All about the Cricut Circle.... from my point of view.

I would like to start this out saying that our economy is not what it was 10 years ago, BUT.... there are a few things to think about in this economy. Most people THINK they cannot afford a Cricut Circle membership. I would first like to start by saying... I do not work for Provo-Craft or Cricut, my facebook, blog and website are just from my mind and what myself and my design team can do with our Cricut Machines. I am a Cricut Circle member and I love it. I have a found a few ways to break it down and make it more affordable.
    I have to tell you my favorite Circle cartridge is the Everyday Cricut Cartridge, LOVE IT! Now some of the circle members did not like the cartridges that they got, so Cricut DOES listen and changed the format for the upcoming year. Now instead of having a name, they will be Cricut Circle Year 2 volume 1,2,3,4. Or something like that... AND they will all have an imagine, font, tag, card, so they will have features for EVERYONE, wether you are a card maker, scrapbooker, cake decorator or just a paper crafter, the new cartridges will have something for everyone. Below are some samples of the images from two of the 4 cartridges from the first year.
So, before you say you cannot afford it, think about this....
On average I pay about $55 per cartridge from http://www.cricut.com/ PLUS as a circle member you get 10% off of EVERY order you place at cricut.com, PLUS you get reward points for your purchase and then the reward points in your cartridges that you purchase. So you get double reward points for every cartridge you buy.
   Now Cricut has done a wonderful thing and instead of paying the whole year at once. You can pay quarterly, if you are having a financial rough time, on the quarterly payments, you can always cancel for that quarter, then start again later. I am sure they would not like everyone to do that, but they have made it nice to have that option. There is NO start up fee. It is a quarterly membership and you get a free Circle exclusive cartridge every 3 months. You cannot buy these cartridges anywhere else.
    You get a special monthly Cricut Circle on-line magazine with free design files to go with your cartridges. You get invited to special Cricut Circle events, crops, and meet-ups. At these events.... they always have drawings and free items that you get. At the last Cricut Circle event that I went to I got  3 beautiful Cricut Circle Silk scarves. They also had a drawing and there were about 50 of us there and they gave away about 45 prizes to the Circle members. You get to sneak peek of the next cartridges the day before they are released to the public AND often we get to purchase cartridges a week or two before everyone else. I also purchased two of the awesome Cricut Circle Cuttlebug embossing folders. You cannot purchase these unless you are a member of the Cricut Circle. They are very cute.
   There is also a Cricut Circle Blog, and it has SO many amazing projects with the new and older cartridges. I have seen some of the most amazing projects made with other cartridge and it makes that older cartridge back up into my current top 5 cartridges. It gives the EXACT cartridge, what image it is, what size it is, how to do it, what paper was used, what techniques were used! ALSO they give you the files so you dont have to do the work, it has all of the right sizes and everything on the file for you, you dont even have to figure out which key to press and which size to make them it! On the Circle message boards, members share what they have made with the cartridge and how they did it. It is great!!! I have 'scraplifted' many of the projects and ideas from there. It is a great place to get inspiration when you are in a creative rut. .... So is my facebook :) There is a wonderful group of creative crafters, who bring positivity, encouragement regardless of level of talent, and great ideas to 'scraplift.'
     So from my point of view, the Cricut Circle is somewhat affordable if you break it up into quarterly payments and if you already purchase one cartridge every 3 months anyway. The quarterly price was $79.99, this year it is $69,99 and you get a free EXCLUSIVE cartridge, that most people pay over $100 for on online auction websites (e-b*y). Well I am already typically paying AT LEAST $55 per cartridge, so you are paying an extra $15 for all of the other perks AND 10% off of every order, Circle events, DOUBLE reward points, you get them when you make a cricut.com purchase PLUS the ones that come in your cartridge, the monthly Circle Magazine, cricut/gypsy files, the circle events, the Cricut circle blog and exclusive Circle message boards.
   Did I mention that the 3rd Thursday of each month Cricut has Hello Thursday, the monthly new cartridge release? Well as a Circle member you get WOW WEDNESDAY! We get to see them all the day before AND the most amazing and creative examples of projects that Cricut has made from the new cartridges. I LOVE what they do with the cartridges. I think the Circle design team truly showcases the best features of each of the new cartridges, the day before anyone else gets to see the images from the cartridges! If you do not want to do the monthly payment you can join for $250 this year there will be even more perks for this upcoming year! My envy and future dream is to be among the amazingly talented staff of Cricut.
    I do not work for Provo-Craft or Cricut, my facebook, blog and website are just from my mind and what myself and my design team can do with our Cricut Machines.
    For current Circle members you can renew for ONLY $199 and get 3 months free of the Cricut Magazine (that is a $54 value alone)
    On July 2nd my website will launch and be filled with tons of Cricut resources. They are all free and I make no money on my website. It is just a great place for Cricut Lover's to get inspiration, share creativity and to positivity encourage our friends to share. Wait until you meet my design team and see what they can do! I have beginners and members that are on other 'popular bloggers' design team. I think I have the most amazing and talented team and I cannot wait until you meet them and see what they can do!
    Everyday on my blog you will see at least 3 creations that we have made using our Cricuts and Creativity! Stop by soon, there is so much to learn and share! This all begins on July 2, 2011!

