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Silhouette was in Chicago with a large booth footprint, promoting their Cameo machine and its many accessories such as materials for cutting and add-on tools like the sketch pens.
A new product introduction that will likely appeal to many Cameo users are the dust covers, available in three colors, with an MSRP of $6.99.
Here’s a look at some examples of what can be done to pretty them up if you put your cameo to work with some of the company’s iron-on materials: [Read more...]
What’s a fun loving bug to do on his (or is it her?) 5th birthday? For Provo Craft’s Cricut bug, the obvious answer was to celebrate in a big way, naturally! CHA Winter 2011 marked the 5th “birthday” for Provo Craft’s Cricut machine, and so the company decided it was time to celebrate!
To kick off, the company launched the celebration with a special “anniversary” edition of the popular Cricut Expression Machine. This limited edition release machine, known as the E2, will be making its appearance in stores sometime in April. On first look at the machine, the body seems a bit sleeker and it feels noticeably lighter in weight. The added feature of a lighted cutting area is intended to help users see exactly what and where the machine is cutting.
The E2 will also have a LED touch screen control. This new feature eliminates the need to use overlays on the keypad, and allows layers to display on the machine’s display. Cutting will also be able to be paused in the middle, a feature intended for use when paper starts to shift on the mat to allow corrections. Users will also have a home and zoom feature and the ability to cut out Cricut Imagine shapes (but not the ability to print the Imagine images.)
Provo Craft also announced their upcoming “online design studio” computer software called the “Cricut Craft Room” in Los Angeles. From the test version, it appears to be a more user-friendly version of the company’s existing Cricut Design Studio software. Users will be able to weld words with the click of their mouse. They will also be able to “link” cartridges to their Craft Room (similar to the Gypsy’s current operation) and then cut images by hooking a Cricut to their computer. The Cricut Craft Room will also be compatible with the new E2 machine via Wi-Fi.
The birthday celebration/promotion was definitely Cricut’s theme on the show floor. Attendees at the show were invited into Provo Craft’s booth to create a 5th birthday cupcake featuring Provo Craft’s Cricut Cake machine, and given a clip-on stuffed “Cricut” bug. They were then asked to photograph Cricut in creative places throughout the rest of the show, and given a chance to make a “Where’s Cricut” decorated frame for their pictures. The best “Where’s Cricut” photos were featured during Provo Craft’s big daily giveaway, and prizes were given to the winning photographers.
Cricut also celebrated its 5th birthday in a big way at the exclusive Conga Room located at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. Attendees were met with food and drinks and shown a light-hearted video on how Cricut came to join the Provo Craft family and why they had to create the Cricut machine just for him (her?) Then, the crowd was surprised by an appearance by dancers from the popular Fox TV show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, who joined the party goers to celebrate Cricut’s birthday. (Author Betsy Burnett is pictured below with Twitch from So You Think You Can Dance?”) To end the evening, all attendees received a goodie bag with a large plush version of Cricut, a Cricut t-shirt, the Birthday Bash Cricut cartridge and the promise of receiving the new E2 machine when it was released.
The Cricut Expression 2, known as the E2, will be a limited-run machine, and will make it’s retail debut on HSN on April 26th, 2011. The MSRP for the machine is set at $399, which is the same as the previous Cricut Expression models. The Cricut Craft Room is expected to launch in April of 2011, and the Wi-Fi compatibility update is due to be released a couple of months later.
Pre-order Mark Montano’s latest book, The Big-Ass Book of Home Decor, available at Amazon.com April 10th:
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Traditional die cut and embossing users got a sneak peek of a new machine at the CHA Winter 2011 show in Los Angeles recently. Craftwell, the makers of the eCraft electronic die cut machine, gave retailers a preview of a prototype of their new machine called the eBosser.
This upcoming machine, which weighs just under 15 lbs, is an electronic embossing and die cut machine that accepts most other manufacturers’ traditional/thin dies and embossing folders. Users just need to select the right “sandwich” combination for their die, similar to other systems. The eBosser can accept embossing folders up to 8 1/2 x 11 or A 4 size, and it can cut through materials up to 3mm thick – including thin leather. The machine is expected to make a formal debut at the CHA Summer 2011 show in Chicago, and is rumored to retail for under $200.
For a better look at the ebosser check out the video below.
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Sizzix has announced that it will be unveiling a major new software upgrade for its eclips electronic die cutting machine at CHA Summer 2010 in Rosemont, IL on July 27th.
The headline feature of the eclips version 2 software is a new feature called Print2Cut. The feature, which will require the purchase of additional software to use, will allow eclips owners “to use their home computer and printer to colorize, design and print any eclips shape that can be loaded into their eclips Machine for easy laser locating, positioning and cutting.”
“With our printing and cutting feature, there is no need for a new printer or proprietary inks,” said Denzil Quick, director of Marketing for Sizzix. “It’s compatible with virtually any printer on the market meaning you won’t have to buy an additional one. After all, why should you have to reinvest in something you already own?”
Speaking of proprietary inks, Sizzix is also adding a feature that will allow the eclips to use a Pen Holder (separate accessory purchase required) to “hold any felt tip or ballpoint pen to draw a shape.” Sizzix is clearly trying to claim a feature advantage in that area over the Cricut machines, which require the use of Cricut’s own proprietary pens in their drawing accessory. As an example of this being useful, Sizzix is suggesting using the machine with a glue pen for drawing designs and then applying glitter.
Another new feature for the eclips is targeted at cardmakers: scoring, which will work with the Albums, Bags & Boxes and Cards & Envelopes cartridges.
“We are extremely pleased about what the scoring feature means for crafters,” said Quick. “With reduced pressure from the eclips cutting blade, our scoring doesn’t rely on tick marks for folding, but rather creates a nice pre-scored hinge for easier-to-assemble projects with so many creative possibilities.”
Other new features coming in the eclips version 2 software include:
The software upgrade will be available for free to owners of the eclips machine in the fall of 2010 at Sizzix.com. The process uses a USB cable to connect the machine to the owner’s computer (Mac or PC) to download and install the software update.
[Disclaimer: Ellison/Sizzix is a Scrapbook Update advertiser. This content is not an advertisement and is written & published independently by the editorial staff.]
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