Wizard
 

Do very many people use the Wizard? I know there are a number that use the Nestabilities with the Bug but wondered if any use the bug dies or embossing folders with the Wizard?

I have the Wizard, it took an entire day to get use to it but I know love it. I use Nestabilities but also use the gorgeous bug embossing folders with it.

On Spellbinders website it says they have some new die trios and I think embossing plates coming out along with a motorized die cutter but no word about when.

Nonnie

I'm planning on getting either the wizard or the xcalibur when it comes out. I believe it's set to be released in May.

It does seem like most people have the Cuttlebug to use with their nesties.

Tell me- do you have to use a lot of mats with the wizard? Seems like people with the bug have to make too many "sandwiches" to get the dies to work.

You can use Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders in the Wizard with quite good resutls. It was the first die cut machine that actually advertised itself as being universal. Some of the other machines say that using another company's dies will void the warranty. That is something to look out for when buying a machine.

Both the Wizard and the Xcalibur, when it becomes available, use the same mats. You have 2 master mats and a spacer plate for cutting. When you emboss, you remove the spacer plate and add the tan polymer mat, so it's 2 basic sandwiches. Hope this helps. Also, there is no firm date yet on exactly when the Xcalibur will be available, so I wouldn't be looking for it much before late summer or early fall.

Cathy

I have one of the original Wizards and I love it!! I use Cuttlebug and my Nesties in it! It is one strong machine! Highly recommend it.

I have the wizard and LOVE it..the impressions I get with the cuttlebug folders are so much deeper with the wizard. I am very happy with my machine!

I'm wondering how small the xcalibur is. Do you think it will handle the larger dies from Sizzix?

I can honestly say the Wizard was one of the best things I've bought. I use mine all the time and am very happy with its performance. Here is a recent card I made using the bug dies with chipboard coasters. I love how I can use just about anything (literally!) in it!

Love my Wizard. I use it all the time to cut scalloped circles (the only type of nesties I own right now! :)) or to do cuttlebug pieces. With the CB, I just put the CB folder inbetween the two white panels and press it on through. Works like a charm.

I've been thinking about trying a Wizard, and I just found out they're changing the color from purple to blue, I think? How could they??? I love purple, lol!!

Well maybe you'll get lucky and find a store having a closeout special on the purple. :) This happened to someone, a store in MN I think had it on the shelf and just wanted to get rid of it so someone got an amazing price on a Wizard.

Huge LOL, I had my Wizard for several years and I didnt begin to enjoy/use it as much as when the cuttlebug dies and embossing folders came out! Now I cant live without it. Go figure.....

I love my wizard and have one of the original ones. I use the nestabilities and embossing folders a lot in it. I am so happy I have it.

Another Wizard fan here! I saw the price for it has dropped quite a bit since they are planning to release the automated version. It used to sell for $129, but I saw it at Ellen Hutson's store for $90, so it is worth shopping around. Have fun!

I have several (translation: too many) die cutting systems, but... I just got the BEST deal on craigslist! A Wizard system (with two alphabets), a Quickutz cutter, a Xyron 500, a dozen small/medium punches (with a punch assister?), a paper crimper, and about 85 stamps, all for $100 (including shipping)!!!

I've only shopped on craigslist once before, but I'd been looking for the Wizard at a good price. Like the couple who sold the lot said to me "It was like Christmas in May" :)

Wizard
 

I found Wizard awkward to use. Besure and try one before you buy.

Hi Laure,

WOW you have an origional Wizard! What color is it? My husband HAND MADE EVERY:o origional Wizard out of Billet Aircraft Aluminum.....as in Airplane Aluminum :p Its just about indestructable! Lots of Love & time went into those 2500 original machines. Thank you! ....Seeing this post makes the last 4 years totally worth it for me:rolleyes:

Its really nice to see so many ladies that really love and understand what the Wizard is really about.... It is the FIRST universal machine.... I developed it to be easy to use without many sandwiches..... the reason you all get an awesome emboss is because of the 3000lbs of pressure per square inch that the machine exerts to cut and emboss. That is why the CB folders work so well in the wizard ...its the negative/positive design of the CB folders along with teh pressure of the Wizard. You can also emboss with ANY brass stencil....without the lightbox. That is great for the ladies with hand issues.

