Craft Edge

I typed a word in a cursive font- Freebooter Script- all letters were already "welded", since it was cursive. Then I tried to use the shadow/blackout feature & some of the letters disappear, run together, distort, etc. This happens immediately, not after I try to increase the value (but it gets worse if as the value goes up). What am I doing wrong? I want to create a background in order to layer the word. I had this trouble with another font, also.

Try decreasing the shadow value (mine defaults to 1 when I first turn it on) - if I turn it down to .5 or 0 (there is still a shadow) I usually get the letters all back. With cursive letters sometimes I can't get them all back unless I go way up like 3 etc...

Also, the cursive letters aren't welded, they are just touching. Don't forget to select the weld option before you cut and use Preview (not Preview all) to make sure that they are all welded.