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December 22, 2008

Happy Holidays

Provo Craft wishes everyone a safe and Happy Holiday.

Posted by The Power Blogger on December 22, 2008 | Comments (129) | post comment

December 05, 2008

YourStory Thermal Book Binder/Laminator

Introducing a new amazing new Provo Craft Product
YourStory
Thermal Book Binder/Laminator
Tellsomeoneyourstory.com

Create personalized books, albums, and journals with ease! YourStory™ is a thermal book binder with unmatched versatility-it is perfect for creating unique gifts, memory books, and a host of paper crafting projects. The themed kits for special events and holidays make YourStory™ the perfect choice for first time crafters and veterans alike.

YourStory™ Binding/Laminating Program: This clean, professional binding system will make scrapbooks, photo albums, presentations, and reports look their very best.
The starter kit includes:
o YourStory Thermal Book Binder/Laminator
o 8.5” x 11” Album Cover
o 8” x 8” Album Cover
o 6 Laminating Pouches 9” x 11.5”
o 11 Pre-printed Pages 8” x 8”
o 3 Sticker Sheets
o User Manual

It is great for binding scrapbooks, photo albums, reports, presentations, journals, or cookbooks. It laminates memorabilia, pictures, scrapbook pages, ID cards, concert tickets, or other keepsakes. It fits albums up to 12” wide. It binds up to 40 pages and included a 12” laminator.
There will be several sizes of binders, laminating sheets and Story kits available very soon. Keep your eye on tell someoneyourstory.com for new and exciting news and other products available for YourStory.

YourStory FAQ
Thermal Book Binder/Laminator

Q. How many Pages will a book hold and bind?
A. The book will successfully bind up to 40 pages of cardstock, paper and laminated sheets – thicker papers may reduce the amount of pages your book will comfortably hold. You can also bind only a few pages in your book but note that 3 or 4 pages leaves quite a gap in the spine and may not look very nice. We recommend that you fill your book with pages to have a nice, professional looking album.

Q. Can I use any type of Album with my YourStory Thermal Binder?
A. You can use other albums in the YourStory Thermal Binder but for best results we recommend that you use YourStory Album Covers. We do not recommend that you use your YourStory albums in other thermal binders.

Q. What if my pages are not securely bound?
A. Make sure the YourStory Book Binder and Laminator is turned on and that the power button is green. Insert the book, following the instructions in the user manual. Press the Up Arrow and wait for the beep. Remove your book and carefully adjust your pages down into the heated glue. Place it spine down in the cooling rack.
Note: Pulling out the pages can result in getting the HOT glue on your fingers, the pages, and the album and may result in ruining your project. Use care when reheating and adjusting any pages.

Q. Can I laminate while I am allowing a book to cool in the cooling rack?
A. The lamination feeds through the machine and comes out the backside. Any books cooling on the rack will block the lamination from feeding through correctly causing your project to wrinkle or get stuck. Please make sure the area behind your machine is clear and clutter free.

Q. Can I cut a piece out of a larger lamination sheet to just laminate a small item?
A. No. The lamination pouches are created with one edge hinged which is used as the leading edge as you feed it into the machine. Without this edge the lamination may slip and not correctly adhere to your item. We have 3 sizes of Laminating Pouches to best fit your project and help eliminate excess waste.

Q. If the lamination didn’t seal correctly can I run the pouch back through the machine?
A. Yes. You can safely run the lamination through again. Although please note that sending it through several times is not recommended.

Q. Is there a way to remove the lamination from my item?
A. The lamination is a permanent process. Trying to remove the lamination from your project may ruin your item.

Q. Can I use other brands of lamination sheets/pouches?
A. You can use other lamination sheets/pouches in the YourStory Laminator but for best results we recommend that you use YourStory Lamination Pouches. Please note that you will want to use 3mil lamination in the YourStory Laminator.

