Which cutting machine?? Sizzix or Cricut??

[cissy]

Okay, football season is upon us. That means I have a lot of nights coming up ALONE I love my hubby, but this is my chance to catch up on scrpabooking!

I have a question for you all...which cutting machine should I buy? I have seen the Sizzix and Cricut machines at the craft store. Pros and cons of each? If money were no object, which would you get?

Also, thanks to the poster about the Target sale. I went to one today and got a great bunch of stuff. Really great deals. Most of it 75% off. I plan on hitting another Target tomorrow

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Kim1964]

I have a Big Shot and a Cricut. If money is truly no object, I'd go with the Cricut. I like the flexibility of cutting things in different sizes. All the creative features on the cartridges let you do some pretty neat stuff, too. Once you know what you're doing (and it's not a big deal to learn), the Cricut cuts a lot of things quickly, too. I was using it today and while it was cutting letters, I was matting photos.

 

[Yzerbear19]

Cricut!

Pros:
-Cut any size you want
-It doesn't take long to cut out what you need
-Can do other things while it is cutting
-The cartridges are less expensive and far more versitile than Sizzix
-Mickey and Friends cart! This one cartridge is amazing and awesome!

 

[disneyfan2]

i really dislike my Sizzix compared to Cricut, you can cut letters all at once, but with Sizzix you need to do each individually

 

[nicurn]

well, I don't have a cricut but I do have a sizzix sidekick which I LOVE! I can run my qk, sizzlets and the cuttlebug dies through it. I keep looking at the cricut and thinking if I were going to spend that kind of money, I'd rather go with something that I can plug into the computer and use all the fonts I already have and whatever shapes I want vs having to buy cartridges for a machine. I keep thinking someday I might have to break down and get the wishblade or the pazzel (or whatever the heck it's called). maggie

 

[aroyer]

I hear ya on the football!! DH is a huge college football fan, so... lots of down time (once the kids are in bed). I absolutely love my Cricut. I have never had the Sizzix, so I can't really compare them. The Cricut is very easy to use and it lets you multi-task. The cartridges seemed pricey to me at first, but once I realized how much is on each one, they are well worth the money. My bug is my favorite scrapbooking tool.

 

[bigbabyblues]

If you have the choice, I'd get the Cricut. I have a Sizzix, and I enjoy it, but I only have two alphabet die sets. From what I've seen lately, it's hard to find more dies for it. I bought my 2nd letter set on ebay a few weeks ago.

 

[rlcook]

I've had my sizzix for a couple of years and only just got my cricut about a month ago. I like them both at this point. Still trying to fiqure out everything the cricut can do. DH likes the sizzix also as he scraps with me.

 

[ksbean]

Some will depend on what you want to do with it and your personal preference. I own the original Sizzix, a Sizzix Sidekick and the Big Shot (newest addition in the last 2 months). The original Sizzix and Big Shot with the original, bigz or thick cut dies allow you to cut through material, chipboard, cardstock/paper, felt, magnetic sheets and foam. Sizzix rolled out the big kick which is what the local stores carry now. A lot of my fellow stampers bought the cuttlebug. I think the cricut cuts paper/cardstock but does give you more flexability with the shapes and letters. Sometimes ACMoore and Michaels if you have one close has demos that you can get a hands on feel of them. In my area since there is an ACMoore, Michaels and Joann Fabric all within 2 miles of each other all 3 will take each others coupons providing it's not from the internet. ACMoore and Joann's will send coupons via email.

PS FYI Sizzix recently changed their packaging. Especially Michaels has the sizzlits, original alphabets and even the red original machine at great clearance prices right now if they have any left. My two local Michaels stores had some of the alphabars for $9 each (original 99.99), sizzlet alphabet sets for $19 each (original 149.99), sizzlet 4 packs for $5 (original 19.99) and such. My mother just got to here local Micahels and picked up the last 3 of the original red sizzix machines for $7 each (original 79.99).

