A NEW DEVELOPMENT

June is a month when things start cooking. The weather is perfect and Summer solstice is just around the corner. Interesting, exciting, and budding developments with lots of potential are not an uncommon occurrence. Relationships, blossoming gardens, new jobs, new ideas, and new dreams are all associated with June.

We here at Provo Craft are pretty thrilled about June too due to the fact that starting this month, the Cricut Chirp will be launching a new feature. The Chirp will be featuring special guest stars every second Tuesday who will write in depth about specific issues, ideas, and skills that we crafters are keen on. This is a great addition to our Chirp so remember to keep your eyes open every second Tuesday for this new addition to the newsletter.

This week, be sure to read Crafty Kimber's cartridge exploration of the Nursery Rhymes Cartridge and the Summer Seasonal Cartridges: Summer Vacation, Summer in Paris, and Independence Day. Love that gal! You'll also enjoy more practical tips about cutting gumpaste sheets with the Cricut Cake and glean savvy wisdom from our favorite customer support Floor Sweeps as they share technical advice about Cricut products. As always, I wish you well in your crafting adventures.

Happy Crafting!

**Header project made by Miranda Urry using the Freshly Picked cartridge.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Create and Win...wherever you are!

The Customer Spotlight is now open to international crafters! It doesn't matter if you're miles away and across an ocean, we want to see what you've made. If you're selected, we'll send you a cartridge of your choice as a prize. Just click here and fill out the submission form. Good luck!

FEATURED PROJECTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Sesame Shirts Xpost
• Pagoda Clock
• Quick Project for Kids
• My Fourth of July Banner
• Sour Cream Containers filled with Starbursts
• Towel Cake or Apple Tree
• End of the Year Card

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Sandy Lombardi
About: I wanted to share a project I did for an opening of Sutter Delta Hospital Rehab Garden in my home town! With the help of my friend Debra, we brain stormed what we wanted to have in this very special garden.

Sandy's Project: Hospital Rehab Garden with Cricut

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today's Tip is for everyone who has the new Cricut Cake!

Q. "What causes my frosting sheet to slip when it's being cut?"

A. "You may have too much shortening. Use a pastry brush to apply the shortening and brush until all the white is gone. You should see transparent brush marks where you've applied shortening to the mat.

The shortening may be too warm. Since shortening turns to liquid at high temperatures, this can cause the frosting sheet to slip. Always start with a room temperature or cold mat (not hot) and, if possible, work in a room that is 80 degrees F or less. If necessary, place mat with frosting sheet applied in the freezer for about 2 to 5 minutes. Leave it in there just long enough to firm up the shortening, but not so long that the frosting sheet becomes cold and brittle."

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

The weather has been better this week and I've spent quite a bit of time outside working in my flower garden. I'm determined to have the most colorful backyard ever (I tell myself that every year--ha ha ha). Besides working in the flower garden I've been exploring a bunch of new to me cartridges. Nursery Rhymes, Summer Vacation, Summer in Paris, and Independence Day. Yes, I know that is a lot of cartridges to cover in one exploration, but we have so many new cartridges coming out this year that I have had to double or triple up so I don't get behind.

The first three cartridges are Seasonal cartridges, and thus are very simple and come with a range of images. I love the style and design of Summer in Paris--it's very French looking. Some examples of images on this cartridge are: high heel shoe, hot air balloon, crown, poodle, Eiffel Tower, and a sofa. Five of these images can be made 3-D, which is perfect for party decorations!

Summer Vacation has tons of images that cover whatever vacation you are planning, for example: airplane, tent, suitcase, bus, fire pit, cruise, palm tree, and a camera. This cartridge comes with 50 different themed images, which includes 11 phrases that complement a vacation theme.

Independence Day, is full of patriotic images. I can't wait to try them with the Yudu silk screen machine. Some examples of images on this cartridge are: old-fashioned fire truck, bicycle, fire crackers, flag, the White House, the Liberty Bell, and the Stature of Liberty. This cartridge comes with 24 themed images and includes six coordinating phrases. My personal favorite word is "Freedom". I love the script design of this image.

I used Summer in Paris in an event invitation (see pic). Other examples of what you can do with these cartridges can be found in the Seasonal cartridge message board forum. Kreimers from the messageboard created an adorable camping layout (see pic or click here) using the Summer Vacation cartridge, and Shopsalot42 used the round flag to create some candy bag toppers (see pic or click here) with the Independence Day cartridge.

Nursery Rhymes is the full cartridge that I explored this week. This cartridge reminds me of A Child's Year, only it's based on the nursery rhymes that we all grew up on. These images are all silhouettes. This cartridge also comes with a two different fonts. The creative features on this cartridge are: Phrase, Font, Monogram, Font Shadow Blackout, Phrase Shadow Blackout, and Base Shadow Blackout (this fits the images). The Phrase feature are titles of the nursery rhymes, a few examples are: "Little Miss Muffet", "Jack be Nimble", "Humpty Dumpty", and "Over the Moon". The fonts come with upper and lower case letters, and the Monogram style has the letter in the middle of a square. Lisa Rosan from the messageboard used this feature and created a birthday cake for her dog. I love this idea--I should make my dogs birthday cakes! Bridgit from the messageboard used the garden image and created a Bridal Show invitation, what a cute idea (see pic or click here)!

Well that wraps up my exploration this week. Check back next time to see what other new cartridges have joined the Cricut family. Happy crafting!

Crafty Kimber

WEEKLY SURVEY

Don't forget to take this week's survey!

Click here.

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Here are the top questions in Customer Support this week.

From Brightly:

Regarding cartridge content:

New cartridges are being designed and released all the time at Provo Craft. We receive many cartridge suggestions. You are welcome to email those suggestions to support@provocraft.com or content@provocraft.com. Those suggestions are e-mailed directly to our Design Team.


From Brittany:

Q. I'm having trouble glueing my tiny pieces. Any suggestions?

A. Some crafters use tweezers and spray glue, others use glue pens. You will find lots of options on the message boards. Don't be afraid to post a question. Your fellow crafters will answer back.


From Mark:

Many of you are excited about the Disney/Pixar Toy Story cartridge. It will be available in July.


Have a great week!

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

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The successful person is the individual person who forms the habit of doing what the failing person doesn?t like to do."
~ Donald Riggs