OK Gang...

I know I have seen threads on here about the Cricut Cake but so help me I just can't find them.

WHAT I WANT TO KNOW (from all you super genius'):

1. Any tips on making it work properly/smoothly/easily

2. What cartridges would you use most often besides cake basic and elegant cakes?

3. Best lettering cartridge?

4. How do you adhere it to the cake? vanilla?

5. Personal preference; which has worked best for you... gumpaste or fondant?

6. anyone try the pre-made (spendy) frosting sheets vs. gumpaste and fondant?

I have never EVER used a Cricut. When I first saw them on the market I thought they would be cool for cake, soooo glad they made one just for it! I will have an entire drawer of Cookie cutters I can clear out! wooo hooo!

OK... hit me with all you know!!!

Thanks in advance to all you brilliant, creative CC'rs!

I just got mine, have only played with the frosting sheets so far. My best advice so far is to play with the pressure and speed.

I'm going to play with the Wilton fondant next.

I'm considering getting one of the programs that lets you capture things off the internet to cut on the Cricut, either Sure Cuts A Lot, or Makes the Cut. I've played with the Cake Basics and found that the more delicate the font, the harder it is to cut out small.

HTH

I just got mine too! I have never owned a cricut machine either! I think I like to drive myself crazy. I did try using both Wilton's gumpaste, and Fondarific. The gumpaste worked okay. I added a little Tylose to the Fondarific, rolled it paper thin (as was suggested by others posts), and put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, and it worked great. I just received the cake machine today, so I still have to play with it more. There is alot to learn about the machine, so I have alot of questions too. Probably the best thing (for me anyway) is to try different things as I read the manual. I think it will be fun to learn. The hardest part will be to get consistent with the fondant. There have been several posts and alot of really great suggestions. Oh, I had the machine set at medium pressure, and medium speed. I also think that depending on which design you are doing the pressure and speed will be different. Alot of trial and error ahead!! By the way, your cakes are stunning!

well, UPS says it's on it's way. I will be using Satin Ice fondant and attempting to make some gumpaste to try also.

Anyone else have suggestions?

I don't have a Cricut Cake, just a plain old Cricut Expression (the 12x24 one)...but I have "Accent Essentials" that has a lot of cute shapes I'd like for cakes. As for fonts, it's so hard to know what you'd use most because they all have such different personalities. I personally enjoy "Alphalicious" and "Lyrical Letters" for fonts when scrapping.

This page has a list of all the available cartridges, and if you click "view" under the same column, you can see some of what the cartridge offers. It's my favorite place to hunt for new cartridges I want.

http://www.cricut.com/information/cartridge_library.aspx

I have used satin ice and wilton fondant on my cricut cake. I find that they both work as long as you roll them out very thin. (so thin that you can see the circles on the mat thru the fondant) Wait 15-20 minues after rolling before cutting. I find that wilton fondant works best for me.

so, does each cartridge have shapes AND fonts? they don't show the fonts, just the pictures...

Some have pics only, some have fonts only, some have both. You can view the booklet off the link I have in my last post, too. Then you can see all of it what it offers.

GREAT! thanks! CC'rs are the best!

I don't like the icing sheets at all! They taste horrible, they're brittle, just yuk!
I love my machine.
I use the fondarific fondant. I roll it really thin on the mat. Put that in the freezer, hmmm about 5 minutes. Mean while I get my cartridge ready.
Then run the fondant through it.
I just purchased the Sure cuts alot and I am teaching myself how to use it.