and the winner is....

Thank you everyone who participated in this drawing!  I was wishing I had the financial resources to give a smash pack to each and every person who left a comment.  Maybe someday...  Well without further ado....  Random Generator picked #7

Dee is our winner!  I will send you an email to get your information.!  have a wonderful Saturday and check back tomorrow as I will be posting another cartridge overview!

Smash Pack Giveaway!

First, let me say that I have been having so much fun getting to know you and am so appreciative of your kind comments here and on the message boards. I work from home and have a very busy mommy life so I rarely get to interact with others who share this amazing passion.  Posting information and inspiration is just an extension of my love for scrapbooking and it helps me feel connected to this fun and fabulous industry.  I am so grateful to the many, many, many blogs out there that taught me how to use my Cricut and that offer tutorials on all kinds of crafting techniques.  I  hope that the information I post here will help others in a time of frustration, technical difficulties or creative block.

That said, I am super excited to announce my Smash Pack Giveaway.  One lucky crafter is going to win this Smash Book goodie pack.  All you need to do to qualify is become a follower of my blog and leave a comment below.  Saturday, August 25th at 12 noon, PST I will pick a winner and announce it here on my blog so check back to see if you are the winner!

Overview of Exclusive Preloaded Cricut Cartridge Gypsy Font

We took a look at Gypsy Wanderings on Friday, now lets look at Gypsy Font.  This is another preloaded cartridge exclusive to Gypsy owners.that cannot be purchased on its own.  Because there are very few images and no phrases on this cartridge, I do not have a cartridge Table of Contents (I am now calling the "cheat sheet with page numbers" a Table of Contents" for simplicity's sake) pdf for download.  In this post, we will cover:

• The sample sheet provided by Provocraft when you purchase the Gypsy
• a closer look at the font, numbers and other primary images on the cartridge
• a view of the handbook with 9 handbook pages per 1, 8.5 x 11 page including a PDF download for your quick reference
• a look at a handbook page and all the features per key

  

Above is the sample sheet you receive in the box when you purchase a Gypsy.  While it shows you all of the letters and so forth, it doesn't show you everything you really get with the cartridge.  Below is a look at all of the primary images on the cartridge.

 

I find it helpful to to see the fonts as a collection rather than isolated in a "per page" arrangement.  This allows me to envision the font used in words and welded together.  

Let's take a look at the handbook.  There are 9 pages below; each has 9 handbook pages on it.  

You can download a PDF copy of this Gypsy Font Handbook Reference Sheet by clicking the link below. You should print this out in horizontal orientation. 

 GYPSY FONT HANDBOOK REFERENCE PDF

 I did not create this configuration- This is the handy work of another devoted cricuteer Patty Goulden. I found this reference PDF through the Cricut message board along with many other cartridge handbooks.  Click here to view this goldmine of Cricut handbook information. Some cartridges are 6 per page and some are 9 per page.  You can view this thread by clicking here.

 Below is a look at a handbook page to show you the images you get when you use the feature buttons.

Each letter is both lower case and capitalized. Coordinating with the primary image letters, you get a shadow and blackout to add dimension.  You also get 2 monograms and monogram shadows in capital letters only and 2 monogram tags with shadows.

Below are 10 images that are included on the cartridge.  Because many of them are abstract, I did not create a table of contents for reference.

  

Let me know if you have any additional questions about this cartridge.  I hope this information is helpful.  

Comprehensive Overview of the preloaded Gypsy Cartridge, Gypsy Wanderings for the Cricut

Wow! What a blog title.  Well this is going to be one heck of a post.  Today I am writing about the exclusive Gypsy Wanderings cartridge which is preloaded on the Gypsy.  For those of you who do not own a Gypsy, I am afraid you cannot purchase this cartridge on its own so if you have been on the fence about buying the Gypsy this might be the incentive you need.  In this entry we will look at:

• a Sample view of the cartridge images
• a look at all of the pages in the handbook and a pdf download of the handbook with 9 handbook pages per 1, 8.5 x 11 page
• a link to the handbook on the Cricut website
• a look at the "scrolls" on this cartridge
• a look at all of the borders, all of the tags and all of the phrases on the cartridge with PDF downloads of each for quick reference.
• a cartridge "table of contents" spreadsheet with all of the images and phrases and their page numbers and a PDF version for download

SAMPLE SHEET

 

This is the sample sheet I found on the Cricut site.  I do not recall if it was included in the box when I bought my Gypsy but is similar to a Cricut Lite reference trifold except it is not as comprehensive. 

Above is a page out of the virtual handbook which you can view here. This cartridge is definitely worthy of a handbook as each image key offers a:

• primary image and shift image
• shadows for both primary images
• a decor tag and shadow
• 2 tags (non-decor)
• 2 tag shadows (non-decor)
• a phrase and shadow
• a border and shadow.

