerous blogs and sites where other Cricut users share the projects and the corresponding files they have designed.

There's no reason to spend precious time designing cuttings from scratch when someone has kindly put it on the web for you to use. Even if you only use the base of the design as a starting point for adding your own additions, you will still save a good deal of time by not trying to figure out how to create the file from the very beginning. One thing to remember is to always give credit where credit is due, even if you do change the file in one way or another.

Spend a little extra time up front by keeping your tools in tip-top shape, getting to know where to find help, and using other people's designs when you can. If you do, when you sit down to work on a project you may just find that you have more time to actually complete it than you thought.

Article written by Brandi Gore.

Bandi Gore has been in the scrapbook industry for 10 years. She teaches classes and does custom scrapbooks for others. Her knowledge of the Cricut and the Cricut Design Studio software has positioned her as an expert in the field.

If you are you looking to learn the ins and outs of the Cricut Design Studio, please check out her book and videos of how to bring your ideas to life faster using the Cricut Design Studio at LearnTheCricut.info

Cricut Design Studio Benefits

The main benefit of the Cricut Design Studio is the ability for users to weld, or connect letters together to form a single cutting. Gone are the days of gluing each letter one at a time. Now letters, phrases, and shapes can be welded together before cutting making it faster and easier than ever to add cuttings to projects.

Another benefit of the Cricut Design Studio is that the shapes and letters can be manipulated extensively before cutting. Users are no longer limited to only adjusting the size, but can now change the shape properties to better support their overall design. Each image can be stretched, slanted and flipped to get the exact look the crafter is needing.

While the Cricut Design Studio has benefit after benefit, my personal favorite is the ability to incorporate images from various cartridges into one design. The user can now design with all the cartridge options at once instead of being limited to cutting with one cartridge at a time.

Advanced and ultra-creative users have created awe inspiring projects by combining several different cartridges into one incredible cutting. The Cricut Design Studio is, in my opinion, a necessity for every Cricut owner. While there is a learning curve to it, once it is understood the creative options are absolutely unlimited. Bring your ideas to life faster with video instructions starting today at LearnTheCricut.info