Happy Halloween!

Hey fabulous! Quick post today before I head to work...this card is for this week's challenge over at Simply Scrapping! The challenge is to use one of the sketches (there are two sketches...one for cards, one for LO) and there is a twist...this week's twist is rolled paper! So here is mine:

Ok..gotta run! Hopefully I will make it home in time to get some other stuff done before we head out to do the trick or treating!
Supplies: Paper - Basic Grey: Wassail; Cardstock - CTMH, Bazzil; Image - Impression Obsession; Sentiment - CTMH; Ink - CTMH: New England Ivy; Zing Embossing Powder - Copper; Flower Soft - Polar White; Pearls - Recollections

Where has the week gone????

It's Friday already!  And I'm so tired and lost!  LOL!  Still working my rear end off...but hopefully the pace will slow down next week!  Fingers crossed at least!

Anyways...without further ado...here is the LO that I created using my Gypsy!  Everything was cut out using Gypsy Wanderings and Gypsy Font ("sisters" was welded!!!!) cartridges that come pre-installed on the Gypsy!  The LO is based on a sketch by Judy at Simply Scrapping!  I can't say this enough...unless you are really good at creating on the fly...have a sketch in mind at least when you are building your cuts on the Gypsy!

I have already designed another LO using the Gypsy...did it during my lunch break at work the other day...but haven't had any chance to scrap it!  Hopefully I will have more time this weekend!

Supplies: Paper - Basic Grey Marrakech; Cardstock - American Crafts, Bazzil, CTMH; Flowers - Prima; Stickles - Diamond; Distress Stickles - Rock Candy; Distress Crackle Paint - Rock Candy;  Diamond stuff (I totally cannot remember what it is called right now...I'll figure it out and post it later!); Glossy Accents

sorry for the absence...

I'm working like a mad woman here!  Starting this past Monday I am working over at the plant for a few weeks helping out during the refueling outage...originally thought I would have more time to scrap and play than I am actually having!  I am working 6 days a week...one day off...then back on for another 6...thankfully the first week is almost up and I only have two weeks left.  I am having a blast at work though...working with some fantastic people! 

I am hoping to either tonight or tomorrow finish the LO I started last weekend with my Gypsy!  It's about 75% done...and as soon as I get it done, I'll get it and some more Gypsy pics up! 

Later!

and then we wait...and wait...

So...let me pre-empt this by saying...as frustrated as I may sound later in this post...it has no reflection on how I feel about the Gypsy!  I still love it...but all the odds and ends on getting it to actually cut on my bug...well that part is just a bunch of red tape!

Anyways...I was all excited I spent some time just hanging out with my kiddo, designing stuff that I would later cut out with my Cricut...it was great...I sat on the couch watching TV with her...and when inspiration would hit...I would just create a new file and go to town!  (Massive hint here...have a sketch with you!  I am not the greatest at just sitting and designing (it will take me FOREVER) so I went ahead and printed out a sketch I wanted to work off of...and it made designing different elements much easier!). 

Anyways...I got all hooked up to my cricut...was ready to go...and then...brick wall! 

Couldn't get my Gypsy to talk to my E (expression)...and nothing I was doing would work...until I finally went online and searched the PC website...nothing going right off the bat...I finally just googled my question...and sure enough...in the Cricut forum was my exact question...and IT WORKED!  thankfully!  let me tell you...when the screen says push the STOP button as you power it on...yes...it WORKS! 

some technical data on this...the reason that it takes so long...is typically Design Studio will update your cricut with the latest "firmware"...well I don't own DS...the only reason I ever would have wanted to was to Weld stuffs...and now my Gypsy allows me to do that!  So...without DS...your cricut is likely WAYYYY behind (like mine was) on firmware updates...so it takes awhile to catch it up...so give yourself at least 30 minutes here to get these updates going!

it took a while (had to update in 2 parts)...but as soon as it was done...I WAS OFF AND CUTTING!  and WOOOOHOOOO!  the ONLY problem I could even imagine...is that it goes faster than I can think!  I had so much stuff cutout for this LO...and I was barely ready to start (mentally of course)...but WOW OH WOW OH WOW! 

Most importantly...I finally got to WELD!  A portion of my title and one of my embellies were WELDED!  and it ROCKS!  but you'll have to wait to see pics of that!

Episode 3...lots to learn...

Ok...so this afternoon...after getting all my shopping done...was quite the educational adventure with Provo Craft.  I figured a few things out that I had questions on...interfaced with the Provo craft website...read the user manual...and finally got to working on my first Gypsy driven project!

So...to answer some of the questions I had before...I can find out the battery life by pushing the silver button on the right hand side of the machine...this button will also bring up the main menu when I am on any other screen.  I also can actually see what carts my Gypsy can cut from (only carts that you have linked and the two pre-loaded carts)...by clicking on the cartridge list bar it will bring up a scrollable list of all cricut carts...the ones that are linked to your Gypsy are in bold print...so it's easier to pick out the ones that you know you can use! (Please forgive the somewhat fuzzy pic...sometimes photographing the gypsy screen can be tricky!)

