It's no secret that I am a huge fan of die cutting machines. I use some form of die cutting on almost every page I make.
This month I brought out my trusty BigShot to cut my "Grandpa" title from the
Reuse font by Quickutz. The
BigShot is awesome as far as traditional die cutters. I can use any die on the market in it. My favorite are all of the
Quickutz 4x8 alphas. Love them, so easy and quick to use. (I find that cutting small cardstock letters out of a electronic die cutting machine to be stressful. Quite simply - they usually tear if under 1")
I used my Cricut to create the flowers under the title. It's a great way to use up those li21ttle scraps of pattern paper and make your embellishments.
I have the orginal Cricut and my mother and I share a
Cricut Expression. I use software called
Sure Cuts Alot (SCAL for short) that allows me to bypass Cricut cartridges and cut fonts from my computer on the Cricut. I have a huge font library and love to mix and match fonts. I highly recommend getting SCAL if you own a Cricut. There are many tutorials and Yahoo Message boards dedicated to it. You tube has tons of great videos on the Cricut and SCAL. Another new piece of software for the Cricut is called
Make the Cut. I haven't tried it yet but many boards seem favorable to it.
I also like to use my machine to cut vinyl and contact paper for pages. I found this woodgrain contact paper at Lowe's! My next project for it is some wall words for my little guys' cowboy bedroom. Vinyl cuts like butter on digital cutters. It can be tricky to apply so make sure to use the image transfer method on this
video before you try.
My mom and I have been having a friendly argument over who's house the Cricut Expression resides at...so in all fairness, it truly belongs to her. I lose. Time to get another machine.
After researching, I was pretty sure I wanted to purchase a
Silhouette, especially after seeing all the new
designs and partnerships they are forming. Their machine has some pretty cool print and cut technology and you don't need cartridges. You can download images right from their site. After reading
Kristina Werner's blog, I am convinced it cuts better than the Cricut as well. The only drawback for me is that it only cuts up to 8 1/2" wide and that kinda bugged me a bit. So I looked some more and found...
The Lexus of Die Cutting Machines - the eCraft. This baby can do it all - 12" wide with unlimited lengths. It can even cut felt! I really
want need this...now to convince my husband that our tax return should be spent on this. :)
So - what's your favorite die cutter? I'd love to know!
5 comments:
I have a Slice that I got last year. They have come out with some great designs. I have been told that I need an Expression too... still debating that one.
Michelle, I totally agree that the Slice has really cool designs! Love their art! That machine just doesn't work for me because of the size limitations. I do thin it it would be very handy for those who crop outside of their home.
Anyone else?
I just got a slice too. I love it! I used to have a Cricut, but it took up too much space in my tiny scrapbook area. As far as the size limitations, I worried about that for awhile, but I really do not cut anything larger than 4" so it works for me. I also purchased to take with me and crop.
I have the Expression -- I am the "victim" of infomercials! I love it. Though I thougt the 24" was a must but haven't done anything that big yet! I need to use it more. I'm excited about your new die cut line. Which software would you recommend to use with the expression?
I have the Cricut Expression and I really like it. I use it with the Make the Cut software and I love it. I downloaded both the demos for Sure Cuts a Lot and Make the Cut and they have a lot of the same features and Make the Cut was cheaper and you don't have to pay to upgrade it. I also own a Bosskut Gazelle and love it.
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