Q. What if the lamination is not feeding correctly?
A. We do not recommend that you pull the lamination pouch from the backside of the machine. It is designed to feed it through on its own. We do suggest that you keep an eye on it to make sure it is feeding correctly and if needed you may gently guide the lamination as it feeds through. If you are laminating something bumpy or slightly thick you will especially want to watch it and gently guide it as the thickness may cause it to get stuck and bend.

Q. Is the lamination process photo safe?
A. Yes, you can safely laminate your photos but remember that it is a permanent process. You cannot remove the lamination without damage to your photo. If you don’t want to permanently laminate your original photo you can make and use a copy of your photo to laminate.

Posted by Provo Craft Admin on December 05, 2008 | Comments (17) | post comment

October 26, 2008

The Cricut Deep Cut Blade

Provo Craft has just released an awesome new addition to the Cricut line. It is the Cricut Deep Cut Blade and it allows you to cut deeper, so you are able to cut thicker materials. The Cricut Deep Cut Blade is compatible with all three Cricut Machines. We have received a lot of feedback from people that have purchased the blade and they are having trouble figuring out what surfaces they can cut, how thick and the settings to put their Cricut machine on. I have included a guide that can be used to help you out.
Slice thicker material with ease! A shorter housing provides greater clearance for heavier materials, allowing you to cut material up to 1.5mm thick.

The deep cut blade housing is recommended for:

Magnet (0.035\"/0.80mm thick) with the recommended settings of
Speed 3 (medium)
Pressure 5 (max)
Depth 6
Multi Cut 4

Chipboard (0.059\"/1.50mm thick) with the recommended settings of
Speed 3 (medium)
Pressure 4 (high)
Depth 6
Multi Cut 5

Stamp (0.0415\"/1.05mm thick) with the recommended settings of
Speed 3 (medium)
Pressure 4(high)
Depth 4.6
Multi Cut 1

Continue turning on your creative best!
The Power Blogger!

Posted by The Power Blogger on October 26, 2008 | Comments (19) | post comment

October 13, 2008

Turn on your creative best.

We are in the process of revamping the Provo Craft Blog.

Please stay tuned…

What is your creative best?

Posted by Provo Craft Admin on October 13, 2008 | Comments (7) | post comment

June 24, 2008

Cuttlebug Conversion

We always have a lot of questions about how to use different dies in the Cuttlebug machine, so hereâ€™s a review of some of the top combinations (stack all from bottom to top):

Original Sizzix Dies
B pad
Die (cutting side up)
Cardstock
B pad

Cuttlekids Dies
A pad
B pad
Die (foam side up)
Cardstock
C pad

Regular QuicKuts Dies
A pad
B pad
Die (cutting side up)
Cardstock
C pad

Brass Embossing Stencils
A pad
B pad
Shim (use an old mouse pad or a thin rubber material)
Cardstock
Brass stencil
B pad

Remember you can see our complete Sandwich Stack Chart on the Cuttlebug page here on this website! Select Cuttlebug from our product list and then select â€œDownloadsâ€â€”youâ€™ll see the chart listed there.

Some other Cuttlebug remindersâ€¦
- Use Cuttlebug dies foam side up in your Cuttlebug machine
- Expect to see marks in your cutting pads from the dies. Rotate the pads after each cut to prevent bowing.
- When trying out other brands of dies in the Cuttlebug machine, always err on the thin side. If a thinner stack isn't working, then gradually build up to thicker stacks.

Someone also asked if you can emboss Grungeboard using Cuttlebug embossing folders: yes! Use the A pad and two B pads. You can see a great example of this on the Simple Scrapbooks blog. They posted about this a few months agoâ€”check it out!

Posted by Jackie on June 24, 2008 | Comments (38) | post comment

June 11, 2008

Cricut Jukebox Cartridge Station

Raise your hand if you like accessorizing. Is your hand up?? I thought so! Well itâ€™s time to add a cool new accessory to your Cricut machine: the Cricut Jukeboxâ„¢ cartridge station.

