Help please with cricut machine for card making

chalky_75

Hi
Has anyone tried this machine. I am very tempted but would love some feedback before spending so much
Thanks in advance

ravylesley

I have to admit to having never heard of cri-cut before your post but after a quick google I am now better informed.

It does look a decent bit of kit but at over £300 you have to ask yourself whether you can justify the expense and whether if you are doing it for a hobby or as a small business will it pay for itself?I personally think it would take a heck of a lot of card sales to recoup such a large outlay

Lesleyxx

westcoastscot

Hi,
it depends on what you are planning really - I make cards for fun, and also for a (part-time) living - for my family/fun cards I have a wee cuttlebug - not so expensive as a cri-cut and huge fun. if you make cards for selling remember that the more unique they are the better - lots of people have the same dies and produce similar cards.
The cuttlebug is really great, fairly inexpensive to buy, lots of choice for dies, easy to use - kids love it too - and I image the cri-cut would be too.

Pauline :-)

chalky_75

Yes I agree it is such a lot of money. IO was wondering if anyone has 1. I will look at the cuttlebug .

mancbird

Hi, I have both a cricut and a cuttlebug and love them both!

If you are going to be using your cricut for making cards (rather than scrapbooking) then you will probably be fine with the standard cricut. This is the one I have and I use it loads. I also have a copy of the design studio, which is a pc program that enables you to design your own shapes on the pc and cut them out using your cricut. I got my cricut brand new off ebay for about £160 but I have seen many second hand ones on there for a lot less. The design studio is about £50 but mine came free with my cricut! The cricut cartridges can usually be found on ebay for a reasonable price.

I got a cuttlebug after I got my cricut because I wanted to be able to emboss and you can't do that on the cricut.

There are pros and cons with both 'bugs. The cricut is expensive and the cartridges can be pricey (£4ish on ebay) but you get a LOT of images on each cartridge, especially if you choose the "picture" cartridges. However, if you are making a lot of cards, it is easy to cut out your pieces on a cricut, just set it up and off it goes! I made all my own Christmas cards last year and the cricut made it really easy The cuttlebug has lots of dies available but you can only cut out the shape in the size of the die you bought, e.g. if you bought a 2" heart, you can only use that die to cut out 2" hearts, but the size dial on the cricut means you can cut out any size you want (up tp 5 1/2" on the standard cricut and 12" on the Expression) The embossing folders for the cuttlebug are pretty cheap (so are the dies) and there are some really lovely ones available. One more thing, if you have any other dies for other die-cutting machines, such as sizzix then they should also work in the cuttlebug, although I have not tried this!

Hope this helps, good luck with your decision
xx

chalky_75

Thanks everybody - It is really difficult to decide. There are some used but looks like good ones on ebay. However some dont have the instruction booklet and I was wondering how easy it is to work