I'm Set To Foil!

Sometime ago my friend Rosemary acquired the Minc and since she already had a laser printer and very nice laminator she was kind enough to send me her laser printer and laminator saying she didn't need them anymore because of the Minc. I have done very little foiling because I was afraid of the cost to replace the toner cartridge in the laser printer but there have been a lot of things I have been wanting to make and incorporate the foiling process. 

If you follow me on Facebook you know I am a bargain hunter, don't even get me started on some of the Goodwill finds I have gotten! I am willing to dig for good bargains and believe me when I say this is not a euphemism. A few months ago a store called Zipp Outlet opened up not far from my house. I don't even know how to explain this store other than think of a tornado hitting an Amazon warehouse. The picture is actually not long after they opened and I have never seen it that neat in my many stops into the store. Most of the items are evidently returns from Amazon and there is no rhyme or reason to the way they stock the store, other than most grocery items are on one wall together and big items are on large shelving apparatus type things in the center of the store. Other than that, well things are thrown on shelves, not neatly I might add, or just in big boxes where you simply have to dig through to look at things. I have been in there a few times and I have found some good bargains. The store definitely challenges my OCD tendencies and I have been known to try and straighten up some of the items on the shelves. 

They have had quite of few of laser printer toner cartridges for around $4.00 and I kept meaning to check my laser printer that is used for foiling with a laminator to see if I could find some cartridges for my printer. I finally remembered to write down my printer, which is an HP P1102w, so I could see if they by chance had any that would work with my printer. Another thing you probably dont know about me is that I am willing to sit in the floor of stores and dig at stuff to see what I could find, which is exactly what I did today.

When I got there and looked around I saw the sign that they had put the cartridges on sale. OH EM GEE!! I couldn't believe they were this cheap so that made me more determined to find one to fit my printer. I spent quite a bit of time sitting on the floor going through what they had, sorting and stacking neatly as I went along, keeping my eyes peeled for the magical letter and number combination. I wasn't having much luck until BINGO!

I was thrilled to find a cartridge that fit my laser printer and that made me even more determined to find another so I could get one free. As luck would have it, or determination we are going to say in this case, I was able to find 3 more with my tenacious digging! They look to be all different manufacturers and that is okay. Heck it's even okay if they don't print a whole lot because at less than $1.50 each I will be thrilled if I can even do a little printing off them. 

Now I will just need to find another great deal on the foil, different colors of course, and I will be all set to foil until my hearts content!

You're Never Too Old To...

For quite a few years now I had been putting cheap boxes of Revlon Golden Blonde on my hair as it lightened my natural color and colored my gray hair blonde. The bad thing is that the blonding was killing my hair and making it much like straw. About a year and a half ago I started using semi-permanent coloring in light browns on my hair because I figured it wouldn't be as harsh. Then a few months ago I decided to stop coloring my hair and try and go with my natural color *okie tries to remember exactly what her natural hair color use to be* which is a lot of gray these days. I just keep thinking about the Indian women, not the Indian from India kind of Indian but the Indians from Oklahoma kinda Indians, I have seen during my life who have white hair and how gorgeous it makes them look and I wanna be gorgeous like that. Hey so what if I have to wait until 50 to be gorgeous...I'll take it! 

Evidently I am never one to keep up with the latest and greatest trends because the other day when I was walking into the kitchen area at school I was questioned by a few of the students. The conversation went something like this...

Girl 1: "did you dye your hair?"
Me: *thinking the girl was being a total smart ass* "No! I haven't dyed my hair in awhile."
Girl 2: "It looks like you did"
Me: *with one eyebrow raised* "Seriously? Now how does it even look like I dyed my hair?"
Girl 1: (several of the students now laughing) "Did you dye it silver?"
Me: "What? No! Who dyes their hair silver?"
Girl 2: "Haven't you seen those people dying their hair silver"
Girl 1: "Yeah, everyone is dying their hair silver now!"
Me: *with a shocked look on my face* "REALLYYYY?"
Girls: "YEESSS!!!"
Me: *blinking in astonishment* "This is my natural color coming in. I stopped dying my hair a few months back. I'm old and have gray hair, I'm waiting for it all to turn gray!"
Girl 1: "Well it looks really good!"
Me: *with some apprehension* "Uhhhh...thank you?"

I Googled about silver hair and sure enough I guess it is a bit of a trend and there were a lot of pictures of people who have dyed their hair silver. I never would have guess that I would become a fashionable person at the age of 50! I guess the old saying of "you're never too old to..." just might be true!

I Am Lottery Stupid!

With all the hype of the huge 1.5 billion jackpot and at the urging of BFF Carmen I decided to buy a lottery ticket and I quickly found out that I am lottery stupid!

First off the little convenience store was full of people, which it never is that full, so I knew people must be buying tickets and I figured I would just watch and see what they did to make my buying a lottery ticket an easier experience. I quickly learned that I could not watch that many people and listen to what they were saying to the two cashiers and figure out how to purchase a lottery ticket. I stood there more confused than ever!

