Quick tip tuesday

Welcome crafty friends!!

For all of you out there that love creating T-shirts using Cricut's Iron-on material, I found this chart on Pinterest that will help you position your design correctly:

I hope it is helpful :) Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Liz

Quick Tip Tuesday

Welcome to Quick Tip Tuesday! Here is a tip I found from Psycho Moms Scrapbooks!

Cutting Photos with your Cricut

Do you have photos that offer something to your layouts, but not necessarially a center stage photo? Like perhaps the water from a swimming pool, or photo of the sand on a beach, a group of flowers. Use these photos for cool titles on your scrapbook pages.

Use a fairly bold or wide font for best results (Base Camp is my favorite). Settings should be: blade pressure to 5, Speed to 2, Pressure dial to 6. Simple one word titles are the best for this project. Line your photo up with your cutting mat, type the word, and press cut. Instead of your design being cut onto paper, it will now be cut from your photographs. Although the software is not necessary, it does make it easier when trying to line up your word with the subject in the photo.

Here are some samples of what I mean. Remember that if it is a digital photo it isn't your only copy, so PLAY.

Quick Tip Tuesday

Michelle here again with another link to The Non-Crafty Crafter. If you click here you can find a list of CCR (Cricut Craft Room) keyboard shortcuts for your projects. I printed this out and keep it with my laptop-it has made using CCR so much easier! I use my Escape Key now to exit hide contours mode -so much easier.

Give it a try!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Are you confused about linking your cartridges? I found a website that tells it like it is! The Non-Crafty Crafter shows you how to link your cartridges to a Gypsy, Cricut Design Space or Cricut Craft Room.
Click here for the complete rundown of how to link your cartridges.

You'll find that some people link, and others don't. If you buy used cartridges off the internet, check or ask if they are linked or non-linked. Remember... linking is permanent! Once a cartridge is linked to your account (regardless of which method you chose) it cannot be unlinked or linked to another account. If you buy used cartridges that have been linked you can use them in the machine only! If it doesn't specify, ask!

I hope this helps!

Quick Tip Tuesday

I have some exciting news!

Next week our sponsor is SVGcuts.com, and in addition to a $50 gift card, the lucky winner will also receive a brand new Big Shot Die Cutting Machine! Join us next week for more information-you can make a project with SVG's, but there has to be a Cricut cut on your project. If the information is not listed in your description, you won't be eligible for the prize!


Hello! Today's tip is from over at Scrappin' Queen about Cricut blades-

"Cricut blades wear out quickly, particularly if you are cutting a lot of Bazzill paper. Bazzill has polyester fibers in it that cause blades to dull rapidly. Good blades cost more, but they last a very long time. I prefer the blades for the Pazzles Inspiration. They fit the Cricut just fine, and last a lot longer. The Gazelle blades are also excellent, particularly the ones for medium to heavy cutting projects, and they fit the Cricut as well. I reserve my Cricut blades for cutting vinyl, vellum, and thin scrapbook paper.

You may need to adjust the blade depth a bit if you use the blades for the other machines. Do some test cuts to determine the best setting for you. Even if I have a good quality blade, I would still use a new blade for  intricate designs. They take a long time to cut out, especially if i am cutting them 11.5″x11.5″ and I don’t want to waste time and paper should the blade wear out halfway through cutting one of these designs. I always keep extra blades on hand, because I never know when my blade will go bad, and it is never convenient to get a new blade in the middle of a cutting project. They can go bad very suddenly – good for one cut, and bad for the next. If a tiny tip of the blade gets broken off, you may not be able to see a difference, but you will get more tearing than cutting when this happens."

Another thing about blades, not all are created equal. Since I stopped buying cheap Cricut blades at the craft store but good Carbide steel, my blades last forever. The Cricut and a few other cutters take Roland style blades. eBay has a few sellers but I prefer Elkins Creek. Here is a link for blades that will fit the Cricut machines – http://elkinscreek.com/RolandCutterBlades.html . 45 degree is the regular blade and 60 degree is for the deep cut holder. There is also a discussion here to purchasing better quality blades – http://forum.make-the-cut.com/discussion/16452/roland-blades/ Glitter paper will also dull your blade faster than saying, well, glitter!



I hope you found these tips useful!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Welcome to another Quick Tip Tuesday!

If you have a Cricut Explore, there are some great tips at from Diane at Capadia Designs . If you are a Facebook user,  you can also join one of the groups that has been started to connect people learning to use their new machines.  I recommend "Let's Learn Cricut Explore" (Diane is one of the administrators for this group).

