I'm just wondering if we'll be able to work the fondant after it's cut. I always let mine set about 15 min. before I cut it?

Once cut put it in a ziplock bag and is should stay pliable.

Forgive me if this has already been asked, but it's a long thread

If you change out the blade and the cutting mat, can you cut both gumpaste AND paper with the same machine? If so... I may just have to break down and buy it!

On hsn . com they have the Expression with 4 cartridges (Storybook, Paper Doll, Doodlecharms, and Home Accents) and 10 ink pens. Is $349.95 a good price? Too much? Plus they have flex pay (4 payments of $87.49) which is kinda pushing me over the edge

My WalMart has the Expression with either one or two cartridges for $249. I opted for the Expression with a cartridge and got SCAL for more variety and to save money on cartridges. I have more fonts than I can count on my pc already that I've collected over time. I got my Expression on eBay for $220.

Thank you! I figure if I change everything out when going from gumpaste to paper it should be okay.

OK....using fondant with tylose...added crisco and crisco rubbed on top...deep cut blade on 6...med pressure...low speed....I can pretty much cut out things that are fairly large with NO fine cutting at all. Is there a trick to be able to cut the more delicate items?

I have read everything I can find....used all the tips and still having trouble.

ALSO....is there a trick to keeping the fondant from bunching up right around the actual blade? Seems like every time I try to cut something, as soon as it starts, it gathers a small amount of fondant around the blade....which leads to rough cutting.

Thanks to anyone who can help!!!

I have tried super thin....almost can see thru it....then tried several a little thicker....I seem to be getting the same results either way.

What brand of fondant are you using?

I am using Satin Ice fondant.

did you add tylose to the fondant?

Does anybody know the major differences between the Cricut Cake & Expression? From what i've seen online, some differences are that the parts are food safe. I wonder if this is a real issue people have been using the regular Cricut machines for years. I'm just wondering if i should get the Expression (under $200 on ebay) or wait to drop about $400 on the Cake Cricut. Any advice would be great because from this extrememly helpful forum, i want to go get the Expression now & start making cut outs before my ideas blow my head up!! CANT WAIT!!

Wow, soooooo disappointed! I got my dvd's today and disc 1 is practically unwatchable. It sticks, skips, and just stops in so many places. I've emailed the vendor that I purchased it from asking for a replacement, I hope they take care of it quickly, I wanted to watch it soooo bad!

On a positive note... what I was able to see of it looks great!

I can't wait to get my cricut and get started playing!

I am an employee of Carrie's Cakes (Carrie Biggers) in Sandy, Utah. Carrie is featured in the new CricutCake ads running on cricutcake.com. The machine is fabulous. However, the first time we saw the CricutCake was when the ad was filmed about three weeks ago in Carrie's bakery. Up until that time, we were using the Cricut Expressions machine with the deep-cut housing unit and heavy knife blade. The CricutCake is all food-safe. It has stainless-steel parts, and special housing areas so that you will be less likely to get sugar or shortning or other impurities down in the areas where you might plug in your cartridges, or the keyboard, for instance. You will be able to wipe out the machine and all will be clean. Like I said, we have been using our Cricut Expressions to do all of the cuts. Almost all of the cakes in that ad were made in our kitchen using the Cricut Expressions. It has been loads of fun. My brain is spinning, thinking of all the possibilities. I would be glad to share some of my insights with anyone interested.

Please.. share away!
Were you using cartridges or SCAL? I've been wondering if popping the fondant/tylose mix or gumpaste (whatever you happen to be using at the time) into the fridge for a few mins to firm it up, would help the cutting process and lessen the problems some are having with jagged edges...

Would love any info or wisdom you share! My Cricut arrives tomorrow!