That is 7 pieces of artwork with shadows, per key (on the Gypsy virtual keypad) and page, (in the handbook.)  That is a lot of images to work with.  Granted, we do see some redundancy of images like hearts, flowers, crowns and butterflies but Gypsy Wanderings is a really great "bread and butter" cartridge- especially once you know what you have to work with!

GYPSY WANDERINGS HANDBOOK

Let's take a look at the handbook.  There are 9 pages below; each has 9 handbook pages on it.  

You can download a PDF copy of this Gypsy Wanderings Handbook Reference Sheet by clicking the link below. You should print it in horizontal orientation.

 GYPSY WANDERING HANDBOOK REFERENCE PDF

This is a total of 25 pages, multiply by 7 and you have 175 unique pieces of artwork plus their shadows.  I found this reference PDF through the Cricut message board along with many other cartridge handbooks.  Click here to view this goldmine of Cricut handbook information. 

SCROLLS

Before we take a closer look at the tags, phrases and borders, I want to briefly talk about "scrolls". There are 8 scrolls on this cartridge (they can by found on pages 37, 40, 70, 74) and you will find many more scrolls on other cartridges.  

Maybe it is just me but the title "scroll" is sort of a strange description for these images.  I have no idea what else you would call them, but I mention it because if you use the Cheatsheet (table of contents with page numbers) at the end of this entry and try to search for one of this swirly, curly, flowery, feathery decorative images, I want you to have the right word to use in your search.

BORDERS

Now lets look at the borders.  It used to take me forever to flip through the handbook to find that perfect border so I created a border reference sheet which makes the process so much easier.  You can download a PDF copy of this Gypsy Wanderings BORDER Reference Sheet by clicking the link below. You should print it in horizontal orientation.  If you would like to share this information on your blog, instead of copy and pasting this info, please post a link to my site.

 GYPSY WANDERING BORDER REFERENCE PDF

 

 

A-DOR-ABLE!  I love the "Be Fabulous" on page 32. Now to use an image as a border on a 12 x 12 layout, you wouldn't want to enlarge the image to 12 inches wide .  This would make the height way to big for a page border. In order to get a long border for larger pages like 12 x 12 paper, you can either cut multiples of the border image and line them up along the edge or you can use Design Studio, Gypsy or Cricut Craft Room to weld multiple copies of the border image together.  To learn more about welding with Design Studio, click here, welding with Gypsy, click here and welding with Cricut Craft Room, click here (these are all excellent youtube video tutorials.

TAGS

Now lets take a look at the tags on this cartridge.  You get a total of 3 unique tags for each key/ handbook page.  There is the "decor tag" key and then 2 primary image related tags from the "tag" key.  Each of these have shadows.  You cut the decorative tag shadow by adding shift and the 2 tag shadows, by selecting the "tag shadow" key.  Below is a view of all of the tags on this cartridge with the handbook page number below it.

You can download a PDF " tag quick reference sheet" below.  You should print it in horizontal orientation. Printing it out will allow you to skim over all of your tag options without having to flip through the digital handbook or a printed copy.  I always find it helpful to see my choices lined up next to one another so I can compare my options quickly. If you would like to share this information on your blog, instead of copy and pasting this info, please post a link to my site.

GYPSY WANDERINGS TAG QUICK REFERENCE PDF

The "decorative tags" on the left are not primary image related, so you can use them on any project regardless of the theme.  The "tags" on the right have the primary image incorporated into the design and there are two different version to work with. It is worth mentioning that the decorative tags are not limited to just tags.  You also get tabs, buttons, mats, frames, pages and shapes. 

PHRASES

But wait... there's more!!  Now we will take a look at the phrases that come on this cartridge. Below is a view of all of the phrases on this cartridge. You can download a PDF " phrase quick reference sheet" below.  Print this out (You should print it in horizontal orientation.) so you can skim over all of your phrase options without having to flip through the digital handbook or a printed copy.  As always, if you would like to share this information on your blog, instead of copy and pasting this info, please post a link to my site.

 GYPSY WANDERINGS PHRASE QUICK REFERENCE PDF

 

 These are core phrases and I really like the fonts they selected.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Last, but not least, here is a list of all of the images and phrases on this cartridge with their page numbers.  If you find any errors in the spreadsheet, please let me know so I can make corrections. If you would like to share this information on your blog, instead of copy and pasting this info, please paste a link to my site. The spreadsheet below is saved as a JPEG but you can download a PDF version of Gypsy Wanderings here:

GYPSY WANDERINGS CHEAT SHEET PDF 

Wow - that was a lot of information - I hope it is helpful!  Thanks for popping over. It has been really great getting your WONDERFUL comments and I am so happy to see that I am collecting followers. If you haven't already become a follower, please do. It seems silly, but  little things like comments and followers make my day. :o)  I hope you have a great weekend!! Jilliene