{To Cricut or Not to Cricut, That is the Question}
So……….. I’m tossing around the idea of getting a Cricut for Christmas. I’ve only heard about them but have never used one or even seen one in action. They seem to be pretty pricey so I want to make sure if I buy it that I’ll get a lot of use out of it. The cartridges seem expensive too………..
What do you think? I’d LOVE to hear from those of you who have one or have used one. The pros, cons, etc. Help a sista out. 🙂
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XOXO
Diana
www.thegirlcreative.com
I don’t have a Cricut of my own, but my MIL has lent me hers for a few projects. I LOVE it! Some day I hope to get a Cricut Expression…..but like you said, they’re expensive, so I’m going to have to wait :(.
I’m hoping Santa brings me one for Christmas or my mother 🙂 I was talking to my mom the other day about one and she said and I quote “Oh I have one sitting in my closet that I never have or will use!” WHAT?! She says she just doesn’t have the time to be crafty…I about strangled her! I say go for it and get one! You will LOVE it!
GET ONE!!!!!! I love mine, hands down one of the best tools available! I use it for so many different things! I always buy my cartridges on sale, Michaels has sales from time to time where you can get them for about $30 each, there are also several websites out there where you can get them a lot cheaper. Oh My Crafts is a really good one for deals. I have the cricut create, no use for the expression, too big for me, and I like mine to be portable! Hope that helps! I dont have much on my blog right now that I have done with it, but check me out anyway! I have been sewing up a storm lately! You will love a cricut, I promise!
Missy
I also heard so much and wanted one. I went to Michaels when they were doing a demo for the gypsie. No one was there so I asked if she’d demo the cricut for me as I didn’t even know about it. She showed me and it was very cool. I would love the expressions but Micheals had the smaller one- on Thanksgiving for only $69 so I got it. They also had all their cartridges for about 30-35 so I got some. I have not had time to use it as of yet with all the Christmas stuff to do but I am sure it will be worth it. I kinda think it will be fine as I can’t think of too many letters I’d make taller than 5.5inches. If so it might just be easier to pay a friend to do it.
I’ll let you know how it goes when I do get it running after Christmas.
tammy
I love mine!!!! I have made gifts for others using it and that has made hubby very happy, lol. I got mine through an ebay store. It came with 2 carts, a tool kit and one mat, all for $250. There are sales are the carts and you can purchase them new on ebay, I buy them from $15-25. I won’t pay more than that.
My other find is Sure Cuts a Lot. It is software you download on you PC. You hook up the cricut with a USB cable. You can then cut out every font/dingbat/shape on your computer plus the millions of free ones you can down load. People also creat SVG files. These are just like the cricut designs and they are free. These files are what the SCAL program uses.
I have about 1000 in my collection so far and I didn’t have to pay a dime for them.
I just bought myself one for Christmas. I got it at a Black Friday sale for $199.00 – the Cricut Expression and I love it. I haven’t had a lot of time to play with it yet but I know I am going to love it even more once I get a chance to play around some more!!
I’ve had my Cricut for about a year and absolutely love it. Especially for those of us who love to craft in many ways, it is sooo very useful for many other things besides just scrapbooking. You won’t regret it. I only have 3 cartridges right now, but I sometimes swap for a week or so with a friend.
I have a cricut and a silhouette! I love both of them, but the advantage of having the silhouette is that all the images are bought online in an archive. If you are just looking for a design or shape you can purchase it form $1.99 to $3.99. You don’t have to buy a cartridge that costs $60 for the one thing you want off of the cartridge. The other thing is that once you purchase a shape or design you have it for life. You download them to a card that the silhouette reads. Over Thanksgiving break I used the cricut expression and I loved it, but I am going to stick to my silhouette because I don’t have to pay for a cartridge that can get broken or just for a few of the designs. The silhouette does every thing that the cricut does including; vinyl,paper cutting, drawing, etc… I don’t know if this helps, but I thought I would give you something else to think about. FYI Quikcutz makes the silhouette!
I’m with all your other commentors, the Cricut is awesome. I’ve asked my husband for Sure Cuts aLot for Christmas- it looks like a gr8 solution to cartridge issues. I do find that one cartridge goes quite a ways, though. IMO, you don’t need a lot of them.
You might consider overall what your wanting most to do with a cutter. I know I would like to be able to cut vinyl wall hangings, but even my Expression isn’t big enough. Plotters are not a heckuva lot more expensive than the expression, so if size is a consideration for you, thats a thought 🙂
Happy crafting with whatever new toy you choose!
I’d love one, but you’re right they are expensive. I’m sure there are so many projects they could be used for. I like watching the infomercial on TV where they use the sticking vinyl to make an anniversary design or a wedding design, then they attach it to a clear plate and put on etching cream. They make beautiful wedding and anniverary gifts that way. Yet you could do the same thing with clear mugs, and make people mugs with their names on it with maybe some etched Christmas Holly too.
One day, if the budget ever allows and other more important things don’t suddenly pop up that gobble up the fun money, well I’d like to get one.
Oh man you missed a huge sale on them and the cartridges on Black Friday at Michaels! I have been wanting one since they came out but couldn’t justify the expense. Since I already had quite a pretty penny invested in Sizzix and Sizzlets die cut machines and dies. But I REALLY wanted one, and happened to see they were on super duper sale at Michael’s when looking through the ads at my parents house. That’s how cheap we are, we don’t even get the paper! They were open on Thanksgiving night for just a short while and since one is really close to my parents, my husband and I went over. And I got one, it was even less than advertised because they were online price matching. Granted it’s only the smaller one, not the bigger one but still! Plus the cartridges were like 50% off. He got me four of them to be given to me for Valentine’s Day and my birthday in March. But my friend with one said she found a computer program that lets you use the fonts you have on our computer. Another one told me she only uses the cartridge is comes with and that’s been plenty to keep her happy. I am excited to try it, I’ll let you know if I like it after the 25th!
BUY IT…I LOVE mine…and use it all the time…it goes into overload this time of year. I have the smaller one (for about 3 years) and am wanting a bigger one…but probably will stick with the one I have. LOVE it for scrapbooking…making cards…and even cutting my own vinyl…so easy and WAY cheaper then buying online! If you craft at all…you will definitely get your moneys worth. The cartridges do seem a bit pricey…but just watch and they always go on sale…I’ve been slowly collecting them and I finally feel like I have as many as I will need (yeah right)…Alright…that’s enough from me…just get one:)
I say–Get One! I have the Personal Cricut and I love it! My daughter and I use it all the time. I hope Santa makes your wish come true!