This brilliant new device makes working with multiple Cricut cartridges a snap! Simply insert the Cricut Jukebox plug into the cartridge slot of your Cricut machine. Insert up to 6 cartridges into the Cricut Jukebox core unit. Then press the button on the core unit to select the cartridge youâ€™d like to work with, and make your cutting selection like usual. When you want to switch to another cartridge, instead of going through the whole swapping process you can just press another button to select the next cartridge. Done and done!

This handy little device is a dream come true when working with the Cricut DesignStudio software! If youâ€™re like me and youâ€™re only content designing a cut with the software that uses 5 different cartridges, then you can cut it out a whole heck of a lot faster with this timesaving unit.

Do you know what else is great? You can connect up to three different core units so you have 18 cartridges at your fingertips (literally!). Then stack up the core units to make a power tower of your cartridge collection. You can even store the handbooks and overlays of the 6 cartridges youâ€™re using in the base of the core unit. So you save both space and timeâ€¦ now this is an accessory that really sparkles!

The Cricut Jukebox cartridge station also works with all Cricut machines and all Cricut cartridges. You can get the Cricut Jukebox cartridge station in July for $89.99 (just the price of a cartridge), and several stores are accepting preorders now. Check them out!

Please post if you have any questions!

Posted by Jackie on June 11, 2008 | Comments (22) | post comment

June 06, 2008

Cricut vs. Cricut Expression

Last week one of our blog friends posted the following:

On May 31, 2008 Nancy Peralta saidâ€¦
What is the difference in the Cricut and the Cricut Expressions?

Great question, Nancy! And we guarantee you're not the only what out there wondering. Hereâ€™s a quick explanation:

Both Cricut machines cut letters, shapes, and phrases from a variety of materials using the same set of Cricut cartridges. Neither machine requires the use of a personal computer. However, if you do want to expand your possibilities using a computer, both machines work using the new Cricut DesignStudio software. So basically they're awesome. Got that? Okay, so here's the breakdown...

Original Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter
The scoop: Cuts from 1" to 5.5" tall or 11.5" long. Uses 6" x 12" cutting mat. Cuts paper, cardstock, vinyl, vellum, and thin plastics. Accepts all existing Cricut cartridges. Very portable. Ideal for scrapbooking, card making, signage, school projects, and home dÃ©cor. Most come packaged with the George and Basic Shapes cartridge (be sure to check the bundle before you purchase to verify which cartridge you will receive).

Cricut Expression 24" Personal Electronic Cutter
The scoop: Cuts from 0.25" to 23.5". Uses 12" x 12" or 12" x 24" cutting mats. Cuts paper, cardstock, vinyl, chipboard, vellum, posterboard, and thin plastics. Accepts all existing Cricut cartridges. Ideal for scrapbooking, card making, signage, school projects, teaching aids, office signs, dÃ©cor, and much more. Most come packaged with the Plantin SchoolBook cartridge and the Accent Essentials mini-cartridge (be sure to check the bundle before you purchase to verify which cartridges you will receive).

When it comes to selecting a machine, it depends on your purpose and your needs. So choose wisely, but be sure to choose Cricut... you won't regret it! I sure haven't. :)

Posted by Jackie on June 06, 2008 | Comments (24) | post comment

May 29, 2008

Cricut Expression tote

Have no fear! The tote for the Cricut Expression machine is still in the works. We were originally hoping to have it out earlier this year, but production delays have set back the release date.

We don't have any details to disclose at this time, but rest assured we are working on it.

Thanks for your support of our awesome Cricut machines!!

Posted by Jackie on May 29, 2008 | Comments (14) | post comment

May 09, 2008

Cricut Solutions storage binders

You can start finding the new storage binders for the Cricut Solutions cartridges in your stores in the coming weeks. Hooray!!

These binders can hold up to 8 cartridges and overlays. They are designed to sit on your shelf next to your other Cricut binders, with blue trim for shape cartridges and peach trim for font cartridges. Each binder set also includes labels to identify the binders.

While these are meant to be an optional storage device for the Cricut Solutions cartridges, you better believe these are a great option for all of your cartridges. So whatever your storage preference, check these out in your favorite stores very soon.

Posted by Jackie on May 09, 2008 | Comments (74) | post comment