Michi Photostory

One hour before December 31, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to browse my Facebook news feed and I was surprised when I saw a screenshot photo of my Cricut Design Space Profile with the caption “Hi, I just wanted to let you know I’ve reported this on design space, probably nothing will get done but wanted to at least try. ” in one of the groups that I joined. 

I was so shocked because I didn’t know what was wrong with my Profile and why does she need to report it. Seriously? I just changed my Cricut Design Space Profile from private to public, three months ago and this happened. I started reading comments and at that time, I was so sad and hurt because there were so many false accusations. Some people already jumped to conclusions and the post blew up. 

The said post was already deleted so I can’t give you the exact words but these hurtful words were stuck in my head. 

1. That is weird, I am not Mithcraftaholic, I thought Cricut is very strict in policing designs… 

2. That is not our (insert designer’s name), I will check on that 

3. I can’t find the profile, how can I report it. 

4. That is not her design, why she is adding a watermark. 

5. She is taking advantage of the designer’s generosity, these are all free designs 

6. She is pimping this design with a screenshot of my Facebook post 

7. This guy is taking someone else photos 

8. I will research more about this and see where she is selling them.

9. She's stealing designs and claiming them as her own.

The list can go on and I never felt so humiliated in my life. Some people started checking my social media accounts. Also, because of those comments, I was wondering if I really committed a mistake and if there is a fine print that I forgot to read. There were so many questions and thoughts running into my head. 

Am I not allowed to share or post my finished craft projects? 

Am I not allowed to post my own pictures with my watermark even though I paid for that design? 

Am I not allowed to share photos of her designs outside her group? 

I thought designers would be happy if they saw that crafters were using their designs. 

I am not claiming I am the designer, it is in my description that I am trying different designs on Cricut Design Space.

I am not earning from those projects. Designers earn if someone will recreate the projects that I shared.

Hmm, if ever I plan to sell my craft projects, I can still do that because of the commercial license.

I thought Cricut is promoting the “sharing of community projects”. 

Should I change my profile from public to private? 

Is this how I am going to end my year 2023 and start my year 2024. 

I just want to craft. 

Should I stop crafting?

Of course, I commented on that post and shared my side of the story. I also messaged the admin/designer of that group. But it was a holiday so I already expected that it won’t be resolved sooner. After several hours of waiting, the admin/designer deleted that post and I received an apology. “She clearly stated that I am just sharing my projects which are all available in Cricut Design Space (if you paid for a subscription) and I’m not selling them.” The person who posted my profile was also brave enough to apologize. They finally realized that I am innocent and I am not doing anything wrong. I am just sharing my craft projects on my Cricut Design Space Profile. 

I already received their apology and my name was cleared so I thought I could easily move on but I was wrong. After the holiday, I was supposed to share my finished craft projects but because of what happened, I have hesitation. I can’t help but ask myself if “I will continue sharing or not?” because I don't want to experience this again. For the past several days, I have been trying to overcome my fear of posting or sharing my craft projects. 

So I made this “Created to Create Layered Craft” to persuade me to go back to crafting. Indeed, we are all created to create. One heartache isn’t a sign that I should stop from what I love to do. I need to remind myself that there are some things that I have no control over but I can control my reaction to that situation. And consider this event as a learning experience. 

I don’t consider myself an expert when it comes to crafting but it doesn’t mean that I cannot be creative. I just want to share what I know, what I made, and what I experienced. I don’t know everything but I am always willing to learn. 

We are all dealing with our own stuff and I am not posting this to get sympathy because I know this too shall pass. But despite what happened, I am still thankful because… 

I was awake when this happened. 

I was a silent member of that group so I was able to see the post. 

It was a private group, the downside is there are 28k+ members in that group around the world. 

I was able to defend myself. 

The post got deleted and I proved my innocence. 

And lastly, I discovered that there are still kind people. I am thankful to those fellow crafters who did not jump to conclusions, who did not judge me, and who defended me too. May God bless their hearts.