THE SOCCER DAD

The recent World Cup 2010 has dedicated soccer fans around the globe buzzing and cheering for their favorite teams at unparalleled levels. Father's Day is also this coming Sunday. As a result, I am reminded of a soccer team on which I played during my early youth. It was an AYSO youth soccer league team in my little home town. Incidentally, two of my sisters were assigned to this team as well. For that age group, I believed we were the terrific sister soccer trio. Our father was an assistant coach and the self-designated cheering squad leader. Before being roped into his assistant coach position he had mainly been a wrestling and American football aficionado, but was willing to support his daughters and their team in any way he could. Dad was good natured and enthusiastic about his assignment...perhaps a little too enthusiastic.

"Blue, blue, we love you!" was one of his favorite cheers. The entire league wore reversible red and blue jerseys. If our jerseys were turned around to the red side, a chorus of other amusing chants could be heard originating from our side of the field. Dad was blessed with a loud voice so calling out "plays" to his teammates on the field was a frequent tactic he employed. "Okay now...Red-25B!" Many of these "plays" were just fake numbers which he said he called out just to "psych out the other team". He was always the first to cry "GOAL!" whenever his team made a goal.

That soccer season came and went long ago but those fun memories remain. I'm pretty sure there are many out there who may have "cheerleader dad" memories similar to mine and I hope this tale has sparked a creative idea or two. Team up with your Cricut today and put together some scrapbook pages or whip up a Cricut gift for 'ol dad. It's time we return the favor and cheer him on as well. The title of my scrapbook page is going to read as follows: "Oh dad. You have always cheered us on--however unique it may have been and however unique it still is, thanks for the support. What a guy. Happy Father's Day."

This week, be sure to read Crafty Kimber's cartridge exploration of the Cindy Loo, Mini Monsters, and Christmas Cheer cartridges. Enjoy humorous tips about using the Cricut cutting mat and glean savvy wisdom from our 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 using the Billionaire cartridge.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Have questions about the Cricut Circle? Click here for the Cricut Circle FAQ!

Say hello to our new cartridges:

Splish Splash
Bloom
Block Party
Varsity Letter
Feeling Groovy
Wildlife
B is for Boy
Sugar and Spice
Cherry Limeade
Botanicals
Savory
Meow
Handy Man
Lovely Floral
Celebrate with Flourish
Dude!
Lacy Labels
Slumber Party
Hoot 'n' Holler
Live Simply
Chore Chart
Cupcake Wrappers
Carousel
Billionaire

Download your Cricut DesignStudio update here.

Follow this link to see the email announcement.

FEATURED PROJECTS

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Father's Day Sailboat
• Father's Day Card
• Cards for Dad
• Father's Day Card (Wallet Card)
• Father Day Card - Robotz

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Desiree Hoots
About: I am a working mother of two girls, 15 yrs & 11 yrs. My 15 year old plays tennis, softball, the violin, and sings in choir. My 11 year old plays soccer for a traveling club. Both girls go to a private charter school, so we are extremely busy with everyone's activities. I work as an office administrator and Real Estate Agent. I enjoy scrap booking, card making, and creating custom cakes for birthdays, weddings, and special events. This card was made for our soccer coach and presented at the end of the year party. Each of the kids signed the white spots with their name and jersey numbers.

Desiree's Project: Soccer Card

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today?s clever tips come to us from messageboard member Patty. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and humor with us!

Thought I would share 10 things I have learned about the cutting mat:


1. Do NOT wear a long-sleeved chenille robe while using the Cricut.
2. Do NOT drop the cutting mat on the floor sticky side down.
3. Do NOT put the cutting mat in the Cricut upside down.
4. Do NOT use glitter immediately before using the Cricut.
5. Do NOT absent-mindedly put the clear cover over your paper before loading the Cricut.
6. Do NOT leave paper on the cutting mat for two days while you work on other stuff.
7. Do NOT forget that you have adhesive on a piece of cardstock and put it on the cutting mat.
8. Do NOT scratch your head while holding the cutting mat.
9. Do NOT try to cut handmade paper.
10. Do NOT forget to put the paper on the cutting board before you load the paper and begin cutting.

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

This week I found myself taking on a new craft challenge. Yes, like I have time to take on more craft project, but my roommate got engaged and so I want to create her wedding invitations. I'm so glad I have the Cuttlebug to help with my project. This week I was able to explore the Cindy Loo, Mini Monsters, and Christmas Cheer (retiring).

Mini Monsters is a complement to the Robotz cartridge. It has a ton of adorable monsters. I think I'm in love with the jelly blob! The creative features are: Layer 1, Layer 2, Card, Phrase, Phrase Shadow, and Base Shadow. Some of the phrases that come with this cartridge are: "Ghouls", "Wicked", "Beware", "Yipes", "Take Me to Your Leader", and "Vampire". Other examples of images (besides monsters) are: mummy, vampire, party princess, and a spider. I know that everyone struggles when it comes to gluing the eyes in place--the center circles are so tiny. I recommend keeping tweezers and q-tips on hand for gluing the black eyes in place. They will help a ton. Also, heads up: there are Cuttlebug embossing folders that will complement this cartridge, coming soon. Artaxx from the message board created an adorable shape book (see pic or click here).

Cindy Loo another new cartridge that I was lucky to explore this week. I love the all the swirl designs, and the owl and deer are just so cute! This cartridge makes me want to have kids so I can decorate their room with vinyl designs. Hmmm...is it crazy to want to have a room I can decorate for my dogs? Some examples of images that come on this cartridge are: vines with leaves, flourishes, branches and flowers, cat, deer, owl, squirrel, and mushroom. The creative features on this cartridge are: Layer, Border, Frame, Font, Font Layer, and Shadow. Not only do you get a full upper and lower case font, you also get some phrases included. With the Font creative feature pressed you can get the phrase "Thank You", "Miss You", or "Get Well Soon". This cartridge also comes with three adorable cupcake wraps, a blank solid card and complementary envelope, and a gift card holder. Rach1fun from the message board had a plain clock and decided to use this cartridge and change the appearance (see pic or click here). Check out how cute this clock is!

Christmas Cheer is a cartridge I've already explored it when it first came out, but it is being retired. Now is your chance to get the cartridge if you want to complete your collection! The creative features of this cartridge are: Square, Circle, Tag, Place Card, Shadow, and Blackout. I used the sleigh image to create some shape tags for my Christmas presents last year. I love all the images in this cartridge, they are just perfect for Christmas!

Well, this wraps up my exploration for this week. Don't forget that you can upload your creative projects to the message board and share your ideas with all of us Cricut fans. 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 Becky:

Cricut Lite Information:

Cricut Lites have found some of us already! These cartridges are exclusive to Walmart. Though many stores already have them in stock, most Walmarts should have them available by July 1st.

We are seeing some incredible creations on the Message Boards. Thank you for sharing these with your fellow crafters!

You should be able to sync your Lite cartridges with your Gypsy very soon! Please keep checking your Gypsy sync update and our website for the update information.


From Brittany:

Q. Where can I find details about the Cricut Ticket promotion?

A. Information for this promotion can be found here: www.cricut.com/cricutticket. The cartridges are listed there. If you receive a cartridge without a coupon, we need a proof of purchase and then we'll send one out to you. Be sure click on each option and read the information!


Have a great week!

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

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again."
~ Jimmy Piersal, on how to diaper a baby, 1968