When it was my turn in line, with still about 8 people behind me, the cashier asked if I wanted to pick my own numbers and I said "NOOOOO! If I do that I will be here when the store closes and I will have missed the drawing because I have no idea what numbers to pick" and everyone in the store laughed at me. I told her I never bought lottery tickets and she said "so you want to do the quick pick?". Of course I had to ask what that was and she told me that the machine picks the numbers. After glancing over my shoulder to see if the folks behind me were ready to cause a riot because I was taking so long I turned back to the cashier and with an exasperated look on my face told her "that would be a lot quicker".

Well then came the question "so which one do you want to play? Do you want the powerball or do you want the multiplier, but if you get the multiplier it probably doesn't really mean much for tonight's drawing" and she went on to explain something about paying 10x or double or some shit like that. Looking at her like she has 3 heads told her "I have no idea, I just know I am suppose to spend $3 a ticket and just give me $15 worth of numbers". Smiling, more like giggling at me, she then went on to tell me something about lines and pointed to some pictures on the counter about a multiplier and I was like "uh huh" and then repeated "I wanted to spend $15", again came the laughter. 

After walking over behind another counter she came back with a piece of paper and I thought to myself that it didn't look much like a ticket *okie was picture a ticket like for a raffle drawing* but I didn't dare say anything because I figured all those folks had laughed at me enough for one night. I quickly paid her for the piece of paper and thought to myself I should have just went to the liquor store and kicked in another 10 bucks for a nice box of wine because I would probably get more enjoyment out of it and it would last longer than that piece of paper will. I quickly shoved the paper in my wallet and as I walked out of the store the guys behind me all hollered "good luck" I just waved behind me without looking because I didn't want to see them laughing at me again.

When I got home I called BFF Carmen and told her that I was mad at her because she never taught me how to play the lottery to which she responded "Girl I don't know either!". I shared my experience with Carmen and she laughed at me too. I am thinking the next time she tells me to buy lottery tickets I will just tell her I bought the damn tickets and instead go for the box of wine!

Chalkboard Project with Vinyl, Cricut Vinyl!

Well I finally made something for myself and I think I really like it!

I got this chalkboard a few months ago at Goodwill and kept wanting to do something with it but instead of just drawing with chalk I thought I would do vinyl. I finally got around to it yesterday and decided to use some Cricut Vinyl and do a quote on the chalkboard. 

I found a quote but the problem was trying to get it to fit within the bounds of the red. I didn't want it too small because I thought it might look funny but I didn't want to make it too big and have it not fit within the curves. My solution? To put it on the floor and take a picture of it!

Of course after I did that I needed to load the picture into MTC and do a trace. I didn't need a perfect clean cut image, just the basic shape so I could enlarge it to the same size as the board and then I could find out what size I needed to do the quote. Of course me being me I did end up cleaning up the edges a bit just because I could stand all the jagged edges from the black lines. As you can see in the picture all the lines are not clean and neat though so I didn't go overboard *okie is proud of herself for not wasting hours making clean edges on something that wouldn't be cut*. I was able to measure the original and then set the size on my image making it easier to set the size of my quote.

Since the quote ended up being more than 12 inches wide I had to split the quote in two so I could cut it. In order to get it placed correctly for application I put it back on the mat after weeding so I could line it up how I had originally designed it. 

I have heard a lot of negative about the Cricut vinyl but I have to say for this project it really worked out great. I did notice that it is a bit more crisp than the Oracle vinyl which makes it more fragile during the weeding process and one of my letters did tear a bit. Had I been doing this for someone else I would have recut the letter but since it was just for me I used it anyway and you really can't tell where it tore now that it is up on the wall. I certainly wouldn't use this vinyl for permanent applications but for wall quotes or items like a chalkboard I think it is fine since it will be easy to remove if I decide to put something different on my chalkboard at a later time.

I opted to use the paper transfer tape instead of the clear transfer tape I usually use since it is less tacky and I knew it would release from the chalkboard easier. I worked in sections from bottom to top, going horizontal to apply the transfer tape to the vinyl, over lapping the transfer tape on each layer. 

I was worried at first about being able to see through the paper transfer tape and getting the quote lined up correctly but since the background was red it was really easy to see and get it down okay.

Since the Cricut Vinyl is not as tacky as the Orcale or Avery vinyl I am use to working with I used a brayer to help the vinyl adhere to the board better.  For removal I just worked backwards, from top to bottom to remove the tape. This method allowed me to save some of the transfer tape for later use. I didn't get to save it all because I was not paying attention and some of the taped curled and stuck to itself and I didn't feel like fighting it to straighten it out. 

And here is the finished project! I know there are probably some great quotes out there but since this was going in my kitchen and this is pretty much how I feel about kitchens I thought it was perfect! When I showed it to my daughter she cracked up laughing and I think she probably agreed with it.

I do like the idea of the Cricut vinyl being less tacky and leaving me the option to do something else with the board later on. I have to admit it wasn't as horrid as I thought it would be and I think it works great for some applications such as what I mentioned earlier. I will have to try something more detailed later on and see how it works as this was large and there were no problems cutting or weeding the vinyl. 

