Cricut Machine... worth it??

Following this... I've been considering one myself, but I can't justify the cost...

I'm also curious about the Silhouette brand as well... such an expense, but seems SO awesome!

What is a cricht machine?

I've only used the Silhouette brand, but I love my Cameo 3! You can do all sorts of things with it, but with either machine there may be a little bit of a learning curve if you're not tech savvy. There's so many tutorials online though!

I suppose it depends on how craft/project-oriented you are. As much as I would like one, I don't really do crafts or projects enough to warrant one. However, as a teacher, I'm thinking about having one because I can see using it several times a year.

I bought one shortly after I got engaged and made hangers and wine glasses for my bridesmaids, all of the signs for my wedding, a welcome mirror. So worth it! I'll post some pics!

1

2

3

4

Don't get the cricut. There's another machine that is better, sadly I can't remember the name. The difference is cricut requires cartridges, whereas the other one you can just create your own template on the computer or download one online. This may have changed in the few years since I researched them, but the cricut was far more proprietary

Jamie- probably Silhouette!

You can even use it to address your envelopes

Miranda- did you have to buy cartridges for the font?

I was very fortunate and received the cricut as a gift for my bday. I made my invitations, flowers, table numbers, and a whole bunch of other stuff with it. I even addressed by envelopes using the cricut because my handwriting is so terrible.

Pros: You can do so much with it. It cuts, scores, and writes. It works with several materials, and you can customize the cut settings to fit the material that you need.

Cons: It is expensive and the accessories for it can get pretty expensive. The program that you use for it can be slow. The mats that you need to get to use it aren't very long lasting.

Sometimes you can find cheap or even free cartridges if you look around different websites. There is a program that you can purchase where you can create your own templates and convert it into svg files.

I will post some pics of the stuff that I made using the cricut.

Edit: cons. Also added helpful tip about cartridges.

This is my one of test invitations that I did awhile back just to see how well the cricut could write.

This is my unfinished paper bouquet. I'm going to put some real baby breaths in it to make it look more realistic. I got the flower templates from Lia Griffith. Her website has a lot of awesome templates for cricut

This is my invitation using the cricut. I got the template from

Etsy but I can't remember who I purchased it from.

One of the bridesmaid's bouquets. Also used Lia Griffith's flower templates to make the flowers. The hydrangeas were cut by hand not by the cricut.

My mom has one of the original ones but it has gotten a lot of use from scrapbooks, school projects, and lots of other things. I plan on getting one soon.

@jamie, only the old ones they don't sell anymore require cartridges. Any current cricut does NOT require cartridges and you use online design software. You can upload and create anything and everything you want. I never pay for anything for my designs. They also Just updated the software.

Anyways, I love my cricut, but I am a crafter . If you're not crafty, it's a huge learning curve. I spent countless hours watching you tube videos and reading blogs learning to use it. This is the same for any machine no matter the brand. I also spend a lot of money on supplies (by choice) so it's definitely more of a money suck then just the initial investment.

That said, totally worth it for my wedding. I've made a lot of things already and have plans for much more! Here's some examples: