Best settings for the Chomas Creations adjustable holders in the Criuct

These are a few of my favorite settings for using the Chomas Creations tools in the entire Cricut line. These settings will work in the Expression 2 and Cricut Mini.  If you are using the Chomas Creations adjustable holders for the original Cricut, Cricut Create, Imagine, or Expression, some of these pens and markers will not fit (they have to be under 3 1/2 inches).  If you have any you would like to add to the list that work for you leave a comment and I will add them here. These are general settings that work for me. You may want to practice with your machine and scrap paper to see if they work for you!

Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder
Normal gel pens
Pressure  medium  Speed  max

Longer to dry gel pens like Sakura Glaze or Souffle
Pressure medium Speed medium to high
Ball point pens
Pressure medium  Speed max


Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder
Permanent markers such as Sharpies, Bic Mark-Its
Pressure  medium  Speed high to max
May use a double cut to make your design even darker on glossy surfaces

Longer to dry gel pens like Signo Uniball White
Pressure medium  Speed medium to high

Normal no bleed pens and markers
Pressure medium   Speed  max

Glue pens (keep the speed slow so you don't smear)
Pressure medium to high  Speed medium

Chomas Creations embossing/scoring tip
Embossing Thin metal sheets
Pressure high to max  Speed high to max
May need to use a double cut

Embossing Vellum
Pressure max  Speed max
May need to use a double cut


Scoring on cardstock (without embossing mat)
Pressure max    Speed max
May need to use a double cut


Chomas Creations engraving tip
Acrylic, Core'dinations cardstock, metal sheets
Pressure 33 Speed 5-6
May need to use double cut

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Bonus charm frame with Chomas Creations embossing/scoring kit

Don't forget it is National Scrapbook Day (or weekend!) so you can use the coupon code nsd15 in the Chomas Creations store to save 15% off your purchase of $35 or more!

I had a request to make this frame as a mother's day present.  I used the Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder for the Cricut with a Sakura Glitter gel pen.  I drew the words with the Expression2,and without removing my mat, I replaced the blade to cut shadow around them.  Because I love all the glitter, I then colored in the letters with the glitter pen.  These pens color really well!

I then used the Chomas Creations embossing/scoring kit to make the shamrocks.  By adding the metal sheet colored side down, I embossed, then sanded the raised image. 

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Hi card with Chomas Creations adjustable holder

Maria from Believe Dream Create is back with another cool card!  If I haven't mentioned it yet, I love everything she does!  Stop on by her blog, she has amazing tutorials and projects she is always doing!

Maria here with another Chomas Creations Adjustable Pen Holder project. This is another easy one using the Word Collage Cartridge. You really can't get any easier than this.

This time I tried yet another type of pen in my stash--The Souffle Pens. I LOVE these pens and use them all the time in my Art Journals. I thought what the heck--let's try. If you have never used this type of pen i'd have to say it is more like a paint pen. It goes on very clear and changes to a chalky look after dry. If you look up close in the picture you can see that the letter's are not perfect. This IS NOT due to the pen holder--it is the type of ink and the way it comes out of the pen, which I happen to LOVE!

To carry the "artsy" look of the pens further, I hand doodled around the outer edge of the card with a black Micron pen. The HI was also drawn with the pen and the Cricut and then I hand colored it in with the same pen and doodled on top of it.

I hope I have inspired you with some of my projects and these pen holders. I would love to see what you are making with them!

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St. Patty's Day card with the Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder

Ready for a leap year sale???  Use the coupon code leapyear15 at checkout to save 15% off your purchase of $35 or more on the Chomas Creations store!

Yipppeee!  Maria from Believe Dream Create is back with another awesome project for you to check out!  Stop on by Maria's blog and leave her a comment, she has some awesome projects she has been up to & she always has the best tutorials.

It's Maria with another project for you using the Chomas Creations Adjustable Holders for the Cricut. I thought I'd use one of my favorite pens in the whole world. I have been using these pens since way back in High School. As a matter of fact, there was a time when I would ONLY write with them. Now with the endless colors they come in and the Chomas Creations Adjustable Pen Holders--YAY!!!!

I used the Kelly Green color and the Word Collage Cartridge. This was so easy I'm embarrassed! Just goes to show you how a little pen holder can make all the difference in the world!

I colored some of the words in with a Gelly Roll Stardust pen. The silhouette is from A Child's Year. I hand cut the borders around it because I wanted it to have more of a handcrafted feel. The Shamrocks are a Martha Stewart punch with a little Stickles.

I had so much fun with this! Thanks Amy!

Maria you are so welcome!  Thank you for what you do! 

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Fly card with Maria and the Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder

Oh wow!  Wait till you see what Maria of Believe Dream Create has in store for you today!  Look at this fantastic card she has done & you will just love her tutorials!  You can stop by her blog and leave a comment for her!

