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As I posted here a few days ago, I made the decision to buy a Cricut machine. The regular one, not the newer, pricier “Expression” machine. I really don’t need anything that big, and I didn’t want to spend $400-500 on this thing.

The regular Cricut (pronounced “Cricket”, BTW) retails for around $300, which is still more than I wanted to pay. But when I saw it on sale at A.C. Moore for $129.99, I decided that it was a good time to get one.

I bought it this past Thursday night, and on Friday, it came out of the box so that I could play with it.

This machine is pretty much ready to use right out of the box. Unlike some other electronic die-cutters, the Cricut does not require a computer, so there is no software to install. So how does it know what shapes you want to cut out? Easy…there are collections of fonts and/or shapes, which come as cartridges, which you plug into the machine. Since each cartridge is different, they also come with a keyboard overlay which corresponds with that particular cartridge. Included as well with each cartridge is a detailed handbook.

The machine comes with one cartridge, “George & Basic Shapes”. “George” is a nice upper-case font, and ‘Basic Shapes” are just that…circles, squares, hearts, stars, flowers, etc.

Now here is where Cricut differs from non-electronic die-cutting systems such as Sizzix and Quickutz…with those systems, you are limited to the size of the dies. Not so with Cricut. You can set it so that you can cut shapes as small as one inch tall, and as large as five and a half inches, with half-inch increments in between. This range of sizes is enough for just about any scrapbooking/cardmaking needs.

Each cartridge also has “creative features” which enable you to cut out the letter/shape in different styles. These are all clearly spelled out on both the keyboar5d overlay for that cartridge, as well as the handbook. They vary from cartridge to cartridge.

The “George” cartridge is very basic, but it’s plenty to get you started right away. Other cartridges, sold separately, offer more options. After I bought the machine at A.C. Moore, I headed over to Michaels, which had them on sale for $49.90 each (they normally go for about $89.99). After looking over what they had, I selected one called Opposites Attract. This one give you a LOT of bang for the buck font-wise…it’s really THREE fonts in one cartridge. The main one is a long flowing script, which can also be cut as am upright script. They can also but cut within shapes, such as a circle or trapezoid.

BUT…one of the “creative features” is the option to cut bold, block letters…the “opposite” here. And once again, all letters can be cut in various sizes. I love this cartridge, and it was definitely a smart buy. It would have been worth paying ninety bucks for, given what Sizzix and Quickutz alphabet sets cost. But how sweet to get it for just $50?

Once you have the machine, upkeep costs involve buying replacement blades and cutting mats. Blades go for about five bucks a pop, and mats are $10 for a package of two. A common complaint about the mats is that the “sticky” on them doesn’t last too long. I’ve heard of people extending the life of them by using repostionable adhesive…Cricut does NOT recommend this, but then again, they want to sell people new cutting mats, right? So who knows?

They say the mats will last for 25-40 cuts, but you can extend the life by using more than one mat and alternating them. I did buy a pack of two mats, so I’ll try this. The blades are supposed to last for 500-1500 single cuts, depending on the weight of the paper/cardstock.

The biggest expense will probably be buying more cartridges, but this is an expense with any die-cutting system. You will likely NEVER have to pay full-price for them, though. I plan not to! Although A.C. Moore won’t let you use their 40% off store coupon for Cricut stuff, perhaps Michaels or Joann’s does (I don’t know this for a fact). But you’d be better off waiting for a sale, like the one that Michaels just had. A few weeks ago, A.C. Moore had a “buy one, get one free sale” on cartridges. And let’s not forget eBay…I took a look, and there is a lot to be had there for WAY less than suggested retail. Just check the feedback rating for the seller before you bid or *buy it now*.

In conclusion…although the Cricut may look expensive at first, compared to other systems, you get so much bang for the buck, that it really is worth the investment. Look for a good sale, as I did, and it’s really not that pricey at all, in the long one.

I highly recommend the Cricut for ease of use, versatility, and value. I won’t be giving my my Sizzix and Quickutz stuff…the Cricut is yet another enhancement to my cool craft toys collection!