My Home is in Alabama.......

.....and our community has been forever changed by the tornado outbreak that swept the south last Wednesday, April 27. I'm not in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham, but rather on the outskirts of Huntsville near Harvest Alabama and the Anderson Hills area. Almost a million people in the Tennessee Valley were without power for 4 or more days - there are still a few people without power tonight.

Every where you drive you see the storm's destruction and while I feel blessed to have survived with only some minor fence and car damage, I've experienced some really strange feelings - I couldn't put it in words until I read an article today in the local paper and someone described it as "survivor's guilt." I was planning to go out Sunday to volunteer but I developed a pretty bad upper respiratory infection and figured that I wouldn't be doing anyone a service to get out there like that and spread my germs around. I have just felt kind of helpless. Today, our local TV station held a telethon to raise money for the American Red Cross for the victims - they had media personalities at various community locations accepting donations so I was able to give a monetary donation. The telethon was simulcast on 14 sister stations around the country tonight so you may even have seen it on one of your local channels. This evening, they were holding televised candlelight vigils at several locations.

I've been thinking all week that I would like to create some type of cut file to use when documenting the storms and honoring the victims of this tragedy. I played around with Alabama themed things, made a decent looking tornado file but nothing was exactly what I wanted to do. When I read about the candlelight vigils, I realized that would make a cut file that could be used on tribute pages for all different types of circumstances.

I've completed the file but will have to wait until morning to do a test cut before I will make the svg available. Here's an image to give you an idea of what I hope it will look like:


And, if anyone might be interested, I will also be testing and making available the Alabama things I've been playing around with, as well as the tornado ... here's a preview of those:

That's about it for this evening - it's time to take my cold meds and hit the bed.

Another Blog Hop

I'm not sure of the status of this blog hop at this time (5/10/11) - if I get confirmation one way or another, I will update this post, however, I do not expect that it will be happening.

I am excited to participate in a blog hop in support of the Provo Craft Boycott. You can read more about the blog hop at Squash the Bug.

The idea of this blog hop is to showcase the various cutters and software available as well the various designers of svg files that can be used with these machines.

I want to invite all of you to check it out! Looking at names of some of the crafters who have signed up, I know that there are going to be some amazing projects!

What's Up?

Hope life is treating all of you well! I know I've been kind of MIA for a bit - the last couple of weeks have been kind of rough. I've never really said much, but I have anxiety attacks, normally followed by bouts of depression. I've taken meds at times, but I've found what works for me when it hits is to just step back from things, try to refocus and restructure my environment. It's not a huge deal, just something I deal with - I'm only sharing this info so that if you do follow my blog, you will understand if I kind of suddenly disappear for a little bit.

So, what have I been working on during my absence - the gift album that I have to have done by next Thursday night! I've gotten quite a few pages done and have most of the others planned in my head. I'm hoping to to crank out a couple yet tonight and some more before I go to work tomorrow. I'm compiling all of the files that I'm using and will probably end up putting together a .zip file of all of the cuts to share here - look for that closer to Easter (once I get back from the wedding and have a chance to put it together).

I've also been reading any and all news related to the PC lawsuits against MTC/SCAL and staying abreast of what is going on with the Boycott Provo Craft facebook group. No surprise, I've never received a response to my letter that I sent to the owner of MME.

Before, I go, I'd like to tell all of my readers about my youngest daughter and her latest adventure - running a charity 10K marathon. It's a fundraising event and if any of you could see your way to donating a couple of dollars towards helping her meet her goal, she would be most appreciative! Here's her story, copied from her fundraising page:

Running for a Good Cause

Taken as I completed my third 5k!

Jennifer Harning

Goal: $200.00
Achieved: $75.00

Make a gift!

I am participating in the 8th Annual A Kid Again 10k Run at Kings Island on Sunday, May 22 at 7:00 a.m. Any size donation is appreciated, every dollar adds up! Continue reading to learn more about why I am participating in this event.

My story starts out about 6 months ago, I decided that I needed to make a change for myself or I wasn't going to be able to be the mother to my children that I wanted to be. You see, I have been blessed with two healthy and wonderful children. I was so overweight that I was unable to enjoy doing things with my kids. I decided then I was going to push myself to become more healthy. Fast forward to today, I am down almost 90 pounds from my highest weight. I am very close to my first "big goal" and have decided that I want to try to lose another 30 pounds when I get to that goal. If I can succeed I will have lost a total of 130 pounds!

