Talk About It Tuesday #1 - Fonts

Starting a new series with today's blog post - Talk About It Tuesday. During my Scrapbook with me events we often chat about tools, techniques and tips. I want to use this series to share my thoughts on the topics we discuss. This week to start things off let's talk about FONTS.

Last week we talked about the fonts I use with my Cricut and I was asked to put together a list of my favorite fonts. I figured I would share the list here with you along with some tips for using these fonts with your Cricut.

To start with I definitely would classify myself as a "font addict". I have, over the years, collected thousands of fonts and have them on my computer. I often find them through free links on different sites. My favorite sites to get free fonts from are: FontBundles and DaFonts. 

FontBundles does a Free Font Friday so if you sign up on their site you will get an email with links to the free fonts each week. DaFonts is great when you are searching for a particular font.

I download fonts from these sites and save a copy to the cloud so if I ever have to reinstall it I have a backup. I am on a Mac so I just need to double-click the font to install it using the FontBook app that comes with the Mac OS.

For those new to collecting and installing fonts you will notice that most fonts come in both a TTF and OTF format. I usually install the OTF version of the font since it will come with some advanced typesetting features but it really does not matter which one you install.

After I install a new font I use a feature I love in FontBook to add the font to collections I have created - Script, Disney, Fun, etc. I also have a Favorites collections for my most-often used fonts. I have two types of fonts I tend to use - scripted fonts and regular. 

Script Fonts

Regular Fonts

You can find a downloadable PDF of these lists of fonts with links to where to get them - here (Script) and here (Regular).

I am always adding new interesting font lists to my Pinterest board so make sure to follow me on Pinterest.

Using Fonts with your Cricut

The fonts I have shared here are from outside of Cricut - they are not part of any Cricut cartridge collection or a font you can purchase through Cricut. To use these in your Cricut you just need to have them installed on your computer. If Cricut Design Space is already running when you install a font, you may need to quit the program and then restart for the font to show up.

My main tips for using any font with your Cricut is:

1.  Use a ruler to measure the space where you want your element to go on your layout then use the arrow on the lower right corner to drag and resize the element to what you want. Using this does a proportional resize so the length and height stay in proportion to each other.

2. You can also resize just one element by clicking on the padlock on the lower left corner to unlock the proportions and stretch the title in either direction using the green cross in the lower right corner.

3. These tips apply to fonts of any type. When working with script fonts you will need to make sure to Weld the element before cutting or you will get odd cuts. Script fonts do not automatically place to letters next to each other so you will need to use the Letter Space option on the toolbar to move the letters closer.

4. Sometimes when you use the Letter Space option as the spacing decreases the letters start to overlap each other too much in some spots and not enough in others to weld properly. To use a script font in this instance you will need to create a text box with each letter separately then move each one together to place just where you want the overlap. Once you have them in place you can select all and then weld them together.

5. Once you have them welded you can adjust the height and width to your needs. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this Talk About It Tuesday topic. Make sure to follow my blog to see upcoming posts.