I have several colors of the Cricut vinyl and I might have to try some wall quotes to see how well it works for applying to walls or doors. 

I Figured Out My Problem!

I have been wondering for quite some time now why I haven't been crafting much, well almost like none and after conversations with BFF Carmen and BFF Karen I got it figured out! My problem is that I was always crafting something because I needed prizes for my Christmas party and since I don't have a Christmas party anymore I am without a driving motivation to get chit done.

With this revelation of mine I have decided I need a driving motivation to craft all the time and the only thing I can ever think of is prizes. I loved having my Christmas party and it really was a year long labor of love for a few hours of fun and time with friends. It's a lot of work to get ready for the party and I kept wondering if it was all worth it. I always questioned if the prizes were good enough and if everyone understood just how much love I poured into each detail of the party, from personalized goody bags to every card in the card package prizes. I think maybe I got burned out on it but now I am thinking it is time to gear up and plan one for this year.

I am convinced I do better with crafting more when I have a motivator. Making prizes is a wonderful motivator...at least for me!

The Angel Tree Christmas Story

Every Christmas I share this story and I thought I would post it a little earlier than Christmas day this year. This story actually reminded me of what a good heart my child had when she was going through some difficult times and gave me hope that God would lead her back to her good heart. I am proud to say she made it through her dark years and now is in possession of this giving heart once again. 

THE ANGEL TREE CHRISTMAS STORY

When my daughter turned 8 years old she had gotten birthday money from relatives,  probably a total of about $40. We went to Wal-Mart so she could spend her birthday money. I had decided we would go to McDonalds to get a bite to eat first. There was an Angel Tree in front of the McDonalds there in Walmart.

My daughter asked what it was and I explained to her that it was for children whose parents couldn't afford to buy them Christmas gifts. I told her let's go eat and she continued to look at the names on the tree.

She grabbed my hand and said "Mom look, this little girl only wants some clothes and a barbie doll". I think she thought it impossible that a child would want mostly clothes.

I looked and noticed the only toy on there was a Barbie, I think the child's age was about 5.

My daughter looked up at me with pleading eyes and said "Moma would it be okay if I spent my birthday money on this angel?"

I couldn't speak as a piercing warmth shot through my heart. I was fighting tears, as I am now remembering this moment. My daughter looked at me and said "I won't Moma if you are gonna be upset". I told her "hang on a minute" while I continued to fight back the tears and choked to find the words I wanted to say. I knew I would just bust out crying if I said much more. After a few moments and a couple of deep breaths I composed myself I told her "baby if you want to spend your birthday money on this little angel then I will match you dollar for dollar".

We went to eat and my daughter kept looking over the list of items from the angel she had pulled off the tree. After we got done she was so excited to go and buy for this little girl. I did as I promised and  matched dollar for dollar, plus another $20 because daughter thought the little girl needed some things to go with her barbie doll that she picked out for the little girl. My daughter even said "you don't have to buy me anymore gifts Mom, just spend it on her. Santa will bring me stuff anyway".

We got the shopping done and took it to Customer Service where my daughter informed the lady to "make sure it is wrapped pretty". My daughter spent every last dime of her birthday money that day on someone else.

I can honestly say that on that day I had never been more proud of my child and still am to this day for her unselfish act of giving up her birthday money to make sure some little girl got her Christmas wishes.

Cricut Explore One Winner!!!

It's time! It's time! It's time to announce the winner of the Cricut Explore One!!

Giveaways can sometimes be a bit time consuming when there are a large amount of entries. I had said any duplicate entries would be deleted and there were quite a few duplicates. One person even went in and entered like 3 or 4 times with different names but I knew because the picture was the same woman on the entries, needless to say those got deleted. I also had to go through and delete any "anonymous" comments because there would be no way to find the person that made the post.

I had shared a link to the post with several Facebook groups and said to click the link, which of course would go directly to the post of the giveaway, and leave a comment in the comment section. Evidently that wasn't quite clear enough because people left their comment of what they would make if they won in the Facebook post.

At this point I'm not quite sure how to word things to make it easier for people to enter a giveaway and I guess at this point it doesn't matter on this giveaway now does it! *okie cracks up laughing*

So anyway after spending all that time weeding out duplicate entries and the ones where I wouldn't be able to get a hold of the winner I ended up with 481 valid entries. I went to Random.org and used the number generator and the winning number was....

Yeah 3!! After all that the number it picked was 3!!!  I was totally like "WTH???"

I literally spent a few hours going through all the comments only to have the dang number generator pick number 3! I could have just saved all that time and not went through all the comments, but then again it probably would have been a different number.






Oh and the person who made the 3rd comment was...


CONGRATS TO THE WINNER! Please contact me with your information so your machine can be shipped to you!!

Cricut Explore One Giveaway!

So did you miss out and getting the Explore One on Black Friday? Did you stand in line only to get to where the machines were and they were sold out? Did you spend all your money on gifts for others instead of buying for yourself? Are you afraid no one understands how much it would mean for you to get an Explore One so you can indulge in your beloved hobby? Did you miss out on winning the Explore Air I just gave away?

