Cricut for 12 Year Old? Clueless Dad!

[Mike Bartenhagen]

My 12 year old daughter is getting into scrapbooking. She is part of a scrapbook club at school and also plans on entering a scrapbook in 4H at the county fair.

She enjoys making scrapbooks and does a good job but one of the elements fo her books that frustrates her is the labels (I guess that is what you would call them). She has good handwriting for a twelve year old but things don't come out as neat as she would like them.

We were at Hobby Lobby last week and I saw a few machines for scrapbooking but I know little to nothing about them. Cricut seems to be the one that came up alot therefore the title of my post. Is this a machine that we could put a title in, like "Disney 2008" or "Dad and Broc on the Tea Cups" and then print that out and stick it on the page? I know they have precut letters at the store but it seems like it would take forever to place them and allignment may be difficult. We have a label maker but not a lot of color or font options.

Any suggestions for us?

Mike

 

[rlovew]

The cricut will cut letters and numbers at many different sizes but then she will have to put them onto the layout just as she would need to put on precut letters. The difference is that you only cut the letters you want and you cut them in the color/pattern that you want. It is very easy to use ans she should be able to use it herself. you may want to take her to a store that has one and see if she likes using it.

If you decide to get one I would advise also getting a xyron sticker machine - they come in various size- so that she can use that to add adhesive onto her letters. I have the 250 and love it but you can get small and larger sizes.

Rebecca

 

[mrp4352]

It does beautiful titles - and I second the Xyron machine.


But prior to having a Cricut - I would do my titles in PowerPoint in fun fonts (there's a ton free fonts available on the internet) and print them on paper (sometimes plain white, sometimes colored or patterns) and trim that down and stick like a picture on the page.

I just thought I'd give you another option...

 

[ilovemickeymost]

I have a 14 yo DD & whenever I need things from I cricut, I have her come do it. She loves it. It is very easy to use. The only things we've found that are kind of a pain, each letter is cut out seperately, there aren't a lot of fat letters (we use a shadow feature that makes them fatter), & adding adhesive. I use a glue pen. Its basically a pen that is full of glue & the tip is about as wide as a ball point pen. They have a really neat program called paper dolls & you can cut out people & outfits for your pages. My DD just did a pirate & pirate ship for one of my pages. cricut.com has a section that explains about the different cricuts & also a section that shows all the cartridges you can buy & what they look like. They do have Disney ones. And depending on how girlie she is, I'd suggest the cartridge called Storybook. Its one of my favorites. Good Luck.

 

[pjlla]

Well.... if she is looking for something to aid with the journaling, I would NOT get a Cricut. While they are wonderful for what they do, they wouldn't be great for journaling. I second the suggestion that she use the computer for journaling. I have been scrapping for a long time and I almost exclusively use the computer for my journaling. I do throw in bits of my own handwriting to keep it "personal" but I much prefer the look of computer journaling. There are LOTS of fun FREE fonts out there (check out acidfonts.com) to use! You may have to help her get them loaded on the computer, but after that it is easy!

I also do computer titles at times. I print the words on coordinating papers, trim and mount them on mats and they are ready to go. And store-bought pre-cut letters are fun too!

If she is really dying for a Cricut I suppose it would be okay, but I'm afraid that it might not be exactly what she needs..............P

 

[ddavis860]

I was thinking of maybe a scrapbook program for the computer, like a Disney one, or something like that. They do cards, banners, signs, as well as scrapbook pages.

As for the titles on the pages, I agree, the Cricut is great, but very labor intensive, and you do get the alignment issues and things like that. If you have a good printer, the range of fonts is great, and you can get some really nice looks with that, some extra cardstock on the backing to make them really special, and the programs have clip art that you can use also for other embellishments.

Just an idea... there are loads of stickers and stamps that she might like better than the Cricut. The alpha stamps that are clear, are so easy to use and keep clean, and the inks or embossing powders are so pretty.

 

[MazdaUK]

I've got a die-cutting machjing (not a cricut) and, while I'd love a cricut I fear I wouldn't get the use out of it. My die-cut machine is not brilliant (Its a Xyron PCS, but I find the paper slips on the mats too often ) and once I do print something out I'm back to the sticking things down I would suggest using the computer and free fonts available - if she can use Powerpopint she can do her titles, journal boxes etc and choose her fonts, check her alignment etc and print out a whole lot in one go I use this when I'm doing swaps, as sticking down letters for 6 lots of titles is a PITA

 

[LaWannaYeager]

I love my Cricut! I know several young ladies that use the cricut and they get more use out of it then I do and I use mine a lot. I think if she is going to stick to scrapbooking then it is a great tool for her.

 

[123SA]

Here are some photos that may help

THe first two were printed on the computer -- free fonts -- onto cardstock, then cut out, then placed on a slightly larger piece of cardstock

THis definitely inexpensive, very nice looking and easy to do.

THe letters on these next pages were cut out with the cricut - -different fonts were on separately purchased cartridges (on sale $40 each). I love my cricut. I do think your 12 year old can learn how to use. It is labor intensive and it is expensive.

 

[vanyel]

I might wait until you see how involved she get with scrapbooking before purchasing a cricut.

I second the advice about using the computer to do titles and journaling and Susan's examples really show how nice a page can look using computer fonts.

One of my friends bought her daughter a cricut and some cartridges Christmas 07 because she was getting into scrapbooking. Last time I asked, she hadn't used it yet.

 

[MazdaUK]

A big consideration is storage - do you have room to leave it out, so she can just run off one or two things as she needs them, or will it be somewhere where she has to get it out and set it up every time (perhaps asking Daddy to lift it down for her ) Apart from the problems I have with my Xyron, it is in a slightly inaccessible place and I have to get it out and carry it to where I can plug it in so generally I'd rather just go to the computer.

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Thanks for all of the replies. I think we will start by using the computer and different fonts. For those that suggested card stock, can you print on card stock with a regular ink jet computer?

Mike

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

Yes, when you are printing, select "properties" on the screen first.
There should then be "Type is" with a drop down menu under it. It will say [plain paper] because that is the default. Scroll through them to find the one that matches your paper best. It could say [cardstock] or it could say [light],[medium],[heavy]. The terms change between my own printers, so I can't tell you what yours says.

This is so it will print the ink a bit "more" or "darker". It'll still work other wise, just won't be as pretty as it could.

 

[clh2]

Thanks for all of the replies. I think we will start by using the computer and different fonts. For those that suggested card stock, can you print on card stock with a regular ink jet computer?

Mike

I second what a PP said. The cricut is a really fun tool, it comes with one font cartridge. Additional cartridges have a retail price of $89.99. Oftentimes, they can be found on sale for between $30 and $45. So - yes, it does get expensive. In addition, you will need to replenish cutting blades and the cutting mats.

 

[mommytotwo]

Here are some photos that may help

THe first two were printed on the computer -- free fonts -- onto cardstock, then cut out, then placed on a slightly larger piece of cardstock

THis definitely inexpensive, very nice looking and easy to do.

THe letters on these next pages were cut out with the cricut - -different fonts were on separately purchased cartridges (on sale $40 each). I love my cricut. I do think your 12 year old can learn how to use. It is labor intensive and it is expensive.

Which cartridge did you use to get the bottom bold letterings?

 

[MazdaUK]

When in properties you may also get the option to select "quality" (normal is default). I always put it to "best" to get maximum ink