Sandwiches come in a variety of shapes, sizes and flavors. I personally love to load my sandwiches up with all the fixings and veggies I can throw in between two pieces of bread. However, there are times when a simple and uncomplicated sandwich is most desired. The saying "less is more" should be heeded at such a time. Simple wheat bread and basic bologna are entirely acceptable especially when quality ingredients are used.

Crafting is a little bit like building a sandwich. You have control over what will go into your project. Now, it most certainly does not hurt to use only the best ingredients, so why not use Cricut products in all of your crafting creations? Superior quality Cricut ingredients make a difference and so can you. Regardless of how simple or complex the craft, Cricut makes it easy.


Happy Cricuting :-)

A: Simultaneously use up to six Cricut cartridges in the Jukebox base, connect it to any Cricut machine, and select your cartridge with just the push of a button! Keep Cricut cartridges all at your fingertips! Link up to three Jukebox core units at a time, allowing you to use 18 cartridges with ease. Stack and connect Jukebox tops to access your entire cartridge collection! Portable cartridge storage and carry case. Convenient and easy to use. Never swap Cricut cartridges again!

The weather has been so funny this weekend. Here in Utah the forecast said that we would get a ton of rain over the weekend, which we did, and it was so cold we also had some snow. Thank goodness the snow didn't stick to the ground--but snow in April! Really?! I had all these plans to work in the yard and get my flower garden in order, plus get my vegetable garden ground ready. I am sad to report the only thing I got done this weekend was to clean up my craft room, which I have needed to do for quite some time. Now with a reorganized craft room, I can find my Cricut items easier at my finger tips, so it was a breeze to put this exploration together.

In this exploration I will continue to discover and investigate the Life is a Beach cartridge. Last week I went over what images, numbers, and phrases came with the cartridge, today I will dive into two of the creative features that come with the cartridge. To review, the creative features that come with this cartridge are: Layers, Title Words, Border, Photo Card, Square Card, and Charm. My first question was, "what's the difference between a photo card and a square card?" Well, in my opinion, the two are quite similar. They are both cards, but the image is cut differently. On the square card your image is bigger, faces vertical, and is centered in the middle of the square, whereas on the photo card the image faces horizontal, and has several images centered in the middle of the square. If you are looking for a quick Mother's Day card, the palm tree image cut as a square card is adorable. Then you can add the parenthesis from the symbol collection as a border on the front of the card to help give some depth the front of the card. You can add this symbol to any of the image cards for the same effect. On a funny note: the bikini used in the square card kind of looks like a big smiley face, with the top of the bikini being the eyes covered in sunglasses. Thought I would point this out--yes, I know I am a crack up!

Some images that I think would make great Mother's Day cards are: bird of paradise, plumeria, hibiscus, palm tree, sun (you could mention in the inside of the card, something about your mother being your sunshine--yes, it's corny), starfish, sand dollar, seahorse, crab, turtle, and the lighthouse (on the inside of the card you could mention something about her being your solid lighthouse throughout your life--again, I know it's cheese). Either way, those are some quick ideas to get a jump on making your Mother's Day cards--and don't forget to include your grandma if you have one. Grandma's love cards too!

For those of you who are new to the Cricut world and haven't quite figured out how everything works here is a tip on layering:

When using the layering feature: Cut your image regular with whatever size you want. Then press the layers button, leaving your size the same as before, and load the color of paper you want. Now, each image on the chart in the handbook has two layers. One in the lower left side of the square, and one in the upper right side of the square; you can access the upper right image by using the shift button. In the Disney cartridges, each of the layers provide different pieces of the image. For example, if you are cutting Mickey Mouse, then you will need his pants and other pieces of his face.

When using the layer feature with Life is a Beach, the only layer or extra piece that goes with the each of the images is the image on the left side of the button without using the shift key. I hope this information helps you in creating your cards, layouts, and crafts.

Check back next week as I wrap up this cartridge. Happy Cricuting!

Crafty Kimber

A:Here are some basic guidelines on how to draw with your Cricut machine:

1. Load marker into the black arms (right where you would usually place the green blade assembly).

2. Load paper. It is important that paper is lined up with the top right corner of the mat, and be sure you start your drawing there if you intend to cut the image out later.

3. Choose and draw the image(s) with the markers by pressing CUT. (Just as an added reference: type out the entire phrase all at once instead of drawing individual letters.)

4. Once your Cricut is done drawing the image, switch out the marker for the blade assembly (without unloading your paper or turning off the machine).

5. Now press the Load Paper button. This will take you back to the beginning of the paper where you first started drawing.

6. Press the Repeat Last button. It will enter in the same characters that you have just drawn.

7. Press the CUT button. It will cut out the image directly over the color outline.

After this process you will have a cut with a colorful outline!