SHEDDING A POUND

Daylight saving time has started in most of the United States, and the first official day of spring is coming soon. I am ready to thatch the lawn and till the garden, but the snow has yet to disappear from my yard. While I wait for warmer weather, I'll create scrapbook layouts about my hopes and dreams for spring and create a clever project or two. I tend to do my best thinking and planning when I'm doing something relaxing like crafting?it's a good stress reliever. Let your Cricut^® machine be your personal trainer and you will be shedding pounds of stress left and right. Seriously, that little bug will whip you into a state of "Hakuna Matata" so fast you'll wonder what you ever did to relieve stress before you owned a Cricut^® machine and started peeling paper. What are you waiting for? Shed your burden of worry and stress today. You deserve it!

Be sure to check out Crafty Kimber's excellent cartridge exploration of the Letter Envy cartridge in today?s Chirp. You?ll also find helpful crafting tips 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!

TIPS TREASURE CHEST

Making New Score Marks

Today?s tip is from message board member CowgirlUp. Thanks for the tip!

Q: I have been making my own cupcake wrappers with the Cricut DesignStudio^® software. It has been working really well, but I would like to add score lines or slits to put the tabs into. Does anybody have any idea how to do this?

A: Choose a rectangle and zoom in to make it as narrow as you can. Someone else might have a better idea, but that?s what I know has been done in the past.

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Janette Childs

About Me: I am a stay at home mother of three living near Fort Collins, CO. I received my Cricut Expression^® machine as a gift from my husband for Valentine's Day three years ago and have been hooked ever since.

Instructions: I made these shirts for my girls to wear on St. Patrick's Day. The scallops and dots are from the Accent Essentials^® cartridge, the shamrock is from the Paper Doll Dress Up^® cartridge, and the font used to spell "Lucky" is from the Old West cartridge. I purchased the shirts from a local retailer and the iron-on vinyl from an online store.

1. Use the Cricut Gypsy™ device to place the pieces for the image on the virtual mat. I started with the scalloped edge and worked my way inward. I grouped the entire background image together and cut it as one piece. I cut the word "lucky" separately and reversed (it must be reversed for it to read the right way) because I wanted it in a different color.
2. After the pieces are arranged on the virtual mat and the vinyl on your actual mat (plastic backing side down), use your Cricut^® machine to cut the pieces. I set the blade depth and pressure to 3 and used my Cricut Gypsy™ device to set the speed. You do not want to cut through the plastic backing, so keep that in mind as you adjust your settings.
3. After the pieces are cut, remove the excess vinyl that is not part of your design. A needle works well for pulling these pieces up.
4. Set your iron to medium/high heat. Place shirt on a hard surface, NOT an ironing board. I used my kitchen counter. Start with background design and adhere to shirt using iron and lots of pressure. Use parchment paper between the plastic backing and the iron for the perfect amount of heat. Press firmly on vinyl and hold down for 10 to 20 seconds on each area until design is firmly attached to shirt.
5. Repeat for the "Lucky" layer. It is best to let each layer of vinyl cool completely before attaching another one.

Cartridge Used: Accent Essentials^®, Old West, and Paper Doll Dress Up^®

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week’s highlighted threads are:

• St. Patricks Day
• St. Patty's and Masculine B-day Card
• Happy Leprechan Dance
• Snips and Snails...
• Tip Toe Trough the Tulips
• A Mother's Love

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

One of my biggest passions in life is creating with the Cricut^® machine. I also love my dogs and discovering new crafts, so last week I decided I was going to learn a new craft using clay. I decided to use a Cricut Cuttlebug™ embossing folder to create a design on the clay. Then I added some color to help the design stand out and threw my clay in the oven. Ten minutes later my project was finished! In the Cricut^® cartridge world, I explored the Letter Envy cartridge. This font cartridge is exclusive to Cricut Circle™ members. If you want to become a Cricut Circle™ member, click here. The open enrollment is going on until the end of the month. Click on the link above for a list of sweet perks and additional details about Cricut Circle™ member benefits. Open enrollments run quarterly but are closed for the months of January, April, July, and October. Keep that in mind if you are on a budget and are saving money to enroll in the future.

Letter Envy is an adorable font cartridge. Each monogram letter is designed to capture attention and has its own unique style. The letters all have layers so they will instantly stand out in any project. This cartridge includes six creative features: Layer, Crest, Crest Layer, Font, Font Layer, and Font Shadow. The Layer feature works with the base of each monogram letter. If you are looking for a standard upper- and lowercase font, check out the Font feature. This font has a beautiful, feminine look to it, and I can?t wait to use the font to make some vinyl phrases for my walls. You can use the Font Layer feature in combination with the Font feature or by itself for a fun look. The letters on the Font Layer feature have a solid top with horizontal stripes underneath the solid band. The Font Shadow feature will work with both the Font and Font Layer features, and you can combine all three features for one great look.

The Letter Envy cartridge also includes crests, arrows, hearts, stars, and a selection of words. Last week I decided to cut out the letter C and use it to create a drawing book for my niece. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to glue all the layers in place. While I worked, I started thinking about a home d?cor project that I could cut make with the cartridge. I could cut out the entire alphabet, glue the letters to a big canvas, and place the finished project a baby?s room. If only I had kids! Do you think my dogs would appreciate having a project like that in their area? Monograms are very popular choices for home d?cor, scrapbook layouts, cards, invitations, and other projects. The crests and arrows would be perfect for making yard sale signs or for direction signs in school. There are tons of ways this cartridge could be used!

That?s all for today?s exploration. Check back next week to see what else I?ve discovered in the Cricut^® cartridge world. Happy Crafting!

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 Cricut Circle? questions); we have people ready to help you! We are currently open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 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

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
— Maya Angelou