Cricut Design Studio

Just hook up your Cricut to your computer, install the software and now you can weld, redesign, reshape, resize, twist and contort the Cricut cartridge designs in any way you like to make your scrapbooking pages totally awesome! You can even combine images from different catridges. OMG!

Now I know Cricut advertise their Cricut machine as being "no computer required". This still holds true, but to extend the possibilities of your Cricut Cartridges, the Design Studio Software is a must have. It really isn't hard to use either. The on screen cutting mat matches your Cricut machine, so you know exactly where your cuts are going to be.

A word of warning though: you can only use images from catridges that you actually own. Buying the Cricut Design Studio Software does not mean you have free access to all the Cricut Cartridge designs currently on the market. That would be crazy now wouldn't it! Cricut still want to make money from you buying the cartridges, not just give the designs away for free in the software package.

So if you are an avid Cricut user and own a good collection of cartridges already, the world is now your oyster! The possibilites of what you can create using this design software is endless. However, yes, you do need to know how to navigate a computer. It is really for the computer savvy.

Cricut Jukebox

New in the Cricut range is the awesome Cricut Jukebox. No it doesn't belt out your favourite tunes while scrapbooking, it is a wonderful invention that lets you connect up to 6 different Cricut Cartridges to any Cricut Machine (thats right the Crictu Expression, Cricut Create and the Cricut Personal) at a time,. So no more swapping cartridges. Just select the one you want at the push of a button.

And what is more amazing, is that you can connect jukeboxes to jukeboxes, so you can access your whole collection of Cricut Cartridges (if you were so included to spend that much money for the convenience that is).

If you would like to buy a cheap or discounted Cricut Jukebox, then eBay is your best option.

Cricut Personal Cutting Machine

I waited a while though before buying a Cricut, as I had to convince myself it was worth it. I went back to a number of workshops and was eventually won over by its versatility. With just one catridge, I can create the same font in different sizes. This was always the disadvantage of the fixed sized Sizzix dies.

However, the Cricut also has a disadvanted in that it can only cut thin cardstock, where as the Sizzix can cut through thicker pieces of fabric like denim, thick cardstock, multiple pieces of paper and lots of other textured material.

So in my house, I am afraid to say, that I have both as both do things the other doesn't.

Provocraft have since introduced two more Cricut cutting machines, the Cricut Create and the Cricut Expression, which I will discuss in another post.

They also have a wide range of cartridges available in many font styles, branded character sets like Sesame Street, shapes and the usual set of themed cartridges for every possible scrapbooking page like baby, christmas, beach, camping. You name it, they have it!