Sunday, August 2, 2015

Cricut® Artistry Collection Now Available

As I mentioned yesterday, the latest cartridge exclusively available from your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant is the Cricut® Artistry Collection (Z3167).


There are six function keys (more on the function keys below) and as with the other cartridges exclusive to CTMH, this cartridge contains 700 images.

The stamp sets that are included with this collection are:
All of the D-Size stamps coordinate with a cut from the cartridge. A package of 12" x 12" Enchantment Cardstock Combo Pack (with updated colors) is included with the Artistry collection.

I have had the Cricut® Artistry Collection for a few days and have observed some things that you might find helpful when using the cartridge.

There is a cartridge overlay for the Expression, but on the Expression 2, the on-screen function keys are not labeled with the function key name rather they are labeled F1 through F6. I created this chart that you may want to print off and attach to your E2:

F1 Icon-1F2 Icon-2
F3 ShapeF4 Layer
F5 BannerF6 Background

There are six function keys:

base keyon the Expression and Expression 2 you do not need to press any of the function keys to cut these images; this is where you will find the letters and numbers and on some keys, e.g., comma, semi-colon, etc., shapes

in Cricut® Design Space you will find the letters and numbers under Add Text; after adding the text, go to the Edit tab, scroll down or search for Close To My Heart Artistry; the shapes that are on some keys are found under Insert Images; see a note about punctuation below
Icon-1on the Expression and Expression 2 you press the Icon-1 function key for the image on the left and Shift+Icon-1 function key for the image on the right; when cutting images that are printed in the same color, e.g., the coffee cup on page 5 in the photo below – images that cut in proportion to each other ­­­– you want to make sure Real Dial Size is unlit/off; when cutting an image that coordinates with a stamp set be sure Real Dial Size is lit/on and set the height to the size listed on the stamp carrier sheet

in Cricut® Design Space the images are printed in the same color are grouped when you add them to your mat - so they size proportionally (as on page 5 in the photo below) and printed in different colors if they are unlinked (as on page 6 below); when cutting an image that coordinates with a stamp set you may need to ungroup and delete the piece that you will not be using
Icon-2this is similar to Icon-1, except use the Icon-2 function key
Shapeuse the Shape function key on the Expression and Expression 2; when using grouped images you would want to make sure Real Dial Size is unlit/off; when cutting an image that coordinates with a stamp set be sure Real Dial Size is lit/on

in Cricut® Design Space all of the Shape images are printed in the same color and are grouped when you add them to your mat; when cutting an image that coordinates with a stamp set you may want to ungroup and delete the piece that you will not be using
Layerthis is similar to Shape, except use the Layer function key
Bannerthis is similar to Shape, except use the Banner function key
Backgrounduse the Background function key on the Expression and Expression 2; since these images are not proportional to another cut on the cartridge you would want to use Real Dial Size (button lit) when cutting

the Background images are not printed in the same color therefore are not proportional to another cut on the cartridge and they are ungrouped when added to Cricut® Design Space mat


The color-coding of the printed images was also true for the Cricut® Artfully Sent Collection, but I did not mention it before. I think it is important to point this out for Artistry because whether or not an image is grouped (cuts proportional to another image) or ungrouped varies within the same function key. I did not see this mix when using the Artfully Sent images.

UPDATE: punctuation works as expected on the Expression and Expression 2; in Design Space you add using the Add Text option. I found a few things I did not expect when adding punctuation. They have been reported to Cricut® and hopefully will change to something we are more used to.

UPDATE on August 4, 2015: I tested the Design Space app on the iPad and found a few more things.

periodthe handbook indicates it is added with shift + 5; this is how you add it on the Expression and Expressions 2

in Design Space you add a period by pressing the period on your keyboard as you would do when typing

on the Design Space app you add a period by pressing the period on your keyboard as you would do when typing
commawhen adding this on the Expression "quote" for the description appears briefly on screen; on the Expression 2 and in Design Space it appears lower on screen as a comma, not higher like a quote

the handbook indicates it is added with shift + 6; this is how you add it on the Expression, Expression 2

you also use shift + 6 to add a comma in Design Space; I do not know why the comma is not like the period

on the Design Space app I have not found a way to add a comma; not on the "regular" keyboard, the ".?123" keyboard or the "#+=" keyboard
question markthe handbook indicates it is added with shift + 8; this is how you add it on the Expression, Expression 2

you also use shift + 8 to add a question mark in Design Space; I do not know why the question mark is not like the period

on the Design Space app I have not found a way to add a question mark; not on the "regular" keyboard, the ".?123" keyboard or the "#+=" keyboard
percent sign
(not available)
It would be fantastic if they move the comma to the comma key on the keyboard so they could provide us with a percent sign, though I think this would only be available in Cricut Craft Room and Design Space.
parenthesiswhen adding this on the Expression "bracket" for the description appears briefly on screen; on the Expression and Expression 2 the left and right side are added with one key, it does not appear letters/numbers/punctuation can be added between the parenthesis for using the negative cut

the handbook indicates it is added with shift + 9; this is how you add it on the Expression and Expression 2

in Design Space the left side is added by shift + 9 while the right side is added by shift + 0 (as you would do when typing)

on the Design Space app you add the left and right parenthesis on the ".?123" keyboard
curly bracketswhen adding this on the Expression "brace" for the description appears briefly on screen; on the Expression and Expression 2 the left and right side are added with one key, it does not appear letters/numbers/punctuation can be added between the brackets for using the negative cut

the handbook indicates it is added with shift + 0; this is how you add it on the Expression and Expression 2

in Design Space the left side is added with the [ key and the right side with the ] key (no shift as you would typically type them); you can put letters/numbers/punctuation between the brackets for using the negative cut

on the Design Space app you add the left and right curly brackets by using the [ and ] keys on the "#+=" keyboard
square brackets (not available)There are no [ ] on this cartridge. It would be fantastic if they would re-program adding { } so it works with the shift key and provide us with square brackets, though I think this would only be available in Cricut Craft Room and Design Space.
zeroadding a zero works on the Expression and Expression 2

in Design Space adding a zero currently does not work; for now please substitute a capital O

on Design Space app adding a zero currently does not work; for now please substitute a capital O

I will update this post, if/when I see any changes to how punctuation and the zero work.

If you have a question about cuts that coordinate with stamps and when to use Real Dial Size, my post Artfully Sent Coordinating Stamp Die Cuts Using the Cricut® Expression may be helpful.

Please come back on August 7 for the Artistry blog hop.

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