Teach a Husband How to Buy a Cricut! - UPDATE

[mabas9395]

I would like to get my wife a Cricut for Christmas. She is big into scrapbooking and was hosting a crop night in her craftroom with some of her friends and one of them had one. It is the only thing she has said she wants for Christmas so I want to get this right.

So what does a husband need to know?

I am on the west coast in the Seattle area so where are some good places to buy one? We have Walmart, Michaels, Craft Mart, etc but other posts have mentioned stores I don't think we have around here.

What is a good price to pay for one?

What are the basic accessories that I would need to get at first? It would be safer to let her choose the cartridges she wants but I want to get her started.

Anything else I should know?

Thanks.

[fireplug]

From a husband who bought and uses his cricut, here is my advice
Two ideas come to mind

Do the research and check prices in your area then find the closest store to you and go talk to one of the workers there to help you out.

OR

Find a picture of a cricut ad put it in a nice card and give it to your wife, then tell her you will go shopping with her and buy her what she wants. Then do lunch and make a day of it. She will LOVE you for it!

Squid

[hopemax]

Michaels is rumored to be having a Black Friday special where you can buy the Cricut complete for $129. Normally, this goes on sale for $199, and retails for much more.

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=sb0465

Walmart is also supposed to be having a special for $119 where you just get the machine, George cartridge and a smaller keystone cartridge. Some stores already have this set out.

I expect the cartridges to be on sale before Christmas, so if your wife likes Disney, one of the Disney cartridges might be a good pickup. Extra blades and cutting mats are also good.

There is also a more expensive machine called the Expression. It has many more features, and lets you cut things up to 12" (the smaller one cuts up to 5.5"). You won't find good deals for this one in stores, but you can order it online. Several people here have ordered from Hallmark Scrapbook. http://www.hallmarkscrapbook.com/provo-craft-cricut-expression-machine-personal-cutter-p-1848.html?cPath=158

[mabas9395]

There is also a more expensive machine called the Expression. It has many more features, and lets you cut things up to 12" (the smaller one cuts up to 5.5"). You won't find good deals for this one in stores, but you can order it online. Several people here have ordered from Hallmark Scrapbook. http://www.hallmarkscrapbook.com/provo-craft-cricut-expression-machine-personal-cutter-p-1848.html?cPath=158

Based on what I have read (which isn't much yet), that hallmark scrapbook price is the best I have seen. Is that a good deal from an honest place? I want to make sure my wife has the widest range of features/functions so I think the Expression is the way to go. It looks like the larger one can do everything the smaller one can do, but its not portable.

I thought about giving her a cricut picture in a card and let her pick everything out, but I have a hard time getting her to spend money on herself. If I did that, she would get the cheapest one instead of what she really wants.

[hopemax]

There are a couple older threads about people asking about Hallmark Scrapbook and they were all positive reviews. I ordered some supplies for another poster through them, and the package was sent promptly, so I would recommend them.

[PrincessNancy96]

Hallmark Scrapbook is great.. I got 3 of my carts there..and they have great service!!!! :)

[Franne]

Hallmark is great, I ordered 2 Expressions from them and got them within a week. No problems at all.
PS- I wish my husband were like you!!!!

[aroyer]

I agree with Hallmark- it is excellent. I ordered my Expression and several cartridges from them. I also think you are right on target with the Expression. I really didn't think I had a need for it because I had the smaller one. My DH got the Expression for me for my birthday and I love love love it. It's only down side that I have found that it isn't as portable as the little machine, but honestly where there is a will, there is a way. I have taken it to two crops and it was just fine.

[Raenstoirm]

I recommend you also buy her some scrapping tweezers, or if you want to spend the money the cricut kit. I just have the tweezers from bumblebee and trust me, with those little pieces you need them! I got them in Michaels. They are little tweezers with a bumble bee on the package. If they are not in the scrap section, you can find them in the beading section.

[bunneysvg]

I saw somewhere on this board that A.C. MOORE (craft store) was having a bundle sale on the Expression. You get the machine and 4 carts for $379.00. I think that is an awesome deal. You should check out their website.

Sure do wish I could get my DH thinking like you.

If you go with the card option, you could put a set amount of $$$ in with the picture or on a prepaid credit card and tell her she can't leave the craft store until she spends it all. :banana: Then she might not have as hard of a time buying the bigger machine if it is what she really wants.

Good luck

[labdogs42]

I saw somewhere on this board that A.C. MOORE (craft store) was having a bundle sale on the Expression. You get the machine and 4 carts for $379.00. I think that is an awesome deal. You should check out their website.



I heard the bundle will be $299, which is an outrageous price for that deal. I don't know if you have AC Moore or not, but it would be worth trying to get this deal if you can.

I paid $139.99 for my cricut which was the best deal around at the time. http://www.customcrops.com offers great deals on cartridges, too.

[mabas9395]

Thanks everyone for your help so far.

