Cricut experiments part 1 of 5

Awhile ago I ordered some new tools for my cricut machines from Amy Chomas via her website www.chomascreations.com.  I had read about them on the cricut messageboards and also read about the competitor product by CriKut.  I decided on Amy's product because they seemed simple to use and her business had real customer reviews that were positive.  She also has excellent videos showing how to use her products.  I emailed Amy & asked for a return phone call once we had determined what I was wanting.  I asked for an extra 6x12 embossing mat so I could use both machines without ruining the 12x12 mat to cut it to use on my little 6x12 cricut.  Did I mention she had a sale at the time?  Well, our Canadian dollar is strong, a new to me product to make my tools even more versatile, AND a sale, that was too good to pass up!

Unfortunately after I had ordered Canada Post went on strike and arrival was delayed, but I got them.  I ordered some different pen holders, an embossing and an engraving tool.  These tools go where the blade housing is held in cricut machines to enable different tricks & techniques.  I must make you aware that the warrantee is expired on my little cricut so I have no fear of it voiding my 1 year provocraft warrantee.  I won't use them in my expression cricut machine until that warrantee is expired, just to stay out of trouble.

So of course I have been experimenting with these new tools & I was asked on the cricut messageboard to share my experiences.  I will spread these posts out over a few days.

These are what the Provocraft blade housings look like.  It seems all new machines come with plastic blade housings now so if you ever get your hands on an original metal blade housing HANG ON TO IT!  A regular blade has a 30 degree angle, a deep cut blade has a 60 degree angle.  The regular blades can cut most things.  You need to do multi-cuts if its a thick or tough product you are trying to cut through. The Deep cut  has a blade that is a steeper angle (more pointy) so it is better able to cut through chip board, cardboard, magnets, and plastic. I haven't cut fabric yet, but I would keep a sticky mat and dedicated regular blade just for that.

The first thing I did after opening the box of new arrivals was to dig out my label maker.  Time goes by and its easy to forget which does what.

Here they are all stood on their ends to show the differences in tips.  As always, click on the picture to enlarge.

It is not recommended to leave any of these custom housings in the blade holder of a cricut machine.  They are a tiny bit heavier than regular blade housings.  A good Sharpie marker trick, make sure you cap them tightly, they sometimes don't click properly.  I will eventually try Crayola pipsqueek markers or other mini markers when I get my hands on some.

There's 4 more posts to come!