I don't know if you have noticed the little circle cricut head on the Cricut Web site, but the info on the "Cricut Circle" has been released. The Cricut Circle is a club and if you join, you get:
- 4 limited edition, exclusive cartridges (first one is French Manor)
- benefits on purchases at www.cricut.com (2 reward points for every $1 spent, 10% off all qualified purchases, weekly drawings for $25 coupons for www.cricut.com)
- a member's only bracelet with a Cricut Circle charm
- membership gift certificate
- monthly PDF magazine
- exclusive web forum
- change to purchase new products pre-market launch at special prices
- exclusive invitations to swarms, galas and events
- rebates on new products
- advanced product research panel participation
- exclusive rewards program
- educational interactive webinars
- live chat forum
- more perks from retail and manufacturing partners
All this can be yours for the low, low price of $274.99 per year. Or you can pay quarterly in $79.99 installments. If you make the one-time payment in June, you will receive 800 Cricut Rewards points. Also, if you join in June, you will be a Charter Member and have a special status.
Read more about it on the "Cricut Circle" page.
Yesterday was the 3rd Thursday of the month, so the Hello Thursday newsletter came out. Three new limited edition, seasonal cartridges were announced: H20, Pumpkin Carving, and October 31st. These will be available in July. HSN will have an exclusive cartridge in July called 3 Birds on Parade; it has birds dressed for different holidays and occassions.
The newsletter said to check next week for Cricut Design Studio and Gypsy updates.
And then there are the 24 Cricut Lite cartridges at WalMart. The WalMart in Lexington now has the spaces set up for the cartridges, but they were not out yet. They had about 14 of them listed, for the price of $39 each.
More cartridges have been retired: Makin' the Grade and Mini Monograms. These will be added to the Graveyard post.
Design Studio and the Gypsy Sync software have both been updated to include the new cartridges announced in May. Design Studio has both a software update and a font update.
The Gypsy update also contains many new features:
- The much-anticipated Photo App is now available for Gypsy by Cricut users.
- The ability to hide-contours enabling users even greater ability to customize and create new designs, hide any part of an existing shape for greater customization Hidden contours will save when the design is saved.
- Rulers for the mat screen so users can more readily see the actual size of the shapes they cut.
- Feature keys now show descriptive text and icons to help users make better use of their cartridges without the use of the printed manual.
- Gypsy can now be restored at home if required.
- Gypsy now displays “Busy Syncing…” while connected to GypsySync through your computer to inform users that it is not available for use while it is in Syncing mode.
- Cartridges can now be added to Gypsy faster and more reliably than before.
Cricut Design Studio also has a full update to support the Gypsy changes:
- Added support for new Gypsy Layering Features
- Added support for new Gypsy Hide Contour Features
- Notes: CDS hidden contours do not save. Gypsy hidden contours do save and can be show hidden when transferred to CDS. If you would like to create a design in CDS using hidden contours and plan on using it on your Gypsy, be sure to save the design as a .gypsy file and not a .cut file.
Get the Design Studio Update here. Get the Gypsy update by running your Gypsy Sync software on your computer. Get the details of the update here.
In the Hello Thursday newsletter, Cricut announced these cartridges (available in June): Freshly Picked, Wall Decor and More, Mini Monsters, Cindy Loo. There is also a contest this month; if you purchase one of these new cartridges in June, you may find a ticket for a free Cricut Cruise.
Cricut Companion Cuttlebug embossing folders were announced for all 4 cartridges (Freshly Picked, Wall Decor and More, Mini Monsters, Cindy Loo).
The Toy Story cartridge has been officially confirmed and will be available in July, just in time for the movie.
There have also been reports of "Cricut Lite" cartridges being sold at Wal-Mart. These are like the Solutions cartridges because they have fewer images than a full cartridge, do not have a box or book and are sold at a cheaper price. These are the images that were in the Hello Thursday newsletter in April. I was at the Wal-Mart in Lexington tonight and did not see these cartridges there.
Here is a list of the cartridges seen so far (24 total): B is For Boy, Baby, Billionaire, Block Party, Bloom, Botanicals, Carousel, Celebrate With Flourish, Cherry Limeade, Chore Chart, Cupcake Wrappers, Dude!, Feeling Groovy, Handy Man, Hoot ‘n’ Holler, Lacy Labels, Live Simply, Meow, Savory, Slumber Party, Splish Splash, Sugar & Spice, Varsity Letters and Wildlife. The cartridges are $39 and have about 200 total images (regular image plus shift and 1 creative feature plus shift).
More cartridges have been retired: All Mixed Up, and Christmas Cheer. These will be added to the Graveyard post.
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