My Rant, The Cricut Cake Cutting Machine..

Decorating By JPMitchell Updated 22 Jul 2011 , 6:45pm by JPMitchell

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JPMitchell Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 6:05pm
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About a year ago, I purchased the Cricut cake for all the features. I used it maybe once last year and swore at myself for spending the money on the machine. Well, I've used it more and more in the last month and I'm kind of liking it. However, the cartiladges are out the roof expensive for only a few things that would be useful to cake decorators. I don't care if one is 25.00-30.00 on ebay and where ever (80-90 at michaels!!), it still adds up if all you really want is the font or maybe a few cutting designs. So, I find, that what I really want is something that cuts everything. I mean something that I can buy a software for or have the machine be customizable to cut what I want. I've spent the last hour and a half looking for such software, with no luck! I was looking at the Silhouette SD which does have software to cut what you want, but I really don't know if it is food safe. I've seen the gyspy for the cricut but it doesnt let you create other designs, you can only use what you've got on your cartiladges. I just want the easy of use to customize my own design, or use the pletora of fonts that is available to me on the computer! I have a lot of cakes that I use logos on and I have to trace, cut the pattern, and then use it as a template to cut from gumpaste (So labor intensive!). I wish I had something that I could design to have it cut it out for me. Have others run in to his problem? It's super annoying that you pay tons of money for the machine and then have to keep shelling out money for the cartiladges. What is everyone elses thoughts about this? Has anyone found a way to cut whatever you want on a cricut?

53 replies
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kristiemarie Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 6:20pm
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I think there used to be software that you could get but it no longer supports cricut, or the cricuit no longer support it.

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WykdGud Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 6:22pm
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There are two programs that I know of that you could use with the Cricut (sure cuts a lot, and another - I have SCAL), but I think that due to litigation, they no longer work... but I could be wrong.

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JPMitchell Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 6:52pm
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I saw those two programs, but didn't know if they would work! I guess I could run the trials to see. I just saw the cricut craftroom thing they are starting. Yea, it is free, but the fun thing is it lets you choose from all the cricut designs and then tells you where to buy them to use it!!!! So crazy! It is like the gypsy but it tells you what cartiladge you need to buy to make it. Definitely don't care if the warranty is voided because I'm sure i've done that already b/c of provo's tight stipulations!

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Pieceofcakebyrita Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 7:46pm
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I bought the cricut in January along with the scal, works like a dream! It help if you have a technical man in house to help you with the set up process. Such as, you have to update the firmware on the machine before it will let you install it, but it's free todo on the cricut website. Great for cutting out anything. I have NEVER bought a cartage, only the one that came with the machine. And I never plan to either, you don't need to, you save so much money and 99% of the cartridges aren't what I am looking for anyways.

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WykdGud Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 7:51pm
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I think there's something with the new machines or if you update the cricut it voids your user agreement and something goes haywire with the machine. Don't know for sure... can only say I've glanced at a couple of threads where this was mentioned. You might want to research it completely before downloading any program that may cause problems with your cricut. Since I bought my cricut and SCAL program before the lawsuit, I'm not affected and obviously therefore little help. LOL!

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Tug Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 8:02pm
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I bought Make the Cut, used it for one month and now it no longer works. Last month, I bought Sure Cuts A Lot 2 (but this time I bought it on disk). My mistake on Make The Cut was buying it as an instant download instead of a disc. They've updated their software and it no longer cuts on CRICUT.

With the disc, I will always have the exact software that runs on CRICUT. Once SCAL2 gets caught up in the Provocraft lawsuit, they too will have to change their software but the disc will still work as long as I do not update my CRICUT.

By the way, I was at JoAnns Fabrics today and their Cricut Cake machines are on clearance for $124.99. All the mats for the Cricut Cakes were on clearance just a little over $6.00.

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dutchy1971 Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 8:21pm
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ive not used mine for a while but I use SCAL, whats this about it no longer working?

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Lcubed82 Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 8:22pm
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I downloaded SCAL last year. As long as I don't install any updates, it will be fine.

