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Cricut Expression vs Little Cricut - is it work $300 more?
Hello again everyone!!!
You guys are so great at offering advice and your experience! I love this place and thank everyone for their help!!!
I'm wondering if folks can help me with 2 more things:
1) has anyone seen the Cricut Expression in a WalMart in Canada?
2) What are the benefits of the Expression vs the Little Cricut?
Re: Expression: It's obvious now with some of your previous input that it does make a big difference with carts like Tags,Bags, Boxes etc but other then that I don't see what 'more' it can do? Only reason I ask is that I just bought the Little Cricut and the Expression is $300 more then the Little Cricut at Michaels. My local WalMart doesnt' have the Expression (at least not yet) but if it does eventually I'm sure it will be much less then at Michaels. the Little Cricut was $150 less at Walmart then at Michaels. And unfortunatley ordering online is not an option because I'm in Canada and when you add duty it comes to the same or more then WalMart - and if anythign is wrong it is much easier to return to WalMart.
To give you some background, I'm new to scrapbooking and bought the Cricut because I'm going to have a baby soon and wanted to start a baby/pregnancy album. I figured if I bought all the SU! puches I wanted the cost would add up and I'd still not have an alphabet 'punch'... so it seemed to make sense to take the plunge to buy the Cricut. I acually bought the Bug first but then returned ot for the Cricut since the Cricut had more alphabets that I liked adn the carts were 50% off at Michaels this week.
I have both the little and the Expression Cricut and, yes, I think it is worth the extra money but not sure $300 more is a great deal! Can you get it from the states at all? I am a huge scrapbooker, card maker, and general crafter. I use my Ebug ALL the time for big and little projects. You definitely can't go wrong. If you can afford it I say, get it!
I'm sure I can find someone that has a decent price and will ship to Canada but once you add Duty it can get up there in cost. Plus if there is anything wrong with it, it is costly to send back (shipping) and takes a long time to get back...
I've ordered stuff before and on average have to wait 4-6 weeks to get - only because it gets delayed at the boarder. then to do a return and get another is another 4-6 weeks each way... I have no trips to the US planned in the near future (because of the baby)... :(
can those that have the Expression share samples of what 'extras' it can do?
I'm still on the fence... as to which one i 'need'. Wondering if those that have the Expression can share specific samples or ideas of what they use if for that CAN'T be done on the Little Cricut?
Canadian source for Circuit Expressions for $329! Its a pre-order though - I will personal vouch that Sheila at Scrappin' Great Deals in Ontario is amazing to do business with.
To answer your question first, it is definitely worth the money for the Cricut Expression. The biggest benefit is the ability to cut 12 x 12 cardstock. As well, it has some additional features that allow you to cut shapes around pictures. If you check out the Cricut messageboard, you will see that everyone recommends the Expressions.
Last edited by Jovi; 01-22-2008 at 01:12 PM..
Reason: Promotional / Removed OP Store
since you just got the little one I would say stick with that one and use it for awhile...unless you are doing large scale projects it should work out fine for you - if you find you are using it a lot more and want/need a larger scale then go for the Expressions...
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
One lesson I learned about this industry is that if you already have the "first edition", don't buy the "second edition" right away, because something a lot better is going to come out sometime after that. If you already have the first Cricut, don't waste your investment and keep using it, and master the use of it. If you resell it, you end up losing money. With the fast turn out of scrapbooking tools in the market, we tend to overspend and not use the tools we already have to its full capacity. I have the first Cricut too, and I am so tempted to buy the Expressions. But I just keep in mind that I know that something better than the Expressions will come out sometime. And by the time that something better goes out, I'll be proud to say that every penny I spent on my first Cricut is worth it.
You are right about something better or new and improved coming out. I am seriously thinking about purchasing the Pazzles Creative Cutter. You do do everything with this machine. You will need a computer to operate the machine but when you add up the prices of cricuit cartridges, this is a better investment. I have the original Cricuit too. I love that little thing and I also use the Cuttlebug. I love the manual touch to my projects and the original Cricuit gives me exactly what I need. I wouldn't invest in the expressions until you check out the pazzles machine. It retails between $600 and $750. It is worth it if you do huge projects and need to do them in a short time.
I'm still really happy with my little Cricut. I keep thinking the Expression would be great, but I just don't use my Cricut enough to justify ANOTHER one. And since I've gotten Sure Cuts A Lot I get much more use out of the baby Cricut. If I was shopping now, I'd get an Expression, but here it's only about $100 difference. I wouldn't pay $300 extra for it.
I'm still really happy with my little Cricut. I keep thinking the Expression would be great, but I just don't use my Cricut enough to justify ANOTHER one. And since I've gotten Sure Cuts A Lot I get much more use out of the baby Cricut. If I was shopping now, I'd get an Expression, but here it's only about $100 difference. I wouldn't pay $300 extra for it.
Do you like SCA? I just found out about it and it looks great but is it easy? I have a baby bug too and I don't use it nearly as much as I need to! :rolleyes:
I am LOL here-one of my good friends and fellow scrapaholics/stampaholics just bought a Cricut today-they're on sale here at Mike's this week..and she already has a Pazzles. She bought the Cricut to get the cute Disney fonts and images!
I was wandering if anyone knows if you can use a smaller mat 6 x 12 in the Expression. I was told by someone at Michaels that you could but when I tried it didn't seem to work well. Maybe I was doing something wrong. Can anyone help me ...I sure would appreciate if someone knows
I was wandering if anyone knows if you can use a smaller mat 6 x 12 in the Expression. I was told by someone at Michaels that you could but when I tried it didn't seem to work well. Maybe I was doing something wrong. Can anyone help me ...I sure would appreciate if someone knows
The only way I can think of that you might be able to is if you feed it through sideways - so the 12" going the length of the machine, instead of vertical. The rollers have to grab onto something and if it is only 6" wide it is not going to feed right.
I don't have the E so I can't try it out for you and let you know for sure, sorry!
Wanda Rose.....NO you can't use the smaller 6x12 mat in the Expression. No matter what direction you want to put it in, it won't work. Putting it in horizontal, it's too wide and putting it in vertical it's not wide enough to be held by the rollers.
The 12x12 mats are not that expensive and last for quite a while it you use them properly. They are a consumable, so you do have to replace them when they are no longer sticky.
I am not an advocate of the methods of making them "re-sticky". I just purchase new ones.
I have a video tutorial on how to make them sticky again so they can be use again and again and again! I haven't bought a mat in I just can't tell you how long! You can see it HERE. I hope that helps.
Cricut Expression vs Little Cricut - is it work $300 more?