And if you want to learn markers with the Cricut Explore, here's a video from Stacy Williams from Love that Bug!



 

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hi! Michelle here to tell you about a Cricut book at Amazon that's available for $2.99 on Kindle and $6.29 paperback-here's what the website says:

Cricut Tips, Tricks and Troubleshooting Guide Book - How to Master Your Cricut Machine

Attention all Cricut users. Do you have a love-hate relationship with your Cricut machine? You love the fun you have creating beautiful craft projects but hate when you can't figure out how to get your die cut machine to make all those fancy cuts, after all isn't that the reason you bought the machine in the first place?

But don't take my word for it, look inside and see for yourself. Here are just some of the helpful hints you'll learn.

Troubleshooting Techniques
Help With Cricut Cartridges
Ending the Blade Blues
Cutting Mat Miracles
Working With Gel Pens and Markers
Used Cricuts the Good the Bad and the Ugly
Favorite Adhesives Paper and Tools
Money Saving Tricks
Conquering Craft Room Chaos
Warranty Warning
DIY Repairs and Resources
And much more!

I don't think the Cricut Explore is covered in this book, but if you have not mastered any of the other machines, or still have questions about your machine, this might be a great resource for you! Hmmm, my Mom has a Kindle....

Quick Tip Tuesday

Just a reminder about the rules:

1. You can backlink up to two weeks.

2. You can submit up to 3 projects.

3. While you must have 1 Cricut cut on your project, you can use anything else you like, stamps, SVG cuts, etc.Faith from ScrapbookerPhD ( http://scrapbookerphd.blogspot.com ) shared her favorite SVG sites with me for Freebie SVG files.

ALWAYS FREE folder: SVGcuts https://svgcuts.com There is a folder with 35 PAGES of free files. Why SVGcuts is my FAVORITE SITE: First of all, there are so many free files, I got tired of downloading them all BUT I also bought two sets of cut files because their files are so sophisticated and gorgeous. I almost bought more, but I am waiting for my next set of card topics. Each of the freebie files can be downloaded right NOW. You don't have to go through the checkout process. And freebie files have details instructions and sometimes videos to help you use the cut files. I could go on and on... So just go to the site and check it out.

EVERYDAY Freebie: Miss Kate Cuttables http://www.misskatecuttables.com Yes, everyday they post a freebie, and it is part of a larger set for the whole month. Why I love Miss Kate Cuttables: the freebies don't feel like freebies - they are up to the quality of their standard for sale cuts. They always include instructions for putting their cuts together. Be careful - the freebie only lasts for the day. It costs money the next day.

FREEBIE Friday:
Pretty Papers Pretty Ribbon http://www.prettypapergraphics.com Free file on Fridays. While the freebie is on Friday, it is available for the entire week. Why do I love Pretty Papers Pretty Ribbon: the quality! The layers! The designs! EVERYTHING. Freebies and regular files come in 6 different types of files, so you have many options to use these cut files. They also have a .99 folder with previous freebies and other files. These are all excellent files.

Thank you Faith!

I also have two other sites to add-the first one is PPbN Designs. They have a Free file on Mondays and is on the website for a week. In looking through their site I found weekly deals as low as 35 cents! Make sure to check out their page of YouTube videos. Another bonus is that the owner donates portions of the sales to several charities, such as the Make A Wish Foundation, The Humane Society of the United States, St. Judes Research Hospital, and MADD.

The second one is Bird's Cards. There are hundreds of free, beautiful designs! There are deep edge designed cards, overlay cards, borders, holidays, but you need to check it out because I can't list all of it!

Give these sites a try!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Big news!!! Next weeks prize will be a $50 gift certificate to SVGcuts.com ! Remember you can use SVG projects here at FCCB as long as you add a Cricut cut!

Here is a video that will Faith Wallace found to help you with SVG's & Cricut Design Space-from Cara Miller!

Next week I'll give you a list of SVG sites that Faith Wallace recommends!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!!! Emily here with another Quick Tip for you!!!

I have had my Expression for almost 2 years now and I have had the same 2 mats the entire time!  

I simply can't justify buying a new mat when I can re-stick them over and over and over again!

You have probably already seen the ways to re-stick your mat, but thought I would go over them anyway.

Option 1.  Clean your mat with soap and water.  I just use Dawn Dish Soap and warm water to do this.  Pat them somewhat dry with a towel then let them air dry all the way.  Then take a Zig 2 Way pen - the big fat one - and run the glue over your mat.  The pen is almost an inch wide, so you can just go down each column/row with it and pretty much coat the mat entirely.  