Well fear not because here is your chance to be the proud owner of a Cricut Explore One that was featured in the Walmart Black Friday ad! Okay so not that exact machine in the ad because Walmart wouldn't let me have that one to giveaway but one just like it.




Why am I giving away another machine you ask? Well because I want to! So stop asking so many questions and start answering the question that is required for this giveaway!


Rules:
1. One entry per person, duplicate entries will be deleted (I have to approve all comments so your comment might not show up immediately).
2. Comment entries must be submitted no later than Midnight Wednesday December 2nd, 2015 central time.
3.  Answer this question "What would you make with the Cricut Explore One?" in the comment section of this post.

The winner will be announced either Thursday December 3rd or Friday December 4th, depending on my work schedule.

Cricut Explore Air Winner!!

After going through and reading every comment 5 times to make sure I weeded out any entries that didn't answer all 5 questions correctly, remember that was one of the requirements, and deleting duplicate entries *okie truly appreciates the ones who stated "my other comment didn't go through" or "I think I accidentally entered twice"* I was able to get a winner for the Explore Air!


I used Random Org to generate a winner number from all the valid entries and the winning number was...

I numbered each of the valid entries before using the Random Number Generator and the winner is...

Congrats tpthatsme! CONTACT me with your personal information so I can have the prize shipped to you!

My New Tablet - Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 lite

So there are a lot of people who are estatic over the whole Cricut Design Space App for the Ipad and Iphone. I, however, am not one of them. Why? Because I am an Android girl. I owned an Iphone 3 for a period of time and didn't like it. I was an Android owner before that and then after. My last 3 phones have been Samsung Galaxy phones and I have to say I LOVE THEM! I currently own the Samsung Galaxy 5. So ya see the app for the I products just didn't phase me one bit.

But wait...they announced an app for an Android? *insert Minion voice here* WOOT??!! Cricut Design Space for Android?? Oh well that is nice but how am I suppose to see on my little phone screen on what I am trying to do? My tablet is a Kindle Fire, which if you didn't know runs it's own OS (ie operating system), and is not compatible with the Android App of Cricut Design Space, and I know this information to be true because I got it from a very reliable source who I am sure was getting a headache trying to explain to me why the app wouldn't work on a Kindle. I had been shopping for a new Kindle since mine is starting to try and poop out on me and have been researching which one I would like to have for over a week. In the mean time I saw that Walmart had a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 lite in their BF ad and I was mildly interested just knowing it was Android.

Thursday evening my cousins and I decided to head out to Walmart in Seminole *okie wonders if people have ever even heard of Seminole Oklahoma* to see if we could get a few things from the ad. The store was busy but was nothing like my Walmart in Ada on Black Friday. I didn't even see one fight in that store *okie remembers the fist fight and the cops being called over some Paula Deen cookware a few years ago*. People weren't even push each other out of the way. I digress, let me get back to our trip. We picked up a few things and I told my cousins I was going to see if they had any of the Samsung Tablets, thinking I could check it out more while we were in the very long line waiting to check out. I finally found out where the Samsung tablets were located and when I got to the spot there was a worker sitting on a pallet of water that was covered with a board protecting the Ipad and Samsung tablets that were left. I looked down and there were only 2 Samsung Tablets and she promptly handed me one when I asked and then behind me was a man that got the other one. I figured it must be fate. 

The operation of the tablet is almost exactly like my phone so there isn't a difficult learning curve for me right now. The display is good, not HD, but still as good if not better than my Kindle Fire. It runs Netflix which I do use a lot on my Fire and I was able to download the Kindle Reader App and figure out how to work it easily enough. I don't think I am going to regret my jump from a Kindle Fire to a Samsung Tablet. Now whether or not I like Cricut Design Space on the Samsung Tablet will be a whole different experience. For those who don't know I hated the Gypsy so lets hope this goes a little better!

Happy Thanksgiving - Turkey File

Just a quick note to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! The kids and I are going to Seminole to spend the day with my Aunt Betty and her family. Not sure if Shiane and I will do any shopping tonight or not, we still have to look through the ad. 

I just wanted to share this file that I made last night because I know people will be doing some Thanksgiving layouts. I think I will use him for the layout I do for this years Thanksgiving. 

Don't forget there are still 2 more days to enter the giveaway for the Cricut Explore Air!

Grinch Project - Repost

This was a project I made last year when I was reviewing the Cricut Explore while using vinyl.

I actually used the finished project for a dirty Santa gift at school and the girl who ended up with it loved it. The following post was the original post and has the download file available at the bottom of the post. 

Since Christmas is coming up I thought it was worth reposting now in case anyone missed getting this file last year. 

ORIGINAL GRINCH POST:

So last night I was going to work with some vinyl on the Explore for my next review and wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I looked through my files and started playing with a Grinch file and a quote file I had and came up with a new file. I posted it in the Design Space Facebook group to see if it could be read and my friend Jackie pointed out that one word was hard to read so I went back and edited the file and it did work a lot better! THANKS JACKIE!

