PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY

November is here, and with it the anticipation of warm and happy holidays and family gatherings. I enjoy all of the celebrating and well-wishing very much. My family is getting bigger every year! As a result, I have been having difficulty recalling everyone's birthdays, and anniversaries. It is time to create a new family calendar and decorative T-shirts for the family gatherings. I’ll be accomplishing this with the help of my Cricut pal, but I will also be using some of Provo Craft’s other crafting products to compliment my Cricut craftiness.

Cuttlebug, Yudu, Gypsy, and YourStory are wonderful crafting tools which complete many of my Cricut creations. Why, you could say they go together much like peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, peaches and cream, and many other perfect matches. My calendar will be perfect! I guess you could call it a cross-over calendar of sorts. I call it fabulous! With the array of Provo Craft products available to crafters, limitless ideas and possibilities always abound.

Be sure to check out Crafty Kimber's cartridge exploration of the Cricut® Word Collage Cartridge in today’s Chirp. You’ll also read more helpful tips for preparing and cutting frosting with the Cricut Cake and glean great crafting ideas from Cricut message board members in this week’s newsletter.

As always, I wish you success in your crafting adventures!

Lonna Joy Smoot - Editor, Cricut CHIRP!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TIPS TREASURE CHEST

Today’s tip is shared by message board member Mercy.

Jennifer Atwood did a review on the Cricut Cake™ machine and sometimes she comes here to post her BEAUTIFUL cakes. She has answered questions for us as well. She is a professional baker in Louisiana where she uses the Cricut Cake machine!

Tips on Thickness of Medium: When Preparing to Cut with the Cricut Cake Machine

When using icing straight from the bucket, roll the icing to about 1.5 millimeters thick. This measurement should be of the fondant only and not the mat. Let it set for about 25 minutes. Cut on Pressure 4 and Speed 1. Try cutting a simple shape first, like a star or a heart, 2 inches in size.

When you roll out other materials, they can be rolled out to 2.8 millimeters thick, depending on the medium. We have the best results with gum paste and fondant at around 1.5 millimeters thick.

The best way to tell is to get a ruler with metric millimeter markings on it and roll the gum paste out and measure the thickness. You could also buy a very cheap tool at the hardware store that measures thickness.

I find that millimeters are the best measurement, as they are more accurate than inches. That being said, according to Provo Craft you can roll out your material up to 2.5 millimeters thick. I have cut cheese that was 2.8 millimeters thick. The thicker you roll it out the longer you need to wait on drying time. For example: 2.4 millimeters thick gum paste needs to set approximately 25 minutes depending on your climate. 2.5 millimeters is the thickness of a penny stacked on top of a dime or about 1/10 of an inch.

Here are some helpful tips when it comes to measuring the thickness of your medium:

• 1.587 millimeters is approximately 1/16 inch
• 2.379 millimeters is approximately 3/32 inch
• 1.2 millimeters is approximately the thickness of a dime
• 1.4 millimeters is approximately the thickness of a penny
• 1.8 millimeters is approximately the thickness of a nickel

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Kate Dykstra

About Me: I am happily married to my "Dream Come True" and we have been blessed with three wonderful children. I am a former teacher with a heart for special needs children. I am currently self-employed, reviewing medical briefs and academic records for a private practice in neuropsychology. I am working part-time toward my Masters in Education and Digital Technology. When I do find free time, I love to use small bits of paper to create cards of all sorts.

Instructions: Start by painting a 12x16 rectangular canvas block using a sponge brush and acrylic paint. Using a Gypsy, or one of the other Provo Craft design programs, create a rectangle from George and Basic Shapes that is one inch smaller than your canvas. With a 12x16 canvas, the rectangle needs to be 11x15. Using a variety of fonts, choose different sayings along your theme. Be certain that the length of each saying is extended to 11 inches, the width of your rectangle. Arrange the sayings within the rectangle, increasing or decreasing the heights of each until everything fits and fills the rectangle. Cut the word art from vinyl and remove the negative pieces. Using transfer tape, add the word art to your canvas.

Cartridges Used: Cuttin Up, George and Basic Shapes, Gypsy Font, Jubilee, Nursery Rhymes, Opposites Attract, Plantin Schoolbook, Printing 101

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Cuttlebug and Accent Essentials
• Your Story + Imagine + Gypsy + Expression + Vinyl Book
• Autumn Splendor
• Sweet tooth box for Bananna Bread!
• A couple of Advent Calendars

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

I need to apologize to all my readers for not having an exploration last week. You see, I tripped and fell and hurt my left arm, which is now in a splint. This week has been a difficult week learning to type with one hand. Thank goodness it was easy to use my Cricut machine, but crafting has been really difficult. This week I explored the wonderful Cricut® Word Collage Cartridge.

If you have heard of subway art, then this is the cartridge for you. You can cut a variety of collection phrases that range from holiday to baby words. The topics that are included are: Travel, Baby, Girl, Boy, Animals, Home, Food & Drink, Sports, Crafts, and Arts. Any of these word collections can cut from 5.5 inches all the way up to 10 inches. One other tip is to cut these designs out at a medium or slower speed and use the “Fit to Length” button to make the designs longer. You can cut them out of vinyl or cardstock; there are four sets of phrases in each of the collections. The only difference is the Holiday category; you can cut ten different phrase collections. Some examples of what you can use these art works on are, cut it out of vinyl and place on meta or a mirror, or cut it out of cardstock to use on a party invitation or as a quick card for Christmas or baby shower. Place one on a paper bag as a holiday luminary canvas, a glass candy dish, or frame it. The Laundry artwork is one of my favorites. I’m now inspired to redecorate my laundry room, once my hand is fixed. You could also use the 12x24 mats and use the feature “fit to page” to get a bigger image for decorating a child’s bedroom. If you are a dog or cat lover there is even an art that lists the Dog & Cat breeds (see my photo). Another tip I discovered in cutting out these art designs of vinyl, your projects should be bigger than 5.5 inches. I had problems with getting all the letters and words being small.

If you are looking for more ideas on how to use this cartridge check out the look book for tons of ideas. This wraps up my exploration, check back next week and see what I create.

- Crafty Kimber

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

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 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!
Customer Support

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Crafts make us feel rooted, give us a sense of belonging and connect us with our history. Our ancestors used to create these crafts out of necessity, and now we do them for fun, to make money and to express ourselves.”
- Phyllis George