I just visited the HSN link and there is a lot of bad reviews for this machine. if you own one can you please let me lnow your opinion?

Where did you find the HSN link??

I don't own one...but the infomercial that I've seen for it makes it sound like you can get professional results with zero cake experience, and we know that's not likely to happen. I'm assuming the bad reviews are from people who have never worked with fondant or gumpaste before.

I just got mine today and will be working with it on friday . I will let u know what i think after that.

I think the bad reviews could be just because the way it was marketed made it seem like it is easy and anyone that doesn't even know how to decorate a cake could use it. From what I have heard it takes some adjusting and you have to be familiar with using gumpaste & fondant to get it to work.

I agree...if it's marketed to everyone as a simple way to decorate a cake, they will find out in a hurry that they still need to learn how to ice a cake properly before they start using the machine. That includes how to deal with the correct
consistency of gumpaste so that the machine cuts it well..

Edna

yes , because the main complain was about the gumpaste sheets
they said it did not cut well.

I got mine and it works just fine. I used fondant.
Rolling it out thin and placing the fondant in the freezer just for a few minutes (not frozen) cuts prefectly for me.

I have only used mine once. It took several tries to get everything the way that I wanted it, but I AM IN LOVE! I used fondant with tylose added. I can't wait til tomorrow when I can use it again!

I had zero experience with the expression and knew little of the cake version. Just bought it on a whim when I saw the price on HSN. I knew that I would never save that much money at one time so flex pay was great!

If I had zero experience with the cricut AND zero experience with cakes, I probably would have been mad as heck trying to use it. Thankfully I already had an idea of how stiff to make the fondant/tylose and how thin to roll it, etc.

I love mine cricut!!! And yes at first you have to figure alot of stuff out and see what works for you,
so if somebody with no cake expierence is using this, then yes they are in for a big surprise.
The only thing I did not like were the frosted sheets.

Just tried my cricut cake last night. Initially I was frustrated with the cuts. I Didn't have it rolled out thin enough. I was about to pack it up and send it back. But, I tried it again. I rolled it thinly and it worked great. The only thing I didn't like was that even on the lowest pressure, it still cut into my mat.

I love love LOVE my Cake. It took a LOT of trial and error, but I think all electronic cutters have a learning curve. I honestly don't know how someone with ZERO cake experience could use it out of the box, unless they used the frosting sheets (which I hear taste like cardboard). Without fondant and gumpaste knowledge, I could see someone being super frustrated.

I think that is where ProvoCraft screwed up. They marketed it to the everyday housewife who wanted to make fancy cakes for their kids. I don't think I could have gotten it to work if I didn't already have caking knowledge.

definate learning curve with this machine, so far I love it!, but I went in knowing i wasnt going to get perfect results off the jump! I went in with the mind set that i will have to invest a few minutes each day trying to get it right! So far I havent used it for anything specific, and had semi okay cuts with it, but even with the complex designs that it just did "okay" with I was blown away! because I can see that as a time saver for me in the long run!

we are military and have moved around a bit, and each time i move to a new location I quickley learn everything factors into my cakes, oven, temp, climate.......i adapt and move on! So I know that i will have to read and play until i find what works for me, and when I move again, i might have to try one of the other techniques!

for those of you that have one, I was wondering.... can you use it to cut other things besides fondant/gumpaste? I heard a rumor that it could cut through cookie dough.. can it?

I was also wondering if it could cut a food safe material like a plastic stencil sheet?

I've been doing a lot of research into which machine I will purchase. The main reason i plan to buy a Silhouette rather than a Cricut is the allegation that Provo used Linda McClure's concept and left her out in the cold. The other reason is that the Silhouette doesn't require a lot of additional expense in add-ons.

I just found this concerning the Silhouette: http://creativedesignsforcakes.blogspot.com/2010/09/silhouette-cake-machine-has-earned-top.html

The silhouette also doesn't require expensive cartridges. You can use Make The Cut software and use any design you want. With that said you do need a special blade that doesn't come with the silhouette unless you buy it from Linda. Linda does sell the blade seperately but if you buy the machine from her you also get her DVD which is invaluable.

i use my cricut for the butterfly.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2015120

I got it to do my lettering but after being late on a cake because I couldn't get a clean cut on a simple happy birthday after a gazillion tries (no rhyme or reason either), it is now collecting dust on a shelf.

Set-up, fiddling with settings, rolling the gumpaste, letting it set, making sure you didn't mess up your size settings, getting the perfect amount of shortening on the mat, cutting, trying to remove from the mat, letting it harden a little bit so you can get it on the cake without it folding in on itself, re-rolling, letting it firm up, re-cutting, rinse repeat... forget it. I can cut the same letters//butterflies/whatever in 10 minutes with a cutter vs. the 3 hour commitment to use this thing to cut the easiest of designs.

Jen

I have one because I got a deal when Michael's was selling them off. $99. I had no gumpaste or fondant experience, but do have electronic cutting experience. It has a slight learning curve (you need to get the medium really thin), but that's about it.

I really have a lot of fun with it and have to tell you that it does a nice job cutting gumpaste/fondant and I feel I know what a good cut is having worked with a couple of other cutting machines.

It's time-consuming and there can be times when you could do it easier by hand, but if you want uniform, consistent cut-outs, it's great. I have cut sugar cookies. If you don't want them 1/16 inch thick, you just double them up before you cook them.

I use a third-party software with mine so I can cut anything I want. It's great fun but I don't know how time-saving or helpful it would be in a commercial bakery environment.

I've only used mine a few times, but I love it. I have used the Cricut for scrapbooking previously though, so I had some experience already. It does take some practice, but once you get the process down, it's quick and easy. The first thing I tried to cut came out perfect and ended up on my sister's wedding cake! Can't wait to use it more!

I'm still having issues with mine, it works okay for the first shape, then after that it's a nightmare. I haven't found it works too well with MMF (even with putting it in the fridge/freezer). I'm going to try premade gumpaste on it tonight and see if that helps. I use Make the Cut so I can do my own designs, I think it's ridiculous to buy all those cartridges. My mom has a silhouette for scrapbooking and I love that one, but I was having difficulty finding if one was food safe, so I went with the cricut instead.

I like mine, it does take some playing with to get the right settings, thickness of paste etc but it is good when you figure it out. I will say the frosting sheets suck, I have not yet been able to get one clean cut from them.

I know everyone uses different techniques, for me popping the fondant or gumpaste in the freezer doesn't work, I just let it all sit out for about 15 mins before cutting, works great.

Good Luck if you get one

I have one, I got it last year for Mothers Day. I like Mine,I use mostly for lettering . I have use MMF with it , with no problems so far

please help i cant get my gumpaste of the mat it ripps all the time any idea why ? thanks becky xx

What frosting sheets are you using? I've had good luck with the ones fro9m icingimages.

beckym4888, how soft is your gumpaste when you cut it?

ALL I USE IS MODELING CHOCOLATE MAKES THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CUTOUTS AND EASY TO HANDLE. YOU CAN REMOVE THE LITTLE PLASTIC THATS OVER THE BLADE TO CUT THICKER. SEE MY BUZ LIGHTYEAR CAKE.