Cricut Tote Review - Cricut Tote Giveaway Winner!

Most of y'all know I'm a little sneaky with giveaways and I don't always announce when I'm doing a giveaway but I will give little hints. This time when I posted the link to the Cricut Totes Review - Okieladybug Style in Facebook groups I said "make sure you read the whole post" that way people would know to read and find out about the giveaway.

I had to laugh at some of the responses I got about me being crazy for tossing my Explore in the tote off my porch and then tossing a few times around in the yard. I knew folks would think I was crazy but I wanted to give a TRUE TO LIFE test of the tote and how the machine would hold up during rough handling. I am pleased to say that the Explore is still working great and after a few drops of super glue to the dial it is back on the machine and fully functional, like it was never broken in the first place! Again I would advise that you put some tape on the dial and the doors to hold them in place if you feel your machine is going to get a rough handling. 

I had a few thousand views of my post and videos but not nearly that many entries, which is a good thing for me because I didn't have to print off, cut and fold a ton of entries to get a winner. In order to enter all that needed to be done was to answer 4 questions and email those to the email link given in the post. I didn't think that was too much to ask to win but maybe some people felt it was not worth the effort or they didn't want a chance to win a fabulous Cricut Tote or maybe they just didn't read the full post and see that there was a giveaway. What ever the reason it doesn't matter now because we have a winner!!

My daughter came in and was thrilled to get to pull the name out of the bowl, although once she looked at the picture she said "Oh I look rough!". She had just gotten out of the shower and straightened her hair and was getting ready to get in bed and I didn't think she looked rough. At least she was clean and smelled good!

As you can see the winner she pulled is Robyn Williams and in the email Robyn answered the 3 questions correctly and included her answer of how she would use the tote.

1. Mud hole

2. Fabric cleaner

3. Handy dandy little pliers

And 4.....to store Cricut when not using and to transfer when visiting daughter

So congratulations to Robyn Williams for winning the Cricut Tote Giveaway!! 

Using Make The Cut with the Cricut Explore

I have said it many times and I will say it again...I FREAKIN LOVE MAKE THE CUT!! If ya didn't hear me I can yell it a little louder *okie cups her hand behind her ear and hears someone in the back say they didn't hear her*. Okay this is for you in the back I FREAKIN LOVE MAKE THE CUT!!!

Now with that said and out of the way I shall continue. I believe we all know how much I have enjoyed reviewing the Cricut Explore and how well I think this machine cuts but I absolutely abhor the software and how it has to be connected to the internet to use. BUT, with the magic abilities of Make The Cut I can make my design safely without an internet connection, export as an SVG file and then upload into Cricut Design Space for cutting. This takes out a lot of worry about if I'm going to lose connection or if their server is going to have problems and crap out on me for whatever reason while I am designing. I also don't like the glitchy movement I get a lot of the time with the CDS program. I like nice smooth movement when I'm designing, I can tolerate it during cutting since that is all I am using the program to do. 

I apologize for the poor picture quality and I hope it is clear enough to get my point across. I got a new computer a few months ago and it runs Windows 8 *which okie hates* and I'm still not use to all the new crap...half the time I can't even find what I need on this damn thing. 

First off I get my design all on one mat in MTC. I always add a 12x12 base layer to my design I am going to import into CDS and I will explain that in a later step. 

• Make sure all the layers are unlocked and visible. There is a little "eye" and "lock" icon in the bottom right hand corner where you can hide/unhide and lock/unlock all layers at once or you can do each independently next to the small mat preview seen on the right hand column on the screen. 

• Select all your layers by either clicking "edit" and then "select all" or drawing a box around all the images with your mouse.