   Here is the link to sign up or read more about the Cricut Circle!
http://www.cricut.com/circle/sign.up.aspx

Talk about timing. I posted this before I got my Circle email... that was weird!
Don't for get the first weekend of every month we do a 100 Cricut cartridge blog hop (no there are not 100 blogs) If you don't know what a blog hop is, We make projects with our cricut, you start at one then at the bottom of what thye made, you click to go to the next. So you just click and look! That's it! That's a blog hop!

  

Blog Hops for 2011

Blog Hop calendar for 2011

ANYONE can sign up for ANY bog hop. (Except for July 2-3 and December 10-11,
these are special surprises my design team has for you)
All other blog hops are open to ANYONE!

For ALL of the blog hops these should be BRAND NEW projects, not posted anywhere else or entered into a contest before. This must be new and created specifically for this event. Please do not let anyone see this before the event, it ruins the fun of the blog hop! I will also have a graphic for each blog hop for you to post :)

The first weekend of every month is the
100+ Cricut Cartridge blog hop.   
 So there is NO limit to how many people can participate in this one. As soon as I have people sign up for 100 cartridges the event is then closed to new people, but I can always put you on the top of the list for the following month 100 cartridge blog hop. These 100 cartridges must be 100 DIFFERENT cartridges. So no one can sign up for one that has already been signed up for (but if you want to use more than you signed up for, that is ok)

So if you would like to sign up for a blog hop, please email me EricasBlogHop@aol.com if you would like to participate in one. VERY important, in the SUBJECT of the email please put the DATE of the hop you want.

Please send ONE email PER blog hop. I might not see it if you comment on here to sign up, PLEASE email request. I have a system to sort these, so having the right subject for ANY email is always so important.
Also please include your:
Name
Cartridge
Blog address
Theme of the Blog Hop you want to do.
Date of the hop

July 2-3 Special Surprise 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop (design team only)

July 16-17 Cancer support/awareness/survivor You do not need to have the cancer ribbons.

July 23-25 Christmas in JULY.

August 6-7 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

August 20-21 Card and Invitation Hop

September 3-4 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

September 17-18 Boys and Men Blog Hop

October 1-2 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

October 15-16 Fall Favorites Blog hop

November 5-6 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

November 19-20 Recipe/baking blog hop

December 3-4 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

December 10-11 Princess Bella’s Birthday Blog Hop DESIGN TEAM ONLY

December 31-Jan 1 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

January 14-15 Winter/Snow Blog Hop

If you are interested in any of these blog hops, please email me, if you want to get more ideas before you commit to it, watch my blog on these dates and see what everyone else has made.

My design team is made up of all levels, I am sure you will find someone's creation that looks like something you could make! Welcome and we hope you come back often. We will have daily postings and many more creations and help to come!

