I've never thought about this in conjunction with Cricut, but I sure have thought about it in terms of buttercream and fondant. I may love fondant because I can work with it so much better than buttercream, but you can bet I'm practicing that buttercream piping every chance I get! If "what comes around, goes around" hold true, I want to be ready!

In my opinion, it's all about production. I can survive with out a cricut machine, and have been doing just fine without it.... but, the way I look at it is, if the cricut can save me time... I can produce more in less time. If I can cut out 10 snowflakes on the cricut in 15 mins that would take me 2 hours by hand... I would be a fool for not using it to my advantage.
It's also my opinion that the "art" of decorating a cake is not just in your hands (or tools), it's in your mind. It doesn't matter how many fancy tools someone has, it's their creative ability that makes cakes that people remember. Art isn't how you acheve it, it's how you imagine it. There are many different techniques of art...and it's not how you get there, it's what you have when you finish.

My hubby is a hobby woodworker and he feels the same way about a lot of wood tools and wood techniques. he puts much more value in being able to shape and mold a piece of 2x4 into a beautiful side table by planing and sanding and putting, as I like to say, 'the love and passion' into every piece. yes, he uses tools, but as the consensus seems to be on this issue, if you dont' have the artistic talent, then you've just got some boards nailed together!

He and I both believe that you need to understand (!) the basics before you can move forward. We teach our children to spell before we allow them to use spell check ... spell check is a tool once you've mastered spelling, not a replacement for INSTEAD OF learning spelling.

I've worked with people who had no idea how to read a spreadsheet or figure something if the system was down simply because they didn't have the accounting background. (My accountant told me that Quickbooks was fine *IF* you understood accounting basics, but if you didnt' understand what you were putting in, then you were going to get garbage coming out.)

Too many expectations in a 24/7 give it to me NOW world. I'm seeing a loss of curiousity; a lack of interest in LEARNING something as opposed to "I want to make 6 tier wedding cake tomorrow! Show me how!"

While I understand what you are saying Indidebi...... do you think the woodworker who carves his art by a chain saw is any less talented than one who does his by hand? Frankly I think they are both talented...because they can imagine something and create it. So really, does it take more talent to use a cookie cutter or a cricut? I don't think many people sit here and hand carve out hearts and squares. So where does the machine take away from the learning process there? Okay, what about damask? Most people use stencils for that.....so how is using the cricut any different really? It's like this scratch vs box argument that has gone on for years...... I really don't care how you get there, as long as it taste good in the end...and that's how I feel about the decorating. The cricut isn't going to take the place of hand piping, buttercream smoothing, and fondant covering. These are all things that will always be the basics of decorating... no machine will ever be able to take the place of them.

Indydebi, does your husband watch the New Yankee Workshop?! Now whenever you mention him, I'll picture that guy with his silly hat, lol.

I love all new an old, I haven't used the cricut yet, but I have one, been lazy with it. I think the artist will find ways to use both the new and the old and hopefully those that are new in the business will see that the old fashion things has a beauty that can't be compared with newer styles..

At the end of the day, I love learning.. What best than combining both worlds..

Edna

Sorry gang, let me clarify. We just admire a little bit more the guy who can manual cut a dovetail joint that is super snug as all git-out over the joint that is pre-cut. neither is wrong. A blanket from walmart will keep you just as warm as the quilt your grandmother made ... but dont' you admire the quilt just a little bit more? I dont' care if gramma hand-sewed each stitch or sewed it on her Singer machine.....she has to understand the geometry of putting a quilt together before she does it either way. (And many will consider the quilt "handmade" regardless of which method gramma used! )

We just happen to believe that one really should have a good understanding of how the BASICS work. if something goes wrong with the dovetail making machine, how does the guy know how to adjust it if he doensn't understand the concept of what dovetails do? If the wedding ring pattern on the quilt isn't working, how does the sewer know what's wrong if the sewer doesnt' understand the math and geometry involved?

I just want my kids to know the basics ... and THEN let the tools work for them. I dont' want them to grow up just assuming the tools with do the job without an understanding of what is happening.

Learn to spell first .... THEN use spell check to catch any typos!