Then let it dry - Easy Peasy!!!

Option 2.  This comes from my friend Laurie over at Hiding In My Craft Room.  I copied this info directly from her blog.  I haven't tried this myself yet, but am going to soon enough :)

Laurie says, "The solution I use it 1 to 1. So equal parts of Aleene's Tack it Over and Over and water. Yes, it has to be that glue! I find it at JoAnn's or Michaels but not every one I go to has it in stock or carries it. If you ask someone that works there about it they will look at you like your crazy! Lol! 

I've also seen it sold online.

When my mats start loosing their sticky about half the time all I need to do is give my mats a could scrubbing with foamy kitchen soap, rinse, let them air dry, and they are back to usable! This gets the debris and bits of paper off and reveals the wonderful sticky again! Other times I just add the sticky solution following the video below. I do get asked about 'cleaning' the mats. You know, getting all the gunk completely off and making itcompletely unsticky. A little of the residue or discoloration doesn't bother me. They might look old but they work better than NEW! Buuuut, if it bothers you then you can use any glue remover to throughly clean it then apply sticky solution. Let me warn you, it is messy and don't get it on the carpet. Learned that the hard way. I just used goo gone and the scraper in the Cricut Essentials tool kit but I wish I hadn't, it's still a little sticky. I wish I had used instead a pampered chef scraper. I have so many of those, I wouldn't mind just throwing it away afterward."  

The link to her YouTube video is HERE.

Hopefully you find one of these ways useful in re-sticking your mats and getting the most life possible from them before buying new ones!!!

Until next Tuesday...

Quick Tip Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, Cricut Crafters!!!  Emily here with another Quick Tip Tuesday!

Today I wanted to go over another one of my favorite features of the Cricut - Center Point.

I am in the middle of a project right now, and this feature is the only reason it's possible.  

Whenever you need to cut an image - for me it's mostly shapes - and you need it to be around a specific area of the paper this is the feature to use.  

I will give you an example: if you have a circle sentiment stamp, but don't own a circle punch, stamp your paper/cardstock and place it on your mat, load your mat into the machine and move your blade until you feel you are right in the middle of your stamped paper.  Set your size to however big the circle stamp is, press the Center Point button and then select your circle image from whatever cartridge you are using.  It will cut around your circle stamp just as if you used a circle punch!  Now, you may need to try it a few times to get it exactly right, but once you play around with it, it gets easier to gauge where the center point is - trust me :)

You can use this with pictures, if you want to cut around a specific part of the pic, or even a section of pattern paper.  I really do find this feature to be extremely useful...but once again, you may need to practice a bit to get the hang of it!

Have a Fabulous Week!!!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!!!

Emily here with another Quick Tip for you.  

One of my favorite features on my Cricut is the Set Paper Size/Cut Area button - especially when I am making boxes or cards.  If I am not sure how big/what size to cut my box or card, but I know I want it to be cut out on the whole piece of paper (no matter what size the paper is), I use this feature.  I lay my paper on my mat in the bottom left hand corner, once I load the mat, I position the blade over the top right hand corner of the paper and push the Set Paper Size/Cut Area button (depending on the cartridge the name is either Set Paper Size or Set Cut Area).  I then use the Fit to Page feature to make sure the machine cuts the biggest size possible for the size of paper I have set.  

And if you have layers to add to your box or card, make note of the size the Cricut calculates the cut at so you can match that on your dial when you go to cut them.

Thanks for checking in for this tip - and I LOVE it when you comment and add more to these tips and/or correct any misinformation - there is bound to be plenty of that from me :)

Have a great week!!!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello! And Welcome to another Quick Tip Tuesday! This is Emily from Mollie's Motif and today I wanted to bring to you some Cricut Setting Cheat Sheets!  Ever have those days when it doesn't matter what you try, you are cutting/re-cutting/wasting/cursing/cutting and cutting some more just trying to figure out how to get that "perfect" cut? Well, I went to Pinterest and found a bunch of cheat sheets for the different settings you can use for different materials, that I thought I would just put here in one place for you.  Hopefully, one of these cheats will save you from a crafting day of frustration :)

From Obsessed with Scrapbooking (thank you to one of our readers for letting us know!)

Pinned From www.indulgy.com on Pinterest but originally posted on Around the blog with Scrapalette

Straight from www.cricut.com

Have a fabulous week!!!

