Love that Bug and other Cricut tales

Just a quick note.

I have been giving courses on the Cricut machines - this is a Basics course that I taught previously, but now I am teaching at different venues.

I taught the class at Cherish the Thought in Port Moody last month, earlier this month, I held another class at Scrap Arts in North Vancouver.

I will be teaching the class again on November 20th at Cherish the Thought - for more information go to Cherish's website for details.

Talking about Cricuts - if you want to get a great deal on all things Cricut - check out my scrapping pal's new business:  Love that Bug.  She has great prices on all cartridges and accesories.  I will also be holding more classes at her home (aka "The Cardmaking/Scrapbooking Factory" - see my previous post).

Maybe I will see you at one of my Cricut classes!

Happy Scrapping,

Brenda

Cricut Swarm

Today I had the opportunity to teach a class at Pick of the Patch - a Cricut Basics class.  Eleven people attended the class where they had the opportunity to learn more about this great scrapbooking tool.  It all started at a Friday crop night - one of the regulars mentioned that she had had a Cricut for over a year that she had never even taken out of the box....  And that gave me the idea to do this class....

We had a mix of Cricut Personal Cutter and Expressions - along with my Create.  I taught everyone all about the differences between the three machines and all the features on the machines.

I was preparing of this course by re-reading the manuals to make sure that I had all the correct information to be able to pass along - I found that I learned something myself.  There is a function called Center Point - I finally understood what it was all about.

I had used the circle and oval shapes to makes mats for photos in the past, but always wondered how you would manage to cut out photos or patterned paper with any accuracy.  I could never figure out how you would control where the circle would be cut.  Well, the answer is - use Center Point.  Just position the blade over the very center of the image that you want to cut a round - press the Center Point button, select the appropriate shape and size and press Cut.  It will automatically figure out the position from there.

So, even when you know a lot about something, there is still more that you can learn - one of the best parts of the scrapbooking hobby.

The class was so well received, that I am hoping that I can hold another one in the near future.

So, if you own a Cricut and it is still in the box this is the class for you.  Check with Pick of the Patch to see when the next class will be schedule.

Happy Scrapping!

Brenda

All-Day Crop at Pick of the Patch

Yesterday Pick of the Patch held an all-day scrapbooking event.  It was well attended - not so many that you were sharing a table - but enough to have a nice buzz of noise in the room.  I am all for only "one to a table" with all the paraphenalia that everyone tends to bring to these kinds of events.

As far a productivity goes - it was not my most productive day - but I did manage to finish some layouts that were missing pieces, photos or titles.  That is a good thing as I always like finishing the layouts right away.  I tend to find  that if I am missing a piece of a layout, I mark it to so that I can find it easily, but it can sometimes take months or years to get back to it.  I like to completely finish each page or set of pages as I do them - mark them off on my tally sheet and with a clear conscience, move onto the next layout.

So I cleared up some of the 'incomplete' pages and managed to get a number of new ones done.  So, all it all, it was a good day.

I will also be teaching "Cricut Basics" class at Pick of the Patch in the near future.  If you have a Cricut at home and have never used it or hardly even turned it on - this is the class for you.  Come and find out the basics of this extremely handy scrapbooking tool.  I am on my second machine - I don't know what I would do without my Cricut!  Stay tuned for more information.

I also am planning on doing a follow-up Cricut class after the Basics - "Cartridge Exploration" - using your cartridges to their fullest.

Next all-day crop is February 20th - maybe I will see you there or at my Cricut class....

Happy Scrapping!

Brenda