I've found one at Hallmark Scrapbook for $299 with two cartidges and one at AC Moore for $379 to 4 cartridges. But one of those cartridges is Paper Pups which probably wouldn't get used that much, so it seems like the $299 with 2 carts is the better deal. Then I can use the extra money to get those tweezers that were mentioned (I'm not going to ask, I'll just trust that you folks know what you are talking about).

I see that the basic kit comes with a 12x12 cutting mat but that a 12x24 is available. Is the 24" one needed? How big of letters can you cut on each? Is it really 12" letters vs 24" letters? I can't imagine her needing anything larger than 12" since she uses 12x12 paper for scrapping.

I also noticed that Hallmark Scrapbook's inventory dropped from 96 to 90 overnight. Do these things go quick during the holidays or do I have time to figure out what to do?

[Faerie]

AC Moore's having a BF sale: E-Bug with 4 carts (including the new one), the markers and a 12 inch mat for $299. That is an amazing deal!

[mabas9395]

AC Moore's having a BF sale: E-Bug with 4 carts (including the new one), the markers and a 12 inch mat for $299. That is an amazing deal!

Do you think I can get that on-line? We don't have one of those around here.

[Faerie]

PM me your e-mail addy and I'll forward you the e-mail I got

[mabas9395]

Well, my wife spoiled all of my fun. I wanted to surprise her with the larger one but she didn't know that and got the smaller one for herself. She was out shopping on BF at 3:30am and got the $129 bundle at Michael's (she was 5th in line at the door). After I told her what I planned to do she said that she would have felt guilty paying over $300 for a scrappin' toy and that she is happy with what she got.

I guess I can use the money she saved me and buy her a few carts.

[TiggerFamily]

Oh that's a bummer she spoiled your fun. You are a great husband for doing what you did anyways.

[fireplug]

You still deserve an atta boy for trying. I hope she enjoys her new toy!


Squid

[Kim1964]

I think it's fabulous that you were thinking of doing this for your wife....she's a lucky lady:).

Using the money you saved up to buy carts is a great idea! I know from personal experience that, once you catch the Cricut bug, cart acquisition becomes a bit of an obsession:). I've had my bug since May and I have 17 carts!

[aroyer]

I think it's fabulous that you were thinking of doing this for your wife....she's a lucky lady:).

Using the money you saved up to buy carts is a great idea! I know from personal experience that, once you catch the Cricut bug, cart acquisition becomes a bit of an obsession:). I've had my bug since May and I have 17 carts!

Yep, it's an excellent idea to buy cartridges! I have had my bug since April and am the proud owner of 20 cartridges with 2 more on my Christmas list.

[bunneysvg]

Definately get the carts. She'll love them. What a great hubby.

[PoohBearLovinMama]

What a great guy you are!

If you are still looking into getting her cartridges, check out my thread here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1646122) for a great deal on them. Let us know if you want any suggestions on which carts to get. :goodvibes

[mabas9395]

OK, which carts should I get her? Her cricut came with a George something cart.

I'm thinking she would use the font carts more at first and we can get the shape carts later.

What are the more popular ones?

[Kim1964]

Any chance you could let her choose them? I think it's hard to guess what somebody else would want.

If you prefer to buy them yourself, I'd go with Base Camp for a pretty simple font that has upper and lower case letters (the George cart that came with her machine is all upper case). I also like Jasmine for a fancier font. If she's going to do a lot of Disney scrapping, you can't go wrong with any of those carts....Mickey Font, Mickey and Friends, Happily Ever After, and Dreams Come True. Of those, Mickey font is the only font, the rest are characters and associated icons.

Printing 101 is also a nice font, and it has shapes that are great for scrapping school age kid stuff. I've also used it to cut letters for a science project for my 6th grader, and hers was the best looking board at the fair:).

[aroyer]

Cuttin Up is a great font- it has 5 different features that vary the font so it is like 5 in 1. If that makes any sense. Mickey Font is a really good font also. You get some of the Disney characters on the Mickey Font cartridge.

[PoohBearLovinMama]

I would also look into Opposites Attract, it has a chunky font and a cursive font. I just ordered this one and I can't wait to get it.

My personal favorites (keeping in mind that I have 2 little girls) are Alphalicious, Printing 101, Jasmine, and ZooBalloo for fonts. And for Shapes I like Doodlecharms, Paper Doll Dress Up, and of course all the Disney carts.

Hmmm, I just named almost all of my carts. :rotfl2:

Maybe these will help too:

Cricut MB Thread #1 (http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=1266401&mpage=1&key=favorite%2ccart�)
thread #2 (http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=1074689&mpage=1&key=favorite%2ccart�)
Thread #3 (http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=1248469&mpage=1&key=favorite%2ccart�)

[mommy2mrb]

what a great DH you are.......OT I grew up in Lynnwood and am going north for X-mas, small world........I would also recommend getting any of the holiday or b-day carts, they are great for making cards....I've had my bug since june and just bought my 14 cart.......I also highly recommend hallmarkscrapbook, haven't had any problems and they ship quickly.

Lisa