It's Maria again with the project I promised you using the Chomas Creations Adjustable Holder's for the Cricut. One of the things I love to do with my Cricut is to challenge myself to make a project based on only images on one cartridge by welding them together. I do this when I need to get some fresh energy going. Usually I do this on my Gypsy, but this time I used Cricut Craft Room and let me tell you--WOW! The Chomas Adjustable Holders and Cricut Craft Room a winning combination!!!!

I used the Serenade cartridge for the entire project. I welded all the branches at the bottom of the card--so perfect to use with the Pen Holders. All drawn at one time. Super Fast! Here is the holder and the pen I used--the white Signo Uniball.

I really don't need to tell you anything else except that you need these in your collection. This would be a perfect cover for a mini book or journal. As a matter of fact I think I'm going to make another one for a journal.....or a background in my Art Journal or.....you get the picture!

Thanks Amy for letting me try these holders--I just LOVE them. I have a few more projects up my sleeve that you will see soon......

Amy again!  Thanks soooo much for sharing Maria!  Love it!  Maria will be back next week with another awesome project and amazing tutorial!

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Review of the Chomas Creations adjustable pen & marker holder for the Cricut

I'm so excited for my friend Maria of Believe Dream Create with Maria to do a few things with the Chomas Creations adjustable pen and adjustable marker holders for the Cricut!  She always has these awesome ideas, and she is just so creative!  I'm so glad I got to meet her at CHA a couple of years ago, as she was one of my very first customers!  So here is a review in Maria's words.  Stop on by her blog and leave her a comment if you would like.  She will be back tomorrow with a project!

Hi this is Maria. I was really excited when Amy asked me to make some projects with the new Chomas Creations Adjustable Pen Holder's for the Cricut. I have been playing with Chomas Creations products from the very beginning and have always been a BIG fan! But....let me tell you, the day I tried these new holders I  had an excitement with my Cricut that I haven't had since when the Cricut debuted.

Today I thought I'd do a review of what I tried and tomorrow I'll show you the first project I made.

Here's a look at the two Adjustable Holders. They come with very good instructions for you to get started. I found the little popsicle stick absolutely necessary and a wonderful idea to get the pen positioned correctly. Don't throw it away.

I used Cricut Craft Room with my E2. I think the most exciting thing about these holders is that the possibilities are endless in your choice of pens between the two holders. The E2 has no height limits like the Expression so your choices are ENDLESS! I used the free basic Cricut Craft Room cartridge and just made a grouping of circles in a 6" x 6" section. I copied and pasted this into each of the 4 quadrants on the mat so that I could get a true test.

Here's a look at the first pen after I put it in the holder. The popsicle stick helps you get the point of the pen in the exact correct position for the machine. This is a look with the pen in full motion.

I tried 4 different pens on the first page. A colored pencil, Gelly Roll pen, Pitt Pen and a Micron. I had unbelievable results with all 4!

I was so excited about this that I decided to try 2 more types of pens. My favorite white pen--Signo Uniball and a regular old Papermate pen that was on my desk (isn't it pretty? my daughter decorates them with Duct Tape).

Again, perfect results!
I have to tell you, I actually gave myself a headache after I did this. I had SO many ideas buzzing in my head at one time! I am a huge collector of pens and pencils from my "artsy" side. This could be the product that brings my two worlds together!

I fell in love with the Signo Uniball and the black paper.....I think you might want to go order yourself a set now because when you see what I made (which I'll be showing you tomorrow) you will want them in your hands ASAP to play! See you then!

Amy here again!  Thanks soooo much Maria!  Can't wait to see what you have in store for us tomorrow!

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You crack me up with Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder

One thing is for sure about my youngest, Jack, he is a crack up!  But that leads to one problem, if you want a serious picture of him, it is near impossible to get!  So I work with what I have.
Don't forget to use the coupon code feb10 to save10% off your entire purchase in the Chomas Creations store!  And look at this!  I've added some Cricut deals to my store with the new Chomas Creations adjustable holders, you can see them here, just scroll down... deals on the adjustable holders
Well this is my first file share for Cricut Craft Room (CCR), so I sure hope it works!  You can download the file using George & Birthday Bash here... crack me up
The graph background was done using the Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder for the Cricut with a metallic silver Sharpie marker in CCR using George.  I just love graph looking paper on my layouts and cards!

The red squares were embossed on metal sheets using the Chomas Creations embossing kit for the Cricut using CCR & George.  By adding my metal sheet colored side down, I was able to emboss on the metal sheet, then sand off the raised image for this look.

The title was done using CCR & Birthday Bash.

Here is the finished layout along with my crack up!  Now notice the black border around the whole page.  Before I add it to the page, I cut the inside of the sheet of paper out (my frugal tip for the day!) and then I can use that paper to cut the title or anything else I may need, and it matches perfect!  I do this behind large areas that will be covered up.

