fondant has been around forever, used in england way before 'we adopted' it. fondant has/is wearing well. relatively inexpensive, beautiful to look at, lends itself to many applications making it very practical and pays itself off many times over for the investment.
cricuit, a machine that has initial cost and continued cost. by the time the cost comes down for the accessories to be affordable by the average person, people will have tired of the perfection of it. perfect, scrollwork, perfect swirls, perfect damask...all too perfect from where i'm sitting. like a computer, always going to need updating, by the time you've invested lotsa money, something new will come along and make your stuff extinct.
like i said this is my opinion, i'm entitled. keep your skill current, don't let yourself get dated and don't rely on a machine to do your work for you. dependence on a machine is not really advancing your cake skills, it's creating a dependency on a machine. just my opinion. not the holy grail, not trying to offend, but sincere for me.

I just bought the cricut cake was just wondering if I can use the same cartridges I use for my scrapbooking cricut? Also what is SCAL?

To each thier own. If you don't want to use a machine then don't, but don't berate others that may use it. BC has also been around forever but unfortunately you don't see many people decorating only with BC any more. Times change as well as the way things are done. I personally don't see the difference between a machine doing the cutting in mutiples or an individual cutter cutting one at a time, just my opinion.

Yes ailika... you can. Some images work better than others when it comes to caking.

excuse me tiggy2, i re-read my posts and if you're addressing me, i didn't see anything i wrote that berated others. i stated twice that this was my opinion. whew. if you like that sort of look, more power to you. i don't know you and this is not a personal thing. just liked the topic & came to read. i've been doing this for 30 years, seen many things come and go. lotsa machines have come and gone too. some have stayed around, some have not. this is not for me personally. i loved it when it 1st came out, but already tired of it. glad i didn't/won't be investing the dollars for what is easily accomplished with a little ingenuity. it's been out a while, i'm sure you know. some people like cake mixes, some like scratch, it wouldn't be berating either to say in my opinion, i prefer... (insert one.) what i know to be true is this, the only thing that's constant is change. peace out. all others reading this disregard anything that might deter u from cake central forum, including anything that peep might get feelings hurt over whether me or others saying it. they're like no other. cake world is no place for bullies. = )

I usually find good deals on them from amazon.com =)

as far as i know, linda mcclure came out with this (or something like) years ago. this is not new. it just looks so 'machine done.' seems to take the heart out of it. when you(i) first look at those cakes, i think, wow, this is awesome, but the more i look at them the more i think, machine done. it seems to take some of the personality out of them. if you have cut your decorating time down substantially with this, do you reduce the cost of the cake accordingly? or do you charge more becaus you think it's better? art is subject to scrutiny. what makew a cake art? i wouldn't want to pay as much for a cake where everything is hand done (duff or christopher garren) as i would an assembly line cake. instant and convenient isn't always better. cake decorating will still be around (with new trends) way after the cricut is gone.

just my humble opinion. : )

I too was just stating my opinion, sorry if you consider that bullying. Have a nice evening.

gigiel... I use to worry when I started Icing Images 12 years ago that people would think slapping a picture on a cake has no talent. 12 years later, by business is stronger than ever and now decorators are realizing that you can do so much more than printing a picture and slapping it on a cake!!!! Lately we have been running ad features in various magazines showing many ways you can use imaging without loosing the level of talent that you have a decorator. In fact Julie Bashore who is a world renown cake decorator with credentials that are a mile long is now so excited over it, she is coming out with new ways to use it as just another tool. It doesnt do her job by no means, it is just one of many tools she uses to decorate a cake. The same is true with the electronic cutters. Yes, you can decorate cakes completely using the cutter. IT saves time and money doing it that way and it defienatly does take talent to plan everything and it has a spectacular result. Or, if you are looking to use it as one of many tools you will find new ways to apply it to your cakes and push your cakes and talents to a whole new level.

I love the cricut - I was just using it last night. I don't use it so much for decorating the cake, but rather cutting multiple items. Quinceanera butterfly cakes are all the rage right now here.

If you think edible images or cutting machine will make you a decorator, then the cake will look machine made. BUT if you see this new technology are new art tools, then the cake will look like a piece of art.

I love my cricut... I don't think my "sun" cake in the gallery would have turned out as nice if I had to cut all the circles out by hand... plus I was able to work on the cake itself while the circles were cut out!

I use mine mostly for lettering, and getting something like a circle or square to be an exact size. I am doing a lego themed cake in a few days and plan on using it to cut out my blocks!

Thanks for the tips, I just bought the cricut and this would definately help.

we 'cakers' a passionate bunch. : )
icingimages, there are some nice new uses out there for that product. (icing images) fun with multiple, endless uses. Not a lot of expense and no added expensive parts to buy, & no worries about this product becoming obsolete and no place to get additions if it does go obsolete.
and i can see how planning a layout on a cake might constitute art on a different level (?) (more like scrapbooking or doing a layout for a school yearbook.) it would require an eye for aesthetics. don't know if planning a layout is art. it's more like if you are a methodical planner you can lay this stuff on a cake. because i think a certain pattern is pretty doesn't mean that thousands of that pattern will make a cake prettier. it would take an eye for sure to not go into a gaudy or overkill look. i seriously considered buying a cricut (or silouette (sp?)) i personally don't like a lot of 'things' taking up a lot of room i.e. a machine and a lot of parts to keep up with. (more of a minimalist, not a fanatical minimalist, just don't have time/place for clutter that i've researched and decided is not for me) even if they go on deep discount, just don't think the finished 'look' is for me. nothing personal to anyone out there. that's what makes this forum so wonderful, peep of all levels of talent with all levels of skill in one community! lotta respect for that. thank you cake central. differing opinions are what keeps it 'real.' haha

and ccr03 "If you think edible images or cutting machine will make you a decorator, then the cake will look machine made. BUT if you see this new technology are new art tools, then the cake will look like a piece of art." touche! valid point.

just a personal opinion, people will make up their own minds.
i don't have an agenda and have nothing to sell or to 'berate'. only my personal observations. we are all individuals with different styles and skills and talents. power to the cakes!

Oh Great! I bought my cricut cake 2 months ago & still haven't used it & after reading all these post I regret spending the money I'm still left with one last payment on it (HSN) LOL

Oh thank you pinkpiggie78

My sis and I were discussing these cutting machines recently. She isn't a caker but a quilter. I was explaining how this is "cheating" in the art of decorating. She explained how the sewing machine was frowned upon when it entered the world of hand quilting. According to her, now it is just a staple of quilting. When people say," I quilted this myself", no one thinks less of that person for using a machine. She has a valid point. Still holding off on the purchase too, but only for now.

I am an avid scrapbooker and have had a Silhouette for years and I love it. Even before the Cricut Cake came out I have thought it would have been great if I could use my Silhouette for my cakes. I've never liked the idea of having to buy all of those cartridges for the Cricut but the Silhouette you only buy the designs you want for about a dollar and you can use loads of free fonts off the Internet.

Am I understanding correctly that you can use the Silhouette for fondant and gumpaste? I am loving that idea, I would even buy one of the new ones to use just for food if that is true.

ailika I so know what you mean!!! Bought mine last summer and was super excited, but I never really used it! I've been looking for my USB cord for it to plug it into the computer to see what I could figure out. I sooo wish I would have bought a silhouette..... Oh the regret! I just hope this posting will help people who are looking for a machine cutter! I will fess up one of these days and buy a silhouette..