A Couple of Gypsy Meshes

 

 I created and cut some more mesh designs on the Gypsy today.  The border feature on the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge is very useful for making mesh pages since there are groups of shapes already welded together.For this one I used the butterflies and rotated the second and the fourth rows 180 degrees.

 

I filled in a few open areas with some single daisy flowers.  I used double sided cardstock so I had a choice of colors when the cut was finished.

I also tried a mesh of open hearts - this one was made by welding together a row of six hearts and then duplicating and repeating the rows to fill the page (adjusting the size for a good fit on the full page).

This inexpensive plastic putty knife from the hardware store is such a big help in lifting these designs from the mat.  If you are careful, you can lift the entire design and it will already be "weeded."

There is virtually no waste in the design since you will be able to use the 42 heart cuts from the interiors of the hearts for other projects.  The little "arrowhead" shapes from between the hearts can also be saved and reused.

I am still finding that it takes a very long time to preview and cut one of these full page designs and I think I may contact Customer Service next week to see if this is "normal" for the Gypsy.  I timed the cut of the butterfly mesh and, from the time I first tapped the blade icon to cut, it took nearly half an hour to complete the cut.  First the design turns from red to pale gray, one object at a time, then the cutting screen appears so I can load the mat, then there is a very long lag (over eight minutes) while the information is transferred to the Cricut and then the design cuts.

 

The final result was a nice even cut - it could be that I need to reset my Gypsy or that the slow processing will be addressed in a future update.

We went into Boston tonight to pick up our younger son and his girlfriend from the bus.  He is home for a very quick visit and then I will drive him back to New Jersey on Sunday - Columbus Day is not a holiday for his school.  I took the Gypsy with me and did some designing in the car.  At first I didn't think I needed the portability and "design on the go" capabilities of the Gypsy but I am finding that it is really nice to have it along to fill the time when you are waiting.

(and I really like the two preloaded cartridges!)

Be sure to check back tomorrow to find out the winner of the Ribbon Box or the ScrapMaBob - this lucky person will then be entered in the giveaway for the Workbox - with a one in ten chance of winning - good luck to all who entered!