Why Is My Slice Tool Not Working?
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Do you have trouble using the Slice tool in Cricut Design Space? Learn how to use it the RIGHT way in this blog post!
HOLD UP! If you prefer to watch a video tutorial, check out my “Why Is My Slice Tool Not Working?” tutorial on YouTube! Watch below or click the link here. 🙂
This post is about the DIY Board And Batten Wall With Shelf.
WHY IS MY SLICE TOOL NOT WORKING:
So, What Is The Slice Tool?
The Slice tool feature in Cricut Design Space helps you alter, cut, or change the shape of another object (hence the word slice!) One of the most common ways to use the Slice tool is to cut a multi-layered design, such as a word in a shape.
BUT, the Slice tool can cause difficulty when you try to click it and it doesn’t allow you to use it — ugh! See the below example:
That’s why I’m here to help YOU understand the Slice tool a bit more and figure out why the Slice tool isn’t working for you!
Why Should I Use The Slice Tool?
1. Add Words In A Shape
Sometimes you will want to spice up your name and add it in a heart (no, just me?)
First, click the shape button and select the shape you want. In this case, mine is a heart.
Select the text button and type the name or word you want inside of the shape. Drag it on top of the shape (sometimes you’ll have to right click and send the shape to the back in order to see the text) and place it where you want it.
TIP: Hold down your mouse and highlight the text and shape. Then click “Align” on the top tool bar and center horizontally and vertically so it’s aligned perfectly! You can group both layers once this step is complete.
Select, or highlight, your design and click the Slice button (the first button on the bottom right tool bar).
There will be 3 layers in total – 1. the newly sliced object 2. the original text and 3. the cut-out text. Delete the 2 that are not needed.
2. Create Irregular Shapes
Cricut Design Space only has 9 basic shapes to choose from and sometimes you want more options! If you know me, I’m a huge fan of the moon, so here’s how to create a crescent moon with the Slice tool:
Click the shape button and select 2 circles (either click on the shape button twice, or select the circle and duplicate it)
Highlight or select both circles and click “Align” then “Align Bottom” to ensure that both circles are aligned.
Select the right circle and use your left arrow key to move it to the left until it overlaps and forms a crescent shape. Once you like where it is, highlight both circles and click the “Slice” tool!
Select the unwanted layers (as seen on the right-hand side) and delete! Then you’re left with a crescent moon 🙂
3. Add & Remove Parts of a Font
Some fonts will come with beautiful swashes, or some with not-so beautiful ones. For example, the font above is a cursive font. As you can see, all of the letters are attached by a swash. However in the before, the “F” doesn’t attach to the “o”… (kind of weird, right?)
So here’s how to add a swash to a letter using the Slice tool:
We already know that this font has swashes in SOME letters, but not all. In this case, the swash in the letter “b” seemed like it would look best between the “F” and “o”.
I clicked the text button and entered the letter “b”.
Click the shape button. I chose the square (but you can choose another shape if you think it’ll work better!) and adjusted the sizing to fit just over the “b”, but not covering the swash part.
Once you like where it is, highlight or select both the square and “b” and click the Slice tool! Then, you can delete the 3 layers that are not needed.
Now all that’s left is the Slice result, or the “swash”. Move that to fit in between the “F” and “o” and adjust the size as needed. Once it’s adjusted to your liking, you can group and or weld the final word!
4. Slice Multi-Layered Designs – The BIGGEST Problem Everyone Has!
So you want to create a multi-layered design, such as multiple hearts together, or a Split Monogram Template. You grouped everything and are ready to hit Slice, and oh no! The Slice tool is unavailable to use.
Frustrating isn’t it?
This problem is by far the MOST REQUESTED question I get and it’s super simple to fix!
The Problem:
The Slice tool only works when you have 2 objects at a time (like the first example with a word & heart)
But if I wanted to add “Amy” and “loves Cricut” in 2 different fonts, grouped them together, and wanted to Slice, we have a problem.
The Solution:
The Weld Tool! (Hallelujah!)
It’s like clicking the “send” button on an email, or clicking “submit” on an application — it cannot be undone.
Once you Weld something, that’s it! If you click save after you have welded, you will NOT be able to undo the Weld, so make sure you’re 10000% certain that’s your final decision!
Cricut Design Space needs to recognize that there are only 2 objects before slicing, so the Weld tool will help with that!
Once you group your text (or whatever needs to be welded), select it and click “Weld”. Drag what needs to be welded over the other object, highlight both, and now you should be able to use the Slice tool — finally!!
Look at you! Now you learned how to use the Slice tool AND figure out why it wasn’t working!
Don’t forget to check out my YouTube video in case you’re more of a visual learner 🙂
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