We'd like to introduce you to the Cricut Gypsy, for those days when the world just keep going around faster than we can keep up with it. If you are always on your way to someplace, or just coming back, and just plain on the go at pretty much all times, then the Cricut Gypsy is just what the doctor ordered.

The Cricut Gypsy let's you sit on the train, riding in a car, or even sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office, and all with the same functionality that is available on your PC at home. It's perfectly named, as the Cricut Gypsy is so portable you can take it anywhere, just slightly larger than your cell phone.

Designing your own scrapbooking materials is a wonderful way to make your scrapbooks personal and unique. You can hook it up afterwards to a scrapbooking die cutting machine and cut out your designs. Die cutting machines for scrapbooking abound in the hundreds, but the one that works with the Cricut Gypsy is one that most scrapbookers are familiar with.

The only difference between the software that you install on your computer to use the Cricut and the Gypsy software is basically the screen size, as you still have full functionality to move, stretch or skew images, browse the library or go through your own perfectly organized cartridges. You can store up to 7,000 of your own purchased cartridges and up to 10,000 of your own designs so you'll never run out of space on the Cricut Gypsy.

The Cricut Gypsy is only eight by three inches so it's easy to carry around in your purse, pocket or in the glove compartment of your car, and it's even easier to store. Plus, it runs on batteries and if full charged you can use the Gypsy for up to four hours straight so it doesn't matter how long you are stuck somewhere you'll always have something to do. Plus, everything stored in the Gypsy is organized intuitively and easily searchable so more flipping through pages and pages of manuals to find the design you want, which means you'll be able to concentrate on making an awesome design instead.

Just connect the cable to the Cricut machine and press the button and you'll see your design in the reasl world. You'll choose from a huge selection of fonts so that each picture in your scrapbook tells exactly the story that you want it to say.

It doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing, whether it be traveling by bus, train, car or plane, you'll have the Cricut Gypsy to make designs the whole family will love. Imagine, sitting down with your kids or at Grand ma's house and deciding on the perfect images, layout, fonts and sizes that make that picture look perfect in the scrapbook.

The Cricut Gypsy also connects to your computer easily for bug fixes, and new software updates, as well as easily allowing you to add purchased cartridges. Where ever you go, you'll love the ease and portability of the Cricut Gypsy, and you'll love the designs that you create with it. Happy Scrapbooking!

The hobby or craft known as Scrapbooking, is a process of gathering all of your memories, whether that be photographs, memorabilia and stories and presenting them on a page in an album, for others to see and for you to remember events of the past. Some would say that the art of scrapbooking is very therapeutic. What once use to be simple pages, have know turned into artwork, with scrapbookers putting more and more effort into creating a wonderful page.

One of scrapbookers favourite ways to embellish a scrapbook page is by adding creative titles and images. Since the invention of scrapbooking die cutting machines, scrapbook pages have taken on a new dimensions as die cuts can be now made from various forms of material and in an endless supply of wonderful designs.

Two types of die cut machines exist on the market today. They compose of the electronic group of die cutting machines, such as the Provo Craft Cricut range, Making Memories Slice, Pazzles Inspiration Cutter and the Xyron Wishblade. The other market is for what are known as manual die cutting machines such as the Sizzix Big Shot or BigKick, Provo Crafts Cuttlebug and the Spellbinder Wizard

The advantages of a manual die cutting machine, is that they are no where near the price of electronic die cutters, they are also more portable and more robust. Their biggest advantage though is the types of materials they will cut. They can cut much thicker materials compared to electronic cutters, like fabric, think sheet metal, cork etc, which is only a dream for owners of an electronic cutter.

Owning a manual machine does have two slight disadvantages though compared to the electronic machines. Firstly they are manual, hence need your full attention to operate and can not be left to cut by themselves. Secondly, the size and shape of the dies can not be changed or adjusted. So what you see is what you get.

So you may be thinking an electronic die cut machine does sound good, but a manual machine also has confirmed its place in todays competitive market for scrapbooking die cutting machines because of its ability to cut through thick materials. Sizzixs Big Shot or also known as the BigKick, is certainly the leader in the manual machines market. This new bigger stronger better machine has improved so much since the first Original Sizzix Machine let the market quite some years ago.

