| The feature keys are located on the left-hand side of the Cricut keypad. Every font cartridge comes with six feature keys. The feature keys do vary depending on which font cartridge you are using. Let's have a look at the 'George and Basic Shapes' feature keys to get started. |
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Shadow Key
The Shadow feature key creates a mat to highlight your letter. When the letter and its shadow are overlaid together, it makes the letter stand out. |
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Shadow Blackout Key
The Shadow Blackout feature key creates a solid mat to highlight your letter. For example, with the letters 'A' or 'B', the shadow of the letters will be cut but it would not cut the hole in the A or the two holes in the letter B. This looks great if you are using a nice patterned paper as it will show through the hole in the letter. |
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Charm-Top Key
The Charm-Top feature key works by putting a charm loom on any of the letters or shapes on the font cartrige. |
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Silhouette Key
The Silhouette feature key cuts out the inside of your image, leaving the shape of your letter or shape as an outline. |
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Sign Key*
The Sign feature key cuts the image as if it were on a signpost. This is an important feature (even if you don't always want a signpost), because it will allow you to get smaller sizes of letters and shapes. For example, if you set the Cricut to cut a one-inch sign post with a letter on it, the letter you will get will be much smaller, as the one-inch measurement is taken from the top to the bottom of the post. You can then use the small letters as a sign, or cut the post off to just get the letter. |
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Slotted Key*
The Slotted feature key cuts the letter or shape out of an oval shaped piece, and puts two slots at the top of the piece for you to slot through some ribbon or twill. |
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* It is important to note that the Sign feature key and the Slotted feature key can also be shadowed (ie, you can create a mat). To do this, first press the Foundation key (the white button towards the right-hand side of the keyboard) and then select the sign or the slotted key. This will allow a shadow (or mat) to be cut for the sign or slotted image.
Note: You can only select one feature key at a time. For example, you cannot select a charm-top and silhouette for the same letter or shape.
Using the Cricut is so much easier after watching our Cricut videos, giving you 'How-to's' so you can create layouts and crafts that you love!
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