Cricut is a new electronic die cut machine that has been made by the large scrapbooking company, Provo Craft. This would be an exciting addition to any scrapbooker’s supplies.
I would like to share what I have learned about this new die cutting system.
The Cricut is a portable electronic machine that weighs 12 pounds and has a carrying handle. It does not require a computer to use it. You purchase cartridges separately that contain a font and shapes.
The option that I find most exciting with the Cricut is that you can choose the size of the letter or shape, ranging from 1 inch to 5.5 inches. This gives such great flexibility that we haven’t had with other die cutting machines.
The one drawback to this product is the price. The machine retails for $250.00 and each cartridge retails for $80.00. The machine price is a bit expensive, but I thought that the cartridge prices were reasonable because with another die cutting system (like Sizzix or Quicktuz) you buy one alphabet in one size for well over $100.00. With the Cricut alphabets and shapes, you have so many options because you are able to choose the size of the die cut.
Cricut currently offers 6 different fonts and 6 different shapes cartridges. The alphabets can be cut as a tag, uppercase, lowercase, or cut two and have a shadow effect.
QVC also offers an alphabet exclusive to them called Doodletype. QVC is offering the machine, Doodletype cartridge, and a George font and basic shapes cartridge for just under $260. They won’t be shipping until summer.
Cricut can cut a variety of papers from vellum to cardstock up to 0.5 mm thick.
This comes with a cutting mat that is tacky, which helps to hold the paper in place while the machine is cutting.
One of the cartridges that I am interested in is the Tags, Bags and Boxes cartridge. It has dies for a variety of items that would add to scrapbook pages as well as being great for creating gift wrap.
This is available for preorder on several websites. The first orders will be shipping in May. Once the product ships, I will do a review.