One of the amazing things Cricut Design Space™ does automatically for you is arrange the images you intend to cut to save on materials. This is so helpful when creating with your Cricut^® machine, but did you know it’s also possible to arrange images to cut exactly where you want using the Attach feature? Attach can be used in several different ways. Today, we are going to show you how to use this tool to place images and text exactly where you want them to cut, rather than leaving it up to your machine.

With the Attach feature we were able to create the negative space design of the circles and title in the page you see here. In Design Space, we attached the circles and title to a large square and, after cutting our project, layered paper behind the images for a different kind of dimensional look. (You can do something similar with the Slice feature, but the nice thing about Attach is that you don’t end up with any leftover images to delete!)

The steps below will walk you through the process of attaching and cutting images to replicate this 12″ x 12″ page. If you want to use the same font we did, you must own the Flower Market Cricut^® collection. You will also need a Cricut^® machine that is Design Space compatible (any of the Explore models or the new Maker) to link your collections to your account. (If you do not know how to do this, click here.)

The steps below show you how to work in Design Space from a desktop or laptop computer. If you use the app on a mobile device, the buttons and tools will be located in slightly different places on your screen, but the same features are available on any device.

1. Sign in to Cricut Design Space™ at design.cricut.com.

Log in with your Cricut ID and password, and then select the green New Project button in the top right corner.

2. Insert and resize a basic square shape.

To make the base for your journaling, you will first insert a square by clicking on Shapes on the left side of your screen. Then add a square to your canvas. You can easily resize this square to 11.5 by adjusting the width. Make sure to leave lock icon locked so that the height automatically resizes when you change the width.

3. Color the square.

Adjusting the color of the square will help you see where to place the shapes and text as you attach them to the square. Click on the colored circle next to the scissors icon in the Layers panel to adjust the color of the shape. We decided to work with white, but you can choose any light color.

4. Insert and resize your title.

Before adding any circles, we are going to go ahead and insert the title. Click Text and then under Fonts, search for the Flower Market font in the search box. Once you’ve selected it, go ahead and type the title, “MOOD.” Then, insert a separate text box and type “#.” Having two separate pieces allows you to resize the “#” to match “MOOD.” Resize both to a height of 1.5″. Just like the square, keep the size locked so the width automatically adjusts proportionately.

5. Arrange the title on the square.

Drag the title over the square and arrange it how you’d like it to cut on the square. We placed our title about 7″ from the top of the square.

6. Insert circles and arrange them on the square.

To insert your circles, you’ll do the same thing as you did to insert the square. Click on Shapes on the left side of your screen and add a circle to your canvas. We used three 1.5″, three 1.75″, and one 2″ circle for this project. Resize the circles as you need, and take advantage of the Duplicate tool in the top right corner of your screen to create more. You can add circles and arrange them on your project however you’d like.

7. Attach images and text.

Look over your project one more time to make sure you have arranged everything how you want it on the 11.5″ square. Then click and drag your mouse over all the images and click Attach in the bottom left corner. Now all the images are attached exactly how you’ve arranged them when you cut the project in the next step.

8. Cut your project and create your page!

Once everything is attached, it will all display as one white image on your canvas. When you’re ready to cut your paper, click the green Make It button in the top right corner and follow the prompts. Once your project is cut, you can layer other patterned paper and cardstock behind the title and circles and then attach it to your 12″ x 12″ page. Just add photos and journaling to document whatever “#MOOD” you’re in at the moment. 🙂

Now you know how to use Attach in Design Space to arrange text and shapes however you like! While we used Attach to place images on an 11.5″ square, you can also use it to attach images in relation to each other on the mat itself. Now it’s your turn! Use these instructions to make your first Design Space scrapbook page with Attach, and then keep experimenting with this tool to create layers and dimension on your layouts.

Recipe:

12″ × 12″ #Mood Page
D1772 My Acrylix^® Documented—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, X7234B Documented Paper Packet, X5953 Charcoal Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2804 Pansy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7234C Documented Complements, Z4177 Documented Dots, Z1979 Marvy^® Uchida^® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3290 Cricut^® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
1½” <font> #MOOD

Leave a comment