LOW CALORIE CRICUT

To avoid the winter blahs this week, I treated myself to a dose of retail therapy. A new pair of snazzy jeans and a sleek pair of shoes were at the top of my list. As I tried on one pair of blue jeans after the other, it soon became apparent that I had also "treated" myself to one too many goodies over the holidays. (Alas, a diet is in my future with no snacking. Some mighty creative crafting will have to be done to keep my mind off of munching.)

Upon turning the corner onto the main isle of the store, I caught sight of the solution to my dilemma. A beautiful Cricut display sat in a prominent area of the store. "Of course! I will craft with my trusty Cricut every time a craving for junk with empty calories and a colossal sugar content comes."

I figure this Cricut diet of mine is an easy way of exchanging one thing I really enjoy for another. It's a "win-win" situation for me and my hips. The guidelines to my new diet are simple: the bigger the craving, the bigger the project. If the motivation to munch is small, the creation of a card or a trinket will be in order. I'll even set a bottle of water and a bowl of carrots and celery sticks by the machine for an extra good measure. My next move is to mount a Cricut machine on the front of my treadmill. I plan on having miles and miles of fun. I'll be back into those old jeans by Spring!

This week, be sure to check out Crafty Kimber's cartridge exploration of the Enjoy the Seasons, Industrial Glow, Pack Your Bags cartridges. As always, I wish you well in your crafting adventures.

**Header project made by Chrys Allen using the Preserves and Cursive 101 cartridge.

FEATURED PROJECTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• CAC Valentines
• Pirate Layout
• C is for Charlie
• Cookie Monster and Oscar LO
• Timeless Beauty Layout

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Janette Childs
About: I am a stay-at-home mom with three awesome kids. I have been crafting in one form or another as long as I can remember. My husband surprised me with a Cricut for Valentine's Day two years ago, and I have been hooked ever since. I love the creative opportunities my Cricut offers!

Janette's Project: Faux Necklace Onsie

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today's tip comes from message board member MaryLouOZ.

Q. "I would love to know how to get my picture to appear on my profile. Could anyone help me with this?"

A. "You need to click on My Profile, and then click on Modify Avatar. Click on Browse and find the picture you want to include and then click on Upload. It will take one day for picture to appear."

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

This week has been really hectic, trying to get ready for CHA and finishing up my projects before I head to California. I was able to explore the new Enjoy the Seasons, Industrial Glow, and Pack Your Bags cartridges.

Industrial Glow is a Cricut Imagine Colors and Patterns cartridge. You have twenty fun coordinating patterns, and fourteen solid colors to compliment them. Let me try and describe the patterns in this collection: you have tire tracks with paint splatters, some swirls are thrown in for a touch of creativity, a checker-board layout, a gray background with phrases listed on the left side of the paper, a pink and gray checker-board with some letters thrown in for added dimension, gear designs on a brownish background, and pink circles on a navy background.

Enjoy the Seasons is an Imagine Cartridge designed for every holiday and season. You can cut images for Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter, winter, summer, spring, fall, April showers, 4th of July, camping, and more. Some of the phrases that you can cut are: "Enjoy the Season," "What a Year," and "Time Flies." The bonus content is a 12 x 12 scrapbook page, a card and envelope, and an oval pouch box. The Icons that you receive on this cartridge are: hearts, the sun, flowers, birds, butterflies, holly, and fall leaves. There are also twenty complimentary 12 x 12 pattern designs, and twenty-one solid coordinating colors.

Pack Your Bags is part of the original Cricut cartridge collection. The creative features on this cartridge are: Layer 1, Layer 2, Phrase, Card, Stamp, and Shadow. The concept of this cartridge is designed around vacation ideas. For example, some of the images include: cruise boat, crab, flip flops, swim suit, suntan lotion, star fish, sandcastle with bucket, sunshine, dolphin, lobster, flowers, small island, surfer, palm trees, camera, beach ball, suitcase, airplane, and sun bathing. A few of the phrases are: "Road Trip," "Feelin' Crabby," "Sea Sick," "Fresh Fish," "Life Saver," "Splash," "Surf's Up," and "Under the Sea." There are a lot more phrases, so be sure to check out the cartridge handbook. If you want to use an image as a card (great for invitations!), simply press the Card feature and then cut out your image. This cartridge is a great help for vacation scrapbooks. Now, there's no excuse to not decorate your vacation photos!

Well, that's it for this week's exploration. See you all next week as I continue discovering the newest cartridges. Have a fun, scrappy week!

Crafty Kimber

HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Here's the word from customer support this week:

- As emails and PM's come in to either the Admin or Customer Support, please know that they will be answered in the order they are received. Some answers may take a bit more time as we may need to contact another department for the answer.

- There are so many creative people on the message board. Be sure to browse for inspiration! Popular boards include: Cricut Chat, General Chat, and, of course, each of the cartridge boards.

- Remember respect of your fellow crafters on the message boards. The message boards are meant to be a fun and creative place. You may review message board rules here.

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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!

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

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."
~ Anthony J. D'Angelo