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!
LOL..................agbay is next on my list!
Agbay?....uh oh...bet there's a thread for that too
That's excellent! Is she pushing the DVD too? What does she call the class?? How does LM feel about it, since she "created" the method?
OK, I found the information. Still, did she get the idea from LM? Or did she develop her own technique?
Since I didn't think of it myself, I would personally not want to take the credit.
And please don't read anything into what I'm writing
I am just saying that I would love to teach LM''s method, using her DVD as a basis, and running through it as a class.L McClure taught Carrie how to use the Cricut to cut gum paste. She knows about the class and supports her in this. She also personally taught the other people who used the Cricut in the newest ultimate cake off. Credit should be given to her, but so many people forget where the idea came from.
Someone else on page 20 or so of this thread said that she'd been using the cricut for gumpaste for a while, and didn''t know that anyone else had been using it for that. There aren't many truly original ideas around...Sometimes the "credit" is more about getting the publicity for something before someone else does! :wink
So, while I'm waiting for my Cricut to arrive, I've amassed a huge collection of svg files to use with SCAL. I woke up the other morning and a lightbulb went off and I'm wondering if any of you have tried this (if so and I missed the post, I apologize!)...
I started d/ling pics of the outlines of all the expensive flower cutters. I'm thinking if I convert then to svg, I can let the cricut do the cutting and I don't have to spend a ton on petal cutters!
What do you think? Here's an example of what I found (prior to converting to svg)...
Ha ha, I was just thinking of this, and I wrote something about doing this on my facebook page about an hour ago! I also just posted about there not being many really original ideas anymore 
. I do think that would be a good use for the cricut, because I can't see doing a ton of wedding cakes with it, not everyone wants scrollwork all over their cakes. It will be useful for making the flower petal shapes, though.
I've been playing with Cricut for the first time today in between batches of cuppies... I cut some cute cupcake wrappers and found templates for several more...
I got 4 out of each 12x12 sheet. I made 24 wrappers in about 8 mins and it cost me $3.00!
(these are Bakerella's S'mores cuppies, btw!)
I have decided to buy the Cricut Create tomorrow at Big Lots for $99, and also buy the Make The Cut software ~ one sale until tomorrow for $58.48. I figure between not have to purchase tappit letters anymore (that are never the right size for the project I'm working on) and not having to buy cupcake wrappers, I will make my money back very, very quickly! I'm also excited about being able to create my own wall stencils instead of being limited to the silly sayings they have at the stores!
Wish me luck~ Hopefully I will not have any problems getting my fondant and gumpaste to cut properly!
PS ~ does anyone else call this thing "cry-cut" with a long "i"? Before I knew what it was, that's what I called it, and now I can't call it "cricket" to save my life!!!
PS ~ does anyone else call this thing "cry-cut" with a long "i"? Before I knew what it was, that's what I called it, and now I can't call it "cricket" to save my life!!![/quote]
That's so funny! That's what I called when I 1st started looking @ them. I asked a JoAnn's employee where the cry-cuts were. She looked @ me like I was an idiot. I had to explain what the machine did then she knew what I was talking about.
PS ~ does anyone else call this thing "cry-cut" with a long "i"? Before I knew what it was, that's what I called it, and now I can't call it "cricket" to save my life!!!
That's so funny! That's what I called when I 1st started looking @ them. I asked a JoAnn's employee where the cry-cuts were. She looked @ me like I was an idiot. I had to explain what the machine did then she knew what I was talking about.
I am laughing so hard at this right now! (I'm not laughing at you, but with you!) I had seen the commercial a long time ago, so I knew how to say it. But I'm from the south, and I can just hear you asking that in the store!
PS ~ does anyone else call this thing "cry-cut" with a long "i"? Before I knew what it was, that's what I called it, and now I can't call it "cricket" to save my life!!!
That's so funny! That's what I called when I 1st started looking @ them. I asked a JoAnn's employee where the cry-cuts were. She looked @ me like I was an idiot. I had to explain what the machine did then she knew what I was talking about.
I am laughing so hard at tis right now! (I'm not laughing at you, but with you!) I had seen the commercial a long time ago, so I knew how to say it. But I'm from the south, and I can just hear you asking that in the store!
Me too, after I had it at home about a week I noticed the cricut on the bow and the light bulb came on LOL 
Yes, I deserve to be laughed AT! My southern accent is pretty strong.
BTW, I had some great success with my Cricut last night.
DH blade @ 5
Speed 3
Pressure 2
Wilton fondant with tylose
Fondant rolled to a 4 on my Atlas pasta machine
Small amt shortening on the mat
Small amt shortening smeared on top of the fondant
Let fondant sit for 10 min.
No tears, no jagged edges
I may also try placing the fondant (on the mat) in the freezer for several min as suggested either here or another post.
Just bought my Criicut Create at Big Lots! I got there an hour early (online opening time was wrong!), but that's a good thing, since I got the first of only 4 machines that they had at $99!!! Wish me luck!!!
Good for you! My Big Lots only had 3. I was about the 5th person in line. I am actually pretty irritated!
I also forgot to mention that I greased up the blade with some shortening (being very careful) btw ea. cut. Also, clean the blade btw ea. cut.
I just tried cutting some Satin Ice mixed with tylose & it worked great too.
I'm so excited! The decor for the cake I'm doing this weekend will be mostly made with the Cricut.
L McClure taught Carrie how to use the Cricut to cut gum paste. She knows about the class and supports her in this. She also personally taught the other people who used the Cricut in the newest ultimate cake off. Credit should be given to her, but so many people forget where the idea came from.
