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Oct 2013 Feb Siggy Challenege
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Do you use Cricut or another brand?
in Crafts
I got a Provo Cricut with Gypsy bundle for a super deal ($49,99) right before Christmas. I have been wanting a diecut machine for ages, but before I rip it out of its packaging I am having second thoughts. I hate the idea of the expensive cartriges. I saw that Cricut has a program that opens up the machines a little bit, but it still seemed on the expensive side.
Is there another brand that is more open that allows for more design flexability? I am on the fence right now and don't want to open it incase I decide to sell it for something else. Any recomendations would be greatly appreciated!
My BFP Chart
After almost 3 years of IF we are thrilled to be expecting our second child!
Oct 2013 Feb Siggy Challenege
Re: Do you use Cricut or another brand?
Craft Blog
I love my cricut and have never paid more than $34.99 for a cartridge. You can find a lot of cartridges online on amazon, etc. for around $25.00. I like to scrapbook and I also sell cards on etsy so my cricut is an investment for me. If you think you will get a lot of use out of your cricut, keep it, if not, look at some other options like craft punches. HTH!
There are other BETTER options! Many of the girls on here have Silhouettes and Cameos that are compatable with 3rd party software. Also look into Pazzles, Black Cats and KNK machines. They are going to be pricier, but w/ Cricut, you get what you pay for. Sure you could find Carts for as low as $12, but those carts add up and severly limit your creativity. If you want the flexability of creating your own designs or even taking images from the internet, please consider the other machines. You also miss out on excellent customer support and help when things go wrong (and they will go wrong) w/ PC. If you consider other machines, look into 3rd party software. Sure Cuts A Lot and Make the Cut are the main ones. I have MTC and a KNK Zing and I just can't tell you how great the customer service and general support they give. From the MTC forum and yahoo groups, its just a matter of asking a question and you will get any info/help you could ever need.
Here's a link to the machine I have. Definately a jump in price from PC, but WELL worth the cost in its abilities and support. It does come w/ the software (MTC) which is needed to cut w/ the machine.
If you don't have the funds for the higher end machines, definately look into the Cameo!
Leopard in Acacia Tree, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 2009
Crafty Owl Blog
Ditto all of this advice. I have a Pazzles and have NEVER paid for a cutting file. It can also do way more than cut paper - it does engraving, embossing, distressing, and it even has a pastry kit so you don't need a separate machine like you would with Cricut Cake.
www.pazzles.com
I agree that in terms of bang for your buck, the Cameo is probably the best bet.
Good luck!
I love putting scrapbooks together and when I heard about Cricut I did some research and fell in love with it. I didn't know about all of these other machines but the Cricut does everything I need it to do and more! I have used it for so many projects and will continue to use it in the future. Right now I am making Baby Shower Invitations and they are super cute and I couldn't have done it without the Cricut. I buy my carts off of Amazon so they are cheaper than Michaels etc and I only buy carts that I will use for more than one project. I can't see spending the money on one to only use it once.
If you are on the fence about Cricut vs other machines do your research.
This. I don't pay full price for any of my cartridges and only buy ones I'll use a lot. I also ditto PP's post about checking out the Cricut website for some of the carts and what they have on them.
OMG yes!! The Silhouette is a great machine. I have a Cricut, I love it, but I'm a lucky one that installed SCAL before Provo Craft sued SCAL and MTC. I do not ever pay for anything, if I want to cut a bird, I google bird svg and BAM. There's a free bird. I can size it perfectly, move it around the mat to fit a small piece of paper or vinyl, the possibilities are endless.
The Cricut is fantastic, but there are options that allow more flexibility in designs. As pp said, sure, you can get some cartridges cheap, but there's nothing cheaper than free.
I also was lucky and have SCAL installed. If I did not have that, I would have bought another machine with more flexibility. I am actually selling most of my carts because I can use SCAL for everything I need.
Baby #2 - D&E - 10/1/10 @ 19w2d - thanatophoric dysplasia confirmed.
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Baby #3 - Little Bean - natural miscarriage - 1/17/11 @ 5w5d
Thank you all so much!! Looks like I have more to research! DH is a big fan of not getting things that lock you into unopen operating systems (it's why we have Android phones/tablet instead of iPhone/iPad.) As soon as I started talking about carts he started asking about more open systems. So I guess I will be looking at my other options!
My BFP Chart
After almost 3 years of IF we are thrilled to be expecting our second child!
Oct 2013 Feb Siggy Challenege
Thanks for posting this. I just spontaneously ordered a Cricut from Joann's because they were having a sale, but after seeing this post I may be returning it. My DH was also skeptical about the whole cartridge thing... we are also Android people.
If I tell him about these other machines he is going to make me switch for sure!