I truly wanted ONE machine that would absolutely DO IT ALL:-D no matter what dies you LOVE my vision was that you could use them in this machine.

The new Wizards are not Blue.... they are a pretty shade of Raspberry. I just saw the actual new production machines last week and have to honestly say..... they are really pretty. I personally like darker colors.... but the retailers at CHA did a poll and LOVED the shades of pink.... red.... burgandy... I came up with raspberry out of that request.

The date on XCalibur has not been determined just yet, but I can tell you that we will NOT be offering the thinner mat to use the original sizzix thick dies with the X. This is due to safety. With the Wizard you can place your hands on the rollers (without fear)...... to "get your sizzix dies started" into the rollers in order to cut the die several sheets of CS at one time even..... .... With the X we have designed the machine so you cannot have your hands, fingers, etc.... anywhere near the rollers.

Hugs & Smiles
Stacey

:) Hi everyone... Being new to all of this.... I don't even know what all the different machines do, but I like the sound of the wizard accommodating everything. I'm wondering where is the wizard sold? We have Joann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby and Micheal's here in Albuquerque.

Thanks!!! Michelle

I love my Wizard- it was my first gift from my husband after we got married, and when I asked for it and he realised what it was, I think he began to wonder who/what he had married.
I use it all the time-and love all of the dies produced for it, sometimes I have a niggle with sizzlits but I have a sidekick.
I did buy one die I wasn't happy with- it didn't seem to work well-but the company here in the UK made such a faff about me returning it, it I just kept it. It put me off buying spellbinders dies for a while- but I hapily used Sizzix and Bugg dies and quickcutz- I started buying spellbinders again recently and am SO glad I did.
Great machine, great dies, and a simple concept to use. No messy sandwiches.

I dream of the Wizard.....lol! Someday, but right now I do have the CB because I got it for around $40 with a coupon about a year & a half ago. My MIL had given me money for Xmas & that's what I bought. I do want one eventually, as I accumulate more & more Nesties, but until I redo my stamp area I wouldn't even have room for it. I know I don't get quite the same impression with the Nesties using the CB as I would with the Wizard, but sometimes ya gotta make do with what you have!

Raspberry?? Sounds gorgeous!!

I have a Wizard and I use my Bug folders in it along with a number of other companies dies. That's why I choose the Wizard cause it's the only one that will handle other manufacturers dies. There is 3000 lbs of pressure that goes between those two rollers, even allowing you to emboss on suede and thinner leathers. I have had no issues with it. I'm anixous to see the reviews on the X-calibur and to see if it will be as sturdy as the actual Wizard. But Wizard is my choice.

www.cherylhorton.typepad.com

I just got my Wizard on the weekend... the purple one (and purple is my favourite colour) and I absolutely love it. I did learn that you really do need to hold on to your sandwich as it comes out of the machine though.... it whipped across my table LOL. I am selling my Cuttlebug. I don't need it anymore.

I adore the Wizard. Mine is named Munchie! heehee

it is so versital, virtually indestructable, and light weight on top of it all.

We sell the big shot at work. While I like it (it can be a little easier to use), it is encased in plastic and a lot heavier than Munchie.

I'm holding out for the Xcaliber. The moment I can purchase it...it is mine! I cannot wait! Right now though...my Cuttlebug serves my purpose just fine.

I got my wizard last week. How do you use your cuttlebug folders in it? It seems so tight, I afraid to break the spacers. Please help me, it's one of the reason I bought it.

In order to use the cuttlebug folders in the Wizard, all you do is place the cardstock in the folder and place it between the 2 white master mats and run it through. Works great!

Cathy

Well I did it and it does work great. Thanks!

I am trying very hard to wait for the Excalibur. I am so ready to 'move on' into the Wizards ... and ever since hearing the CHA chatter .. my little hopeful heart has just been going pitty pat pitty pat ... noticebly!! ;)

me, too! I hope it's all we've waited for!