A few people said they would pay for the file and I had to giggle to myself because obviously I guess there are a lot of folks out there that don't know I very, very, very rarely charge for files I make! Anyway I thought about charging but then quickly decided to make this file free as my Christmas gift to my readers! So many of you guys and gals have been with me for over the years and have shown such loyalty even when I was on my hiatus from crafting that I thought I should show my appreciation! You really have no idea how much it means to me to have people stick with me even when I was gone for months and months!

I did import the SVG file into Design Space, it imported just fine so it should be ready to use once you download the file and then upload into the program and of course as always I have the MTC file available as well.

So to all of you MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME TO YOU! And thank you so much for always being there to read all my dribble even when I have no files or projects to offer.

Celebration Giveaway!!!!

So yesterday I finished my series of comparison posts and to celebrate I am going to do a giveaway. I am feeling a bit generous and after much contemplation about what to giveaway I have decided to give away....

Go ahead and do a double take...yes that is a picture of a Cricut Explore Air!

Why am I giving away a Cricut Explore Air? Well simply because I believe in the Explore. I love this machine. I think this is the best cutting machine on the market at this time. So yep, that is why. 

Usually when I do a giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment but this time you are gonna have to work for it a little bit, just because I feel like being a little mean *okie gives a little evil laugh*. Okay, seriously I just want to make sure who ever wins is someone who reads my posts and isn't just coming here to enter a giveaway.

Rules:

1. Enter only once, remember I have to approve comments so your comment might not show up immediately, be patient as I will approve comments periodically as my time permits.

2. Comment entries must be submitted no later than Midnight Friday Novemember 27th, 2015.

3.  Answer each of the following questions correctly.

• 1. In the Cricut Explore VS. Cricut (baby bug) post what was the image in the screen shot?
• 2. In the Cricut Explore VS. Expression post what did I say was unnecessary to me on the Expression?
• 3. In the Cricut Explore VS. Expression 2 post where did I say the 2nd E2 I owned came from?
• 4. In the Cricut Explore VS. Cricut Mini post who did I say I donated the Mini to?
• 5. In the Cricut Explore VS. Pazzles post where did I say the Explore beat the Pazzles hands down?

The winner will be announced Saturday November 28th. Good luck everyone!!!

Cricut Explore VS. Pazzles

I am actually dreading this versus post...it is almost making feel like some kind of traitor but in the fairness of versus posts I have been doing and me being a person of honest opinions I am begrudgingly writing a comparison post. 

After my DIVORCE from Provocraft almost 3 years ago I started looking at other machines, ones that I felt could cut a little better, heavier material, and allowed me to have more creative abilities with making my own design files and after looking into several different ones I had decided on the Pazzles. I knew it would work with Make The Cut and had heard wonderful reviews. As fate would have it there was a long time reader that wanted to gift me her Pazzles because it was in storage not being used and she wanted me to have it *okie knows she has been very blessed in the crafting sector of her life over the years*. Once I got it set up and started using it I did notice it cut more intricate details than what the Expression would cut and I was in love. The Pazzles was good at cutting most things perfectly but there were still some issues with certain papers and materials. 

One area where the Explore has the Pazzles beat hands down is the settings. With the Pazzles there are literally hundreds of settings you can use and it was always hard for me to remember what settings to use with what materials since one little setting off would work for one cardstock or material and not the next. The pressure range alone went from 0-50. I did come up with a method to keep them straight by having little tags with settings written on them. Of course I thought this was wonderful but it was also a pain in the arse to have to look up a tag when I couldn't remember off hand what settings to use. 

With the Explore all I have to do is turn the dial or use the custom settings options when I get ready to cut, nothing to pull out and go through, nothing to remember...just turn the dial or use custom settings and POOF, perfect cuts every time. Yes, I mean every time! Okay it did mess up a time or two but it wasn't the Explore's fault but my own for not paying attention and changing the setting from my previous cutting *okie remembers how pissed she was when she first reviewed the Explore and wanted so much for it to cut things wrong and it wouldn't*. This is a total time saver when I'm crafting and one less thing to worry about. 

The Pazzles produces about the same amount of sound as the Expression did when cutting so it is quite a bit louder than the Explore, and if you aren't familiar with the level of sound just know that sometimes it seemed like it was loud enough to wake a sleeping baby. There was no sneaking to use your machine with the Pazzles. 

When I reviewed the Explore for the first time one of the things I cut was vellum and it cut perfectly. I did try cutting vellum with the Pazzles but never had good luck with anything intricate and even with larger things it seemed to rip the vellum rather than cutting it. There were a few cardstocks the Pazzles had difficulty cutting as well, mostly the cheaper ones and when I tried cutting the same cardstocks with the Explore I had no problems *okie wonders if people really understand how hard she tried to get the Explore to mess up cutting different materials*. 