I started out swimming and watching my diet. After a few months, I was looking for a way to accelerate my weight loss but didn't see running as an option since I had never run in my life. After talking to a friend who runs marathons, I decided I had nothing to lose by trying it. I started running at the end of December 2010. Since then I have completed three 5k races - February , March, and most recently April 2. Each time I have improved my time - I may never be the fastest, but I am running the full race and finishing with a halfway competitive time. So, I felt like completing a 10k was the next logical step. A family member sent me a link to this 10k and right away, I knew I wanted to be a part of it! I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have a child who is sick with a life-threatening illness. Sometimes its easy to forget how blessed you are. To me, completing this race and raising money for sick children is a way to give back and remind myself to never take a thing for granted!

I have accepted the challenge of raising money for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. I am determined to achieve my goal and provide these brave children a sense of normalcy and enrichment through adventures. I NEED YOUR HELP! Please consider sponsoring me (I appreciate every dollar donated!) and positively impacting the lives of over 560 local children.

RE: Provo Craft Boycott

The following is the text of a letter that I sent to the President of MME after receiving an invitation to join their newsletter this morning that included a chance to win a Cricut Expression – I am not looking for a response but if I receive one, I will be sure to share it.

 

29 March 2011

Dear Ms. Cornell,

I am writing to you today to make you aware of a situation that is ongoing within the paper crafting community – something that based upon your association with Provo Craft, you should already be aware of.

Provo Craft recently settled a lawsuit with Make the Cut, makers of an independent software application that worked with the Provo Craft Cricut machines. I am not going to get into the details of the lawsuit – the case was settled and as such no legal ruling was made by the courts.

Andy, the software engineer responsible for Make the Cut, had revolutionized the way paper crafters were able to use their Cricut machines – they were able to download free files created by others from the internet, cut true type fonts from their personal collections and even design custom cuts to suit their needs.

Provo Craft has also filed suit against Craft Edge, the makers of Sure Cuts A Lot, another software application that offers much of the same functionality. That case is still pending. There is one other software, Fairy Cut, that is being marketed by a Canadian company. At this time, there has not been any word of a lawsuit against Fairy Cut.

When word of the Provo Craft/MTC settlement reached the news, supporters of Andy and Make the Cut rallied to show Provo Craft that they will not settle for a cartridge-only machine that limits their creativity. Within days, several things happened:

1. People started actively getting rid of their Provo Craft Cricut Machines, selling them at a fraction of their cost on ebay and craigslist.
   
2. Sales of competing machines – many several hundred dollars more expensive than the Provo Craft machines – have soared! Bosskut offered a weeklong special on their Gazelle machine and sold out several days before the promotion was schedule to end. That's Scrap, the sole US distributer of Black Cat cutting machines, ordered 30 of their lower priced model ($499) and before they even left the factory, they were sold out.
   
3. A formal boycott of Provo Craft branded merchandise has been organized on Facebook and after just over 2 weeks, has nearly 1600 members.
   
4. A youtube video entitled "I Want my MTC" has well over 4000 views in just a few days.
   

Like myself, many people purchased their Cricut machines only after the release of SCAL and/or MTC. We purchased the Cricut for various reasons – lower cost, wider retail availability, local access to the necessary consumables (i.e. mats & blades), and/or we weren't aware of all of the other options available.

This situation with Provo Craft is actually the final straw for many Cricut owners. Provo craft's own message board is awash with tales from people regarding poor customer service, unfulfilled promises, and complaints about the products – at least until Provo Craft decides to delete those threads. Provo Craft has also allegedly shut down many entrepreneurial endeavors by private parties – and later used those same ideas to launch similar products and services.

So now you probably ask, why am I writing to you about all of this. This morning I received an email from your company asking me to sign up for your newsletter and as a result I would have a chance to win a Cricut Expression. I have to tell you as a big fan of MME, I did sign up for your newsletter. However, after reading your March newsletter online, I unsubscribed. I cannot in good conscience sign up for the newsletter of a company that has any business association with a company that I have chosen to boycott.

I love My Mind's Eye papers but I am very disappointed by your association with Provo Craft and will no longer be purchasing your paper packs – there are many other wonderful brands to choose from. It is a matter of choice – just as I feel what I cut with my cutting machine should be.

One final thought for your consideration: there is a whole market of crafters out there who are looking for alternatives. They will voice their approval by spending their hard earned dollars in support of companies who respect their creativity. I bet they would jump at the chance to win a machine that would work with MTC/SCAL– if you were to offer one of those machines, you'd get my attention and I would spread the word to everyone I could possibly reach. As it is, I will be posting a copy of this letter on the Boycott Provo Craft Facebook page. If you care to respond and address our concerns, I'll be more than happy to share that as well.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

 

A former MME customer,

My first MTC file share!

