Baby bug or E... help me decide

[pjlla]

Well.... I've kind of made up my mind that I want a Cricut. I had been holding out for a Wishblade, but I think I have been talked out of it. If I ask (BEG) for the Cricut for Mother's day/birthday gift, which one do I want??

Here are my "stats"..... I primarily scrap in 12 x 12 and 8 1/2 x 11. I don't make cards and I RARELY make other crafts. I do have two kids who use my scrapping stuff for school projects.

So why would I want/need the Expression over the original?? I don't want to buy the baby and discover I could have really used the E. But I don't want to spend the extra $$ on the E and find I really don't need the larger size. Are there any cartridges/systems that can only be used on one versus the other?

Bring out your inner salesman and sell me on the E or the Baby!...................................P

 

[Raenstoirm]

All carts can be used on either, so that should not effect you. The reason I would say go for the E is for your children. When they have to make those huge poster board projects on the animals of Africa or whatever they have to do, it would be best if you could make the letters and images large enough for the other people to actually see. I don't have the E (yet), but I cant wait to get it!

 

[TiggerFamily]

I have both machine and I use the Big E 99% of the time. I love it. I wouldn't have bought the little bug if the Big E was out first.

 

[jmc_in_disney]

I bought the little bug about 3 weeks before the E came out and I do regret it. I mean, I love my Cricut and can't imagine scrapping, or doing anything, without it....but, half the time I'm kicking myself for not holding out for the E. I find reasons all the time why I wish I had the E! Right now I'm doing decorations for our Teacher's Appreciation Luncheon - I'm in the process of making 270 different flowers (using WIMG) for all the kids to write notes on to their teacher (the theme is "A Garden of Gratitude") While 4 inches is a great size for the flowers, I'd love to use the little signs they have to put the Teachers name on, then group their class' flowers around them - but, I'd need the signs to be 7 or 8 inches, which I can't do with the little bug. Things like that crop up all the time and I get aggrivated that I'm limited in my size - with the E, there really aren't any limitations. Although it's more money, in the long run, it's definitely better to have more options than restrictions!

 

[New England Eeyore]

I have both, but if I could do it again, I would have just gone right to the bigger one. I rarely cut anything larger than 5 1/2 inches, but it is so much easier not to have to constantly cut your paper to fit on the mat, and not have to change the paper so often. There are also lots of extra features on the E that come in handy - I use the quantity feature a lot.

If you can wait for it to go on sale at AC Moore you can get the Expression and 4 cartridges (plus markers and a mat) for $319 - a really good price. If you think of each cartridge being about $40 that makes the machine just $159. Definitely a steal! The sale is not predictable, but definitely happens fairly frequently.

 

[aroyer]

I agree with what everyone has said about the big E. I love not having to cut down my paper to fit the baby Bug. I use the features more than the size with the big E. I love the quantity feature, the flip feature, the LED screen. The screen is so helpful with the Mickey and Friends cartridge. I had a hard time cutting what I needed with the baby Bug. But the big E shows you exactly what you are about to cut- saved me some paper!

 

[calanniebu]

Another vote for the Big E. I did hold out and my lovely DH got it for me at ACMoore's Black Friday deal for $300 which is the same thing they have from time to time for $319.

I also have the Design Studio and I love the fact that I can plan out an entire page of things to cut out, hit a button and be done

 

[Kim1964]

Another vote for the E. I have both and haven't used the baby since I got the E in the ACM Black Friday bundle. I love the quantity and flip features, as well as the screen. The screen has absolutely saved me from cutting the wrong thing. I also love going smaller than 1"....in fact, I think I've used that more than going larger than 5 1/2". Titles are much easier to fit on the page when I make the letters a half or 3/4 of an inch.

 

[4mickey2]

i have heard a lot of good things for the big e. i only have the baby bug. i will be purchasing the big e soon.

one thing i just learned is that you can use a center button to cut out a shape on your photo. something else you cant do with the little guy.

i like the small one but, i think there are so many more features available on the big e. just lurk around either on this board or go to www.cricut.com and look around in their community boards.

MY VOTE GO BIG..