Okay, so far I have said the Explore is easier to get correct settings and that it cuts better than the Pazzles but now I want to talk about the downfall where the Pazzles beats the Explore. It is no secret to anyone that I love Make the Cut and have been using it for a few years now and even sold off my cartridges because I didn't have a need for them anymore and the one thing I loved about my Pazzles was that I could connect MTC directly to my Pazzles for cutting. With MTC there is no need for an internet connection and the program has a lot more features than what the Cricut Design Space program has...A LOT MORE! So POOF there ya go...Pazzles over Explore!

But wait...now let me tell you where I messed up! Pazzles came out with the Pazzles Vue about the same time that Provocraft came out with the Cricut Explore. Both had a lot of the same features including print and cut but I already had a bad taste in my mouth about Provocraft and there was no way I was going to consider the Explore so the Pazzles Vue was coming to my house! All of this was happening during a time where I wasn't doing much crafting and I wasn't keeping on top of all the latest and greatest of things. I did however go ahead and order the Vue feeling fully confident that the developers at MTC would make the plugin for the Vue. My confidence faded over time and now I am quite confident it will never happen. I do have the Pazzles software but have no idea how to use it. I opened a few times and stared at the screen with a WTF look on my face and then would close it. I even tried watching a video or two and with my impatient nature *okie wonders who all remmbers that her motto is "I just wanna make chit"* it just never worked out for me. 

*okie takes a deep breath and can't believe she is going to say what she is about to say* I have to say that when I did spend a few minutes with Cricut Design Space I found it quite easy to upload my SVG files I made in MTC and then cut the files. It was much less complicated than trying to use the Pazzles software. 

The Explore beats the Pazzles due to being able to cut more accurately and setting the machine is much more simple but the Pazzles is better because I could use it with a program that doesn't require an internet connection and has a lot more features. The Explore beats the Pazzles Vue because I don't know how to use the Pazzles Software and I can't connect the machine to MTC.

So in a final note it's the Explore over both Pazzle machines for me due to the following:

1. Simple settings

2. Cleaner, more accurate cuts

3. Easy of uploading SVG designs I make in Make the Cut

4. Quieter performance

5. Not as bulky

6. Machine closes for self containment

7. Bluetooth capabilities

There are probably a few more reasons that are escaping my brain at this moment. When anyone asks me what machine I recommend I tell them the Explore and give them the reasons I love the Explore, but I also tell them they only drawback I have about the Explore is the dependency of an internet connection. 

So there ya go folks...I have finished my series of Explore VS. every other machine I have owned and yep Explore wins over them all. Now with that said make sure you come back tomorrow because to celebrate I think I will do a giveaway of some sort!

Cricut Explore VS. Cricut Mini

Okay there really isn't even a comparison here...seriously! But since I did own a Cricut Mini I am gonna discuss it anyway *okie is wondering just how short this versus post will be*. I acquired the Cricut Mini on the second Cricut Cruise I went on and it was something I never considered buying. 

I really didn't get the concept of the machine and maybe it was because I really loved my Expression and being able to cut 12x12. I know some people were excited about the size of the machine because they felt it would be easier to take to crops and such but if I remember correctly it was difficult for a lot of people due to the requirement of having to be connected to the internet to use it and not all venue's had internet capabilities. 

Now I will say the Mini did cut great and it was more quiet than the Expressions when cutting. I know it even cut glitter paper quite well. The small size of the machine was nice and it was easy to store. After using it a few times I put it away and went back to my Expression. I ended up donating the Mini and the mats to a school teacher I know.

As for comparing it to the Explore, like I said earlier, there is really nothing to compare...EXPLORE WINS. I guess I can say the Explore wins because of the superior cutting abilities, the quietness of the machine while cutting, ability to cut 12x12 material, cutting a wider variety of materials and yada yada yada. And even though I hate to admit it the Cricut Design Space program is easier to use than the Cricut Craftroom program and so far I haven't had as much problem with the internet connection as I did with Cricut Craftroom but that maybe due to me only using Design Space for cutting and not designing. 

Cricut Explore VS. Expression 2

Sorry for the delay on this versus, I had some life stuff that had to be taken care of *okie figures cleaning house is considered life stuff* and didn't have time to sit down and type out the post.

I remember all the excitement at the launch of the Expression 2, which will now be referred to as the E2 for the remainder of this post, and how there were a lot of people upset after purchasing because they felt the "exclusive" machine they bought from HSN should  not have been sold again and I even made a POST about my thoughts on the matter. I was not one of the ones who jumped on the bandwagon to buy one because I was happy with my Expression and didn't want to put out the money for another machine. I did however end up with two E2's. The first of the E2's I acquired was one of the gifts on the Cricut Cruise and the other was won from the HSN contest and I had submitted a few layouts and they chose one of my layouts as a winner. 

I liked the idea of the E2 and I did use it a few times but man oh man was it a pain! I couldn't use Design Studio with the E2 and of course the tiny screen on the machine was impossible for me to see to be able to do anything. The process that I had to use was as follows...

1. Design using Design Studio

2. Save the file

3. Close the file

4. Open the file and save as a Gypsy file

5. Upload the file to the Gypsy

6. Hook up the Gypsy to the E2 and cut my design.

I know Cricut Craftroom was available and yes it probably would have been less time consuming than using my Gypsy but I hated that program. For me it was glitchy and never ran smoothly and I only tried it a few times. 

