I'm a SCAL newbie...

[nanniet47]

Just downloaded the software but haven't set up my cricut yet to try it out...guess i am a little gun shy after reading about some issues which seem to be based on running Vista, which I don't have...XP girl here! I am one of those peeps who like to read a manual but barring that, some other ways of learning before trying! Have seen mention on the forum of Inkscape...is there anyone out there who will take pity on me and direct me? Thanks, fellow addicts! Annie

[HeatherM]

There are some excellent inkscape tutorials on this forum, just look through that section. Dan99 has some very good video tutorials, http://dan99.blogspot.com and Susan Blue Robot has some good tutorials too (http://forums.surecutsalot.com/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a) Inkscape is well worth learning and IMO it is easier to learn than Photoshop.

[wreed06]

If you downloaded the XP version (not Mac) of SCAL and you use XP (XP Pro here), you will have zero problem with it. Go ahead and try cutting your name in a font you like to keep it simple for the first go around. Then to get your ankles wet after your feet, go to the SVG -> Florishes folder in these forums and find Vine. Download that to your desktop (just so you can find it again - you can move or delete it later). Open SCAL, click on File -> Import SVG and locate the Vine.SVG file you just downloaded. Grab the crossbars handle with the arrows on two sides and drag the Vine object to the size you want. Then cut that. Now you have an idea of cutting a word and an object from an SVG file. The Vine file does not require you to have Inkscape. If you wanted to tweak it, add to it, change it somehow, you would do so in Inkscape.

I hope that gives you a little something to get started. From here, experiment with things, read the forum and ask questions. HTH

[Tingha Treasures]

really good ideas Basically I think when you get SCAL you need to just start with the basics and learn the layout and using fonts and shapes. IMHO