Quick Tip Tuesday!

Hello! And Welcome to another Quick Tip Tuesday! This is Emily from Mollie's Motif and I will be bringing you some fun tips over the next little while that will hopefully help you in using your Cricut!

The first tip I wanted to pass on, because it's one of my most favorite websites related to the Cricut is...

My Cut Search.

Hopefully, you have already heard of this site and have utilized it when creating your projects.

But if you haven't heard of this site - it's AMAZING! If you are looking for a specific image, just go to this website and enter what you are looking for - it will bring up every cartridge that has that image! 

I LOVE this resource!

Until next week,

Emily

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello to all of you Crafty Cricuteers! It's Angie from Angie's Paper Passion with a quick tip about Cricut handbooks. Personally I love looking at my handbooks while I am crafting with my Cricut but I don't like hauling them all out every time. So I have found that this tip works for me. Since I have my laptop out when I craft I can always go to the Cricut.com Image Library, find a cart, click on Details, and then on Digital Handbook.

But I have found a blog that has done all the work for me! Paulette from Around The Block with Scrapalette has created a page on her blog that has a complete list of every cart and all you need to do is click on the one you want to see the entire handbook. You can see her Cricut Cart Library here! I even put the link on my phone's home screen ~ now I can get to any handbook quickly, 

even if I'm out!

I have also downloaded an app to my phone called iBooks that I'm using just for my Cricut carts that I don't have the handbooks for ~ like the digital carts and files that I've purchased. It's easy to add the handbooks, too, just by opening a handbook in your phones web browser and then save it to your iBooks

Now it's very easy to see the Cricut handbooks that I want to look at. 

I hope that you find this tip helpful, too! Comment below and let me know how you like to keep your handbooks! Do you like to keep them handy or do you hardly ever pull them out!

Don't forget that the FCCB Vinyl University will take place in September. This will be a great opportunity for you to learn something new each day on how to use various types of vinyl cut with the Cricut machine. Click HERE for more details.

Please check back tomorrow for the "Cool Treats" Wednesday Winners!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello everyone! It's Angie from Angie's Paper Passion with a few tips and a couple of videos about using the Gel Pens from our sponsor this week ~ CRI-Kits! I had so much fun using these wonderful Gel Pens with my Cricut and I see myself using them over and over again on many more of my Cricut projects. 

Here are some great tips from CRI-Kits that I hope you'll find useful:

• Always store your CRI-Kits pens vertically with the tip facing down.
• I found the following settings to work best with my Cricut - Pressure 3, Speed 2-3, but always test your 'drawing' and machine settings on a piece of scrap paper first!
• Do not leave your pens in your machine after you've finished your project
• Before inserting your Gel Pen into the Magnetic Holder, get the ink flowing by scribbling the pen onto some scratch paper first.
• You can use the Multi-Cut Feature on your Cricut to draw a heavier line or to just make sure that you get a smooth ink flow.

I also found two great videos that show the Cricut and CRI-Kits in action. 

This first one is from Elizabeth at 217 Creations:

The next one is from Christina at Creations with Christina:

Remember that the winner of this week's challenge, Cool Treats, will win a set of CRI-Kits Gel Pens and the Magnetic Holder so create something with at least one Cricut cut and upload it under yesterday's challenge post. 

Please check back here tomorrow for our Wednesday Winners! 

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello again everyone! It's Angie with another Quick Tip!

Since this weeks challenge theme is shaped cards, I thought I'd leave you a few tips on making these.

• First, you can create a shaped card from almost any image on a Cricut cartridge. 
• You don't need to start with a pre-made card on a cart - just pick an image and as long as it can stand up by itself as a card, then go for it! 
• You will need to use either your Gypsy or Cricut Craft Room to create a shaped card since you have to do some welding!
• Start with the shadow of an image to create the card base. If an image doesn't have a shadow feature this is how I make a card base with that image anyway.

 I took this simple layered image from Artiste and made it in to a shaped card:

 
(Sorry this is not a good photo - this is taken directly from the handbook at cricut.com). As you can see there is no shadow, so after placing the image on your 'mat' in CCR (or Gypsy) use the Hide Contour feature to hide everything from the base layer:

Now you have a base layer that's perfect for a card! Copy and paste so you'll have two of these base images and weld the two images together. 

Important: you need to flip one of the images to make them symmetrical when your card is folded & closed because some images that look symmetrical on both sides really aren't!!!

