Cricut Chatter

The NEW Cricut Expression 2 Anniversary Edition will be highlighted on HSN on Tuesday, April 26, during the following times (all times EASTERN): Midnight - 2:00 a.m.; 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.; 11:00 a.m. - Noon; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Watch the HSN schedule as they will sometimes change these times.

If you want to be one of the first to see it, you'll need to watch your clock on Monday night, April 25. Central time zone - tune in at 11:00 p.m.; Mountain time zone - tune in at 10:00 p.m.; Pacific time zone - tune in at 9:00 p.m.

So what's new about this "new" Cricut Expression 2 (CE2)?

Pre-Loaded Cartridges: It will come pre-loaded with Cricut Essentials, Cricut American Alphabet, Cricut Decals, and Just a Note! The Cricut Decals and Just a Note are exclusive to the CE2. Just a Note was designed by Cosmo Cricket.

LDC TOUCH SCREEN: Larger, faster, full-color LCD touch screen display with stylus.

NO KEYPAD OVERLAY REQUIRED! Mat Preview: See shapes you're cutting and where they fit on the mat before you cut. (Similar to using the Gypsy.)

Materials Profile: Choose a default setting for materials you like to cut OR customize a material setting just the way you like it.

Load Mat: There are now brackets on either side of the loading area to make sure your mat stays in place.

Cartridges: It will use both the regular Cricut and Imagine cartridges. You cannot print the Imagine cartridges, but you can cut the images!

Cutting-area Light: A light under the cutting blade to let you see where you're cutting on the mat.

Layered View: See ALL creative features and layers right on the screen, including shift layers. NO NEED to keep referring back to the handbook!

Wrapping: Fit a sequence of images or letters to a specific length by wrapping them onto more than one line or mat.

Independent Image Sizing: Size each image on a mat on its own. (Similar to using the Gypsy.)

Apply All: Apply all of the edits (scale, flip, rotate, etc.) you do for one image to all images on a mat at the same with just one button.

This machine was first introduced in January, and is just now being made available to the general public.

There are several blogs that have announcements and videos for the new CE2. One of the more informative videos (approximately 20 minutes) can be found here: www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/03/cricut-expression-2-anniversary-edition.html.

I haven't seen any pricing yet, but will keep you posted as more information becomes available!