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Celebrate birthday card with Chomas Creations engraving tip

There are lots of birthdays coming up in January, so I will have to make a lot of cards!  I doubled up on this design, so this is a 2 for 1!  You can download the Design Studio file for this card using George and Birthday Bash here... celebrate card
Don't forget to use the coupon code january10 to save 10% off your entire order in the Chomas Creations store.
I used the Chomas Creations engraving tip to etch the cupcake design into Core'dinations cardstock.  I use a multi-cut of 2 for this to really dig into that paper!  This is the engrave page in the DS file, then I replaced the blade in place of the engraving tip to cut the cut around the cupcakes using the engrave cut page in the DS file.

I also used the Chomas Creations engraving tip to score the card.  I set my pressure to high, and then scrored the emboss page of the DS file.  I then replaced the blade in place of the engraving tool and cut the card shape with the card cut page of the DS file.

Next I cut the celebrate page of the DS file and added them to my cards, and added Stickles over all of the sprinkles on the cupcakes.

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What a difference a pen makes...

I'm here today to RAVE about the Uni-ball Signo white gel pen.  Not all white gel pens are the same, believe me, I have about 4 different kinds here and none of the others compare to this one!  Now when I started making samples with the new Chomas Creations adjustable holders, I did have one of these babies.  But my youngest son decided to "borrow" it, and lost it (oooh the horrors!) so I went back to some of my other white gel pens, but it just wasn't the same!  So I ordered 3 new Uni-ball Signo white gel pens, and I'm back in business and happier then ever!  And these babies don't skip!  Look how amazing the gel pen did on this navy blue cardstock for tags.  Keep in mind that these gel pens are bigger then normal sized gel pens but fit great in the Chomas Creations adjustable marker holders for the Cricut and Silhouette.  You can get the Studio file share for the tags here... tags

Also use the coupon code december10 at checkout in the Chomas Creations store to save 10% off your entire purchase!

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Christmas tags with Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder

Rebecca shared some of the Christmas tags she made with the Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder for the Cricut!  What a great way to label your presents!  And look at the extra fine details the Chomas Creations holders gave her for these tiny images!  I love how she added the names to her tags as well. Very nice Rebecca!

Of course I had to work on some to, hehe!  Thanks to the inspiration above!  I try to do some Christmas tags every year, but completely forgot because of the craziness of the season!  These are very simple compared to Rebecca's!  You can get the file for the Studio tags I made here... Christmas tags  I used the Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder with a white gel pen and red paper to do these tags.  I'll add some ribbon to them as well!

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Raking Leaves layout with Chomas Creations adjustable pen holder & no bleed Sharpie pens!

Something I always do when I come to a pen or marker aisle in the store is see if I can find something new to try in the Chomas Creations adjustable holders!  Well I found these no bleed Sharpie markers on my last trip to Staples, and they came in a 5 pack of different colors!

Don't forget there is a sale going on in the Chomas Creations store! When you use the coupon code december10 at checkout you save 10% off your entire purchase!!

I know I'm a bit behind on my fall pages, as it has snowed here twice in the last 3 days, but I wanted this one done as I had it printed and ready to go!
So I figured these would be perfect for drawing on cardstock!  Especially the no bleed part which sometimes we have trouble with, with the die cut machines and bleeding.  So I put them to the test in the Expression 2 and the Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder, and low and behold, no bleeding!!  And these are small leaves I drew, less then 1 inch tall, so they have very fine details! 

I also used the Chomas Creations min gel pens (they fit in both the adjustable pen holder and the mini gel pen holder) to draw the journaling lines for this page, you can see how I did that here... journaling lines 

The title I put together in Cricut Craft room.  I've been having a lot more luck with the Expression 2 getting the finer details in my cuts, sorry, just saying!  The title is from Cindy Loo.

Here is my page all put together, with a few extra leaves from A Child's Year.

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New Chomas Creations adjustable holders in the Cricut Expression

I've had a lot of people ask if the new Chomas Creations adjustable holders work in the Cricut original, Create, Expression and Imagine and the answer is YES!  Of course you are going to have to find shorter pens, markers, even crayons or pencils, but they will work!  Here is one of the Crayola Pip Squeak Skinnies in the Expression.  They are a bit longer, so you will need to tighten the marker in the Chomas Creations adjustable marker holder, put the popcycle stick under where it will go into the blade holder, then tilt the marker a bit to get it under the lip of the Cricut and adjust the height of the marker so the tip is resting on the popcycle stick, this will give you the right height. 

When using the Pip Squeaks, because they are a bit longer then the Chomas Creations mini gel pens, your design will have to remain 2 inches to the right of the lip I've shown below, it is on the left hand side of the Expression machine.

And here is the finished card!  I used Christmas Cheer for the Merry Christmas sentiment and the card shape. 

I used the Chomas Creations embossing tip to score the fold in the card. 

I did use Design Studio to do this card.  By adding the embossing rectangle on one layer, and the actual card cut on another, you can easily score any card!  I have another tutorial on scoring a card with the Chomas Creations embossing tip here...  score tutorial

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