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• Export your design by clicking file, export, Sel to SVG file
• Name and save your file

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• Open Cricut Design Space
• Click on Upload Image
• Click Upload Vector
• Find your file
• Click Open

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• Make sure correct file is checked
• Click on Insert Image

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• Click the Edit tab
• Resize image to 12x12 to maintain original design ratio

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I hope I explained that well enough, I'm not so good at explaining things to others and most of the time it's just easier for me to do things and then send it to them than trying to explain how to do it. I really wanted people to see how easy it is to use the most awesome program in the world, Make The Cut, with the superior cutting machine, the Cricut Explore.

Cricut Explore Review 6 - Glitter Vinyl and Design File Available

As we all know by now I am never easy on my reviews and this one is no different. I had found some small ceramic dish things at my local bargain store for a dime, I think they might have suppose to been used for coasters or something. When I saw them I grabbed all 14 of them and even though I didn't know what I was going to do with them I figured for $1.40 I couldn't go wrong. I posted in my Facebook group Old Cricut Community about what should I do with them and a couple of members suggested making Ring Catchers that sit next to the sink and that inspired me to do a glitter vinyl review of the Explore.

The flat inside diameter of the dish is only about 2.5" and I had to think of what might look good as a design. I wanted something clever and different than just monograms so I could make some to have on hand and not be so personal. During a Google search I found the "When I said 'I Do' I didn't mean the dishes" and thought it was perfect for the wording. During my search for images of rings I came across the silhouette that I used. I know it looks big in the picture but you will believe how small it is in the next picture.

And before anyone asks, yes I did the design in Make The Cut and then exported to an SVG to upload in Cricut Design Space *okie still has no intentions of learning all the ins and outs of CDS since she is quite proficient in Make The Cut*.

I know different types of vinyl cut differently and I wanted to test how delicate glitter vinyl could be cut so I opted to use it for the silhouette of the hands.  I was on the phone with my friend Carmen when I was cutting the glitter vinyl and I said a few cuss words and then said "I hate this damn machine!" and she asked if it messed up on me. I told her "NO! It cut those tiny little lines perfectly!". Carmen said I should be glad since I wanted it to cut good and I told her "Yeah but I'm trying to find something it can't cut!".

When I told her I needed something to show how fine the lines where and that I had nothing to compare it to she asked if the lines were as small as a tick mark on a ruler. I quickly grabbed my metal ruler and told her "yep, pretty much!" and we concluded that would be perfect for showing the true size of some of the line. If you click on the picture and view it larger you can see the detail a lot better. 

MY HONEST OPINION: The Explore went beyond any machine I have ever seen used or tried in cutting the most intricate and delicate design using glitter vinyl.

If you would like to use this design you can download the appropriate file below:

Cricut Explore Review 5 - Cutting Vinyl

Thought I better get this posted before I get busy making more projects for Christmas *okie looks at the calendar and panics a tad see that Christmas is only a week away*. I actually could have written the vinyl review before but I kept making things for gifts and then would be like "CCRRAAPPPP! I can't post that!". Last night I decided to try and cut the Grinch file because I needed a gift for Dirty Santa at school today and figured it was as good as any for the review.

I found an 8x10 inch frame at Goodwill for 99 cents and was a little apprehensive about trying to cut the file at this size, which was actually 7.25 x 9.25 inches. I knew some of the lettering was delicate but then also I thought it was perfect since I am trying to put the Explore through it's paces. I have read that some folks are having a tough time with vinyl and to be honest I think most of them are using Cricut vinyl, which I do find inferior to the Oracle and Avery that I tend to use. It seems to be too rubbery or something and I have seen it tear and snag where I generally get crisp cuts with the vinyl products I have around my craftroom.

Even though vinyl is a lot easier to cut when doing delicate work than most paper I still wondered how the settings on the Explore would handle the different vinyls I used. I actually used some Avery, Oracle and then some kind that said graphic film on the back and I'm not sure of the brand. I didn't change the settings for any of the vinyls and they all cut beautiful. I will say that on another project I did use the custom setting for glitter vinyl and it worked perfectly. 

Ignore that my Grinch is a little off in placement. I did the mirror image so the vinyl would be on the inside of the glass instead of the outside and I need to work on my skills of layering backwards on glass.

Now where I thought there might be problems were on some of the letters that had very small cuts on the interior of the letters and also some small *okie wonders what to call them because all the sudden her brain isn't working properly* I guess finger like projections on the ends. I actually smiled at one point because I thought one of the interior cuts had messed up but when I weeded the piece it was fine *okie is still bound and determined to find a fault in the Explore's cutting abilities*.

MY HONEST OPINION: I am quite impressed with the built in settings with the Explore and the setting worked perfect every time no matter what brand of vinyl I was using. The precision of the cuts, no matter how small is splendid. At no time did the blade go through the carrier material which is a problem I would have with my Pazzles and Expressions. Each and every color was cut flawlessly with a kiss cut and there were no places where I had to take a craft knife or scissors and complete a cut.

Cricut Explore Review 4 - The Dreaded Scallop Circle

For folks who have been around for awhile will immediately understand the "dreaded scallop circle" and why it was so dreaded by all of us who wanted nice neat scallop circles but they seemed to be unobtainable! When I got my first Cricut, the baby bug, it cut wonderful scallop circles and didn't have a problem with the ones I designed in Design Studio *okie wonders if she needs to explain Design Studio but then decides not go down that road* but once I got an Expression and started using it the scallop circles were WONKY! If you cut them large enough, usually over 4 inches or more then the scallops weren't too bad but anything smaller and the scallops were all lopsided. Matter of fact I sent back two Expression machines for just that reason. I finally kept the third because I gave up. When I started working with the Pazzles I was excited thinking I would have perfect scallop circles and while they did cut better than what the Expression did I still had slightly lopsided scallops. Matter of fact I even invested in Scallop Circle punches so I would have perfect ones.

Now fast forward from those days to the present crafting day where I thought "OMG! I NEED TO TEST AND SEE HOW SCALLOP CIRCLES CUT WITH THE EXPLORE!" and so I did. I, being the fiendish person I am, chose the dreaded Stampin Up Coredinations cardstock that so many people had problems cutting. My Expression or my Pazzles never cut that stuff very good, especially when it was smaller cuts. It always seemed to rip or tear *okie still thinks there was some kinda degrading in the SU Coredinations since the regular Coredinations seemed to cut very nicely* and cause much frustration.

I opened Design Space and put some scallop circles on the mat and sized them to different sizes and was almost bemused at the thought of "I got this machine now...scallop circles and Stampin Up Corediantions cardstock! TAKE THAT PROVOCRAFT!". I got the circles ready to cut and loaded the mat watching it with a sneer on my face *okie thinks she probably looked like some mad scientist sitting in front of the Explore* just waiting for the scallops to be lopsided and the cardstock to tear!

My sneer soon turned to a grimace as I watched the blade cut through the cardstock like it was butter and the scallops were PERFECT! I think I might have yelled "SON OF A BITCH...NO F'ING WAY!" as the machine finished up cutting the images and as I unloaded the mat I kept looking closely for errors...which I did not find!

Every size cut perfectly! I set a 3", 2 1/2", 2", 1 1/2" and 1" scallop circle to cut and everyone of them were exquisitely impeccable! How could that be? No way did Provocraft finally make a machine that could cut breathtaking scallop circles on crappy cardstock! I stared at the delicious goodness of scallops and even thought about substituting them with some wonky ones but then I remembered I promised to give an honest review *okie curses herself for being an honest Injun*.

Just in case you wonder if your eyes are deceiving you I took a close up of the 1" scallop circle so you could see how perfectly it cut.

MY HONEST OPINION: I am BEYOND IMPRESSED with the Explore's ability to cut perfect scallop circles at every size and especially since I purposely fed a cardstock in the machine that generally doesn't cut well on other machines...even *okie takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, closes her eyes and just says it*.....my beloved Pazzles!

