My New Toy!

I'm new to scrapbooking and making cards, etc but fell in love with it.  I really didn't want to because I get obsessive compulsive about things and have to have everything ever made to go along with it.  I went into scrapbooking knowing this and expecting to just start off little. 

Yea, that happened for the first day or two then I went crazy.  I knew I would.  I started buying clearance die cuts, using coupons, etc until I amassed a nice little stock of supplies.  Of course it still wasn't enough...   

I bought the Cricut Expression.

I love it. I was tired of buying expensive die cutters, even on clearance they can be pricey (when you want a whole collection!). Anyway, I was iffy about the Expression because of the price and the price of carts but through some research I was able to find out about programs you can use that allow you to totally bypass using carts. Well, you do need one inserted in the machine for it to work though.


The programs are called Sure Cuts a Lot (1 & 2, SCAL) and Make the Cut (MTC). I purchased Make the Cut because there were more options according to users. It cost $58 to download off their site and $10.99 to have the CD sent as well.  I am very pleased with it. The possibilities are endless. You can download files online and cut away without having to spend money on carts and be limited to what the carts offer. There's tons of sites out there with cuts to download (SVG, true type font, vector) and you can use jpgs as well by using the trace option in MTC.  MTC also takes the fonts you already have on your computer and pulls it into the program so you have those available. 

Check out the links below:

Make the Cut
http://www.make-the-cut.com/

and

Sure Cuts a Lot
http://www.craftedge.com/products/products.html


Comparison - MTC vs SCAL
http://cleversomeday.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/cricut-software-comparison/


If you are interested in the programs read reviews on both first.  I found tons of sites that reviewed and compared both programs.  I chose MTC.

In all, had I had to buy carts I don't think I would have bough a Cricut.  Because I don't have to spend money on those pricey carts the machine was well worth the cost.