So...then it was off to the Provo Craft website...some of the buttons and tools to be used are not necessarily obvious to the user...so I finally broke down and decided to go online and find the user's manual...and that took me down a couple of different paths...the first thing was to register my Gypsy with Provo Craft...which actually wasn't too difficult...I downloaded the Sync software...connected the USB cable...and within a few minutes I was registered and completing my first update!

After completing the update...I took a peek at their tutorial vids...the quick use guide (which I had pretty much figured out already)...and perused the user guide...which was incredibly helpful to figure out what the different icons were when manipulating things on the mat...and most importantly...learning how to weld! 

Gypsy...Day 2...

Well...after the initial meet and greet with my Gypsy yesterday...I actually spent some time this morning getting to know it...and getting my carts linked to my Gypsy...and while I'm still loving this new toy...there were a few annoyances this morning...but nothing that couldn't be resolved easily...

So I powered it up unplugged...haven't found a screen or icon I can tap into yet to give me an idea of how much battery life I have left...but I also haven't downloaded or even taken a glimpse at the User's Manual...so...minor irritation...but likely my own fault!  LOL!

The goal this morning was to get my carts linked officially to my Gypsy...this process was relatively easy and took maybe 20 mins to get 18 carts linked...so all in all...not bad!  A real positive here...when you first plug stuff into your computer (for example) you get pop up windows and all this other stuff...or some sort of automatic action taking place...with the Gypsy...when I hooked up the cart cable and plugged in a cart...there was no 'auto" action by the Gypsy...I had to do all the "work" and I'm VERY glad for that! 

I had to confirm along the way that everything was connected and THEN would the Gypsy take the next step...and this is the part where it was slightly annoying after like the 3rd cart...first is the WARNING...that you are permanently linking that cart to this Gypsy...

then the User Agreement for EVERY cart...then at the end acknowledging that it had linked...just a lot of tap and tap and tap and agree agree agree...gets a tad bit boring after awhile...

anyways...nothing major...so onward...I was on my next to last link...uploading my Opposites Attract cart...and then something different happened...I got this screen that was telling me that it was unable to "authenticate" the cart...and to contact Provo Craft if this continued...at that point I'm like WHOA...but I was like...well...let's try it one more time...see what happens...and it worked!  So...just a little heads up on that one!

After everything was linked...I wanted to just flip through some stuff and see...and ran into the other two things that are a bit annoying...one I can do nothing about...one I hope I can find the answer to.  First...disconnecting the cart cable from the Gypsy...pain in the behind!  and I dang near broke a nail trying to get them to detach!  Hopefully it will be less difficult later on...and that it's only because it's new...but unless I'm buying new carts on a regular basis (which I won't be) then there really isn't much to say or do with this one!

I wanted to see how it looked with all my carts (no idea if i would get a new icon or anything)...and really this is where I am starting to see some confusion...what is really cool with the Gypsy is that you get an amazing preview of EVERY cart out there!  which is incredibly helpful if you have your eye on a new one you would like...but just really need to see what all it has to offer!  BUT...it would be nice if there was a way to page through just the carts you ALREADY have and have linked to the Gypsy!  Otherwise you could be flipping through the different carts forever finding the one that you want that starts with an S! (carts are in alpha order, and when you first start creating a new project and you are flipping through the different carts, I believe you always start at the Gypsy Font or Wanderings carts).  There is a search feature that I haven't tried to use yet...and there are lots of buttons I haven't tapped yet...so no idea at this point how to get to the nitty gritty when it comes to carts...fear not...I will keep searching!

My goal with my new toy today is to create a project, get it hooked up to my Cricut, and then actually cut!  So more pics and fun later!

Gypsy First Impressions...

A couple of thoughts as I first start opening up and playing with the Gypsy...one...isn 't it CUTE!!!!!!

I opened up the box and took a quick peek at everything, then decided to go ahead and get it plugged in and let the battery charge...what's the point of having a portable system if you have to be plugged in to start using it!  After a few hours...I was watching TX vs ou while this was going on...I sat down and started playing...not many pics from that few minutes...but it did give me some other impressions...this thing is SERIOUSLY light-weight!  It's larger than I thought it would be...the screen is actually a fairly decent size!  AND...most importantly since it does NOT come with a user's manual...you have to download it from PC on your computer...the videos on michaels.com/gypsy are an excellent starting point when you first power this puppy up!  I also found a few videos on You Tube (particularly the Pink Stamper) that step you through the basics!  Thankfully having watched those vids...I felt pretty comfortable with the beginning navigation! 

Ok...so I powered it up...agreed to the End User License Agreement...and just started tapping and playing.  I wanted to see these carts that it came already loaded with...Gypsy Wanderings and Gypsy Font...FABULOUS!  I mean absolutely GORGEOUS!  These carts ROCK!  I played for a few minutes with a "new project", choosing the 12x12 mat...and felt that it was pretty easy to play with.  At this point I powered it off and let it sit and charge the rest of the evening!  Until this morning...but that post will come later!