Cricut Craft Room April Launch

    I would just like to let everyone know what my blog is about. First and foremost about helping people love their Cricut and use it to its fullest legal potential. I LOVE my Cricut and ALL of my cartridges, yes I own them all :) It is my vice, I don't drink or smoke, but Cricut cartridges are where I spend all of my extra money. My blog is for Cricut lovers. If you do not love your Cricut and its cartridges and the other Provo-Craft items, you might not want to keep up with my blog. I have a Yudu and CuttleBug and I do own other company's products like Stampin' up, Slice, and Sizzix. On occasion you will see me use of a few of the other products here, BUT this is for Cricut Lovers, so at least one of my Cricut Machines will be used in all of my projects, videos, cards and layouts.
    So, I had surgery and have not worked on anything in about a week. My husband went away to work for the week and I promised I would not use my machines while he was gone. To make sure I wouldn't he took all of my power cords... I promised him i would not work in my studio, but I had to sneak up there, I missed it... I decided to work on some things with my new cartridges. The Ultimate Creativity bundle and the new 8 seasonals with the same ultimate creativity series.... low and behold, he took ALL of my power cords... I have 8 Expressions, Imagine, Personal, 4 sewing machines and 1 computerized embroidery machine. He took ALL of the power cords, some can work in other machines and he didn't know which went to what so he took them all with him.... That is SO wrong, I went to call him about it and told on myself, as soon as it came out of my mouth I realized I outed myself that I did what I said I wouldn't do. Gosh darn it!
    But I still have my computer. So on to Cricut Craft Room. The big announcement on Cricut Craft Room's official launch. It is scheduled to be launched at the end of April, I am thinking with the E2 (expression 2). That is my speculation. All they say is that they think it will be ready to launch at the end of April.
   So I am working my way through the cartridges and making files with all of the color codes and such. One of the great things about Cricut Craft Room is that even if you do not have the imagine, you can design in Imagine mode and see everything in color, then when you select your machine it will show it in the outlines or cut lines that will be cut on your machine.
   I unintentionally stirred up alot of controversy on the Cricut Message boards. I posted about Cricut Craft Room (CCR) and I said what I was doing about making files and such. Here is what I did not realize, I was posting on a non-Circle thread. The Circle for those of you who do not know what it is, it is the Cricut Circle, a paid membership where you get a new exclusive cartridge every3 months. You also get access to certain threads on the message boards and alot of people share their .gypsy and .cut files. After getting alot of negative flack, I decided to post things saying that I would only share with Cricut Circle members, again I posted that on a non-circle board, so it went public to everyone, boy did the nasty PM (private Messages) roll in. If you notice I am defining what the shorthand (PM and CCR) actually means. My grandma keeps asking what does TFS mean.... It took me the longest time to figure out that TFS means Thanks For Sharing. So for those of you who do not know what this short hand means, you will like my Postings, for those of you who already know I am sorry but I am going to define these things to help those who do not know. I was told in some of those nasty emails that EVERYONE knows what PM means, who do I think I am acting like people don't know this stuff, well guess what, there are a few people out there who do not know what this means, I am trying to help them. There is nothing like trying to read post and not knowing what PM, TFS, LOL, ROTFL,  nothing like trying to decode while you read. (PM- Private Message, TFS- Thanks for Sharing, LOL- Laughing Out Load, ROTFL-Rolling On The Floor Laughing.) I am from the texting generation, but I still have to stop and decode every once in a while.
   Back to the Cricut message boards. I received a few VERY nasty emails from people on there. Oh my! I did not mean to insult anyone or treat anyone like they were dumb. I received alot of flack from people saying even beginners know you can put multiple colors of paper and a mat and load it and have it cut from several colors at a time. Yes I know people know how to do this. But what I am doing is helping people who don't have TIME to figure all of this out. I am making files so anyone can go to Cricut Craft Room (Free on-line design software, similar but better than design studio) or use their gypsy. Also my 3 year old daughter and 75 Year old grandma do NOT know how to put multiple colors on the mat and cut all of the pieces to a character or die cut. If this insults your intelligence or creativity, then do not use them. I am not twisting anyone's arm to use my files. I have received ALOT of positive feedback on these so far. Basically if you do not know what I am talking about, here it is. I am putting these together based on what I THINK people want, based an thread on the Message Boards. I am making a file, as you can see on my earlier posts, where you will see the Imagine file, Cricut file and paper placement. This will in no way be used on any other software. These will be ONLY in .cut and .gypsy file formats. There for your have to have the cartridge to use my files. You still need to purchase the Cricut cartridges and load them to your gypsy or CCR. I will be providing a picture of a .jpeg of the paper placement. It will not have the items outlined on it, because clever people will just use one of those other software programs to get out of buying the cartridge. I am not here to enable those people I am here to help Cricut Lovers. Please do not bog down my site by commenting on the 3rd party software programs. If you use those other programs, you will not like my Blog, so please send the negativity about Cricut products to another site or sounding off board. I used one of those other programs before and found out that it voided the on warranty my machine. They sold it advertising the Cricut, so I ASSUMED it was make by Cricut. Now I know it is not. I will not mention those as I do not want to give them any business.
     So for those of you who do not have time to learn your cricut or don't want to spend time making your files, and just want to cut your stuff out then get working on your project, you will love my files. You will also have them forever, if you want to make an Ariel you will have everything ready to sit down and make one in less than 4 minutes, start to finish. I am here to help you!
    I still have between now an the end of April to finish getting through as many cartridges as I can before the official launch of CCR. (as for my abbreviations, if I have already defined an abbreviation earlier in the post, I will not define it each time it shows up in the same post)
   Cricut has asked us not to share the website where CCR is, BUT they want us to talk it up and build the hype. I have made a help guide, it is complied from the CCR help page. All I did is copy and paste items, the information belongs to Cricut so there is no permission to share as your own.
    I know they have extended the invitation to CCR with most of the Circle Members. I am sure people outside of the circle have been giving an email invite, but i have no idea for sure.
    Like always if there is something you would like me to try with it. I am more than willing to do so, just send me a message. Also if you would like the 27 page help guide for CCR email me and I will send it to you. I do not see anything wrong with sharing this. I would go online and read about a gypsy before I buy it and there is nothing wrong with that. So my guide is to help you learn HOW TO use it before you 'buy it' yes it is free but you get the picture. I will learn how to add a file soon. I am not new to graphic editing or Cricut stuff, blogging is what is new to me. I will try to attach the file to this.

   If anyone can help me how to post a PDF file on here it would be great then I can share it. In the meantime, email me and I will send it to you.