A Die cut Christmas and my two bits

I have been using my die cut machine a lot this Christmas - for tags, stencils, word art, pillows, cards, ornaments etc.  How did I EVER live with out it.  I have no idea. 

I have to say though if I was just buying one for the first time I would definitely chose one that had its own software like the cougar, silhouette etc. It seems like I am always designing stuff the way I want it, with the fonts I want.  

 I think cricut is the only one that doesn't allow you to use software with it anymore.  I think they shot themselves in the foot on that one. 

I love my cricut and the flexibility to use cartridges but I also like the flexibility of having a software for fonts.  There used to be a couple companies that made software that would work with the cricut but Provo Craft sued them and they can't sell it anymore and the new firmware (the machine brain) blocks it.  That is the only reason I would go with the silhouette over the cricut.  If they had the 3rd party software still I would say cricut is the way to go but it is not anymore.  Especially since Silhouette came out with the Cameo a couple months ago and it has the same cutting capacity as the cricut (12x12). 

The one thing I will say about Provo Craft is they are trying to be more accessible.  They have all kinds of sizes of machines at different price points, they started Craft Room which is a free design program that allows you to design with all the cartridge but you could only cut what you design if you own them, they also started a magazine and a new site cricut.com/fun with tutorials on how to better use the machines and cartridges.  I know you can also buy things from design room like you can from Silhouette.  The big difference is with Silhouette fonts are free and you can buy one shape or as many as you want.  You can design anything and there are a lot of SVG files online that other people designed and give out for free - boxes, flowers, anything. 

So if you are going to use fonts a lot go with the Silhouette.  If you just want shapes and a few fonts then cricut is better.  I get all my cartridges on eBay and the most I have paid is 30 but usually 22-25 and you do get a lot of shapes but how many you actually use depends. 

I couldn't live without mine and I think it is a great present for anyone who likes home decor, scrapbooking, cardmaking or is a teacher.  I am off to make little tags to put on the baggies of cookies I am preparing for my Son's Holiday party Monday.  Yet another reason to use my die cutter. 

**(stencil made with diecutter for the pillow - I made these for several people in my family.  The tags and flower were also cut with my diecutting machine - I didn't cut the box but I could have...I got them on clearance a few years ago for a couple bucks.)