Wanna see a fun card....

I found this cute little tutorial on how to make a fun pop up card...on the front is a window and when you open it, it has a flower box inside. So cute! Sometime when I get a few minutes, I may have to give this one a try. If you'd like to see it, go here to check out her blog.

Make the Cut

To all my friends that I originally started this blog for...to share some info about SCAL, if you haven't purchased SCAL, you may want to wait! Yes, you heard me! LOL. There is a new program that has just hit the market called Make the Cut. I have downloaded and played with this new software a little bit and so far I'm really impressed. There are some things that they too need to work out...no shadowing feature, no way to "keep proportions" locked so the shapes match, but overall, this program has REAL potential. Since I upgraded to SCAL 2 not long ago, I probably won't be purchasing this anytime soon, but if I ever need another license to cut with, I may jump over to this program. It eliminates most of the need for Inkscape which is wonderful because the learning curve on that program is so intense. This program is easier to use than Inkscape and SCAL and does the same things.....or at least it will in a short amount of time! Go check it out!

If you want to check it out, look up on the right hand top corner of my blog and there are some links to the Make-the-Cut website to purchase or just learn more about it.

There is also a free download so give it a try! The free download does cut a line across your image, but you can try it to see if you like it!

Have fun!


****Update*****They have fixed all the issues that I mentioned above and added so much, much more! It's awesome! Woohoo.....********

Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) Information and Links

In the last week, I have had lengthy conversations with 3 people wanting more information on SCAL. To make it easier for them to find out and research this option to see if it is right for them, (now that I can copy and paste links), I decided to make a post with the basic links they will need to get them started.

1. Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) - is a program designed to use with your computer to cut any font, dingbat, or anything that you design yourself out on your cricut. The main site for this is: http://www.craftedge.com/index.html It runs around $65 to $75. There are 10% off codes that are available every so often on the groups below.

On my computer I probably have litterally 300 cartridges or more worth of images I can cut. Yep, you heard me right. All for only the $65 dollar investment plus the $30 I paid when the new version of SCAL came out. For those just buying, you don't have to worry about the additional $30 because you can only buy version 2.0 now. :-)

2. To learn more about this program than you can imagine, I would recommend these forums and groups:

http://forums.surecutsalot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SureCutsAlotUsers/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scalhints/

3. Inkscape is a free program that allows you to create SVG files that will cut using SCAL. I use version .46. You can download it here. (Some people have had trouble with the newer version.)

http://www.inkscape.org/

4. I bought my SCAL from this website because I wanted an actual cd copy. Their service was great and I got free shipping and a decent price.

https://www.cutterscreek.com/store/

5. You have to download a free trial version of Design Studio (Provo Crafts poor attempt at SCAL...lol....). However, and this is important, you must make sure that you are only using version 2.32 or 1.3. This is the link I used, but I can't be sure that it is still the right version. If you currently use Cricut's Design Studio and upgrade to the latest version, they were suppose to put something in the newest version of Cricut Design Studio to block SCAL from use on your cricut, so please make sure you check this out on the forums above before you use this link.

http://www.cricut.com/cds/DesignStudioTrial1.aspx

6. To see some fun projects that were created with SCAL, follow some of these links from free SVG files (SVG files are those that can be cut with SCAL for use on your cricut.)

http://forums.surecutsalot.com/viewforum.php?f=13

http://dscrapbookingroom.blogspot.com/

http://pennyduncancreations.com/

http://dan99.blogspot.com/

http://susanbluerobot.blogspot.com/
this blog is card maker heaven. search for SCAL or SVG files-she has hundreds and they are all amazing

http://jensbrainthings.blogspot.com/
search for SVG files

I have about 30 blogs I've bookmarked that offer cute free files, but these will get you started and an idea at any rate.

7. I use a free program called "The Font Thing" to manage my fonts so that they all don't have to be installed on my machine to use them. If too many fonts are installed on your machine, it slows it down. I use Windows XP

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Font-Utils/The-Font-Thing.shtml

8. And one last thing, the only downside to svg files is that you can't "view" them like a picture which makes it really inconvenient. I installed an SVG viewer program called Renesis and it crashed my entire computer! A lot of people have used this without any trouble, but I lost everything and had to reinstall my computer from scratch so I would NOT recommend this program. I have since installed Adobe SVG viewer and haven't had any problems, but it isn't working either so.... my go around is this...when I save a file, I will open it in inkscape, make a bitmap copy (do not save after you make the bitmap copy) and this will show directly next to the file in my folder. Works great for me with no complications. So....

I know this is long, but I also know that having these links available instead of writing them down and trying to "remember" what I told you about each of these programs will be beneficial. For more information, you can read some of my blog entries, some talk about SCAL and why I bought it. Hope this helps!!!

Cricut Mat tip....

Recently I was talking to a lady I know and she had just thrown away two cricut mats and bought new ones. I told her that I have had my cricut for over a year now and have never bought a new mat. I heard about using Krylon Repositionable Spray to "refresh" your mats on the cricut message board and so I have never bought any other mats. It's a huge cost savings! I love to scrapbook, but I also love to do it as inexpensively as possible. For those of you who have never done this, give this a try.

First take your old mat and squirt straigh dish detergent on it. Gently rub the dish soap around loosing up the paper particles and dirt stuck to your mat. Once you've gently scrubbed the mat with your fingers, wash the mat off and let dry.

Once the mat is dry, take some masking tape and tape the edges of your mat covering all the areas that are not suppose to be sticky. This is really important because if you get adhesive on the sides of the mat, it can gum up your rollers on your cricut. These machines are way to expensive to have troubles like that!

Take your taped off mat outside and spray with Krylon repositionable adhesive spray. I bought mine at Michaels with a 50% off coupon and it cost a little over $3.00. However, I've had my cricut over a year and never bought new mats so... I prefer to use 2 or 3 light coats versus a really heavy coat. It just seems to make the stick more even.

Anyway, for those of you with a cricut machine, give this a try. I've also heard of people using the Zig glue pen, but I watched a video on this and it seemed to take too long for me. I'm a spray and run kinda girl!

So...if you haven't heard of this tip, give it a try. I works great and I've never had any trouble with it!