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Font Fans Rejoice
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Font fans: Cecelia Harris has done it again! She has put together one of the best
font cartridges I’ve ever used, and the way I see it, it’s actually three sets in
one. Opposites Attract has a beautiful, flowing cursive font;
a bold, block lettering set; and, when using one of the Creative Features, a complete
alphabet of upright script.
After playing with the different keys and features, I’ve realized that this is a
cartridge that will have lettering applications in a variety of artistic realms.
From full-size letters on a poster to small cards and tags, you can cut complementary
styles for your projects.
Really, the only way you’ll truly be able to appreciate Opposites Attract will be to use it, but if you don’t have
it yet, go to your nearest craft store that carries Cricut™ products and ask them
to demo it for you. Take a look at the handbook that comes with it to see what can
be done with the Creative Features. You’ll notice how the tails on the cursive font
are long and dramatic while there aren’t tails to speak of when using the Upright
Feature.
One of the most unique features of this cartridge is the Trapezoid key. You can
choose to cut either the script or the block letters inside a trapezoid shape. It
is a funky, fresh look that looks best combined with the words included in the set.
They are: YOU, JOY, MUCH, LOVE, MANY, THANKS, AND, THE, TO, and FROM. I love this
option!
The artist, Cecelia Harris from Wordsworth, has
also given us Beyond Birthdays, George and Basic Shapes, and Jasmine.
If you already have purchased Opposites Attract, please post your comments in that section
of the Cartridge Explorations forum on the Cricut™ message
board. You can read comments and post your own input on any of the other current
releases.
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Words & Phrases
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AND, FROM, JOY, LOVE, MANY, MUCH, THANKS, THE, TO, and YOU.
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Variety of Lettering and Features
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One of the things my school-age daughters use the Cricut for is in making posters for their classes. Opposites Attract is their cartridge of choice almost every time, thanks to the variety of lettering and features contained therein.
The main font is a beautiful, flowing script. When Creative Feature 1 (Opposite) is keyed, a bold block lettering is available. Creative Feature 3 (Upright) gives you script lettering that is cut straight up and down and without the long ‘tails’ found in the original. The script and block lettering were created by Cecelia Harris to perfectly complement each other, so you can use them on the same project, even superimposed.
My favorite school project had mixed lettering from the Opposite and Trapezoid Features. The result was eye catching and appealing (and earned an “A”). With six Creative Features all together, there are many different combinations for you to enjoy. While it might take you some time, my recommendation is to discover them all! It’ll be worth the effort and you’ll learn so much about your own style.
You’ll find yourself gravitating to this cartridge when looking for that designer look for your projects, especially when it’s a big one (such as a poster).
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Samples
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This week, I decided to share with you a trick I use to find the perfect font set for a specific project. Much has been said on the message board about how to keep track of what you have in your library from keeping the handbooks at your fingertips to printing 8.5 x 11" copies of the individual handbooks. Here's what works for me. Instead of printing the entire graphic set from the online font handbooks, I chose four different letters (E, G, T, W). From the online handbooks, I printed out only those pages. Then, on those pages, I wrote what set it was from. I inserted the pages into sheet protectors and organized them by putting all "E" pages together, all "G"s, and so forth. Since I have all the font cartridges (except for the much-hoped-for, rare Doodletype!), I did this for all the sets. 
If you choose to try this method of Cricut library organization, decide for yourself what letters of which you want samples. I chose "E" because it is an oft-used letter and for it's single-line height when lower cased. The "G" was picked for its 2-line height (below the main line) and because the lower case letter comes in many different appearances. The "T" was used for its 2-line, (above the main line) look and its frequent use. Finally, the "W" was used to identify clearly which font sets have rounded, sharp, classic, or funky features.
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