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

 Back to working on the wedding album - less than 3 weeks so I don't have much time to get it done. I've been slowly learning about MTC and this file is the first one that I have designed and cut in MTC and I was very impressed with the results.

My machine seems to cut smoother and faster with MTC than with SCAL - has anyone else with both software programs noticed this? I also love how it shows you what exactly it is cutting!

I finished "the Groom" page and thought I'd share a quick picture of it - sorry I cut off a corner! I hope you can see the groom in the picture - it is black on black but IRL he is pop-dotted so he stands out very well.

I'm keeping these pages quite simple so that the bride will be able to add pics and a little journaling. I am doing about 20 pages for her and then I will be including all the cardstock and B&W patterned papers, flowers, gems, and even a few extra "die-cuts" for her to create additional pages that she may want or need. (She does a little bit of scrapbooking herself but not much.)

First Dance SVG - Trying out Google Docs for file sharing

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I previously shared pictures of some wedding layouts I've been working on. The First Dance layout features svg files that I created - the bride & groom and the title cut. Here's the layout:

I CHOOSE to boycott Provo Craft

More than two weeks have passed since the settlement of the MTC/Provo Craft lawsuit. Andy and the MTC team have removed the Cut to Cricut option from the MTC software. While I was fortunate to be able to buy and download the latest version of the software prior to this change and can continue to cut with my Cricut, I am not able to do any software updates now. I'm sure there will be many more wonderful features added to this software in the days, weeks, months to come.

Check out this video made by a very talented MTC forum member and one of her friends.

It bothers me that PC believes it has the right to tell me how I can use my machine after I purchased it. Many have made this point over the last couple of weeks -how is it any different from using an HP printer on a Dell computer, apps on a phone, 3rd party inks in a printer, etc.

What if no one ever experimented to see what we could do - would we even have the technology that we have today?

I have never been a "cutesy" scrapper - just not my style - so cartridges never worked for me. Most of my pages pre-Cricut featured detailed paper piecings that I made and cut from coloring pages, etc. The same thing I do now but instead of drawing on paper and cutting by hand, I draw in Inkscape and cut with my machine. Honestly, I didn't even consider buying a Cricut until the introduction of SCAL. I was about to purchase a craftROBO and was doing some on-line research when I found SCAL - bought my Cricut and SCAL the very next day. (For those of you who do not know - SCAL has also been sued by Provo Craft but that case is still pending.)

There are many other concerns with PC besides the 3rd party software issue: poor customer service, false and misleading product representation, poor quality coupled with poor tech support/warranty service, "borrowing" ideas for new products, unethical business dealings (ask some small LSS owners), ....... need I say more?

All of this has lead me to my decision to actively boycott Provo Craft and all its brands - Cricut, Cuttlebug, Yudu, Your Story, etc. What do I mean when I say I am boycotting? For me, it means I will not purchase any new items that are in anyway associated with Provo Craft - no new mats (Aleene's Tack It Over and Over works great!), no new PC blades (roland blades are available on ebay for a much more reasonable price and right now you can buy 5 blades for $15 & free shipping direct from Seikitech here), not even a new CB embossing folder (going to try Sizzix). I am working on compiling the most complete list I can of PC products and will be posting it on my blog soon.

Am I selling my machine and cartridges - NO. I am choosing to continue to use my Cricut for the time being. I am in the process of purchasing a new cutter but still do not plan to sell my Cricut. Selling my Cricut means that most likely the person buying it would then want to buy cartridges - which would mean that I was helping to put money in PCs pockets. I'll just keep it around for a back-up. As for the few cartridges I have purchased- I think 4 total-I've given them to my daughter to use with her machine (she hates cartridges too but a couple were Disney ones so she'll probably use those). I'll just not update the firmware and I'll keep the last MTC and SCAL software on my laptop so I can use it.

So, what am I buying? I've read reviews, compared cuts from all of the machines, watched tons of you tube videos and seriously evaluated my cutting needs. Based on everything I've read and what I want/need from a machine, both now and in the years to come, I've decided that the 12" Black Cat Lynx is the best investment for me. It'll probably be a few months before I have it but I know that it will be worth the wait.

Do I expect everyone to agree with me? Absolutely not! That's what's so great - we are all entitled to our own opinions and even though we may not agree, I RESPECT your opinion and your right to express it. I just ask that if you disagree and choose to voice that here, that you do so in a respectful way. I've changed my comments to require approval for now - I will approve comments that voice another view as long as I don't feel they are rude, hateful, or disrespectful.