Linda showed us how to use the cricut machine about a year ago and we were one of the teams to use it on the Ultimate Cake Off Season 2. We mentioned several times that Linda had shown us the method. I'm not sure if it will make the show. Anytime we demo the machine, I never mention how to modify the expression (machine we use) I tell them to buy the DVD by going to her website. We are very thankfull, as it has been profitable for us. I am attaching a photo of one of our cakes.
Jennifer, that is beautiful! Can I ask you ~ how long and how much practice did it take you to become proficient at using the Cricut for cakes? And do you feel that you can offer your customers just about anything now that you have your modified Cricut working in your kitchen? I'd love to hear the "business" side of what the Cricut can do for you! Thanks so much!
Starkie,
It took us about 120 man hours to become what I call proficient. We did make ever mistake that is possible in a commercial setting. We now offer other bakeries help so it cuts the time to 6 hours. After working on and off for a few days and becoming frustrated, we called Linda to see what we were doing wrong. I have to say Linda is a friend of my grandmothers and was in town a few days later for an ICES show. She was kind enough to stop back by and show us our problem. We were rolling our gumpaste to thick. After this we still had to tweek a few more things.
As far as being able to offer brides/customers more options, yes and no. What I mean by that is that it's not that a bride can get more options, but more options are in her price range. I could have done the black and white using cutters or hand painting, but that would have taken 4 times as long. I charge by the hour, so this customer was able to afford a cake that (if hand done) would have been out of her price range.
The black and white cake pattern came from a hand drawn scroll. We had to modify the pattern some once it was scanned in. It took about 2 hours to cricut (you can be doing other things during this time), and 30 min. to apply the images.
I have gone to several bakeries to help them "tweek" their process. And most say that they make their money back by it just cutting out polka dots. Sorry if this is long.
That's a wonderfull cake Jennifer.
I'm sure you've seen the new Circut Cake Cutter and was wondering if you'll be replacing your old machine with the new machine when it come out.
TIA
That cake is stunning! I am still mad at my inability to use my Cricut...lol
There are a couple of things that I have on my shopping list and Linda's dvd is one of them.
Thanks for sharing the pic!
That's a wonderfull cake Jennifer.
I'm sure you've seen the new Circut Cake Cutter and was wondering if you'll be replacing your old machine with the new machine when it come out.
TIA
We currently have 4 machines that we use on cakes only. I will have to take a look at the machine before investing that much money.
After reading all these wonderful posts and seeing these fabulous cakes I decided to purchae a Cricut. I already bought Linda's dvd but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. Can anyone tell me what items are a must to start off with? I'm gonna look on ebay first so I kinda want to know what I'm looking for
AKS, I bought a printer cord at Wal-Mart for $15 ~ it has one flat end and one box end, so you can hook the Cricut up to a laptop. Juniecakes, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend Make The Cut software instead of buying any more cartridges. I tried it out and it works GREAT. There are even some online tutorials for the software use with Cricut. I haven't tried making cuts in gumpaste yet ~ hopefully tomorrow. I ordered Linda McClure's DVD, and I'm looking forward to seeing that, too!
they are coming out with a new cricut cake machine. do a google on it. it looks wonderful, but cost $399.00 I really just want the new cake cartrige and then buy the reg. cricut machine. I wonder if that would work?
any one know?
melody
they are coming out with a new cricut cake machine. do a google on it. it looks wonderful, but cost $399.00 I really just want the new cake cartrige and then buy the reg. cricut machine. I wonder if that would work?
any one know?
Right now you can only get the cake cartridge with the new machine. You can learn how to make any design you want. Linda McClure has a brand new DVD featuring Damask Wedding Cakes and teaches you how to make your own designs and use SCAL or MTC. see it at
c r e a t i v e d e s i g n s c a k e s . c o m
melody
WTH! am I doing wrong? I have the Cricut Expression, I watched Linda's DVD & even used my darn pasta machine & I cant get this Cricut to do what I want it to do. Ok I must say I didn't have the deep cutting blade at first so I figured that was the problem, but I have that now too & it was still a mess. I almost bounced that very expensive machine off my kitchen walls 
I'm so frustrated. I cant get it right. I'm gonna go buy some tylose tonight & mix it with my fondant & not use my gumpaste & see how that works. Help me please someone, I'm still making flex payments on this machine and hating I bought it now. How dry does the gumpaste or fondant need to be before you try to cut on it? and how thin should it be? I feel like such a loser when I see everyone else's cricut work and is anyone else having problems using it? Thanks for any help.
WTH! am I doing wrong? I have the Cricut Expression, I watched Linda's DVD & even used my darn pasta machine & I cant get this Cricut to do what I want it to do. Ok I must say I didn't have the deep cutting blade at first so I figured that was the problem, but I have that now too & it was still a mess. I almost bounced that very expensive machine off my kitchen walls
I'm so frustrated. I cant get it right. I'm gonna go buy some tylose tonight & mix it with my fondant & not use my gumpaste & see how that works. Help me please someone, I'm still making flex payments on this machine and hating I bought it now. How dry does the gumpaste or fondant need to be before you try to cut on it? and how thin should it be? I feel like such a loser when I see everyone else's cricut work and is anyone else having problems using it? Thanks for any help.
When I was having problems I emailed Linda McClure and told her what was happening. It turned out my problem was the gum paste. She gave me some great information and some hints on how to get a clean cut. Now I can cut any design sucessfully. Here is her email from her web site
jefflindamcclure @ bellsouth.net
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