Janel,

I own the baby Cricut. There is actually 3 Cricut models out there right now:

• Baby Cricut (Small--the original Cricut)
  
• Cricut Create (mid-size)
  
• Cricut Expression (large size)

Each has their own advantages & disadvantages. You can check the Cricut link in this forum found under the Scrapbooking thread, as well as looking at the Cricut website. It is a great tool for Scrapbookers, Greeting Card makers, Home Decor designers, etc.

• The Baby Cricut is small & portable; however, its features can be limited.

• The Cricut Create combines both the Baby Cricut & the Cricut Expression. The Cricut Create is small & portable like the Baby Cricut, but contains some similar features to the Cricut Expression.

• The Cricut Expression is capable of cutting larger sizes; however, it is more awkward for portability.

The good news is if you buy one Cricut machine to start and want to upgrade later, all cartridges will work in the others; however, if you look at the box that the cartridges come in, some will note that with the fine details that it may work better for example in the Cricut Expression.

Also depending where the Cricut is purchased (i.e. The Cricut Website, The Cricut Infomercial, Wal-Mart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, eBay, etc) can vary the price and what equipment comes with the Cricut. Some come with a CD and/or DVD and others do not. Some come with one cartridge, some with two. If you buy them from eBay or somewhere like that, you may get none. Many come with the blade and sticky pads, however, if you plan to cut a lot, you may want to be aware that you will need to occasionally replace these parts. There are also markers available as well that can be used in the machine. There is just so much out there, you may want to Google some information on your own  before you actually decide. I know I waited over a year and watched several of the infomercials and last Christmas I received the Baby Cricut for a gift. Along with the Cricut, I was also given extra blades and sticky mats; however, I only received one cartridge so I've been limited on what I can do. Nevertheless, you can still create a lot and it is something that can get you started, especially if you are using it in addition to your other scrapbooking supplies.

Finally, there is also software programs available that you can use the Cricut with your computer as a cutting accessory.

-A

Scootchie wrote:

Pine Nut:

They say that with Cricut, you really don't need creativity or a technical mind; however, I'm sure there is always someone out there whom will disagree with that statement.

Moreover, when I was attending some of the Creative Memories (CM) workshops put on by my CM Consultant, I began to learn from her a cheap way to create embellishments. For her, she noted that there were some people that would not buy the CM tools if they were not aware of how to use them or what they possibly could create with the tools, so her and a few other ladies that were selling CM products came up with what they called "Critters" with many of them were created from basic shapes that really didn't require a lot of tools; however, if you did have any tools that made geographic shapes, you could build many of the embellishments from the basic geometric shapes. It was really quite an interesting concept.

Pine Nut wrote: