Inside the Crafters Studio: Clock card with video tutorial

*****IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE VALENTINES GIFT AND DECOR BLOG HOP PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEXT POST OR CLICK HERE*****

If you saw my previous post you know that I am a guest designer in the Creating with Art Philosophy facebook group this month.
This is the 2nd project I posted.

 It was cut with cricut craft room and I made a video tutorial on how to do (further down in the post or see it here or on my right sidebar there is a link to all my videos).

I have another cricut craft room tutorial as well if you look through my videos posted on my right sidebar. :)

SUPPLIES USED:

CTMH Art Philosophy circut cartridge Z1686

CTMH Liquid Glass Z679

CTMH Autumn Terracotta paper

CTMH White Daisy paper

CTMH Key Moments stamp set B1392

CTMH Universal Backgrounds D1477

CTMH Black Archival ink 44751

CTMH Brown Bag Ink Z2108

 (I say I used chocolate for the wood grain stamp in the video but it was brown Bag ink)

CTMH Chocolate Ink z2111

You can download the file I made here FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY using the password iagreetotou

Valentines Décor and Gifts Blog Hop

Hi and welcome to the Valentine's Décor and Gifts Blog Hop.

You should have arrived here from the lovely Sylvia Solorio: http://bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com , however if you happened here by chance you're in luck! There will be 20 stops full of great ideas, so grab a beverage and head over to the hostess' blog. Staci's blog is at http://preciousmem.blogspot.com/. The sponsor for this hop is Designs on Cloud 9 at http://designsoncloud9.com/ and she has offered us a $20 gift voucher for the GRAND prize. Head over to her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Designs-on-Cloud-9/189551027737837 and show her some love. One lucky person who comments on this hop will be the winner of this generous prize. (One person from each stop will be chosen at random and we will then hold a random draw with those 20 people and one lucky person will win the grand prize).


For my project today I am sharing a bottle cap pendant I made (yes you read that right.. bottle cap). I used the CTMH Art Philosophy cricut cartridge for the roses and am slowly discovering a love of quilling as well so thought I'd do some quilled leaves on it.

I am also sharing the packaging I made for it which was also cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy cricut cartridge and the ribbon is from May Art. I am gifting a few of these for Valentine's day this year as well as making them with one of my cricut classes I teach.

Hope you enjoy and if you like what you see please come back and join me next week as I will be posting to my blog as well as the Creating with Art Philosophy facebook group (for my guest designer spot this month... yay!!) some cricut tutorials and projects!
Instructions are below.

Art Philosophy cut     Page Number        Special Key        Keypad (row-column)       Size
flower                          70                                 font                    5-10                              1"
favour box                    22                                font layeer         1-2                                 6.5"
You will also need (3) 1/8" strips 3 1/2" long of green cardstock.

Close To My Heart items used
Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge z1686
Liquid Glass z679
Tweezers z1382

Other materials used:
bottle cap
hand drill or nail
jump ring found in jewellery supplies OR magnet
black paint (optional)
sealer (optional)
magnet

Assemble roses (follow this video if you need help assembling) http://youtu.be/5qTp3zPKeyM
Roll green strips into coils and glue finishing end onto the coil to hold closed.
Pinch edges of each green coil to form into leaves.

Use pliers to turn edge of bottle cap backwards.
Use either a hand drill or a small nail to put a hole in the edge if using as a pendant.
Paint blottle cap black.

Fill cap with liquid glass.
Place roses and leaves how you'd like them on top of the liquid glass.
Let dry
Attach jumpring and hand on jewellery cord or chain for pendant or magnet to the back


Now head on over to Kimberly Pate: http://scrappingrookie.blogspot.com and see her wonderful project.

Also, I am a guest designer for INSIDE THE CRAFTERS STUDIO this month over at the facebook group Creating with Art Philosophy. I will be posting at least one project a week on Fridays there, and then will post it to my blog at a later date. Next month I will post it to my yahoo group as well but if you want to be first to see it you need to join us on facebook here at CreatingwithArtPhilosophy


In case you get lost along the way here's the hop line up:

Staci: http://preciousmem.blogspot.com
Ashley Glamourous: http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
Lisa Peters: http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Audrey Dickinson: http://scrappyemt.blogspot.com
Karin Adamczyk : http://scrappercreations.blogspot.com
Anita Meadows Cannon:~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com
Lucy Kelleher: http://love2createitall.blogspot.com
Michele Eickholt: http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/
Kari Sanchez: http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/

Sylvia Solorio: http://bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com <---- YOU CAME FROM HERE
Darla Haverstock: http://stampingunderdoctorsorders.blogspot.com/ <---- YOU ARE HERE
Kimberly Pate: http://scrappingrookie.blogspot.com  <------ GO HERE NEXT

Liz Mullen: http://scrapiliciouslife.blogspot.com
Lisa Marie Lam:http://craftylam.blogspot.com
Janet Nagai: http://createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com
Dena Jones: http://missdjones.blogspot.com/
Daisy Collins: http://tsunamirosedesigns.blogspot.com
Amanda Youlkis: http://a-prata-design.blogspot.com/
Nancie Brungard: http://alittlepieceofmebynancie.blogspot.com/
Tricia Colon : http://www.mycrazybubble.blogspot.com/

Only 3 spots left!!!

If you were hoping to attend my full day cricut class on Saturday February 11 in Truro there are only 3 spots left so please sign up ASAP to reserve your spot!! :)
This class was a huge success last time.

Cricut Craft Room Video

Someone had posted in the cricutcutter yahoo group I am a member of and was having trouble figuring out exactly how to layer a bee image from the Best Images of 2006 cartridge. I decided after a bunch of us in the group explained how to do it on the cricut itself that I'd do a little CCR video showing the benefit of using it instead. I

Although this video shows her bee cut it shows some basics for CCR and how to use the layers, hidden contour and cut what YOU want! :)



The file I made if you want it is here http://www.4shared.com/file/eTnH9ccF/bee_-_Best_of_2006.html
I think I have a password set just to protect my files. I simply ask whenever you download files from my site that you you then for PERSONAL USE ONLY and that if someone else asks for the file that you send them to me to get it. The password is iagreetotou

Hope you enjoy the video and find it helpful.

Art Philosophy artwork ideas and inspiration sharing group

Hi. Just wanted to let you know I have created a non selling yahoo group to share ideas and inspiration using the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.
You can find it here if you're interested http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CTMHArtPhilosophy/join

Customers and consultants both are welcome!!!
I enjoy a group like this one on Facebook but not everyone enjoys Facebook do thought I would create one on yahoo too for those who would rather this format. :)

If you are thinking of buying this cartridge and want to see more of what you can go with it or own it and want to see and share artwork created with it please come join us.

Birthday Rosettes card from Art Philosophy cartridge

LINK FIXED... I hope! Here's a video I made on how to make the card featured in the Art Philosophy handboook on page 9. This video also includes a look at one of my cheat sheets and how to make one of the rolled roses.

Enjoy!!

Freebie quick page

Here's a freebie page from My Memories Suite for you
If clicking on "Here's" doesn't work for you just copy/paste this into your address bar: http://rakscraps.com/ftp/events/STMFreebie2JanExtra.zip

Use code STMMMS60098 at checkout to save $10 on the My Memories Suite software. It also always comes with another $10 coupon to use towards more digital content for use with their software as well although you can use ANY images at all and don't need to use the ones from MMS at all if you don't want to.

Make sure you check out all their FREE kits here too. they are always adding more as well as one on their facebook page that changes every week.

Use code STMMMS60098 at checkout to save $10

I will post free quick pages occasionally and other things related to this software here.

Retiring products

Just a quick post to share which products will be gone February 1.
Order them  HERE before they're gone! I have listed them by item type and included the page # item # and price. I dont have this done for the stamp sets yet... but will soon and will update this post as I go. For now here's at least the names of everything.

Level 2 Paper Packs:
Believe p.52 #X7145B
Dreamin’ p.34 #X7142B
Fanfare p.63 #X7138B
Lucky p.63 #X7137B
Mayberry p.62 #X7136B
Mischief p.46 #X7144C
Sophia p.62 #X7131B
Wonderland p.58 #X7146B

Workshops-on-the-Go:
Believe p.55 #G1030
Dreamin' p.37 #G1027
Elemental p.31 #G1026
Mischief p.49 #G1029
Roxie p.25 #G1025
Sonoma p.43 #G1028
Typeset p.19 #G1024
Wonderland p.61 #G1031

MyStickease:
Believe p.52 #X7145C
Dreamin' p.34 #X7142C
Fanfare p.63 #X7138C
Lucky p.63 #X7137C
Mayberry p.62 #X7136C
Mischief (Rub-ons) p.46 #X7144B
Sophia p.62 #X7131C
Wonderland p.58 #X7146C

Mini-Medley Accents: p.127
Antiqued Copper #Z1275 $4.95
Colonial White #Z1276 $4.95


Brads & Eyelets: p.126 & 127
Colonial White Brads #Z1274 $3.95
Pewter Decorative Brads #Z1146 $3.95
Black and White Daisy Soft Set Eyelets #Z1228 $3.95
Chocolate and Colonial White Soft Set Eyelets #Z1229 $3.95

Dimensionals: p.130
Flurry #Z1225 $4.95
On Target #Z1226 $5.95
Hearts #Z1278 $3.25
Ornaments #Z1337 $4.95

Ribbon & Floss: p.124
Colonial White Ribbon Collection #Z1126
3/8" Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon #Z1103 $4.95
3/8" Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon #Z1100 $6.95
3/8" Colonial White Grosgrain Ribbon #Z1102 $6.95
3/8" White Daisy Grosgrain Ribbon #Z270 $6.95
Wings Level 2 Assortment #Z1398 $4.95

Embroidery Floss: p.125
Blue/Purple #Z1093 $3.25
Green #Z1094 $3.25
Red/Pink #Z1092 $3.25

Waxy Flax: p.125
Cranberry #Z1086 $3.95
Crystal Blue #Z1247 $3.95
Juniper #Z1248 $3.95
Sorbet #Z1249 $3.95

Various Accessories: p.128 (unless otherwise noted)
Bliss Level 2 Assortment #Z1355 $5.95
Fanfare Level 2 Assortment #Z1400 $4.95
Harvest Charms #Z1633 $4.95
Holiday Pockets Z1486 $4.95
Just Blooms Spring Blossom Paper Flowers #Z1266 $7.95
Just Blooms White Daisy Variety Pack  #Z1300 $5.95
Lucky Level 2 Assortment #Z1356 $4.95
Lucky Level 2 Journaling Spots #Z1359 $3.95
Midnight Felt Shapes #Z1462 $5.95
Sweetheart Level 2 Assortment #Z1386 $4.95
Foundry Metal - Bookplates p.127 #Z1147 $3.50

Color-Ready Alphabets: p.129
Hodge Podge #X1406 $3.95
Oxford #X5749 $3.95

My Creations: p.131
Board Book #Z1310 $6.95
Journal #Z1268 $7.95
9x9 Memory Showcase #Z1198 $5.95

Top Coats: p.128
Top Coats Icing Overlays #Z1468 $4.85

Supplies/Tools: p.132 & 133
Rubber Brayer #Z616 $12.95
Soft Set Eyelet Tool #Z1208 $14.95
Eyelet Tool Replacement Punches #Z1245 $2.95

8 1/2 x 11 Cardstock: p.129
Black #X1412 $5.50
Colonial White #X1411 $6.75
White Daisy #1320 $6.75

Stamps:

A Game - A1113 $6.95
A Hop - A1112 $6.95
A Little Buzz - B1353 $9.95
A Little Everything - D1408 $17.95
A Love - A1103 $6.95
A Paisley - A1105 $6.95
A Posey - A1102 $6.95
Adoption - A1098 $6.95
Adorning Corners - D1322 $17.95
Always In My Heart - A1101 $6.95
Ambiance - C1349 $13.95
Around The Block - D1377 $17.95

Baby Love - B1368 $9.95
Backgrounds & Borders - D1463 $17.95
Beary Best - C1363 $13.95
Beary Busy - C1409 $13.95
Beautiful Butterflies - B1373 $9.95
Beautiful Things - D1298 $17.95
Believe In Your Dreams - B1322 $9.95
Beloved - B1343 $9.95
Birthday Blast - C1436 $13.95
Birthday Boy - C1411 413.95
Bless This Nest - C1445 $13.95
Blooming Layers - C1449 $13.95
Bon Appetit - D1367 $17.95
Boom! - B1354 $9.95
Bunny Love - B1324 $9.95

Campin' Fever
Carefree
Catching Waves
Charmed
Cherished Flourishes
Ciao
Circle Around
Circle of Love
Circle Together
Connections
Cruisin'
Cupcake Sprinkles

Daydream
Down By The Sea
Dream Big
Dreams Come True  #D1470 $17.95

Enjoy Every Moment
Extreme Happiness

Family
Family Ties - Adult
Family Ties - Children
Family Ties - Pet
Fill In The Blank
Flower Pot
For Every Occasion
Friendship Blessings
From My Heart
Fun Times

Happy Holidays
Happy Moments
Hero
His and Hers
Horizon
Hot Diggity
Howdy

In The Month Of April
In The Month Of February
In The Month Of July
In The Month Of June
In The Month Of March
In The Month Of May
It's A Zoo

Just For Boys
Just For Girls
Just The Ticket

Kanji Phrases

Let's Go Camping
Little Princess
Love Always
Love Birds
Love Ya

Magic Tabs
Makin' Waves
Ms. Chillin'
Ms. Scrapbook

Notice The Details

One Of A Kind
On The Edge
On This Day
Over The Rainbow

Paisley Praise
Piece of Cake
Play Day
Post Card - Travel Series
Precious Love
Priceless Love

Recipe Box
Retro Tech
Royal Birth

Salutation Seals
Shining Star
Smiles
So Lucky
Soul Mates
Springtime
Star Power
Summer Breeze
Summer Days
Sweet Baby

Take Luck
Tasty Treats
Tea Time
Thank You
Thrill Ride
T.L.C.
Togetherness
Treetops
Trellis #D1451 $17.95
Two-Step Backgrounds

Unity

X-Treme

You Did It
You Rock
You're Great
You're Sweet

Here's the visual (thanks to the PAPER HeARTIST for doing this!!)
http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h235/tamythaj/Retiring%20CTMH%20Products/?albumview=slideshow

New CTMH promotions and news!!

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm still busy trying to clean up and re-organize from a very busy Christmas and prepare for my sons 3rd birthday later this week plus a full day cricut class I'll be doing in Truro January 14 so please excuse my absence. :)

I didn't want my absence to cause you to miss out on any of the great deals though so....

Check out the while supplies last section of the store great stuff at LOW prices.

Remember that as of yesterday morning our prices now match the US pricing which may not seem like much but a dollar here and there makes a BIG difference by the time you add tax and shipping (for example the cricut cartridge used to be $109.95 and is now $99.00 which means after tax and shipping here in NS that it's now $126 instead of $139 that's an extra stamp set at full price or a few ink pads or some liquid glass and a Starbucks latte). :)

Next up are the new Stamp Of The Month which is also cheaper now because of the US pricing now so instead of $5.50 with a qualifying order of $55 it's now $5 with order of $50!! Yay!!!

There is also A campaign on for a product that will be released with the NEW spring/summer idea book which you can order from as if February 1. The product is a set of 9 cubes (or blocks) in a tray with a huge stamp set!! Think photo puzzles for your coffee table (or kids) GREAT homemade gift! You can take it out of the tray and make the blocks spell words decorated up for your shelf/mantle etc.... These products are available for $15 with any $25 purchase! This is an awesome savings of over $40. The fine print: *Offer valid December 19, 2011–January 31, 2012. While supplies last. Tax and shipping/handling apply. Only items available in the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book count toward your qualifying purchase total.

If you use or were looking to use Studio J for your digital or hybrid scrapbooking there is also a promotion January is free layout month for Studio J^® members! For every 9 custom-printed Studio J layouts you buy, you’ll receive the 10th layout free. To receive the discount, just add 10 or more layouts to your cart. You’ll see a discount reflected in your order total. And you can totally take advantage of this promotion by ordering in multiples of 10. Buy 9, get 1 free. Buy 18, get 2 free. Buy 27, get 3 free. And so on! If you’re not a member yet, now’s a great time to join!

Also there IS a new idea book coming and with that lots of products are being retired as of February 1 so if you were looking for anything you'll want to get your order in before the new book comes out which you won't want to miss out on as it's awesome!!!
Lots more to coordinate with the Art Philosophy cartridge for those that have it and if not well you can still cut by hand too! ;)

Merry Christmas!!

Just a note to all of you that you probably won't see any posts from me until the new year (although I'll still be checking my email and answering that just not posting) as I have lots of company staying with me over the holidays and also my children to spend lots of time with, enjoy and join in the excitement of the holidays with!! My sons birthday is in the first week of January so will be busy taking down all the Christmas right after and decorating for birthday. :)

Thank you for understanding and I look forward to sharing more fun crafty stuff with you all in the new year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!! Hope you have a joyous and safe holiday season.

Holiday Tags Assortment: Project Inspiration Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book

Since most of you don't procrastinate as much as I do you probably have your cards all made but here's a little inspiration for some tags! :)

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdaXCZjVpRQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Darla Haverstock
http://stampingunderdoctorsorders.blogspot.com/

Rock the Block Promotion

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcmF3kaR0VE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Darla Haverstock
http://stampingunderdoctorsorders.blogspot.com/

Buttoned Up Card Set: Project Inspiration Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AXL-ZxXDDo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Wow!! HUGE GIVEAWAY!

You really should check out this giveaway http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-annual-end-of-year-christmas.html
There's a $150 Michaels gift card, copic marker set and more up for grabs.
Make sure you look around while you're there too as you can find some great inspiration.

Check out this video I made on assembling the spiral flowers from the Art Philosophy cartridge

I made a video on how to make the flowers from the CTMH cricut cartridge

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151014779735249

Hope that helps!

If you still don't own this cartridge you can order it through my website https://darlah.myctmh.com or by contacting me. :)

Don't forget about the cheat sheets that I make exclusively for my customers as well.

Kathy's Double K Krafts: Give Away For December

You have to go check out this amazing giveaway over on Kathy's blog!! This is the same place I won a copy of the My Memories Suite software for my MIL so I'm hoping I can be that lucky again but if not I'm hoping that one of my blog land friends can win it!!

Kathy's Double K Krafts: Give Away For December:

Make sure to look around the rest of her blog too she's got some great stuff there. :)

The different cricut design programs pros and cons

Okay so with the release of cricut craft room there have been a lot of people on the various groups and message boards I participate in asking about the benefits of a program if you can still only use the cartridge images and what the differences are between Design Studio (DS), Cricut Craft Room (CCR), and the handheld Gypsy

Here's a quick compilation I made... If you have anything to add please comment and I'll add it on! :)

You can do all sorts of things with any of the 3:
-Weld letters together so they cut as a word instead of individual letters

-change the height and/or width by ANY increment (instead of only the height and width proportionately by 1/4" increments only)

-see exactly where you cut will be in the mat which is great for many reasons: able to use small scraps and know exactly where to put it on the mat, you can put cuts on top of each other so you can cut a square with a circle inside it for instance, I use it to cut the backing from sticker paper and then all the way through just the outside then I peel off one section of backing at a time and apply glitter or flocking and can create a flocked Elmo for instance or a glittered circle in white to stamp my image on with a red scallop around it with something else with a different colour around that all on one layer (probably not explaining that very well lol), I also use it to line cuts up on one side of a card shape and then cut the whole thing out of cereal box... Apply glue to the pieces that would fall out of the cut... Fold the other side of the card over and let it dry to the glued pieces then when its dry remove from cutting mat and voila your very own embossing folder!

-in CCR you can also view your cuts filled with colour so you can design your card completely on the program and see EXACTLY what it's going to look like before even taking out your paper great for deciding what colours to cut from (you can do this in DS as well just not while designing only in a preview screen)

-you can rotate things around getting optimal use of your paper (ie if you have ever cut large circles out of your paper and your machine thinks you can only fit 4 on the page when you know if it moved them to the corners you could fit another one in the middle you can do that on the screen)

-can hide fold lines or any other pieces of a cut that you don't necessarily want (some of the layers on the Disney carts for instance really are supposed to be from 2 different colours so you can hide one of the shapes on the layer for cutting from one colour and tge other for the other colour)


Now for each one individually...