We use a combination of a tylose-based gumpaste very much like the Rosemary Waton's Gumpaste recipe here at Cake Central, mixed with a commercial brand-I can't remember it's name (it comes in a silver package). We live where it's very dry, so we need to have something in the gumpaste that will keep some moisture in it so it can be rolled out onto the mats. I have tried all kinds of formulas-from mixing the homemade gumpaste with chocolate clay or fondant in varying degrees of mixture, using all commercial gumpaste, using fondant- and have found that a 50/50 mixture using the homemade gumpaste and the commercial brand works the best for us. I make the gumpaste and then let it sit at least 24 hours before I mix it with the commercial stuff and load the mats. But remember, this is what works for our climate. If you are getting ragged edges, I think that your mixture is too dry. We have also tried putting our loaded mats (covered and sealed) in the freezer for up to 30 minutes, but have found that sometimes it makes the gumpaste sticky when we try to cut. Are you using a deep-cut housing and heavy-duty knife? We do and it makes a huge difference. We also sit at the machine while it is cutting with a palate-type knife and try to smooth out some of the places that seem to be lifting as the machine cuts. Do you clean the knife off each time you have finished cutting? You can also dip the blade in some shortning. We have also found that the gumpaste needs to be quite thin-we use a sheeter to do that, but we learned from Linda McClure using a KA pasta roller. If your gumpaste is too thick you will not get a good cut. What kind of climate do you live in? If you are in a high-humidity area, I would suggest using something with lots of tylose in it. It's a kind of trial-and error kind of thing, but keep at it. You will figure out what works for you. By the way, the CricutCake has a higher clearance between the mats and the roller bar. It has a different knife-blade. It uses the same blade-housing unit as the Expressions, so I think that we will be able to use the new blade in our Expressions. The CricutCake mats are pink, and come without any kind of "sticky" stuff on them like the green "paper"mats. We use Crisco on the mats to "stick" the gumpaste to them. If you have the green mats, just clean off the sticky stuff-I brushed Crisco on them and let them sit for an hour, and then wiped them off. It took a bit of elbow-grease, but it can be done.

We had to use the Cricut cartridges for the demo cakes because of advertising purposes, but we also have and use the SCAL program for some of our other projects. I will see if I can get some pictures to post. Do you have any other questions? We are having a great time with it. Good luck with your Cricut!

Yes...
My plan is to use SCAL to cut petal outlines I have downloaded from the web..
Have you tried this? Is there as easy way to transform a jpg into an svg? I know Inkscape is the key piece to this, but is it just as simple as opening the jpg in Inkscape andjust 'Saving As' whatever.svg? Does thip open the door to pretty much any graphic (such as coloring book pages) to be used with the Cricut?

Can't wait to see your pics!

Yes-the possibilities are endless. You do need Inkscape, but that download is free. All images have to be svg images, so the "save as" needs to be "save as svg" You can scan any image or download images and use them as long as they are svg images. Please be careful of using anything that has a copyright though. Wouldn't want to break the law..... We haven't updated our SCAL yet. After reading previous posts in this forum, it sounds like we need to.

Weecakies: When is the Cricut Cake going on the market? The website only says "coming soon." I have not gotten a Cricut yet because with all the cartriges needed it is so expensive. I really want the Cricut Cake, but want to know how long I have to wait? It's either this or EI.

Sandy

I believe it's coming out in April. If you use Make the Cut or SCAL software you wont need a lot of cartridges, you can get images off the internet or scan them into your computer.

I have the Cricut Expression
I have over 60 cartridges
I have Cricut Design Studio
I have Sure Cuts A Lot
I have the deepblade housing

you would think ....right?

But it's still not enough for me

I want the DVD's by Linda McClure...
AND I CAN NOT GET THEM HERE IN THE NETHERLANDS

I can not aford to have them shipped
I wish they were downloadable. Like software for example... You pay for it and then download it.

Anyone coming to The Netherlands soon??? lol

The CricutCake will be on the market at the end of April-just in time for Mother's Day.

Another example of great customer service. I always try to order directly from the developer if possible just for this reason.

I can't say enough about Linda & Jeff's customer service. I bought my dvd's from another site and they would not play correctly. Jeff has been in email contact with me several times today and is shipping me out replacements, even though I didn't buy directly thrrough them.

How amazing is that? I got my Cricut yesterday and cannot wait to watch the dvd's!
Thank you Linda & Jeff!!!

weecakies,

Please tell Carrie I look forward to seeing her here at the National Captial Area Cake Show in March. Tell her Trevor, a friend of Norm's, says hi.

I've been trying unsuccessfully myself to use the Cricuit with gumpaste. I had some limited success in putting my Cricut on 1 to cut. I am using the Albert Uster gumpaste. I put it on the board, leave it out for 10 minutes or so, and it just seems to tear when I cut with it. I ran it through a Kitchen Aid pasta machine on a pretty high setting. I think my last batch I rolled out to a 7. Thoughts anyone?

Okay so I have decided that I have a love/hate relationship with CC bc I love you all but you enlighten me to all sorts of cool stuff that I can't live without...

Case in point, ordered Linda's video and am waiting for my tax return to get my machine

Thanks ladies

I feel ya! I swore I wouldn't spend a lot on gadgets but since joinng CC, I've bought 2 airbrushes, an EI printer, a projector,and a Cricut... I 'spose Agbay will be next!