Here's a great example - the teddy bear on Teddy Bear Parade. The bear looks symmetrical but if you don't flip one of them horizontally, your card will be uneven like in this screen shot:

Notice that the red bear and the white bear do not line up! So make sure you flip one of your images! 

For the carousel card, I flipped one vertically because I wanted it to open from the bottom, not from the side. When the two images touch, you'll see the Weld/Don't Weld box - just check the Weld!

And here are the teddy bears being welded together after one was flipped horizontally.

Now just cut this layer along with the other layers for the image, fold your card, adhere the layers, and embellish as you wish. Simple! Here's my finished Carousel Card:

Now try your hand at making a shaped card! It really is simple and fun to do!

You can go back to yesterday's post to see all of the shaped cards that the Design Team has created.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow to see the Wednesday's Winners for last week's challenge!

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello, it's Angie from Angie's Paper Passion again with another Quick Tip Tuesday!

Have you ever tried using the Cricut markers? They really are a lot of fun to use and here are a couple of tips to help you when using them in your Cricut machine. First, you don't need to remember what machine settings to use with your markers because they are written right on the side of each marker. So always check that and change your machine's pressure and speed before inserting the marker so you won't forget.

Second, again before inserting the marker, always place a piece of scratch paper right under the blade housing like this:

 so this will not happen to you:

(Note: I did not do this on purpose to give an example! LOL)

Now I have a permanent mark on my dear Cricut but it could be worse - I could have accidentally marked the project that I was working on! So learn from my mistake and use scratch paper!

Third, here's what you need to do if  you want to draw an image and then cut it out. After you finish your drawing and remove the marker, make sure you change your machine's settings back to the appropriate settings for cutting paper. Then DO NOT hit the UNLOAD button! Instead just hit the LOAD button again and that will take your blade back to the original starting point! If you hit the UNLOAD and then LOAD buttons, your cuts will not match up to your drawn image.

So dust off those markers (or go buy a set) and give them a try - they really are fun to use!

Here's an example of an image from the Spring Cottage cartridge:

Pretty cool, huh?

I'll be back next week with more Cricut tips. If you have a question about your Cricut machines and/or would like to see a Cricut topic here on Quick Tip Tuesday, please leave me a comment below. Thanks!

Don't forget to check back in tomorrow to see our Wednesday Winners from last weeks challenge.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello everyone and welcome to Quick Tip Tuesday! It's Angie from Angie's Paper Passion and today's tip is from my wonderful Cricut Circle Sister, Narelle, and her incredible blog, The Non-Crafty Crafter! She has a great file with every Cricut cartridge that has a font included on it with samples of each font! Here is a small example:

Just visit her blog HERE and download the Full List of carts.Then when new carts are released and Narelle updates her list, just download the Additional List for the new carts added. This is a huge help when you want to use a Cricut font and would just like to see what each of the fonts look like quickly. (Please be considerate and follow her blog if you use her list and find it helpful! Thank you!) Narelle's blog also has so much more useful and helpful information about Cricut and Cricut Craft Room! She has a list of all cartridges including digital ones and the latest version numbers of Cricut machines and software.

Thanks for visiting today and please come back tomorrow to check out our Wednesday's Winners!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello to all of my Scrappy Happy friends! It's Angie from Angie's Paper Passion with another quick tip!

I hope everyone enjoyed our Cricut Crawl that started yesterday. If you happened to miss it, click HERE to start hopping crawling to see the wonderful projects created by the Design Team. I guarantee that it will put you into the 4th of July spirit! Don't forget to join in on this week's Red, White, & Blue challenge and link your project to our blog!

Now, moving on to today's tip. You all know that you should keep your Cricut mats clean so that they will help keep your cuts nice and smooth but do you also keep your Cricut tools (the spatula and the others from the Cricut Tool Kit) clean? After using them for a while, they will also get gunky with the sticky stuff from your mats - along with tiny pieces of paper and glitter and who knows what else! Well, there's an easy solution for this.

Here is my spatula before I cleaned it today (I can not believe that I am actually showing this dirty thing to you!)

(Front & ...

Back!)

It really looks even worse in real life, I'm sad to say! So I used my good ole' UnDu to get it clean!

Now look at the results...

My spatula is like new! I love this stuff! You can use it on many things to get gunky surfaces clean. I use it on my crafting scissors all the time. If not, I'd have to buy a new pair every week because of the frequency and all the different types of adhesive that I use.

Well, I hope you will find this quick tip helpful. Don't forget to drop by tomorrow to see our Wednesday's Winners for last week's challenge!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!