I am debating what to ask for my birthday. Those of you who have the cricut for cakes, is it a pain or have you gotten the hang of it and what grade would you give to it? Or should I ask for a paint sprayer jigger? lol Any ideas or input....I know I can ask for both lol....really hate to waste money of the cricut is no good, I read so many bad things in here on it, so I am curious. Thanks
I love my Cricut cake! It is a learning curve just as anything new you will try, like a new caker perfecting smooth fondant and buttercream. I have found I need to roll my gumpast very smooth and I put it in the freezer and then take out let it cut and then back to freezer for a few minutes and its wonderful. I have not tried the icing sheets yet, but I can't wait too
the pic in my photos with the 1 for the 1st bday was done on my cricut. I just realized I have another pic where I did some fancy cutting stuff and put on a cake i will post. I haven't "needed" to really use since I am a for fun hobby baker but its great practice trying differant things. OH also the pressure and speed is something that you will need to get comfy with but not hard to do Good luck!!!
I have the Cricut Cake. So far, I've only used the sheets of stuff that came with it, and haven't been super impressed with that. I think that stuff is just too dry, not to mention tasteless. I am going to roll out some fondant and try that, I'm sure it will be better. I also watched the demo again last night on HSN, and they said to freeze it first. Everything they were cutting worked like a charm. I say get both! 
I can't wait to do more with my Cricut!
whats scal?
haha I was just getting ready to google that, myself. I've read some posts that mention it, and some say it invalidates your warranty on your Cricut if you use it. Gonna go look now.
I love mine..have used dozens of time since I got it in May. LOVE LOVE LOVE it for fonts (check out my latest cake for an example of that!) and yes, it did take me about a week to find out how to prepare the fondant/tylose to get the best cutting results but it's SOOOOO worth it!
Cat
I love my Cricut too! I have the Personal Model that I adapted to work with fondant. I'm a hobby baker only. I have SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot). It is a software program that can save you a lot of $$$ because you won't need to buy cartridges. With SCAL I can download svg (scalable vector grapics) and png (portable network graphic) files from the net and import them into SCAL. I love browsing around and collecting cool graphics to incorporate into cake designs. It also gives me TONS of font possibilities for cake lettering. I'm terrible at piping writing so this is another added bonus. My Kokeshi doll cake was done with the Cricut.
It is the cheapest and smallest one on the market I think. In retrospect I wish I had bought the Expression model because the printing area is larger but it really isn't that important for my purposes. Here is the info on the model I have:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W5I9OC/?tag=cakecentral-20
I had to cut off the rubber 'feeder' circles on the roller so that the fondant wouldn't have track marks to modify it to work on fondant. I also bought the deep cutter blade (the blue one).
I have the Cricut Expression and the Cricut Cake. The Cricut Cake is the only one that has the food-safe stainless steel works. I know some people are using the regular cricut for fondant, I won't do that. Not trying to be holier-than-thou or anything (I promise, I'm far from that), I just won't use the one that's not approved for food-safe use for edible items. I know some people don't agree, please don't jump on me. That's just how I feel.
I just don't know if its worth all that money, for a hobby cake decorator. No one is saying get the airbrush haha...Is it worth it do you think?
I have one, and am not totally sold yet on it. I have only tried a few times, and used finely rolled gumpaste on it, and I find it is tearing, or not cutting through properly. I am a bit of a perfectionist though, and if I have to go back and try to fix what the machine did not do properly, then I get frustrated pretty quick.... I shall try it a again...
Freezer next time?
Sounds like something to frustratr me. I want something to make cool letters because thats what I find tedious. But to get it for so few cakes I am not sure I am sold on it yet. Leaning towards airbrush haha....
Snowbuns...have you tried a fondant/tylose or fondant/gumpaste mix? I roll mine out to the thiness of a dime then let it dry overnight before cutting and it works great.
lol you guys are great........I put both on my sons list and he can decide which lol...........thanks a million all of you....keep discussing its so informative!!!!
I just don't know if its worth all that money, for a hobby cake decorator. No one is saying get the airbrush haha...Is it worth it do you think?
I think I would go for the Cricut, if I were you. I'm definitely not giving up on it. I watched them last night, and it cut like butter. You can even cut sugar cookie dough with it! I'm definitely going to practice more, remembering to use the freezer, until I get it right.
Catharper: No I have used just straight gumpaste....
You are saying fondant + tylose works better? Is that not the same thing?
If it dries overnight, would it not be hard then?
ahhh yes, the aghbay! Heard so much good about it! Put that on the list!
ah, okay...thanks...I have not been trimming my cakes lately, they seem very even lol........but I can't even hang pictures straight so I am sure they are not.
Catharper: No I have used just straight gumpaste....
You are saying fondant + tylose works better? Is that not the same thing?
If it dries overnight, would it not be hard then?
Gumpaste dries faster so you'd have to test the waiting time with gumpaste. I mix in a tbs of tylose to a cup of fondant and it makes a really good mix that is firm in the morning but not hard. With gumpaste I would try at one hour then again at two hours, etc...If too hard at one hour then bring it down 15 mins at a time till you get the right consistancy.
And, yes, Leah..an Agbay is on my list next!
Cat
I agree that the Agbay is a must have. Love cutting my cakes with it!
I was thinking about getting the Cricut as well but the price was holding me back. Well it took awhile but I just got one off of ebay for 1/2 the price! and the cartriges were only $17! Can't wait to try it.
Another thing to weigh in this is storage.......those agbays look huge....so does the cricut lol ....where half price? yeah but where would you send it back if it does not work?? That I worry about.
I just told my hubby this morning that I wanted a cricut cake for Christmas!!!! This was before I saw how much the cartridges cost!! They are so expensive. I'm on the fence with it now... I'm sure I would use it a lot if I had it. Just not sure it is worth the money!
I just told my hubby this morning that I wanted a cake for Christmas!!!! This was before I saw how much the cartridges cost!! They are so expensive. I'm on the fence with it now... I'm sure I would use it a lot if I had it. Just not sure it is worth the money!
I've bought most of my cartridges off ebay. Just make sure they state that they're new in package, which most of them do. And, check the seller's rating. And, every now and then, Michael's or Jo-Ann's will have a killer sale. I've bought some for about $15. They don't do that very often, though, and you have to be quick. People will camp out to be first!! lol
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