What is the difference?

[JoyceL]

What is the difference between cute and cutesy? Are all cartoon images considered cute? What about sweet girl images?

[sewnmachine]

The difference is probably in the eye of the beholder - especially the recipient of a cute/cutesy card. Speaking for myself, I would sort of define "cute" as having a somewhat realistic image, cutesy would be more on the line of those exaggerated big head, no eyes sort of thing.

[regan4chris]

To me my dog is cute. Cutesy would be all pink and ponies and rainbows and otherwise just over the top

[Scrapjanny]

I think "cutesy" is used to describe something that is just too much, or, as regan4chris said, over the top. It's a relative term, really, because what one person finds cute another might find "cutesy." I've always taken it to have a negative connotation, while "cute" has a more positive one.

[fuzzymaddy]

Cute is "oh my gosh - that's sooo cute!" and it gets you excited because you like it. Cutesy is "oh my, that's way too cutesy" and it turns you off because you don't like it. But it is all about your personal taste and everyone has their own cute/cutesy meter.

[Glitter Gypsy]

To me, cute means adorable and sweet (as in "awww, how precious"). I associate cutesy with whimsical images that are more cartoonish than artsy, but I don't mean that in a negative way. Cutesy images/projects can be really nice but to me they are more playful and often humorous.