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dutchy1971 Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 8:36pm
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I just did a google search, wow provocraft suck. I design my own images to cut either as stencil or with gumpaste, in which case SCAL and myself are not taking any business from PC. I can see if people were using their designs via SCAL or MTC instead of buying their cartridges.

So I guess from here on out no updates for the cricut machine or SCAL software

Thanks for the info lcubed82 and everyone else

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leah_s Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 8:37pm
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ProvoCraft sued SCAL or MTC or both to make sure they wouldn't work and force you to buy cartridges. PP is correct. Don't ever update and you'll be fine.

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tiggy2 Posted 15 Jun 2011 , 8:49pm
post #12 of 54

You can use Make The Cut wioth the Silhouette and it works wonderfully. The only thing that touches food is the needle so the machine being food safe is not an issue. If you're thinking of buying a silhouette I would highly recommend getting it from Linda McClure as she has a special blade for fondant/gumpaste that you can't get any where else and the blades that come with the silhouette WILL NOT work with fondant/gumpaste. Linda's package also comes with a DVD and patterns. The silhouette also has a print and cut feature if you happen to have an edible image printer. I have it and the cricut cake and the silhouette is my favorite.

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bonniekaye Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 12:41am
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ANY electronic cutter will work if it uses a mat and has a blade. The Silhouette is by far the best for several reasons. You do not buy expensive cartridges for your designs, you use your computer. After my initial purchase I haven't bought anything else ( except icing sheets ). The package from Linda McClure is very reasonable. You will see several others jump on this band wagon and offer other machines that do the same thing. If you are considering a machine, make sure the blade will cut gum paste as well as an icing sheet. Not all of the machines have a blade that can cut gum paste. Also, I would recommend you buy a machine that does not require you to buy their designs, whether on a cartridge, a SD card or some other form. If you go to the ICES convention I am sure there will be vendors there with the different machines. Also consider their customer support. Are the other vendors knowledgeable in sugar work? I personally would stick with the person who invented this technique. She has been more than helpful answering my questions. Sorry this is so long, but I hope this will help someone not make a costly mistake and choose a machine that will work for them.

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Annabakescakes Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 1:33am
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I have the older Silhouette, and I would love to cut fondant with it, but it has little rollers over the bar. They leave tracks in your fondant. I moved them over and it caused the mat to not roll back and forth and it made a horrible noise....

Any suggestions?

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tiggy2 Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 3:23am
post #15 of 54
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annabakescakes

I have the older Silhouette, and I would love to cut fondant with it, but it has little rollers over the bar. They leave tracks in your fondant. I moved them over and it caused the mat to not roll back and forth and it made a horrible noise....

Any suggestions?


Linda McClure has some youtube videos on using the silhouette which are very helpfull. She also has all of her classes on DVD which take you step by step through the process. I suggest contacting her for help. Her custopmer service is the best around.

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Annabakescakes Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 3:58am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tiggy2

Quote:
Originally Posted by Annabakescakes

I have the older Silhouette, and I would love to cut fondant with it, but it has little rollers over the bar. They leave tracks in your fondant. I moved them over and it caused the mat to not roll back and forth and it made a horrible noise....

Any suggestions?

Linda McClure has some youtube videos on using the silhouette which are very helpfull. She also has all of her classes on DVD which take you step by step through the process. I suggest contacting her for help. Her custopmer service is the best around.




I'll look for them, thanks!

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bonniekaye Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 4:12am
post #17 of 54

Your machine will work, but you need the special blade for cutting gum paste. You can get just the cake package to go along with your machine from Linda McClure. You will also get an instructional DVD to teach you how to use your Silhouette. There are also some great tutorials on youtube.

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estrada Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 4:34am
post #18 of 54

i use my cricut cake with SCAL and it still works fine! just don't update lol

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labmom Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 6:05am
post #19 of 54

my neighbor is an avid scrapbook person and has a regular cricut. she has many websites besides ebay that offer cartridges very cheap for the cricuts, I think she got 3 for 17.00 last week. And I find that if I need something I call her to see what she has. or her sister or her mother.. till I find what I need. I have only used mime a couple times but I have an order for July 3rd grad cake and if I cant getit to work I am going to go buy some of the wilton icing sheets and just use them. I love the tutorial about the plain sheets and how you can make such nice fancy things with them without a machine.
I can't remember the name of the sheets though they weren't wilton.??
Anyway if anyone wants to know the websites let me know and I will be more than happy to past them on to you. I don't have them here and I don't think she would want me to call her at 2am.