The cutting abilities of the E2 was comparable to the Expression from what I remember. I don't think it really cut any better and it didn't cut any worse. I know a lot of people who loved the E2...I was just okay with it. 

With the Explore I still can't use Design Studio, which would be silly anyway since that program is now a dinosaur but I can't use the Explore directly with Make The Cut so I have the following process...

1. Design in MTC

2. Export design as SVG

3. Upload SVG into Design Space

4. Cut the design

So while there is a process for me to cut with the Explore it is a lot less time consuming than using the Gypsy or the glitchy Cricut Craftroom software. So far I haven't had any problems with using the Cricut Design Space with the method I am using and I love having the ability to design offline with MTC and then just using CDS for my cutting. I never use cartridges anymore and haven't for about 3 years now and my design abilities are only limited by my imagination and I love not having to depend on cartridges for images.  

Once again the Explore wins over the E2, but then again the Expression would win over the E2 in my book. 

Cricut Explore vs. Cricut Expression

My second Cricut was the Expression. I didn't think I needed the Expression since I was completely happy with my baby bug and at the time I really couldn't afford to put the money out for an Expression. Back in the days of the Cricut Messageboard there were so many generous people and one of the members made it her goal to have me own an Expression machine and to keep things short about that in this post you can read about how I came to own the Expression >HERE<.

Anyway the purpose of this post is for me to think about how the Explore compares to the Expression. First off I have to say that the Explore does seem to be better built than the first Expression machines. The first one I had wouldn't cut nice scallops and I actually ended up going through about 3 machines before I got one that would cut some scallop circles half way decent. Another thing that happened with the first Expression I had was that it BROKE and I do mean BROKE. A replacement was quickly sent and I was back in business.

The Explore blade holder is made in such a manner that it is faster and easier to get the blade housing out of the machine. Instead of a screw that tightens the blade housing in there is a latch that opens and closes. As you can see in the pictures the way the holder on the Explore is manufactured the blade housing is more stable due to the length of the holder.  

I never knew what all the buttons were for on the Cricut machines since I never used them without either using Design Studio or Make the Cut. I did try one time...it was a disaster. I do like the sleek design of the Explore better than the Expression and it doesn't seem to be as large, well as tall anyway and there aren't all those unnecessary buttons, well unnecessary to me anyway.  

The cuts between the machines are non comparable as there were many things the Expression seemed to have difficulty cutting. There were many cardstocks and papers that the Expressions would shred when trying to cut and I have no idea what those techno head designers of the Explore did to make the machine cut so well but I'm just glad they did! I have only found one piece of cardstock that seemed to have problems and I might have actually had the settings wrong at the time. 

Now about the settings...EXPLORE WINS! Although I am still not a fan of Cricut Design Space I do love the little feature of "custom" settings and the list of materials available in the program. With the Expression there were the dials that had to be set, blade depth, cutting speed, etc and it was a guessing game a lot of times because one time you would cut with a certain setting and it would be great then the next time there might be problems. The Explore is consistent with the cutting. I am beginning to think there are little beings in the machine that make sure it cuts correctly and cleanly every time because I can think of no other reason for the invariable cuts.

I honestly believe that if anyone liked the Expression they would LOVE the Explore. Well of course there will be those few disgruntled, for what ever reason, people who will not like the Explore but if they are honest with themselves I don't think they will find fault in the machine and it's cutting capability but only find fault with having problems with the software that has to be used with the Explore. 

Oh and if ya haven't noticed I am going down the line of the machine's I've had over the years and comparing them to Explore so expect a few more versus posts because I owned a few more than just the baby bug and the Expression.

If you guys are really good and pay attention I might even have a little surprise at the end of my series of versus posts so PAY ATTENTION AND KEEP COMING BACK! 

Cricut Explore vs. Cricut (Baby Bug)

Years ago when I started using machines I started out with the Cricut, the orginal one, the one we often refer to as "baby bug". Oh how I loved that little machine! I got it just so I could cut letters for my scrapbook titles...yep that was it, the only reason. I soon found out how much more it could cut, well within the bounds of cartridges that were available and I was totally hooked. I also learned that by using Design Studio I could weld and manipulate shapes into making things that weren't available on cartridges. I spent HOURS making new designs, anything from animals to vehicles to ballerina shoes. 

At the time I had two cats that I loved and adored and they loved it when I would start cutting paper. They would jump on the table and watch as the mat went in and out of the machine. I even did a layout of them and this picture because it was something I wanted to always remember. 

I don't have the screenshots of all the designs I use to do to use with the baby bug but here is a screenshot I found of the ballerina slipper I made. The image was made with what was available on the George cartridge that came with the machine. I used George for almost all my first designs because it was what I had and what others had at the time. 

The baby bug was a workhorse and I have always said I thought it was the moresolidly built than any of the other Cricut machines. Of course the drawback with the original Cricut was the limitation of the mat size, it was 6x12 and there were just some things, such as envelopes that couldn't be cut in one piece. 