Cricut Explore Review 3 - Intricate Cuts and Vellum

So many of us love using vellum and those who try to cut it know the horrors of ripping and tearing and the crying that comes along with ruining that ever so beautiful and expensive divine goodness. And with that out of the way vellum was the next thing I wanted to try and cut!

I decided to upload an image that was available this time instead of importing one of my thousands of SVG files I had because I wanted to see how easy it was to use one of their images and...it was easy. I thought I would see if I could find something to cut that I could put in a clear ornament and thought about a snowflake but then when I saw the design I used I thought "oh yeah, let's see if that machine can handle that design at 2 1/2"! I just knew I had the correct design to finally show some limitations of the machine.

My first cut I had chosen the setting of parchment in the custom settings since what I was cutting isn't true vellum and is actually called translucent sheets, not even sure what that means but it is exactly like vellum but I wanted to see what it would do on that setting. It did cut but didn't cut all the way through.

I reloaded the mat and changed my setting to vellum and this thing cut like a champ! The tears and blemishes you see are not because of the machine but because of my errors in getting it off the mat, I kinda forgot how careful you have to be with this delicate material.  I should have put the ruler up there so you guys can believe what you are seeing, the image was set at 2.6 inches, so just a hair over 2 1/2" and it cut FAB U LUST LEE! Once again I was disappointed because I could say "AH HA! YOU CAN'T CUT THIS" *all the sudden okie has MC Hammer's "You Can't Touch This" playing in her head*.

I guess I will go ahead and find something to decorate the top of the bulb but here is the image I cut out in a clear bulb. I did have to use a stick to straighten it out once it was in the bulb but it turned out really nice and it does look better in person *okie looks and notices she can see her fingers and camera in the reflection and is suddenly glad she wasn't craftin nekkid when she took this picture*.

 

MY HONEST OPINION: I am IMPRESSED with how well the machine cut this delectable material! I think I will be looking forward to working more with vellum since I know the Explore can do such a wonderful job with it. Vellum is something I have always loved to use but dreaded at the same time but not anymore!

Cricut Explore Review 2 - Intricate Cuts and Cardstock Thickness

I have seen pictures of small cuts the Cricut Explore made and most of those were from examples given by Provocraft so of course me being me I was skeptical about how well it would do for a consumer and I figured that would be one of the first things I would try. I will say I am able to make some pretty intricate cuts with the Pazzles but do have problems with paper tearing or blade dragging at times so I wondered if the Explore would do better.

One of the last designs I did was a layout design of Happy Fall Y'all layout, and there is an SVG file available for that design, and thought it might be a good one to test out due to the eyes of the crow and the intricacy of the vines on the pumpkin in the design. 

I first cut the little crows and I was dreading it due to having worked with the Tinkerbell cartridge in the past and having so many issues *okie vividly remembers wanting to grab that little fairy by her ankles and shaking every bit of pixie dust from her evil little body* with the smaller things, specifically the eyes. Actually I ended up drawing the eyes in with pens due to not being able to get good cuts from them. I will say I was watching the blade with a magnifying glass *okie suddenly wonders why she keeps a magnifying glass in one of her spinners and where the thing even came from* just waiting for the cuts to mess up but as you can see from the picture....THEY CAME OUT PERFECT! I thought it might be helpful to lay a ruler next to the cuts so you can see for yourself the size of those cuts.

Okay so I was impressed with the eyes of the crow but next came the delicate swirls of the pumpkin and I just knew the Explore would mess up on them but once again...PERFECT! Some parts of that vine are less than an 1/8" and it cut them like a champ! 

Another test I wanted to do was about the settings. I used 4 different cardstocks on some of the cuts, some that I have problems cutting with other machines, some that were very thick and some that were thinner and I never changed any of the settings and each time they cut just perfect! 

Tomorrow I will post the finished layout so you can see the project completed.

MY HONEST OPINION: The Explore cut the intricate designs with no problems and much better than any other machine I've tried even when I tried different cardstocks without changing the settings of the machine. This was another test that did IMPRESS me with the ability of the machine.

