MILE MARKERS

Every birthday in one's life is special. Each year marks a point when someone has not only grown older but hopefully wiser and better than they were on the preceding anniversary of their birth. Many hope to celebrate these mile markers of progress and growth with friends and loved ones. Friends and loved ones...I guess that about sums up something very important.

Today's Customer Spotlight features a beautiful woman who has recently become a distinguished member of the honored and exclusive club of centenarians! I can only imagine how much excellent wisdom and life perspective she has to offer to her friends and family. What a gem she is! Wouldn't you agree?

Speaking of gems and birthdays...as you know, Cricut is five years old this year! To celebrate this wonderful milestone, Cricut has successfully launched its newest gems and members of the Cricut family; The Cricut Expression^® 2: Anniversary Edition and the Cricut Craft Room^™! We believe it will revolutionize the way you Cricut the same way the Cricut revolutionized the way you craft.

Cricut^® products just keep getting better and better! Thank you for your ideas and support as we travel along life's path with you. Why, just imagine how fabulous Cricut will be upon reaching its one-hundredth mile marker!

This week, be sure to read about fun tips on using Cricut Cake^® to cut cookie dough and check out Crafty Kimber's Cartridge Exploration. As always, I wish you success in your crafting adventures.

**Header project made by Georgina Jarvie using the cartridge: Yummy.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Dog-Gone Birthday Card
• Vintage Style Birthday Card
• Happy Birthday Card
• 21st Birthday Card
• 2nd Birthday Card
• Nephew's Birthday Card

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Suzanne Pipitone
About: I started crafting at a young age and scrapbooking when my daughters were born. Buying my Expression 1 1/2 years ago was a great asset to my crafting. Now that I have two granddaughters and another on the way I spend a lot of time scrapbooking. I love the great projects and my friends on the message board. I have just started Cards for Soldiers and feel like I can give back while enjoying my craft.

Suzanne's Project: Shadowbox

Cartridges Used:
- Storybook

Instructions: My beautiful Great Aunt Ora turned 100 this past weekend. I wanted to make her something special so I came up with the idea of the shadowbox commemorating her 100 years. I used Storybook for the title which I love for the vintage look. Her name was cut at 3 inches and the 100 years at 2 inches. Everything was misted and or inked to make it look vintage. I also made a card to match. This brought tears to my aunt's eyes and mine too. So glad I could do this for her.

YOUR NOTABLE TIP—CRICUT CAKE^® AND COOKIE DOUGH

Q. I am new at all this. I have not owned the cake machine for very long. Has anybody used it with cookie dough?

A. I use it with cookie dough all the time. Just make sure you roll it thin enough to fit under the rollers, and freeze it before you cut. If you don't cut it frozen, it simply won't work.

These cookies were cut totally with my Cricut. No cookie cutters here :)

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

This week I decided to use my Cricut and make some fun gifts to give away to fourteen friends. After finishing my project I realized how long it would have taken me to cut each of the tags and other paper items out by hand. I am so thankful to have the Cricut in my life because he/she saves me so much time. Along with my special craft project I also explored two new cartridges, Luau and Bump in the Night.

"Luau", is part of the summer collection cartridges that comes with thirty spring Hawaiian images. Just looking at the cartridge makes me smile, and as I played with the cartridge—cutting out the different images—I realized how cute this cartridge is. A few examples of what you can do with this cartridge are: volcano, surfer on a wave, fish, three masks, sun, flowers, palm leaf, palm tree, Hawaiian girl, and a beach stand. You can also cut out phrases, a few examples are: "Luau", "Pool Party", and "Aloha". Take note that each of the buttons are your base and layer images. Niazior from the Cricut.com message board site used this cartridge in her baby shower decorations, see photo for example. This is such a cute idea.

I also explored Bump in the Night—one of the new lite cartridges. When I first looked at this cartridge I wasn't expecting to see a bunch of fun monsters, but as I continued cutting them out with my Cricut I realized how cute these monsters really are. The special feature that comes with this cartridge is layers, so you can make your die cuts fun and personal. You can also cut some phrases with this cartridge, examples are: "Ugly", "Raaaarh", "Creepy", "Bump in the Night", "Scary", "Weird", "Strange", and "Harry". It's a little difficult to describe what types of monsters are included on this cartridge (see photo) since most of them are a similar shape but with extra branches, a mustache, one eyeball or three eyes, one even has a patch over an eye. There is also a monster with horns, wings, a top hat, and one that looks kind of like an octopus. These images would be fun to cut out with younger kids for them to play with. You could use these images with your scrapbook pages, or even throw a party. Use them on the invites, in the decorations, and on the thank you bags. My Pink Stamper from the message board used this cartridge and made an adorable card, see photo.

Well, that wraps up this week's exploration, check back next week as I continue exploring new cartridges in the Cricut family.

Crafty Kimber

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Tech support Nook: Cricut Craft Room™ Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does this replace CDS? Gypsy?
A. No. This is a nice compliment to both, and addresses some natural issues both products have. We felt we could address these by offering something a little different than both of those.

Q.  Do I need an internet connection to use Craft Room?
A.  Yes, you will need a live internet connection to use Craft Room.

Q.  Can I access Craft Room from anywhere I have an online connection?
A.Yes, you can access Craft Room from any live internet connection, and from any browser, either PC or Mac.
Q.  Is there a charge for this?
A.No, access to Craft Room is free of charge. It does require you to register at cricut.com.

Q.  Can I design with any cartridge? Can I cut with any cartridge?
A.You can design with any cartridge, and all cartridges will always be available. You can only cut with cartridges you own, just like Gypsy.

Q. How do I cut with my cartridges?
A.You can either put them into your Cricut when prompted, or you can upload them to Craft Room for usage at any time.

Q. Can I cut from any computer?
A.You can only cut from 2 computers you designate, which you can change. You can design and save projects on any computer with internet access.

Q. Can I buy digital cartridges through Craft Room?
A. We will offer a limited number of digital SKUs in Craft Room.

Q.Can I save my files on Craft Room?
A.You will be able to save files created on your account, which you can access from any browser. Also, you import and use CDS files.

Q. Will there be help? How can I learn how to use Craft Room?
A. There will be a full Help section on Craft Room. Also, there will be several instructional video shorts and a Quick Start guide to help you get going.

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.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Just living is not enough.  One must have  sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." 
~Hans Christian Anderson