CURRENT CRICUT EVENTS

This spring we will say farewell to some of our Cricut cartridges and hello to quite a few new cartridges! Here is a list of the innovative and wonderful new Cricut cartridges being released this month, as seen on the Hello Thursday announcement. Oh what fun we'll have with these new arrivals! Be sure check them out!

Robotz
Create a Critter
Nursery Rhymes
Independence Day (Seasonal)
Summer Vacation (Seasonal)
Summer in Paris (Seasonal)
Elegant Cakes
Holiday Cakes
Birthday Cakes
Cake Basics (only with the Cricut Cake^TM machine)

This week, be sure to read Crafty Kimber's tribute to the Stamped and Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More cartridges. Read a tip about a crafty use for those odd pieces of pattern paper which you have lying around your craft room. You'll also glean savvy wisdom in "Help from the Experts".

Happy Crafting!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

After months of anticipation and excitement Cricut Cake is finally ready. Cricut Cake will be available starting April 14th at 12 am eastern. You'll want to tune in and watch as Cricut Cake revolutionizes the way we decorate cookies, cakes and more!

FEATURED PROJECTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Cookie box
• Retirement Bouquet
• Create A Critter Layout
• So cute layout using create a critter, give a hoot.
• I heart Create A Critter!!

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Penny Light
About: I'm a wedding coordinator living in Italy while my engineer husband does two years of research and development for his company. I can't work in this country so I get to play with my Cricut full time! Who could ask for more?

Penny's Project: Spring Wheelbarrel

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today's tip comes from helpful message board member GrandmaB. Thanks for sharing your "ah-ha!" moment.

"I was trying to 'size' an envelope for an odd sized card that I had made. So, I went to my paper stash and was using papers that I normally would not use for cards (because of color/style, or whatever reason). Then it hit me: if the paper has a white background, use that for the outside of the envelope and the patterned paper will be inside--instant liner! I know, I know it is so very basic and simple that I'm sure someone else has probably come up with it already, but I sure got a charge out of it."

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

Hello to all my fellow crafters and Cricut lovers. In today's exploration I will be chatting about two of cartridges by Heather Lancaster that are being retired. Yes, I know this will be hard to read, but we have so many cartridges that it's finally time to retire some of them and Stamped and Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More are both scheduled to be retired. I can remember the first time I explored with both of these cartridges and loved discovering what I could create with them.

Tag, Bags, Boxes & More was one of the first cartridges that I ever acquired. Because I loved to make boxes and purses, this cartridge really intrigued me. As a refresher, the creative features that come on this cartridge are: Window, Mirror, Mirror/Window, Mirror/Windows, Shadow, and Blackout. Some of the images that you can cut out with this cartridge are: tags, door hangers, flowers, heart, buttons, tag packet, shopping or gift bag, purse, flower or heart box, cake or match box, and a crayon box. Wow, you can cut so many boxes and other 3-D images! Just writing this exploration brings back so many fun projects that I have used this cartridge to create. If you are not sure how to use this cartridge, you can always go to www.Cricut.com/messageboard and view the long list of ideas that other fellow Cricut fans have compiled. For example, BugJunkie from the message board created some great fabric purses using this cartridge (see picture or click here).

Stamped, is the other cartridge that is being retired. This cartridge is part of the font family. The letters and numbers have a sort of painted brush look to them. The creative features are: Rectangle, Tag, Shorty, Smooth, Shadow, and Shadow/Blackout. The Shorty font showcases the numbers and letters in a fatter style than the original font, and the Smooth feature showcases the design tall and thin. The Rectangle style has that similar brush paint look in a rectangle; these would be wonderful for a bulletin board or scrapbook title. As with all font cartridges you always get a surprise of additional content that are phrases or images. A few of the words included are: "Love", "Celebrate", "Thanks", "Hello", and "4U". Jamieschoppmann from the message board created an adorable home decor project using wood blocks and this font cartridge. I love the accent wire she added to each block. Here is an idea on how you can decorate your home or office for each holiday without spending a lot of money (see picture or click here.)

If you've had these cartridge on your wish list for awhile, you might want to finally purchase them--pick them up quick before they are gone for good. Check back next week and see what I explore next. Wishing all you Cricut fans a wonderful crafting week.

Crafty Kimber

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Here are the top questions in Customer Support this week.

From Becky:

Q. Can you use 6x12 mats in the Cricut Expression?

A. The 6x12 mats will not work in the Expression machine. The guides along each side will not be able to grip the mat to keep it in place. Your cuts will go all over the place, if it's able to cut at all.
From Mark:

Q. Are the Cricut Cake and the Cricut Expression interchangeable?

A. That is a BIG NO! The blade housings/blades are not alike at all. The Cricut Cake is food safe. Remember that attempting to cut food products on your Expression will void your warranty. Customer Support is in training on the Cricut Cake and will be ready with your questions and machine support. Trust us, the Cricut Cake is a blast!


Have a great week!

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

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."
~ Julia Child