Should I buy a Sizzix-HELP!!!!!

[newbiestampr]

Hi All, Advice needed here. I am going back and forth on whether to buy a sizzix die cutting system, not the little one the lager one. This one can use little sizzlets with a converter but the die are larger. My question to myself is "would I use it or not, how much would I use it?" Would sizzix owners out there give me their opinion please. Also right now at a local store they are selling for $49.95 is that a good price????

Please let me know...

thanks, bea

[srogers5]

That's a good price. I barely use mine, however.

[Qbee]

I can't remember how much I paid for mine. I think I'm blocking it out of my memory. I know that I used my 50% off coupon at Michaels. A year ago, I never thought that I might want or use one of these. However, my son is about to start school next year and I can see all sorts of useful applications for that purpose. I also use my tag dies a lot. I guess I would look at the dies and decide which ones you might actually use a lot. For example the tag dies come in really handy around Christmas. Try not to look at the dies that you think are "cute." There are a lot of "cute" dies, but often a "cute" stamp could fufill the same purpose. Where the sizzix really pays off is when you have to do multiple cutting. If you are not going to do a lot of multiple cutting, you might want to re-evaluate purchasing it. Just my humble opinion. I really do like mine.

Take care, Brenda

[stamprat]

That price is good, I mostly use mine for tags. I have 4 different size tags and I use them a lot.

[amahanes]

i bought mine at Michael's for something around the same price. i would wait until Sunday and see if they have it cheaper or a 50% off coupon - they usually do on holidays - or buy one now at the price you mentioned - and wait until sunday to see the deal and if it is better - buy it then and return the original one later. Anyway, I don't really use mine. I did buy a bunch of dies - picture frams and such, tags and a few others including an entire sizzlets alphabet. I don't use them much at all. I find the sizzlets a complete waste of money for me - as the alphabets are too damn small and hard to glue down unless using a xyron. Even then, you waste lots of xyron adhesive. Just my opinion.

[NancyJ]

I have a Sizzix, and I use it to make cards, but I wouldn't say I couldn't live without it. It's nice to have and makes some things easier. I really like the embossing folders for one thing. Like others have said, be careful which dies you choose. I have several that I haven't used yet. Others I've used alot such as the tags, hearts, and stars.

[leney]

I love my sizzix!! I use it alot. I also have the convertor and the sidekick. I am hoping for the convertor pack to become available so I can use quickut and other dies with the system. In my gallery there is a pocket card I made using the sizzix. I also love my alphabets!! It is one of my very favorite toys!!!

[Alaskastamper]

I bought one and ended up returning it the same day. I absolutely hated it. I couldn't find any dies that I absolutely had to have except for the 4 different size circles & squares and the tags. I do have a friend who bought one and loves it though.


I ended up buying a Zip E'mate and love it! It can do every brand of dies out there.

[flipflopstamper]

I have one and use it alot for scrapbooking. Now my local scrapbooking store has one and we are able to use her dies and her machine. I also took some rubber and made some of my own stamps with the dies! That was fun. I do wish however that I could use other man dies, I know they are coming out with a convertor.

[WaterPixie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stamprat

That price is good, I mostly use mine for tags. I have 4 different size tags and I use them a lot.

Same here. I mostly use it for tags.

[TexasLonghorns]

I have the sizzix large one with a converter for the sizzlits. I don't use it hardly at all but that's because tags (not the sizzlits ones) don't layer. So, I JUST bought another machine, it's the Zip-e-mate and I got a really good deal on Joanns.com for 1/2, which was around $65 (retails everywhere for $130). I haven't rec'd it (still being shipped) yet but the reason I got that one is because of the ease of use and the sheer number of dies out there PLUS with a 'sizzix' pad ($9), I can use the sizzix stuff on it. So, my advice would be to skip the sizzix and get the zipemate. PM if you want more information including the coupon code to Joanns. I have to look it up again.

HTH.

[luvtostampstampstamp]

Sizzix now sells an adaptor for use with any other dies!!! I just love mine and just bought the adaptor (very reasonable, pkg of 10 for 3.50). Bought a Quickutz die to try in it!!! I have awesome customer service through sizzix.com and their 800 number whenever I have questions. Order from website came very fast. They have special every Tuesday, and you just never know what you will find. I did find the Sizzilits very hard to glue, but a good friend just bought me a Xyron so I can't wait to try it...she said it worked great for the little dies and alphas!

[newbiestampr]

Thanks to all that replied. hmmmm, lots of mixed feelings about this system. I guess I will have to decide by Tuesday. THis is the last of the day of the special price.....


Bea

[Tampersay]

What sold me NOT to buy one was that I figured the only thing I would use it for would be tags mostly. I would have to make literally hundreds of tags to make it pay off. I don't mind cutting tags by hand and as long as I have a good pair of scissors and a pattern I can do it!