You can find a lot of discussions on splitcoaststampers.com in their forums on the various die cut options out there. Cuttlebug, Sizzix, Cricut, Wizzard, etc

Good luck! Karen

 

[mickeylove2]

Hi, I don't mean to butt in, but I saw this post and got interested as I'm new to this sort of thing, anyway, I was wondering what the Cricut is, the reason I even ask is because it caught my eye at Walmart tonight on clearance, (or so the sign said) what does it do and how much are they? TIA

 

[MyGirlLovesMickey]

I am madly in love with my Cricut!! It is the coolest invention on this earth as far as I'm concerned. There is SO much flexibility, and a million different things you can do with it, in many different sizes. You should check out the cricut.com message board and you'll get a good feel for what it can really do. The only downside is that it's addictive, and you'll keep wanting all the fun cartridges!

 

[TiggerFamily]

I LOVE my CRICUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't touched my Sizzix since I got my Cricut. It's so much faster and you can do things to the size you want. The Disney cartridges for the Cricut are so awesome, they don't have them for the Sizzix. Cricut is coming out with 2 more Disney cartridges in Nov, Disney princess.

 

[Goofysmate]

I have a sizzix machine which i brought because i'm still quite new to scrapbooking. i've used it a few times & found it to do the jobs i've wanted it to do.

 

[First-timer]

i like both.... i have about 5 different sets of alphabets for the sizzix and now i have the cricut and i have 3 different sets for that..... i was using the cricut last night and it kept freezing up on my and then it would not even cut anything out..... i checked the needle and i had to keep turning the maching off and on to get it to unfreeze .....so back in the box it went to walmart.... they did give me a new one so i hope this one is better..... i am still new to the cricut but i did waste alot of paper while cutting out my letters.....which i wouldnt of done if i would if used my sizzix.... anyway i guess both machines has its pros and cons..... vicki

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Cricut, I have not touched my sizzix since getting the cricut.

 

[cissy]

Thanks for all the info. We have AC Moore, Micahel's and JoAnn's here as well. But we also have an Archivers store which is ALL SCRAPBOOK stuff only. A friend of mine said they will do the demos of all machines, so I think that is a great idea and what I will do!

Appreciate the help!!

 

[sahm1000]

I've had my sizzix for a couple of years and only just got my cricut about a month ago. I like them both at this point. Still trying to fiqure out everything the cricut can do. DH likes the sizzix also as he scraps with me.

How did you get your husband to scrap with you? I actually think I would like it if mine would - he is creative and it would be kind of fun to do together at night after the kids were in bed - but I think he'd rather slit his wrists with a butter knife than help me? Seriously, how did you manage that!????

 

[cissy]

LOL!!

I would HATE it if my husband wanted to scrap with me.

But no problem, there. He would rather chew off his wrists then scrap with me!! But he is a HUGE help when I need something on the computer. I could not make a lot of stuff if he was not around to show me how.

Maybe I could get a Cricut and he could learn how to use it for me!!

 

[rlcook]

Actually it started a couple years ago when I did a scrapbook of a trip that I took to Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. I asked him for his advice on a couple of pages and he went with me to scrapbook stores to get supplies. He is in the process of finishing our honeymoon album that he is doing all by himself. As a gift for a former co-worker whose son was in Afganistan, he contacted his coworkers wife and asked for pictures of their son and did a full album of him for his coworker for Christmas. His coworker said that the only other time he ever cried was when his mother died and when he received the album from my DH.

We have a 6 ft table set up in our basement and a couple of shelves for supplies and he is constantly thinking of how to expand our space.

We go to weekend crops together and leave the kids with g-mom or friends. He is almost always the only guy there, and the ladies love it. He is quite the entertainer. AND WE GET THE WHOLE TABLE TO OURSELVES TO SPREAD OUT.

 

[flyinshirer]

I LOVE my Cricut! It's so versital (spelling???) and compact. I store mine in the box it came in along with my fonts.