I frequently take "the old highway" into town. I enjoy this route, officially named Yellowstone Highway, due to the fact that there is such a menagerie of life to behold along the way. Llamas, peacocks, bison, goats, horses, cows, chickens and several emus are a regular part of the scenery. I get a kick out of the emu part. Traveling this route is similar to cruising by a large petting zoo.

My north yard has a modest well trimmed appearance with many beautiful annual and perennial flowers, a few shrubs, and a tree. Farmer Brown's pasture runs alongside my south yard. This south yard is overgrown with what I'll refer to as "wild voluntary vegetation". Aside from a garden spot in the far corner, this yard has become overgrown and overwhelmed because "other things" have demanded my attention lately. There really was no problem with the way this bit of earth appeared because it looked like part of the pasture next to it but the yard keeper within me was not comfortable.

To resolve this dilemma, I decided to tap into the resources of my environment and "hire help" to assist me with this overgrown task. Their names are Hansel, Gretel, and Berta. These individuals have an incredible ability to work a yard over till there is nothing left on the ground. Hansel, Gretel, and Bertha are the latest models of weed eating goats. Farmer Williams has lent them to me for a bit. He even showed me how to station the goats so they don't munch on anything I don't want "removed". As a result, I'll spend less time worrying and more time working on my next craft project. I so love neighbors with grazing farm animals! While the goats enjoy a feast outside, I and my Cricut pals will be crafting inside! Hmm. I currently feel inspired to create something with the Animal Kingdom, Pooh and Friends, Walk in My Garden, and Zoobaloo, cartridges. That's not so baaaaaad is it?


Happy Cricuting :-)

A. Basic guidelines are that the material (paper or otherwise) needs to be stiff and firm enough for the Cricut blade to drag through it. So a more stretchy fabric would probably not work, unless it had Wonder-Under or something to keep it in place.

Wow! The month of July is almost over. It's crazy to realize how time flies by so fast. This week I decided to have a barbeque and spent most of the time getting the backyard ready for the event, so my little Cricut was neglected for quite a few days. By the time I was able to play with it, I once again felt the excitement of pressing the Cut button and watching the blade cut out my design. Oh the simple joys of life! What would my life be like without my little Cricut? For the past month I have been exploring the cartridge Stand and Salute because it fits with this month. It is full of patriotic images and phrases; the creative features are: Note Card, Dog Tag, Frame, Border, Shadow, and Blackout.

The only features left to cover are the Border, Shadow, and Blackout. To review the Shadow and Blackout features: these features are designed for a layering effect. If you want to make an image or word pop you can use either of these features to make your layout standout. The Shadow feature fits the image design fairly well, while the Blackout is your sold shape or image. Either feature adds a nice touch to your project. You can also use these images on their own as a unique creation for any project.

The Border feature is self explanatory; yes, any of these images will create a border for your scrapbook page or project. You could even use this feature with vinyl and put a border on the top of your child's wall to add something different to the room. Some of the phrases in this feature are not available to make into borders, so if you are pressing button on your Cricut with this feature and nothing works, pull out your handbook to see if that image is possible. One of my favorite sayings: "USA" with this feature would make a great t-shirt design or scrapbook layout. The image has stars that are connected to the letters, and I really like the simplicity of the design (see pic). Another image that I really liked in this feature is the medal badge. When this image is used in this feature, I am reminded of a sheriff's badge and this border would work great for a little boy's party invitation or scrapbook page. There are so many images that I wish I had more patriotic pictures to scrapbook. Oh, well I shouldn't wish to hard for more pictures, because really I have way too many to scrapbook already.

If for some reason you have been in hiding or something, and you are unaware of a bunch of new cartridge that are out in the Cricut Family, Provo Craft has come out with a bunch of new cartridges. They are: Disney's Hannah Montana, Nickelodeon's SpongeBob Squarepants, Simply Sweet, Stamping, A Child's Year, and Jubilee. You can check them out on our message board on www.cricut.com or at your local craft store. I will be exploring these new cartridges over the next little while to share with you what is on them. Stay tuned to next week and see what I am exploring with the Cricut.

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! Hopefully this will clear up most of the confusion with the markers, but if you ever have any other questions on how to use them please contact us. You can reach us by emailing support@cricut.com or you can give us a call toll free at 1-877-727-4288.