Cricut Explore Review 1 Calibrating Print And Cut

Okay first off I want to be completely honest with everyone about this whole Cricut Explore review thing and how it came about...because as we all know I am very honest with my readers and I don't want to stop being that way anytime soon. I was contacted via Facebook by the CEO of Provocraft and during a brief conversation he asked if I would be willing to review the Explore and I told him I would be willing to do so. I also told him that I only give my honest opinion and he said that is what he was wanting. Of course in my little smug mind I thought "yeah I bet!" but he did seem sincere about wanting only the most honest of opinion from me. So before anyone asks...yes, I was sent the Cricut Explore, I did not purchase the machine. And before anyone jumps to conclusions if that would effect my opinions and review the answer is NOPE *okie thinks she should have said hell no actually but figures people will read that in the NOPE anyway*. No matter if a product is purchased by me or sent to me I still review it fully and honestly and give my opinion. Now that is out of the way let me begin with my first review.

The first thing I did was hook up the machine as directed and I had some problems getting my computer to recognize the machine but that could easily be a problem with my USB port as I have problems with my thumb drive at times as well. After getting my computer to recognize the machine I was ready to set up the print and cut, from now on will be referenced to as PNC. The instructions were clear for the most part and the only problems I had with that was I was out of ink in my printer and had to install new cartridges. 

I got my piece of cardstock printed and loaded in the machine and was ready for it to do it's thing. I watched it with curiosity waiting for it to do some kinda jerk and bump terrible cutting thing but it didn't. It made quite a bit of noise with beeping and moving around and cutting little lines. To be honest I thought it was kinda cool how it jumped from one registration mark to another. 

 

I remember it said something the process might have to be repeated and I was understanding why after I looked at the cuts and unloaded the mat from the machine. As you can see in the picture the little square in the middle is not cut very well and is off center. 

If you look at the cuts along the numbers and letters they are much like when you add new cartridges to a printer and have to calibrate it.

I was afraid I would have to repeat this process like 20 times before I got it to calibrate right but I was in it for the long haul and got ready to repeat the process.

After printing another sheet of cardstock and loading in the letter and number that had the best cut in the middle I actually got a good cut and to be honest I was like "OMG! It's centered perfectly!". You might need to click on the picture and make it larger to see what I'm talking about it being centered.

Next it was time to try to PNC an image and me being me I didn't want some simple image I wanted to test this baby's ability to cut something difficult. Of course the software warned about using complex images so that didn't deter me but instead challenged me! I chose an image of my niece's caricature she uses for her real estate business.  She had asked me sometime ago if I would be interested in making some cards for her to use when she sells a home and she wanted the caricature used and I never could figure out how to get a nice clean cut of it with Make the Cut and the Pazzles so I never did. This failure with what I was use to using was the exact reason I chose the image I did.

I got the image printed on some cheap Walmart cardstock, which never cuts nicely in any machine I've tried, once again testing the bounds of the Explore and set about cutting it.

This is the image after it was printed and then cut, at this point it is still on the mat. I was giving it a good look over and wondering if even the smallest of pieces were cut neatly and smirked a bit thinking "yeah it probably screwed up somewhere or cut jagged on the cardstock".

As I lifted the outer cardstock off the mat the image left on the mat seemed to have clean cuts. How could this be? I used the crappy cardstock? This can't be happening! As I continued to remove the outer cardstock I looked for errors and couldn't find any...no jagged or torn edges, no irregular cutting lines...it was...well...PERFECT!

Now you can see a slight lighter edge along the left side of the image but notice it is equal all the way around and I think it part of the shadow on the image.

MY HONEST OPINION: The calibration was simple to do and even though I had to repeat the process the software clearly informed me I might have to do so in order to get the machine calibrated correctly. I am truly impressed with how well the machine was able to cut accurately around the difficult image I chose, especially with me using cheap cardstock that generally tears with other machines. So over all I am IMPRESSED with the Explore's ability to do print and cut!