The cricut isn't that easy to use, anyway...It takes so long to get the gumpaste right, and then to let it dry, you might as well use a cutter to make the snowflakes or whatever it is you need. I don't know about the time savings, it's just a tool and a toy. If you use wafer paper and icing sheets that would save you time (no prep on your end), but gumpaste, not so much.

Costumeczar, I've seen it done very quickly, within minutes on gumpaste. A cake decorator demo-ed it at our last cake club meeting and then allowed each of us give it a try. She had nothing prepared and was done cutting several things within 20 minutes, setup, talking (a lot), using, passing each item around. I don't know how you've seen it done. I've seen it done with icing sheets as well. They do work, but only a certain brand.

My grandma told me that when metal tips came out she thought that was preposterous. She cut all her bags to the "tip" she needed. I laughed, because how many of us can decorate without any tip whatsoever. I can do alot of decorations with a cut bag, but nothing like what she can do. She now says she is glad for the invention of the metal tip, saves time and is more accurate.

You do need the basics, because imagine a cake being due and you are decorating it and the power goes out. If you don't know how to decorate using "traditional" methods you will be up a creek. Just like computer registers. We use them at the bakery, however our sales staff is trained how to add tax and count change so if we do have a power outage we don't loose business. The register allows us to do business at a faster pace, but it can crash.

I think I'd be lazy about the cricut too if I had one. I would be like...eh....I'll just cut THIS one out by hand because I don't want to mess with turning on, messing with, and cleaning up the machine!

Eventually it would collect dust in my house! I'm really bad anyway about eyeballing stuff rather than measuring (only measure if I HAVE to).

(That's why, as a former math teacher, I HATE CALCULATORS!!!! At least in school below like 10th grade!)

sorry leah I was one of the pm'ers..... newbie to caking trying different thing.

I like the machine because I don't have to personally work on every part of the cake. I can have Tobias cut the pieces for me and then I can do what I love most decorate. I can and still do alot of handpiping and decorating using buttercream. I can do an amazing job of piping designs, monograms and the like in buttercream (not to toot my own horn). The machine does help me when pricing. Example: I can handpipe a monogram in any font and it might take 30 min. I can cut one out in 5. I charge by the hour, therefore I can pass the savings on to my customer.
I am also an advocate of the sheeter. I LOVE my sheeter. My arms do not hurt anymore and it saves me time. I can roll out and cover a cake in half the time. No longer do I look at a 24" cake and roll my eyes. I just do it. All of these items are tools and should be used as such. They may not be for everyone, but don't bash anyone for wanting to use them.

So no one gets me wrong, I do think you should know the basics before you cut corners.

I wish I had room in my kitchen for a sheeter!!!!

I agree with both sides. I love the artistry and look forward to learning more, but I also love the idea of great tools. I love the fact that you don't have to buy all the fancy tools to do a great job. A lot of mine are just things from my home, but I do look forward to my cricut coming today.

I think if it wasn't for some of the newer tools and molds, there would be no way I would have thought I could ever do this. I just want everyone to know that I do appreciate all their "hand craftsmanship" and I still think you can tell the difference.

The talent on this site blows me away everyday. Keep up the good work. I learn so much from you guys everyday.

Kids these days can't do much without a calculator. Its sad. I've seen schools use them in grade school.

Okay, when you talk about someone needing to know the basics....who exactly are you referring to? Are you referring to the numerous people who probably bought this machine who have never even baked a cake before? Or are you referring to people like me who already have a business? I will be the first to say that I do not know everything, and still have a lot to learn....but I don't see how my purchase of a machine to help me with productivity makes me any less of a decorator than I was before. Does the fact that I don't have a mold for any of those car shaped cakes or lingerie cakes that I hand carved save me from being considered one of "those" people who thinks they can skip the basics and let a machine do all my work? I apologize if I'm taking this wrong... just trying to figure out where the REAL concern is here.

Why not use the cricut? I don't think this will kill any creativity or imagination from decorators...it's simply a tool to make things easier. Someone once told me..."don't work HARDER...work SMARTER" and I think that's what the Cricut will do.