National Trend Inspires Rise in Extreme Crafting

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Travelers Rest, S.C., resident Christina Timms wears her love of crafting on her sleeve. Timms, who began her crafting hobby using the Cricut Expression^® and Cricut Gypsy^® paper-crafting machines, recently had the Cricut^® logo – a green letter “C” with antennae - tattooed on her left arm.

“I’d say that makes me an extreme crafter.”

“I eventually would like to get another tattoo on the other wrist,” Timms said, “but I haven’t decided whether it will be the little Cricut^® bug (character) or maybe a small pair of scissors.”

Timms is one example of the rising number of crafters hitting a new peak. Companies such as industry leader Provo Craft, maker of the Cricut^® and other crafting products, have watched the rise of online communities. Fueled by social media networks and message boards, fellow crafters may now connect and share ideas, tips, and resources with each other.

“Our Facebook page alone has grown immensely in the past year,” said Denise Bruhns, VP of consumer insights for Provo Craft. “What once was this relatively traditional, niche hobby is now becoming a favorite pastime for people of all ages who are indulging their inner creativity. And with that, we’ve seen crafting go from casual to extreme.”

In Ontario, Canada, scrapbooker Jenn Mena exhibited her extreme crafting when she continued crafting through early signs that she was going into labor. At a monthly scrapbooking meet-up, she crafted through midnight before her contractions began in earnest and then went to the hospital the next day to have her baby girl.

“I can honestly say I scrapped until the very end,” Mena said, adding that she’s now pregnant with baby No. 5 and plans on scrapping until the due date again. “I’d say that makes me an extreme crafter.”

Corpus Christi, Texas, resident Karla Cameron keeps her Cricut^® and other crafting supplies in her car trunk at all times “just in case.” When her area gets hurricane warnings, she packs up her crafting supplies first.

“My Gypsy^®, photos and craft totes are always the first things I pack whenever I have to evacuate from hurricane threats,” she said. “Clothes and other necessities are only packed if there is room left over.”

Salina, Kan., resident Mary Jean LeClair took her extreme crafting to a gun show in Tulsa, Okla. Packing up a few photos, paper, scissors, stickers, and die-cuts, she set up her own little crafting station in her van while her husband attended the show. She lowered the back seat, sat against the tailgate and had plenty of room to work and chat with the numerous people who walked by asking about her hobby.

“It was a great day: I got five layouts done and (my husband) got a new gun!” LeClair said, adding that with her portable crafting device, the Cricut Gypsy^®, her on-the-go crafting has flourished. “She (the Gypsy^®) has been to gun shows, car shows, the doctor’s office … everywhere I go, she is there!”

For more information about Cricut^® and Provo Craft, visit www.cricut.com or www.provocraft.com. Follow us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/officialcricut, and Twitter, www.twitter.com/provocraft.

About Provo Craft

Provo Craft is a creative technology company that enables people to achieve their creative best. For 40 years, Provo Craft has invented new products that bring industrial technology to the masses, including the Cricut^® personal electronic cutter, the Cricut Design Studio^® software, the Gypsy^® for Cricut^®, the Cricut Cake^® personal electronic cutter, the Yudu^® personal screen-printing system, and the Cuttlebug^® die cutter and embosser. These innovative tools help people bring their creative ideas to life in a personalized, professional-looking way at home, in schools, and in the workplace. Provo Craft products have won dozens of industry awards and are available through leading mass retail, craft, home décor, office, and education outlets nationwide. Visit www.provocraft.com or call (800) 937-7686.