Design Studio:
-view on big screen with all these capabilities (except viewing in colour while designing however can preview it in
-fairly slow to use and really slow to load
-sometimes hard to select the shapes on your mat to move around
-design with any cartridges out there so you can see if you might like to get one or if you order one online you can play with it before it arrives
-not Mac compatible
-not compatible with net books as you need a certain resolution screen which the tiny laptops just don't have
-don't need the layouts but still need the actual cartridge(s) every time you go to cut
-can use different cartridge images together (it will ask you to put one in the cricut and then the others until you've put all of them in that are used in the project you are cutting and then it will cut)

Gypsy
-easy to use
-fairly fast
-stores all your cartridges so you don't have to have the actual cartridge or keypad with you when you go to cut
-has all the benefits of DS except the large screen
-portable (no computer needed), about the same size as a cartridge box and you can design on it whenever wherever and save your project and cut to your cricut whenever you want to using your gypsy in place of your cartridge

CCR:
-all the benefits of DS except you MUST have Internet connection in order to use it
-fast
-can view images in colour
-can link cartridges that you own so you don't have to have them with you when you want to cut once they're linked
-Mac compatible
-no limit on what screen size you need so can use on a NetBook
-FREE
-can save in gypsy format to your computer for use in DS or gypsy when Internet is not available
-can see your projects anywhere you have a computer with Internet and design so you don't need a flash drive with your projects saved on it or anything at all ... Just go to cricut website log in and go for it (all your projects are stored on the Internet remotely so you have them wherever you go)
-can only install cut ability from the program for 2 computers for each cricut account


I am certain others can come up with more but this is just what I can come up with off the top of my head. :)

Sorry for my lack of blogging

I have been absolutely crazy with teaching classes and had a big order of CTMH cartridge bundles that I needed to make the cheat sheets for. Also been helping a cousin with her Christmas cards and her little girls birthday decorations (you'd think I'd make my own Christmas cards and at least decide on my sons party theme first since his birthday is the first week of January.., but I didn't). LOL oh or make birth announcements for our little girl who will be 4 months old soon... Maybe I can get away with just sticking those in the Christmas cards????

It will all get done in time right?!?

Anyways between all if that and just spending time enjoying my wonderful family. Taking the kids to Santa Claus parades and Christmas shopping I honestly haven't gotten to making anything new for you... I have made more of the cards I've already posted but nothing new... Thinking I had a few things I never did post though and might need to take a look for you.

I did start a Facebook page and you can join it if you want to over there on the top right sidebar on my blog... See it?!?! It will be the same pictures I post here and some extra updates and stuff as I find it easier to do a quick post to Facebook than my blog.

I am pretty excited though, as I got my new rolling bag for my cricut and found a digital projector so those in my classes can see better what I'm doing! Yay!!!!

So much to do... So little time!

On a side note though DH and I went out on a date night last night (first night out without a child since before our son was born almost 3 years ago). He bought us tickets to go see my favourite band (Big Sugar) play. It was a blast!!!!!! I warned my parents (the babysitters) that I had too much fun and we would be doing it again before our 4 month old turned 3 for sure!! LOL

We have another Santa Claus parade to take the kids to tomorrow (since watching the 3 year olds reaction was so much fun at the one we took him to last weekend)!!
Here's a picture of him patiently waiting for the parade to start and one of our daughter that I'll be getting her first Christmas ornament made from (I ordered from Sassy Possum these beautiful carved wood ornaments for our sons first Christmas and loved them so much I ordered them for hers too). Correction (that picture isn't on my iPod) so here's one of her I took last week.

Cricut craft room now available to public!!!

Directly from the cricut website:

The only limit: your imagination.

Welcome to a whole new way to create. Cricut Craft Room™ is a fun, easy-to-use, and timesaving online design tool that lets you experiment, explore, and design in ways never before possible. And it’s free. Plus, just for starting your account, you’ll automatically receive Cricut Craft Room™ Basics, a collection of digital fonts and shapes.

The Cricut Craft Room has officially launched and is available for FREE!

What is the Cricut Craft Room?

It is a design tool that lets you design with images from the Cricut cartridges (including Imagine ones) and images on the Craft Room itself. Currently, there is a free font and shape set of images, called Cricut Craft Room Basics and that's available for everyone. You will still need to own the cartridges to cut out your design, though. There is a linking feature so you can cut more easily. You need an internet connection to use the Craft Room. But there is an application that downloads to your computer and once that happens, you will always want to launch using your application on your computer, rather than the website.

