Okay, I had never seen this machine before dropping my son off at daycare on Monday and they were in the breakroom cutting out letters. Oh my gosh!! This was SOOOOO cool. I feel obsessed with this machine right now and really really want one. I'm not a scrapbooker (more a procrastinater that has all the stuff to be a scrapbooker), but still really want it. Does anyone have one of these machines and what do you actually use it for, and is it worth it? I am thinking of asking for it for Christmas, but want to make sure it is really something practical and not just another gadget for the craft room. If it helps, my kids are 2.5 and 5 months.
Update: This machine looks like a printer. The paper goes in on a kind of cutting board and it cuts it out according to a cartridge that you use.
Thank you everyone for your input. I think I am going to have this on my Christmas and birthday lists. My in-laws can usually afford this type of thing, although I am hoping for the double stroller first, and may have to save up for this myself.
This is a really cool machine and you can do all sorts of things from cards to wall art. It is wonderful. It runs around $200+ and it is like a printer. As far as whether or not it is worth it, that all depends on whether or not you use it.
Enjoy!
OMG - I was flipping through tv and saw it one on the home shopping channel - not sure which exact shopping network - but one of them. It was INCREDIBLE the things it does - you can even get one that is used for baking and making cake decorations. It was pretty pricey on HSN but I do believe they have flexpay! I'm not a pro at scrapbooking but I love to do it and I'm very crafty and artsey but this thing was jaw dropping WOW...I want it too!!
I was just thinking about posting the same question. i asked the hubby to buy it for my bday. I have a co worker who's scrapbooks looks amazing and she uses the cricut. from what i researched you have to buy the cartridges and you can create all kinds of things.
I have seen the Cricut and instantly wanted one. But now I would rather have the Silhouette - It works with your computer and does all sorts of fun projects. Check them out online, I think they are similarly priced.
Yes get it. I love my Cricut. I would wait for it to go on sale at Michael's craft store. Last year I noticed they went on sale Thanksgiving weekend and Memorial Day weekend. It was a HUGE savings.
Last year I made snow flakes for the office at my childrens school and my daughter nursery school. The snow flakes are traditional snow flakes, a dreidel, reindeer, santa very cool. That is my favorite cartridge.
I also use mine for scrapbooking and made the kids names for their bedroom doors. I really enjoy using it. Also this past summer in the clearance section at Michael's craft store I purchased some cartridges for really cheap..some between $10-$12. Normally all the cartridges sell between $20 to $80. Some are more sophicated than other cartridges. Walmart had a couple of good clearance deals this past summer about the same price. Any other ? please let me know.
If I were you I would look into the Silhouette. It does the same sort of thing, but you don't have to buy cartridges. The Silhouette is hooked up to your computer so you buy the shapes you want to cut out from their online store...and they have a bunch of free options. I think you can also create your own designs. I like the idea of that better because with the Cricut it just seems SO expensive to buy all the cartridges separately! (PS...I don't have either, but I would get the Silhouette if I were going to buy one!)
these are about 200 plus for the machine, then about 60 plus for the cartridge to do different things, unless you are a BIG scrapper, do not make the investment. You will end up not using it too much unless you are like my siste and EVERYTHING is hand made. I would seriously consider seeing if you can rent/borrow one before putting up the investment ...
I am a lazy scrapbooker and I just use hers everytime I go to California, just bring my paper and print what i think i might need and then sometimes mail her paper to have her make specific things as needed, not willing to fork over the cash!
I don't have one myself but my mother in law does. She uses it with her computer and gets stuff off the computer all the time (we live in middle of nowhere Nebraska where the closest thing to a craft store we have is Walmart or Manards). She is not scrapbooking but uses it to make cards, and also she buys vinyl and does vinyl lettering for her walls or sign boards etc. She loves it and uses it lots.
I LOVE my Cricut!! I am amazed at how much I use it. It gets used for scrapbooking, cardmaking, school projects, chuch projects, home decor, etc. I never thought I would use it as much as I do. Even my hubby, who is somewhat anti-crafting (thinks its a waste of money), agrees that it is worth the investment!! Now that is saying something!!
There is a computer program called "Sure Cuts Alot" that allows you to download images (usually for free) from the internet. This eliminates the need (or at least decreased it) to purchase the expensive cartridges.
Buy it - it is worth it!!
I have a Cricut and LOVE IT!!! I do use it for scrapbooking--when I have time to. I also use it for my kids school projects (or they do most of the work) I sometimes make cards.
I have the smaller one, and it fits my needs. There is a bigger one that you can do a lot more with.
If you are interested in the smaller one, wait for them to go on sale at Michaels or JoAnns. You can get them for as low as $69, if you just wait for a sale. There is a great website that sells the cartridges for cheap too-- www.customcrops.com I think that is the priciest thing about them is the cartridges. There are a couple website where you can rent them, which might be a better deal for a specific type of cartridge (wedding, Disney etc...) I do use mine quite a bit, and have been able to get rid of a lot of other scrapbooking tools, because this has taken their place.
I've never actually seen one, but my mother borrowed one from a friend and made us vinyl letters and shapes to put on our walls, like my son's name, train cars, a quote or two (ex: "All because two people fell in love"--cheesy, I know, but I love it), and a few other things. I'm not sure I'd want to own one myself, but from the suggestions I've seen here, there are a ton of things you can do with it. If I had the money, I'd do it.
I got a the Cricut Expressions in February and have used it constantly. I use it for scrapbooking, but also my 4-year-old daughter loves it. She always wants to go down and cut stuff out. I have the mini monsters cartridge, for instance, and we cut out whole families of monsters and glued them together. And we made a whole Halloween scene for our front window that is super cute too. You can make cards too. It cuts, magnet, card stock, fabric, stencils, stamps and regular paper. I LOVE mine!
I wonder if that is the name of the machine that they use at our church. I agree so much cooler than buying the stencils and cutting them out. Was it a block and put the block in with the paper and then has an arm that you push down? I am not crafty, but agree the thing at church was so cooolllll.
