Putting a Cricut to Work for You

Every once in a while a product is released that really impacts its market. The Cricut line of personal electronic die cutting machines by Provo Craft is just such an item. Although the Cricut is not the first die cutting tool ever released for use by scrapbookers or paper crafters, no other tool makes it so quick and easy for user to create exactly what they want. With the push of a button, crafters can create cutouts that are perfectly coordinated to their projects and look as nice as the commercially sold embellishments available at crafting centers.

There are currently three different version of the Cricut available. The smallest is the original Cricut machine. The Cricut Expression is a larger, more versatile machine that allows users to create cutouts that are almost twenty-four inches tall. The Cricut Create marries the additional capabilities of the Expression to the small size of the original Cricut machine and is only sold a Michael’s Craft Centers.

In each of the Cricut machines, the basic process of creating a cutout is the same. The user must insert a cartridge into the machine. Then, after selecting the design he wishes to create, he should mount his chosen paper onto the sticky cutting mat which is furnished with the Cricut machine. The mat and paper are fed through the machine as the cutting blade cuts out the chosen design. Now, the user simply removes the cutout from the mat. His cutout is ready for use in any project he likes.

The real workhorses behind the success of the Cricut machines are the Cricut cartridges. Each machine comes with its own cartridge to allow crafters to get started with their Cricut right away. In addition, however, many other cartridges are available for purchase. Cartridges may include fonts, shapes, or a combination of the two. Cartridge themes run the gamut from simple sports motifs to licensed products like Disney’s Hannah Montana.

The ability to use many different types of materials with the Cricut machines also makes it easy to find all types of uses for a Cricut machine. Paper and cardstock are, of course, perfect for use with a Cricut, but other materials will work, too. Vinyl stock allows Cricut owners to create clingy cutouts. Sturdier cutouts are possible using Provo Craft’s chipboard stock. Even magnetic cutouts are possible using Cricut’s magnetic material in place of paper.

Cricut machines are available through many different shopping venues with prices reaching as high as $500. They can be purchased directly at Cricut’s website; however, shoppers may find better deals by checking out other vendors. Many online retailers, as well as craft stores like Joann Craft Stores and Michael’s Craft Stores, offer sales on the Cricut machines and cheap Cricut cartridges.

Committing to purchase a Cricut personal electronic cutter may seem like a huge investment. Before completing their purchases crafters can often get a look at a Cricut in action by visiting their favorite craft center or checking out the videos at Cricut’s website. Once they’ve seen the Cricut at work, they’ll be able to determine if a Cricut is the right tool for them.

If you work online running a small business then you have probably heard of Darren Rowse and his popular blog called Problogger.net. The site is known for giving blogging tips to would be bloggers and really has little to do with starting and maintaining a successful online business although the owner claims to teach bloggers how to make money with their blogs. The tips are rather thin and rarely add anything concrete as far as operating a small business online is concerned so it was rather amusing to see that Darren Rowse feels he can charge a fee for joining his new blogging forum.

If you read his blog he tends to dispense advise like “don’t give up”, “write about something you are passionate about”, “10 tips on making your blog fresh” and so on. Hardly the kind of nuts and bolts info a novice can use to actually get a start up small business off the ground. In essense Problogger makes his money selling advertising on his blog that comes from having a large readership and he intones that others can do the same if they follow his advice. The problem is that he started long before there were other bloggers and the chances of someone else duplicating his success is remote. In fact if he was to start today he would not have the following that he currently has. His material is fluff for the most part and he shows no knowledge of SEO (search engine optimization) or keyword targeting. These are by far the biggest factors involved in Internet Marketing today. You have to know what keywords people who spend money online are searching for and then you have to know how to rank on top of the search engines in order to get the traffic.

Sadly he doesn’t discuss either of these concepts on his blog and isn’t likely to discuss them on his new forum either and for that reason it isn’t recommended that you pay money to join. Keep your money and seek out advice from legit online marketers who will teach you about SEO and Keyword selection. They are hard to find but they do exist and you can start by reading Griz’s Problogger.com post and then head to his archives to begin your learning. It’s free advice and worth heeding as he ranks on top of the search engines for all the make money online keywords. You can’t do that by accident.