I had a cricut for scrapbooking and just found out you can use it to cut stuff out for your cakes. Well I've tried 100% gumpaste, which slid all over the place, then I tried 50% gumpaste 50% fondant still didn't work. What am I doing wrong? 
I was so excited to use my cricut for cake decorations and I can't get it right. My paste keeps sliding off my cutting mat (I use the back side of it). How thick shoud it be? I've tried it kinda thick, and super thin... need help! 
Are you using too much shortening on the mat? The paste needs to be thin but not see through...
I was not using shortening! It was sliding just on the back side of the cricut mat itself. I would think the shortening would make it slide more!
Hmmmm.They tell you to rub a bit on the mat so it is easier to peel it off...Maybe it is too thick and the blade is dragging it....
i have problems with sliding if i don't use crisco.
i don't use the mat's surface but rather tape parchment paper to it and then put a light coat of crisco on the parchment.
Thanks for the tips! Do you use 1/2 & 1/2 or another mixture?
I'm not sure if you removed the sticky from the front of your mat, but I would seriously recommend you not send your mat through upside down, you can jam up your machine/get sticky all over some of the pretty important moving parts ofyour Cricut.
In the Linda MCClures DVD's she explains the entire proces in detail otherwise check some of the long Cricut threads for hints and tips, it would be a shame for people to be ruining/breaking their expensive machines
www. deseretdesigns .com (no spaces)
yes. she scrapes the sticky off the mat. and uses shortening litely.. and then pats the g/p down with a fondant smoother.. that is the way you have to do it.. she makes her own g/p.. so use g.p instead of just fondant. and roll it thin..like you would for rose petals.. and she says using the blue cutting blade(it is longer) is the proper way. not the one that comes with the machine... so keep trying.. let the g/p set up for a few minutes before sending it thru.. hth
I'm just gonna break down and buy the DVD! I would hate to mess my machine up. It would cost more to replace the machine than to buy the DVD. Thanks for all the tips though! You guys are great!! 
I've found that fondant stiffened with tylose works better than GP, you also need to let it set for a bit (15 min) before you cut. I also use a deep cut blade. You can also use frosting sheets, they cut real nice.
fondant with tylose has worked best for me too.
i've also found that letting it dry a little is key otherwise the blade will stick and drag.
i get so caught up in getting the perfect effect that i throw everything i can think of at it at once.
my results vary alot at this point so i'm going to start measuring and recording results such as how much tylose is used, drying time etc. to see which things work best.
i am still limited to designs without fine detail so i'm thinking of getting linda mcclure's dvd too.
tatorchip!
i looked at linda mcclure's cricut cakes. she does amazing detail with it!
i've watched her free tutorials and know how good they are so i ordered the cricut from her today.
thanks!
I cover my regular mat with waxed paper (no shortening needed). I use fondant () with CMC (same as tylose) added.
Do you have the cricut expression? Can you share the settings you use? I feel like I've tried everything, and all of my edges are a jaggedy mess!!!
I finally have success!!! See my post with pics in another cricut forum:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6664843-.html#6664843
I've being going back and forth in my mind about getting one. I keep wondering if it would be worth it. Seems like most have so much trouble with them.
IMO the Cricut is 100% worth it, there is just so much you can do with it besides the awesomeness of cutting gumpaste! The cutting gumpaste part for sure has a little learning curve, but honestly it seems that once people pay attention to the key points Linda goes over on her dvd and then adjust to what works for them, climate wise etc, there is success. See greengyrl26's post for example. It is so frustrating when you want something to work and it doesn't, I think a lot of people jumped into the gumpaste cutting with both feet and got quickly overwhelmed, you just want it to work, but it takes a little time to get it down (just like decorating in general) just my 2 cents. I am a big Cricut fan though and I now have an E and thanks to Black Friday a personal I can keep with my cake stuff 
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