Features of the Cricut Craft Room:

Free to Use
Access online from anywhere, any time
Easy to Use Program
Design on a Big Screen
View and Design with all Cricut Cartridges
Search easily to find the right images
Digitally stores all your cartridges and projects
Windows and Mac compatible
Explore exclusive online content
Cuts with any Cricut Machine

Go to http://www.cricut.com/craftroom/default.html#introduction and try it out yourself now!! :)
I've been playing and LOVE it!

Customer service stories to share

This is a copy of a message I sent out to all my cutting groups on yahoo as well as to the sellers.

I just wanted to post this about my recent experience with cricutmachine.com for those looking to buy anything from them. This ended with a good outcome please read on....
I also have a bad outcome story about an eBay purchase from proudparents2005 to share.


Just a little update to add to this.. I cc'd both of these companies emails on this message and got the following reply from cricutmachine.com:
Thank you for contacting CricutMachine.

We appreciate the great review you gave us. We have forwarded this on to our managment team.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Have a great day!

CricutMachine.com Customer Support
151 East 3450 North
Spanish Fork Utah 84660
Toll Free: 1-877-343-2881
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm MST
sales@cricutmachine.com


I had ordered a deal from them On October 19, 2011 (reconditioned cricut expression with 4 cartridge bundle for $59.99) with tax and shipping came to $109.08 to be shipped to Canada. actually had it shipped to my mother in law not me as it was going to be an early Christmas gift for her.

I teach cricut classes as well and had posted to lots of groups and my classes about this deal. A few others ordered it too. When I had heard they all got theirs I called my mother in law only to discover she still didn't have hers. I gave it an extra 2 weeks since she lives in a remote location and often takes much longer. Still had not arrived....
Checked the tracking number provided only to discover that FedEx had no record of picking up that tracking number. I called the cricutmachine.com customer service and was told that it appeared as though they never actually shipped it. She was very apologetic and offered to refund my money. I insisted I really didn't want the money just the product. I was told that there were only 3 left in stock and they may or may not be already promised to other customers... They would have to contact their shipping department and get back to me. If they were however they would refund my money plus issue a $20 credit to be used on a future order. I told them not to bother as if I did not receive my product that I ordered and was given a shipping confirmation for weeks ago I would not order from them again and would make sure I told everyone I could think of of the bad service, since they still have machines for sale that the correct thing to do for me would be to ship an equivalent. They said they'd check first and send me an email within the new few days.
I never did get an email however yesterday afternoon FedEx showed up at my address with the product I had ordered directly from provocraft instead of cricutmachine.com. I still now need to ship it to my mother in law on the other side of the country (I didn't bother to call and see if they'd fix this since this is not a problem for me as we are going to visit her Anyway and I can just bring it with us) but I received a replacement shipment.
I am quite happy with this outcome, and knowing that they will have some great black Friday sales coming up I wanted to share that they definitely have good customer service and I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again (and when their sale start at midnight this Friday I will be checking it out for sure!!)

My proud parents story is not so good. I ordered a rolling tote bag, a cartridge tote bag and a gypsy bundled with all the accessories and the destination cartridge. It took them a week to send me my combined invoice which I paid immediately, another 4 days to ship it. It was September 14 when I received a USPS tracking number from them as shipping confirmation. I still haven't received the product!! I have written them 7 or more emails through eBay and directly to them asking them for info on it (I never assume its the sellers fault, often customs delays shipments for crazy amounts of time) USPS can't track their shipments to the US border with the label number as it is just something the shipper prints off, they still have to take it to the drop box and pay for it. They need the shipper to provide the confirmation number they were given at the drop box to track it. In order to get this I'd need them to respond to me!!! I opened a dispute through PayPal and sent 3 more messages requesting info on my shipment through PayPal.... No response! I upgraded the dispute to a claim. PayPal contacted them and received no response so I got my money back from PayPal yesterday.
I have heard lots if good stories about this eBay seller but also lots of bad. I would say if you order anything from them make sure you keep an eye on your PayPal timeframes for opening a dispute so you can get a refund if it never shows!

Oh and YES I am copying this message to both of these sellers as well as posting it on my blog, Facebook and telling my classes!

Okay, that's my rant for today!! LOL