Using the Fiskar plates
 

Hi Stacy, How glad I was to see your post on here. I have had my wizard almost a year. I like it but sometimes it seems it doesn't work right for me. Do you know why when I try to use my Fiskar plates and sometimes my cuddlebug envelpes too, the pressure is uneven? For the Fiskar plates the only part that embosses is right in the middle, it seems the part of the rollers that has the roughed up part will emboss but not the rest of the plate, and sometimes, only about 2 inches in the middle of the plate goes. I use the sandwich that is written in the flyer that comes with it.

I also quite often get the imprint of the sandwich on my paper. Am I doing something not quite right?

I hope you get this and you can answer me. I do LOVE it and love the sturdiness of it. Janeen



Hi Laure,

WOW you have an origional Wizard! What color is it? My husband HAND MADE EVERY:o origional Wizard out of Billet Aircraft Aluminum.....as in Airplane Aluminum :p Its just about indestructable! Lots of Love & time went into those 2500 original machines. Thank you! ....Seeing this post makes the last 4 years totally worth it for me:rolleyes:

Its really nice to see so many ladies that really love and understand what the Wizard is really about.... It is the FIRST universal machine.... I developed it to be easy to use without many sandwiches..... the reason you all get an awesome emboss is because of the 3000lbs of pressure per square inch that the machine exerts to cut and emboss. That is why the CB folders work so well in the wizard ...its the negative/positive design of the CB folders along with teh pressure of the Wizard. You can also emboss with ANY brass stencil....without the lightbox. That is great for the ladies with hand issues.

I truly wanted ONE machine that would absolutely DO IT ALL:-D no matter what dies you LOVE my vision was that you could use them in this machine.

The new Wizards are not Blue.... they are a pretty shade of Raspberry. I just saw the actual new production machines last week and have to honestly say..... they are really pretty. I personally like darker colors.... but the retailers at CHA did a poll and LOVED the shades of pink.... red.... burgandy... I came up with raspberry out of that request.

The date on XCalibur has not been determined just yet, but I can tell you that we will NOT be offering the thinner mat to use the original sizzix thick dies with the X. This is due to safety. With the Wizard you can place your hands on the rollers (without fear)...... to "get your sizzix dies started" into the rollers in order to cut the die several sheets of CS at one time even..... .... With the X we have designed the machine so you cannot have your hands, fingers, etc.... anywhere near the rollers.

Hugs & Smiles
Stacey[/QUOTE]

Janeen I also see that with some of my Fiskar's plates. The rollers on the Wizard are actually a bit thicker in the very center than at the edges. Some of the Fiskar's plates emboss perfectly, but some give me results as you describe. On the specific plates where you are having trouble with the edges embossing, takes a strip of cardstock and place it under the embossing plate in those areas. That should take care of the problem and give you consistent embossing.

Cathy

fiskars plates
 

Thank you Cathy. I also see on the Spellbinders site they recommend paper glider. I'm always into trying not to spend money on things I think I extraneous in hanging around. I tried wax paper and that didn't work but I took a piece of dryer sheet and rub my cardstock with that.

After playing a bit I notice that it's my SU cardstock that doesn't emboss well. It's such high quality and so thick, I think that's why. The paper I got from office max works well, but it's only white. I had already tried adding a piece of cardstock the same size as the mat and that helps too, but on the SU papers the extra cardstock on the sides helps a lot. Thanks for the tip.

I just tried Cuttlebug dies in my Wizard for the first time. Love it! I tried cutting felt too....worked like a charm! Now I can make cute, felt embellishments! Has anyone else tried this?

Janeen, Paper Glide will definitely make a difference in the emboss you get using texture plates or Spellbinders dies. It loosens the fibers in the paper. The difference is usually fairly pronounced when using it.

Cathy

I agree! I also have the Wizard and I would never use any other machine with the cuttlebug folders (or any other embossing folders and/or dies!) - it's wonderful! It is also so well made that I don't think I could ever break it, which is huge for me!