HOMEMADE FLOWERS

I have been enjoying the spring-like weather around here for the past week. The sun has been shining, snow has been melting, temperatures have been soaring past 40° F (that's warm for these parts), and new green plant life is beginning to appear. Nurseries are beginning to open again and people are thinking about what they will plant in their gardens this year, but Mother Nature has a sense of humor. She placed a fresh new blanket of snow upon the earth last night. So much for an early spring!

Alas, I, my gardening gloves, and spade will simply have to stay indoors a little longer and be content only to dream of flowers and a beautiful garden. Actually, I won't have to wait all that long to enjoy beautiful blossoms. I shall march right over to my Cricut machine, sit down, and create my own beautiful paper flowers. These will not die with the frost and the petals will remain perky and vibrant for a long time to come.

This week, be sure to read the useful tip about some recent updates for the Cricut Imagine machine and the Gypsy device. You'll also want to check out Crafty Kimber's exploration of the Formal Occasion, Heirloom, and Vintage Papers cartridges. As always, I wish you well in your crafting adventures.

**Header project made by Kimber Jepperson using the Paper Lace cartridge.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEATURED PROJECTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Make Tiny Prima Flowers
• Cricut Flower Vases
• 50 States Flower Card
• Springtime Notebook
• Florals Embellished

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Lisa McIntyre
About: This layout was inspired by my all-time favorite breakfast food commercial. The dancing boy and happy kitchen were just too cute and I had to create my own happy kitchen. The Cricut Imagine machine made it a snap to create and it was so much fun.

Lisa's Project: Happy Kitchen Layout

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today's helpful tip comes from Provo Craft's very own Cricut Imagine guru, Chris!

The big update is now available. This update will give greater compatibility between the Gypsy device and the Cricut Imagine machine; will allow you to link Cricut Imagine cartridges to your Gypsy device; adds a few new features to the Cricut Imagine machine; and fixes some calibration, printing, and cutting issues. There is also a Cricut Sync update available that was just released a few days ago (so some of you might already have it). The update is 2.0.4.8.

New Cricut Imagine Features:
Update All - A button in the Project Preview screen. Add as many images/layers to your queue as you like and then press Update All. You can now add the same color/pattern to all images/layers in the queue and size them all at the same time. This feature is very nice if you are cutting out a bunch of letters and don't want to have to individually edit each letter.

Pattern Cartridges - Now, when you insert a pattern cartridge, the Cricut Imagine machine will show what pattern cartridge was inserted and show a sampling of the patterns on that cartridge. This was added because many people thought their pattern cartridges didn't work because nothing showed on the screen after plugging them in.

The Cricut Imagine update should be fairly quick if you have kept your Cricut Imagine machine up to date. The Gypsy device update will take longer. Please be patient and please be sure to follow the instructions on the update site: http://www.cricut.com/cricutsync/.

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

This week I did something different in the way of crafts. I went with a friend to a pottery place to paint my own pottery dish. I got paint all over my fingers but, in the end, I had a blast painting my plate. Someone told me that you could use vinyl cut outs to mask off parts of the dish that you don't want to paint. I cut out the Cricut logo in vinyl and made myself a coaster for my desk. I can't wait to see the dish finished!

This week I played with the Formal Occasion, Heirloom, and Vintage Papers cartridges. The colors and patterns for Heirloom are fun and vibrant. The palette includes pink/red, green/brown, and blues. There are stripes, silhouettes, golf balls, vintage chairs, musical instruments, and butterfly patterns. On Vintage Papers the patterns are: music notes, old-fashioned paper ads, checker board, map, chess pieces, accounting records paper, and poem patterns. The color palette for this cartridge includes creams and browns with some blues and reds. I used both of these cartridges and my Cricut Imagine machine to print some background papers for my Easter project. I also printed the red that is behind my black letters (see pic).

Formal Occasion is a great cartridge for weddings and proms. The creative features are: Layer 1, Layer 2, Phrase, Phrase Layer, Frame, and Frame Layer. Some of the images on this cartridge are: tuxedo, top hat and cane, roses, paisley, chair, limo, crown, dresses, banner, grandfather clock, shoes, heart, purse, and heart balloons. A few examples of the phrases that are included in this cartridge are: "Crush," "Party," "Dance with Me," "Good Times," "Costume Party," "Yes," "Our Group," "Dinner Date," "Monster Mash," "School Dance," and "Junior Prom." The Frame feature provides you with a wide variety of frames, including a few background styles. Any of these frames could also be used as a journal tag for your scrapbook page, and each frame is designed to coordinate with a corresponding phrase!

That wraps up this exploration. Remember, if you have any fun projects that are made with any of the Cricut cartridges, you can share them to on the Cricut message board. Check beck next week and see what I explore next!

Crafty Kimber

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Here's the word from Customer Support this week:

- Cricut Craftroom is in beta test mode. There are many questions about this program and they are being answered on our Facebook page and on the boards. Your patience is appreciated as we get this ready for everyone to use and enjoy. Watch for information here in the Chirp newsletter and on the boards.

- Any mention of third-party software programs will be deleted from the Cricut message board, as per Provo Craft message board rules. You will receive a PM from the Admin stating:

"Your post(s) regarding third-party software that allows you to make cuts with the CRICUT® machine has been removed. The third-party software you reference has not be tested nor approved for use with the CRICUT machine and therefore is not endorsed nor supported by Provo Craft and thus, should not be discussed in the CRICUT community."

It's important to respect others' opinions on the boards. You may not always like what they post, but please remember it goes both ways.

- We hope those that attended the Texas Stampede had a good time. We are enjoying the posts and pictures on the message board!


Need some help? Provo Craft Customer Support is here for you! Never hesitate to call in (1-888-922-4725 or 1-888-92ccircle for Cricut Circle questions); we have people ready to help you! We are currently open Monday through Friday 7am to 6pm Mountain Time. If these hours do not work with your schedule, please send an email to support@provocraft.com.


Have a great week!

From your Customer Support Sweeps:
Mark, Colby, Brittany, and Becky, "The Floor Sweeps"

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
~ Mark Twain