ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

Well folks, we are down to the last few weeks of school before the summer break begins, and for some we are counting down till the big graduation day. If I could make a suggestion to those of you involved in graduation exercises this year, it would simply be this: document, document, document! By this I mean take pictures of the event before and after the graduation ceremony. Capture every special moment. You'll never be sorry you took too many pictures, especially now that practically everything is digital, and you'll have preserved so many memories to scrap about. Get creative with your Cricut and think out of the box. Make some ceremonial hats of your own and graduate from the ordinary to the extraordinary!

This week, be sure to read Crafty Kimber's cartridge exploration of the Paper Pups and Create a Critter cartridges. You'll also enjoy practical advice on making magnetic paper dolls and glean savvy wisdom in "Help from the Experts". As always, I wish you well in your crafting adventures.

Happy Crafting!

**Header project made using the Jubilee cartridge.

FEATURED PROJECTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Graduation Cards
• Nursing Grad card
• Graduation Card for GD
• Graduation Card
• My first Gypsy project!!
• Create a Critter Birthday card - Train/Lion
• An Apple A Day
• Kimono and Fan

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Cindy Colaneri
About: I live in Sunny Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and I am addicted to scrapbooking, card making, and my Cricut Expression. I love to paper craft and am a member of the club of who buys the most paper! I also do some digital scrapbooking and combine the digital and traditional card making/scrapbooking a lot of the time.

Cindy's Project: Flowery Mini-Album

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today's Tip is from message board member KaySmith3!

Q. "I just got my Cricut up and running this week. One of the few carts I have is the Everyday Paper Dolls, which is really exciting because I have 2 little girls! I would love to make magnetic paper dolls, some for my girls and some for their little friends as gifts. I'm hoping for some advice from some of you more seasoned Cricuteers. Can anyone give me a tutorial, tips or advice? Do I need a special blade?"

A. "I order my magnets online. The sheets are 8X10 and have one side that is adhesive (peel & stick). I don't remember the mil., but think it is 3. I also purchased the Cricut deep cut blade and set the cut for 3 times to completely cut through the magnet. I cut it with the paper side up. Remember to always cut the magnet for the dolls going the same direction or the outfits won't stick to every doll you make.

I use the scraps from cutting the paper dolls for the outfits. I cut them in 1/2 inch strips, lay them on the doll (to make sure they stick) and then press the outfit to the doll.

I also laminate the cardstock before I cut the dolls so they are more durable."

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

This past week I got in touch with my inner creative jeweler. I ended up at the craft store buying all sorts of jewels, wire stuff, and tools. I feel a new hobby coming into my life! I also want to wish all the Mothers in the world a Happy Mother's Day. You are amazing! In today's exploration I will write about Paper Pups, which is being retired, and Create a Critter.

Paper Pups is now on the retired list, so if you don't have this cartridge for your collection you had better pick it up at your local craft store. This cartridge is one of my favorites because it's all about dogs. (If you are reading for the first time, I have two dogs that I spoil and love unconditionally.) The creative features on this cartridge are: Solid, Circle, Card, Border, Shadow, and Blackout. You have a variety of images and phrases. The images are in an outline form, but combine them with the solid feature and you have a way to make the images pop. CherylLC from the message board created an adorable ?Happy Mother?s Day? card (see pic or click here) using this cartridge. Some examples or phrases included are: "Happy Easter", "Happy Birthday", "Hug?", "Miss You", "Huntin' Dog", "Sick as a Dog", and "Relax".

Create a Critter has just joined my favorites list. This cartridge is so adorable! The creative features are: Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3, Accessory, Phrase, and Shadow. Some of the images are: dragonfly, frog, owl, bunny rabbit, bear balloon, cat, pig, snake, chick, dog, penguin, and dinosaurs. The Phrase feature is full of a variety of words, for example: "Sunny Days", "Cute", "Let's Hang Out", "Hip Hip Hooray", and "Howdy". This cartridge is perfect for baby showers, decorating kids rooms with vinyl, scrapbook pages, cards, invites, party decorations...the possibilities are endless. Want a journal tag for that scrapbook page? Cut out the basic shape of the animals and write on it. I can also envision an adorable appliquéd quilt. If you decide to try this, make sure you have some extra blades and extra mats on hand--they will come in handy. Also included on this cartridge are images that will compliment any holiday you want to scrapbook or make cards for. Nwad68 from the message board created a "You're Sweet" card using the skunk image from this cartridge (see pic or click here). There were so many ideas on the message board that I had a hard time picking just one card to show you, so be sure to check out the whole forum! Now that I have explored this cartridge, I feel like I want to make cards and quilt blocks. It's time to go shopping and get some material!

See you all next week, and may all your creative ideas come to life!

Crafty Kimber

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Here are the top question in Customer Support this week.

From Becky:

Provo Craft infomercial Contact Information

Provo Craft has several product infomercials running at this time. The Customer Support team in the Provo Craft office are able to give the following information:

Cricut Infomercial en Español
1-866-504-8594
cricutelectroniccutter@custservdirect.com

Cricut Expression Infomercial
1-800-314-5109
provocraft@custservdirect.com

YourStory Infomercial
1-800-997-6785
yourstory@custservdirect.com

Yudu Infomercial
1-800-997-6896
yudu@custservdirect.com

Knifty Knitter Infomercial
1-800-997-6912
kniftyknitter@custservdirect.com


Q. Solutions cartridges vs. Seasonal cartridges--what's the difference?

A. Solutions cartridges have two features. Recently some of them have been retired. The Seasonal cartridges have only a few features and when they are gone from the stores they are gone. Be sure you get those if you really want them! Prices for both of these types of cartridges are generally much less than the full cartridges.


Have a great week!

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

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference."
~ Arie Pencovici