The Sizzix BigKick and Big Shot machines operate with a platform on which the die and paper is laid and when pressure is applied, the die with its sharp, pre cast design, cuts out paper or other types of materials. The new platform and various adaptors that are available, means that any die on the market can be used with the BigKick. This includes other brands, as well as the smaller Sidekick Sizzlits dies. All of the Sizzix range of dies ever made, can be used in this machine.

Compared to the original Sizzix Machine, the Big Shot has a much larger base, so you can now cut multiple smaller dies at once, or use the red dies sideways to be cut in one action. A new set of larger dies, which make great backgrounds, has also been developed just for the Big Shot. And since it has a larger base, larger pieces of paper can also be put in which makes life easier.

Doing away with the press handle and implementing the roller style cutting action, though is probably the single best improvement the BigShot has over the original machine. Many dies on the old machine had to be cut in two parts, which often meant slippages or dies that werent completely cut all over. With the roller handle, you can now cut a series of smaller dies, or a larger die easily as it rolls through the platform, applying even pressure for a perfect cut. And no more aching arms from all the pressing.

The Big Shot can also cut the same thicker cardstock and materials that the original sizzix cuts, like cork, cardstock, multiple paper sheets, fabric, felt etc. So with the new wider base and rolling handle, it means you can churn out great letters, titles and images from an amazing range of materials which no electronic die cutter can do. So if you like texture and variety on your scrapbook pages, the Sizzix BigKick or Big Shot are the best in the market.

Scrapbooking is a wonderful creative, artistic and therapeutic craft that allows you to keep all of your memories for your loved ones to cherish, or for yourself to remember for years to come. Your family can have an insight into your life when browsing your scrapbooking albums which can be filled with memories of your life in the form of photographs, memorabilia from holidays and memorable events and other embellishments, presented along with the story.

Scrapbooking is a wonderful therapeutic hobby, that many have taken to a new level, so that each of their pages, becomes a project and challenge to make into a form of artwork, demonstrating their skill and craftiness.  One of the best ways to achieve the best quality and unique pages is by cutting titles using a Scrapbooking die cutting machines. They have been a revolution in the scrapbooking world, enabling their uses to cut titles and die cuts from various materials and in every font and shape imaginable.

There are two general types of die cut machines including the electronic version and the manual versions. The Cricut range of cutting machines from Provo Craft, are the most popular and well known in the electronic cutting machine range.  Cricut innovated a lot of the electronic machines market by introducing a machine that could cut automatically and also not needing to be attached to a computer.

Of  Provocrafts Cricut range, the Cricut Expression is the top of the range of scrapbooking die cutters. With the original Cricut Personal Cutter, you were only able to cut a sheet half of 12x12inches. For scrapbookers with lots to do, this was somewhat of a pain always having to cut or having half sheets of paper around. So to meet the needs of the ever growing market for demanding scrapbookers, Provo Craft introduced the new Expression Die Cutting machine, which can now cut both 12x12 and 12x24 inch sheets.

Do to this new increase in mat size and cutting ability, the Cricut Expression Die Cutting Machine, is also a lot larger than the Cricut Personal or Cricut Create machines. So it loses some of its portability. It was really designed to be left in the home office, scrapbooking room or for Cricuts new market, the school media room.

Just like the first Cricut Machine, the Expression has all the same loved features. It cuts shapes from cartridges, which means no computer connection required. All of the Cricut cartridge range, also works across the whole Cricut Machine range, so there are no worries with compatibility and there are sooo many designs to choose from. And of course its main feature is that it can cut varying sizes automatically of any of the shapes and fonts on the cartridges.

Given that the Expression has the same basic design and functionality as the original, it also has its annoying sticky mat. However after having reviewed some of the other die cutting machines, like the Making Memories SLICE, I see that this is a slight advantage, as the Making Memories SLICE has to be babysat while cutting, as it doesn't have this sticky sheet.

One day, we are all hoping that the makers of Cricut, or perhaps a competitor!! Will design a machine that has the ability to cut sheets without a sticky mat and without having to babysat. It is a real shame that some of the most delicate papers, which would make wonderful cut outs, arent able to be used with the sticky mat, as they will just get destroyed.

So if you are a die hard scrapper with money to burn!!! or you have just been frugle with your scrapbooking so you could save up for the Expression (well done!) then it is truely one of the best on the market at the moment.