The Cricut Gala and a few more projects

For anyone wondering if Provo Craft knows how to throw a party I can say, "YES! They sure do!" They rented the Louvre ballroom for the Gala and after checking everyone in we found ourselves in a room with waiters passing fancy finger foods and delicious drinks on silver trays. Of course, I headed straight for the bar... to get a bottle of water! All of that walking around CHA and to and from hotels and the bus really makes a girl thirsty! I also grabbed a beer for after I was done chugging that ice cold water... then we mixed and mingled and ate the fancy finger foods (I even had Tuna Tartar... and if you know me you know I DON'T eat RAW fish) and got a super cute airbrushed tattoo. After about an hour they opened up some doors and led us all into another room to watch a short video about the new Cricut Imagine and showed them giving a couple away to some VERY deserving individuals. I know others have the videos posted on their blogs so I'll tell you about the fun stuff! For our evening's entertainment they had artist David Garibaldi paint several portraits for everyone, including the famous Cricut himself! It was so much fun! Then after that they announced goodie bag time had come and inside each bag was a T-shirt, a pair of sunglasses and one of the brand new Cricut Cartridges (I traded so I could end up with the new Happy Hauntings one)... oh yeah, AND A CERTIFICATE FOR A NEW CRICUT IMAGINE!!!! I am sooooooo psyched to be getting one of these machine and to be one of the 1st! Woo Hoo!!!


This is me outside of the super secret Cricut Circle room at CHA. Inside they had books of cuts made with the latest super secret cartridges... lets just say some Pixar fans will be happy soon. They didn't allow any photos but they didn't say I couldn't share the news... just to be safe I won't go into details though :)


I also want to share a few more of the project ideas from the show. Sorry my photos aren't that great, I borrowed a smaller camera so I didn't have to lug my huge one around all day and the setting were... interesting... Anyway, I think this owl banner is super cute. It was hanging on the podium on the stage. You could use it at the party that you sent these invitations for....


Aren't these adorable? Makes me want to throw a "Hoot"-inanny!



I thought this project was fantastic! The colors in this photo aren't quite right, there is a greenish cast to it... but everything on this was printed and cut with the Cricut Imagine, well, except the ribbon... maybe that will be the next next big thing, a ribbon machine, LOL! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed these peeks into the newest machine. I will be posting a lot more once I get the Imagine in my hot little hands!

The Next Big Thing from Provo Craft?

Monday I received this from Provo Craft....
" we wanted to introduce you to the exciting new product being revealed and celebrated at CHA. Let’s hear a warm round of applause for Cricut Imagine, the world’s first tool that precisely prints and cuts with the touch of a button, requiring no computer or software.

With print and cut together, now and you can add color and dimension to your creative projects, bringing them to life like never before. Cricut Imagine saves you time since you no longer have to use three different tools to get designs, print, and then cut projects. The new machine helps you add more personalization and creativity to projects with a new library of content including shapes, patterns, and color. In addition, Cricut Imagine is easy to use and is built upon award-winning cutting and printing technology from Provo Craft and HP. Cricut Imagine is currently on display at the Craft & Hobby Association Summer Convention and Tradeshow in Chicago.
Cricut Imagine gives new life to all your original Cricut cartridges! Now you can add colors and patterns when pairing the original cartridges with NEW Cricut Imagine Colors and Patterns cartridges.

“Cricut Imagine is not only unique to the crafting industry, but to the world of technology. There is not another device that incorporates printing and cutting the way this machine does,” said Jim Thornton, CEO of Provo Craft. “The pairing of print and cut technology could only be done by the leaders in each category—HP and Provo Craft. We’re eager to see what our customers can now do with a simple sheet of white paper and Cricut Imagine print and cut technology.”
Cricut Imagine features include:

* Cricut Imagine cartridges are enhanced by Cricut Pattern and Cricut Color cartridges to add dimension and layering
* Cricut Imagine is fully compatible with all original Cricut cartridges.
* Compatible with Gypsy by Cricut handheld design studio
* Easy-to-use LCD touch-screen navigation so that all information is right at your fingertips
* New detachable accents to be able to personalize your machine with colors and textures
* Access to a vast new library of content and artwork: Over 150 original Cricut cartridges (with several new cartridges introduced each month), 12 new Cricut Imagine Art cartridges specifically for this new machine, plus 12 new Cricut Imagine Colors & Patterns cartridges
* On-board color and pattern selector - choose your own colors, sizes, and much more
* Works with paper sizes up to 12” x 12” and make cuts from .25” to 11.5”, making large-format print and cutting possible
* Retractable paper tray
* No computer necessary
* Uses same blades and blade housing as current Cricut products
* Uses a separate mat than original Cricut machines

Suggested retail for Cricut Imagine is $599.99."

Tuesday I got to see it in action at CHA presented by none other than Jinger herself! Keep checking my blog for more pics!

Cricut Imagine at CHA pics!

Oh my gosh! CHA was a BLAST! Saw so many exciting new products but my FAVORITE was the new Cricut Imagine from Provo Craft! I was also lucky enough to attend the gala but I'm saving those pics for tomorrow's post...