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tiggy2 Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 11:13am
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I'd love to know the websites they get their cartridges from. You can purchase icing sheets much cheaper from icingimages. $4/ea from Wilton is too rich for my blood.

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artscallion Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 11:47am
post #21 of 54
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tug



With the disc, I will always have the exact software that runs on . Once SCAL2 gets caught up in the Provocraft lawsuit, they too will have to change their software but the disc will still work as long as I do not update my .




Tug, usually when you download software, it leaves the original installer application file on your computer somewhere. Maybe in your C/downloads or some other place you can search for. If you find it, uninstall the current version of the updated software, reinstall with the original downloaded installer, and turn off automatic updates.

I don't have this program myself, but that's generally been my experience with software that you download.

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pinkpiggie78 Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 12:02pm
post #22 of 54

I am surprised no one has started a cricut cartridge rental company...

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labmom Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 4:16pm
post #23 of 54

The website that has less expensive cartridges is ohmycrafts.com
it discounts many things. some of the cartridges 17.00 and have been on sale sometimes for as low as 9.99
Also I have found some on ebay for low prices.
Does anyone know if the cartridges from martha stewarts version of the cricut will work on the regular cricuts/cricut cake? Her cartridges are very expensive more than cricut cake but have been selling for around 19.-20 dollars on ebay.
I haven't used the cartridges that I have I don't think I am going to buy any more until I get the cricut figured out.

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lifonahil Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 6:32pm
post #24 of 54

I scrapbook and the carts are always on sale. I bought 2 from michaels not to long ago for 29,99. And they were new ones. Keep your eye on sales at michaels and joanns. on sale all the time.

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KJF1985 Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 8:29pm
post #25 of 54

I've wanted a cricut too but just can't justify the cost of the cartridges. In this day and age there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to purchase and pay for the templates I want online and just download them to my machine. That way I'm not spending money on a cartridge when I might only use one of the templates on it. I might be wrong but I'd bet they'd make MORE money this way because of the ease and I bet that people would make more purchases since the cost would be per template and not for a whole cartridge.

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cakedoff Posted 16 Jun 2011 , 9:08pm
post #26 of 54
Quote:
Originally Posted by KJF1985

I've wanted a cricut too but just can't justify the cost of the cartridges. In this day and age there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to purchase and pay for the templates I want online and just download them to my machine. That way I'm not spending money on a cartridge when I might only use one of the templates on it. I might be wrong but I'd bet they'd make MORE money this way because of the ease and I bet that people would make more purchases since the cost would be per template and not for a whole cartridge.


I agree KFJ1985, I purchased a Cricut...used it for a month with marginal results...returned it and went back to using my favorite cutters, ingenuity and imagination. A total waste of money. When my hands and cutters break...I guess I'm done!

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YoCake Posted 21 Jun 2011 , 12:10am
post #27 of 54

I just got cartridges at hobby lobby for 25.00 for the cake cricut. I got three of them, and they were in the clearance aisle.

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KayMc Posted 21 Jun 2011 , 12:25am
post #28 of 54

You want SCAL2 - Sure Cuts a Lot 2. You can cut almost all sorts of designs, plus create your own.

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gigiel Posted 21 Jun 2011 , 12:25am
post #29 of 54

cricuit's just another 'fad' the 'cookie-cutterness of it will get old like so many other thing in the cake world. remember when edible images were all the rage? stay put, this too shall pass, that's my theory. little imperfections on a cake that's hand crafted are 100% better than a 'cookie cutter' cake. just my opinion.

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KayMc Posted 21 Jun 2011 , 12:26am
post #30 of 54

Two places to go: svgcuts.com and Scrappingtable.com

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