How does the original Cricut compare to the Explore? Well they are both solid machines and can handle a lot of cutting but the Explore does cut more accurately, can cut larger materials and a wider variety materials. All in all it probably isn't truly fair to compare the machines since the baby bug is the grandfather of the Cricuts and the Explore is the high tech grandchild. But when I think about it I guess if there hadn't been a Cricut all those years ago there wouldn't be an Explore now. 

3 Flower Card Challenge Projects

Sometime ago I use to post card and layout challenges and a lot of people always wanted me to post them and wanted to participate but then when the time came only a few participated and then it got to where no one participated so I stopped taking the time to make a design, make a post, etc etc etc and it looks like this might be my last card challenge. Since I did have a few people participate in the last card challenge but thought I would get the pictures of the cards up that were posted or sent to me.

My friend Avra made two cards for this challenge. I like how she used some of the Stampin Up flower punches in place of the flowers in the file. I have the same punches and they are some of my favorites. The "hello" is also from Stampin Up if I remember correctly.  

On the second card Avra made she took a Christmas spin on the design and used snowflakes in place of the flowers. I really love the look she got with all the different patterned paper. 

This card was done by my friend Kathy and when she posted hers I hadn't finished mine yet and I thought about not finishing it because I didn't want to post mine along with hers! I love all the colors in Kathy's card and the embellishments are just gorgeous. 

For my card I used Graphic 45 Le Cirque papers. I used the flowers from the file and like how the turned out. I curled the petals a little to give them a little dimension. As I was laying the card all out after getting the base pieces done I thought "Oh dear God this thing looks like a crayon factory exploded!" Once I got done and had the large white piece for the sentiment in place I felt better about the card. 

I'm not sure if and when I will post another card challenge. It's getting close to the holidays and I have some other things I need to work on and might not have time to do some designs. 

Cricut Explore One - Black Friday

If you are wanting to get an Explore and can be satisfied with the Explore One then ya might want to jump on the deal that Walmart is having! This was just posted today!

It's a great price for a great machine! If later on you decide you want to go wireless you can always get the bluetooth adapter separately. It does seem to come with the ablity to use pens if you want by using the accessory adapter that is included. 

Card Challenge - 3 Flower Card

I am going to admit that I really don't know what to call the card challenges and I absolutely don't know what to call the card designs that I am posting so if the title sounds weird forgive me. 

This weeks challenge is a 3 flower card. And since people seem so curious as to where I am getting my designs I will tell you...I see something, trace it, make a file out of it. As for the ideas for the designs I get those from various locations and by the time I adjust tweak and save I honestly can't remember where the original idea came from so it's not that I am trying to cheat anyone, it's just that I have too many squirrels. 

The following are to be used:

- Basic design of card (layer shadow optional)

- Oval frame

- 3 flowers, more if you want

- Leaves, amount of leaves are up to you
- Feel free to add other embellishments

The oval can contain a stamped or cut out sentiment. I left it large enough so a cut out sentiment can be used. 

Cards will need to be completed by midnight Thursday November 12th. If anyone would like to send a picture of their card to me to post just send it to me by EMAIL and I'll be glad to post your project. 

SVG users if you are importing into Cricut Design Space you will need to select all and resize to 4.25" x 5.5" to keep ratio that is show in the picture.

Bee Card Challenge Projects

So I'm a little late getting the cards posted but I've had a really busy week. It seems my life is always busy these days and I'm not really sure what I do to stay busy *okie stops and tries to think of what she is accomplishing in her busy life and can think of nothing...absolutely nothing*. 

I had posted the Bee Card Challenge here and in my Facebook group Old Cricut Community to see if anyone wanted to join BFF Carmen and I for the challenge and I did have a few send me pictures or post them in the Facebook group. 

I'll start off with my card. I added some Glossy Accents in the honeycomb to give it a wet look and then added some Fiskars Zings to make it look like honey dripping off the honeycomb. For the wings I did a layer of mica and then a layer of translucent drew on some veins with a Stardust pen. 

I went with a simple sentiment I cut out and left the inside blank so it can be used for about any purpose. 

This card was made by Avra Williams. Avra is part of the OCC group and has been a Cricut friend for years, we met on the Cricut Messageboard years ago. 

I love how Avra made a "trail" behind the bees for their flight pattern. 

BFF Carmen made this card and she said it was a pain to glue all the little letters and I am sure it was but it is so nice! The inside of the card says "great friends are we". 

Linda Guild made two different cards for the challenge, both punny cards. She said she is counting the donut as the half circle in the design. 

Linda loves minions and I bet this idea came to her as soon as she saw the card!

The last card was made by Maureen Sala. She saw the challenge here and decided to join in. She said she downloaded the SVG and opened it in her Explore just fine. Maureen also said "I usually do bright colors, so this card was a change for me.  Pop dotted the bee - it turned out fantastic."  I love the paterns she used and the sentiment.  

I'll get a new challenge posted tomorrow!