Do I want a Cricut?

[Belia]

I have been scrapbooking for almost 10 years now, and I'm pretty old school.  Don't get me wrong... I can kill HOURS in a scrapbook store and have spent more money on sb than I even want to think about, but I am still pretty simple in what I do and how I do it.

I've never seen anyone use a Cricut in person- but I did watch the infomercial   about a year ago and thought it looked so cool!   

Walmart had them last year on Black Friday for $188, which still seemed so expensive.  

I dunno.  Is it worth it?  Any of you have one and love it?

[zebra15]

One of the schools I work at has one and well.. they are nifty but each cartridge is $$ and that adds up FAST.  You need different cartidges for each font.  Personally I prefer to buy chip board letters and stickers.    While the cricut is a neat thing its not something I want... (Now if I could share the machine with 3-4 people I would consider it but alone its just going to end up costing way too much)

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by zebra15 

One of the schools I work at has one and well.. they are nifty but each cartridge is $$ and that adds up FAST.  You need different cartridges for each font.  Personally I prefer to buy chip board letters and stickers.    While the cricut is a neat thing its not something I want... (Now if I could share the machine with 3-4 people I would consider it but alone its just going to end up costing way too much)

I've looked into a cricut for myself.  There's some type of program you can buy that lets you make any clip art into a cricut file (or whatever)  I think it was call "sure cuts a lot."  I believe using that program voids all the warranties though since of course cricut wants you to be stuck buying their pricey cartridges.

I'd really like to know if it reliably cuts fabric.  I know it says it can, but all the things I've read from actual users seems to be pretty divided on whether it does this well or it's just an exercise in frustration.  I'd love to use it make appliques and felt ornaments and softies.

[ramama]

My mother has one and it is WAY cool!  That said, she has significantly more money than I do and I'm sure with all the files and stuff, she spent $$$$ on it.  But it really does do what it says it does, and is as easy as advertised too (since my mother can use it LOL).  My mother is a simplistic scrapbooker too (beautiful pages, but yeah, not the frilly embellishments) and depends pretty heavily in the cricut.  As far as I know, she hasn't used it to cut fabric.

[Belia]

OP here- I ended up buying one on Black Friday for $145.  It tool me a while to take it out of the box, and it was frustrating when I first started figuring it out.  But I'm starting to dig it more and more.  It's nice to just be able to MAKE what I need rather than search through my stash and make something that's not-quite-right work.

As to buying the cartridges... yikes.  Buying those suckers gets addictive.  But I've been doing pretty good- they retail for $70 - $90, and I got two on Black Friday for $20 each, one on ebay for $26, and four or five on clearance for $10.

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by Belia 

OP here- I ended up buying one on Black Friday for $145.  It tool me a while to take it out of the box, and it was frustrating when I first started figuring it out.  But I'm starting to dig it more and more.  It's nice to just be able to MAKE what I need rather than search through my stash and make something that's not-quite-right work.

As to buying the cartridges... yikes.  Buying those suckers gets addictive.  But I've been doing pretty good- they retail for $70 - $90, and I got two on Black Friday for $20 each, one on ebay for $26, and four or five on clearance for $10.

Im so happy for you.... Ive been thinking about getting one since I've seen some cartridges on clearance and sales lately but honestly, I just dont need another 'thing' right now.   If any 'thing' I would probably invest in a sewing machine- but I need another craft/hobby like I need a hole in my head and Im supposed to be on the compact/declutter.  
 

[devon]

I would recommend a Silhouette instead of a Cricut.  No expensive cartridges - you can design your own things, cut images from the computer, or buy (for .99 each, in many cases) images from their online gallery.  It will cut fabric.  It is often the same price as the cricut but it is a one-time price - no buying the cartridges.

I have one that I got for Christmas and I love it!