Anyway, I received the press release from Provo Craft with the details about their newest machine called the Cricut Imagine. If you want to check out the details, check the post before this one! At the show the had lots of samples of things they had made with the Imagine and I snapped lots of pictures...


This 1st photo is one of the images from the booth. It was one of my favorites and was hanging from the ceiling. Because of the size I know it wasn't actually printed on the Imagine but I wanted to show some of the cute artwork that will be on the cartridges!


This next photo is a picture of an adorable box that the image was print and cut using the Imagine. All of the layers were flattened into one image. If you want to, you can separate all of the elements and pop them up with some Pop Dots and add a TON of dimension. The reason printing your own is better than just buying a die cut is that you can print and cut this at ANY size from 1/4" up to 11 1/2"!



This is a box with all of the layering done on it. All of the patterned papers you see were made with the Imagine! When I had first walked by the booth I thought, "I wonder where they got the adorable papers to make that?" Then when I heard the presentation I was floored that every element (except the ribbon) was made with the Imagine!


Here is another great project that really shows the layering! And who doesn't love Cupcakes? From what I understood during the presentation, you can actually make these any of the colors on your cartridges or plug in the RBG values to custom co-ordinate with any of the major manufacturers papers!



This last photo is my favorite! Yes, those are stuffed dolls!!!! I met the man (yes, I said man) who made them and he laughed when I told him I LOVED those dolls! He used transfer paper to print the images on so that he would be able to have enough fabric around the images to create the dolls. Aren't they adorable???

New Pics

Wow! Have I seriously been slacking for the month of July! Well, I sort of have an excuse, I was without a video card for over a week and then we went to a family reunion in Nashville. I'm super excited because next week I'm going to CHA-Summer! I'm going to work for Kim from Cutters Creek and I will also be attending an exclusive Cricut Release party thanks to my Cricut Circle membership! I've also been working on a ton of layouts and I have a couple to share today!

Both of these layouts were made using the Scrapbook Chicks July Walk in the Park Kit. This kit is fantastic for several reasons... first, I LOVE the Echo Park papers and stickers in this kit, second I love the fun Chick Mix full of ribbons, buttons and bling that is co-ordinated to match the papers and third, the American Crafts cardstock is so nice to work with! My Cricut LOVES to cut it! If you are a two-page scrapper like me, you may want to pick up the cardstock add on for your kit. I actually used ONLY the kit for my layouts but for only $2.00 you can never have too much cardstock in your stash!


This first layout is from one of our many trips to the "Pirate Park". It's in the subdivision right across from ours and it has the most AWESOME pirate ship for the kids to play on! It is technically the toddler park making it the perfect play place for Penny (she was 2 in these photos).


I love the stickers in this kit! The alphas are adorable and I altered this label a bit. It originally said "a walk in the PARK" but I had to tweak it a bit... I also used the fun banner stickers as a border. I love all of the fun colors!


Now this layout of photos from Door County has and entirely different feel but uses the same line of papers! All of these photos came from a great little restaurant where we sat out on the patio and enjoyed the wonderful Wisconsin weather and the sounds of the lake. My food was delicious too!


I used a combination of my Cricut Make the Grade cartridge and my letter stickers from the kit for this title. I love the way it turned out! It's funny how lately I've had the feeling that no layout is complete with out a flower or at least some buttons.

Well, unless I get some photos of the fun farm layouts I've been working on lately taken today this will probably be my last post until CHA. I'm so grateful to Kim for allowing me the privilege of not only being on her fantastic Cutters Creek design team but also for inviting me to CHA!

Cutter's Creek Fairy Card

Today I have created this adorable fairy card using one of my favorite stamps sets and my much neglected Cuttlebug! I always forget how much I love the texture that it adds to my projects. So I dusted off my Cuttlebug and pulled out the folders and was inspired by the texture of the one from this Cuttlebug Plum Blossom Embossing Folders Set. I embossed a piece of 4” x 4” Core’dinations Cardstock and then sanded to reveal the green underneath. Next I stamped my fairy from the Enchanted Lily Stamp Set onto a sheet of white card stock with my Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored her using some markers from my stash as well as my favorite flesh toned Copics. I bought the flesh colors first because they are so hard to get right. The colors I used here were: E00 and E11 for the flesh and R20 for her cheeks.


After I had her colored just right I added a little bling with my favorite Sakura Jelly Roll Pen! I use it to add a little sparkle to a lot of my projects! Then I used a oval cutter and cut out my image and used the next size up to cut the frame from the reverse side of my cardstock. Then I cut a 1 ½” x 4” strip of patterned paper from the Basic Grey Origins Paper Pack. I am in LOVE with the gorgeous papers in this pack! Then I adhered it all to the card base along with that gorgeous green ribbon. Then I stamped my sentiment and added the little brackets around it by hand. Then for the finishing touch I added a few Twinkle Jewels along the side of my card with some Glue Dots.
I hope I will inspire you to dust of your Cuttlebug and play with those embossing folders!

Products Featured:
Cuttlebug Plum Blossom Embossing Folders Set
Core’dinations Cardstock
Enchanted Lily Stamp Set
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
E00
E11
R20
Sakura Jelly Roll Pen
Basic Grey Origins Paper Pack
Twinkle Jewels
Glue Dots