[ladybugstamper2]

Hi!
I have had my Sizzix machine for a little over a year now. I had a $50 gift card (it was a gift) and a sale and that made it around $10 out of my pocket. If you don't count that I could have used the $50 on other things. But I've been wanting this machine for a long time.
I decided against purchasing shapes (cirlces, squares and such) and the tags. I already have enough of those shapes through the Coluzzle system and this works for me. I don't want the alphabets either since I have a ton of alphabet stamps and I want to save money for more dies right now.
What I did focus on was buying dies that I like and would use. So I went with a few holidays, solid frame (stamp on this or cut the edge with decorative scissors), the large paper doll body, girl clothes and hair, a few flowers and bugs. Especially the ladybug die, does with my e-mail address. I do use the balloons and presents a lot too. I would only buy dies with coupons and I quickly found I had no interest in what Michael's carried. The dies are fine, I just had purchased all they carried that interested me. All together from Michael's I had purchased 17 dies.
I was beginning to feel like the machine wasn't as useful as I anticipated. Then I found the Sizzix site and WOW OH WOW!!! I checked out the dies, they carry a lot more than the craft store does and I would click on the ideas and saw the great things to do with the dies. I learned that with some different colors, a snip here or there and the dies came to life.
First I made a dozen wish lists, finally I narrowed the list down to a reasonable amount. About $100 or so (or at least that's reasonable to me, LOL!!!), and if you spend $100 you get free shipping. I showed it to DH because Mother's Day and my birthday are coming up soon. They had this sale a month ago and DH gave me $125 to spend, and I did. I added another 9 dies, a system converter and two Sizzlets to my collection. I placed my order on Sunday and had the dies by Friday. But I live in California and so is the company, so the shipping time will be longer based on where you live.
Now I feel my collection is more rounded, I'd like more dies, but for now this is good. I added the boys hair and one set of clothes, the car, the rest of the holidays and I also got the hinges and buckles die.
For the Sizzlets I bought the button set and the sea life set. I used the sea life set yesterday on gift tags for teacher's gifts. The mascot at our younger children's school is a Dolphin and that's why I bought that die. I used two shades of grey cardstock, did a bit of a snip and glued the two toned dolphin to the tag. It came out so nice.
Wow, this is long. My point is, yes, I like the full size machine. No, I won't buy a sidekick or any other machine because as much as I use mine, I don't use it enough to justify another machine.
I have cut fun foam, fabric and cardstock with the machine. I know it will cut shrink plastic, I just haven't done it yet. I've seen people cut thin sheets of cooked polymer clay with the die cutting machine on a craft show, I just haven't tried it yet. Another part of the special that weekend was an embossing folder and template, mine says Best Friends, it works great and that's another thing to explore. There are a lot of things these machines can do. There are a lot of good ideas out there to use the machine and there is even a Sizzix e-mail group that may have ideas too.
Hope this helps.

[spv]

I have to say I LOVE my Sizzix machine...I have both the big machine and the Sidekick. I have the converter and the adapters that can be used with other brand wafer thin dies...and the adapters work great on the Quickutz dies...I use the Quickutz with an adapter in my Sidekick and they cut like butter. I am a stamper at heart but in the past few years have really started a lot of paper crafting. My Sizzix machine has paid for itself in the time it has saved me. I have a lot of dies and letter sets...and some I use more that others but am happy to have the supply that I have. I became interested in the Sizzix machine when I discovered that it cuts polyfoam and a variety of other materials. I love to make party favors and one of my favorites is using the daisy flower and circle dies...cutting them from polyfoam and then sticking a lollypop (charms blowpop works great) through the center...this has been a great "bouquet of flowers" to give. Sizzix has a wornderful selection of dies from the large size to the smaller Sizzlits which are great for cards. The website has some great ideas and they have a few books out that give great ideas to use the dies...you can order a free catalog which also has some ideas. The newer dies (charms, buckles and tags) are great for scrapbooking and card making...and they are coming out with some small envelopes and folded cards. I have dies that I use a lot and dies that I want it have in case I need that "right" shape...it is just like rubber stamps, some you use more that others. I have not used the zip'e mate or zaz (sp?) so cannot comment on them...but I am sure all the die machines have positives and negatives. You can watch the Sizzix website for coupons (they have them frequently)...Michaels and Joann Etc. carry the dies (but they never get any new ones) and machines...and not a bad price with a coupon (Michaels has a 50% this Sunday and Monday)...Check out jkcrafts.com and creativexpress.com (they have free shipping through the end of may and dies are usually cheaper than the Sizzix website)...they also carry Sizzix and run specials. I try to get things on sale. I don't know if this helped...I am pretty happy with my machine (a friend of mine has the zaz and Quickutz handle...she tried my Sidekick and bought it within a week after trying mine and is planning to sell her zaz)...well good luck.

[terylz]

I really like mine--it's so easy to use & not hard on your hands.

If I were you, I'd check out how many dies you'd really use. If it's a lot--then it's worth it. If not--then maybe you'll have to rethink.

I don't want to sway you in any way but Sizzix has just released a bunch a very "Kewl" dies. Slide mounts, hinges, mini envelopes, and a mini file folder (got to have it!) ;)

Good Luck on your decision. If you shop around sometimes you can find some great deals on the internet.

HTH,

[AmandaCalloway]

I have a sizzix machine. I really like it. It was gift. I have used certain dies a lot while others I thought I had to have I have not used. I go thru times where I use it a lot and others where I do not use it at all. I would still get one again. They keep coming out with more and more dies and I love them!

[Shell]

I love mine ... and at this time of year, you couldn't pry it away from me. It works so well for a lot of things in Vacation Bible School. It is *great* for scrapbooking, too. If you can't tell .... mine was well worth the purchase, and I didn't get as good of a deal as you are getting.

Do check the sizzix site. They have great, great ideas and LOTS of dies that aren't in the stores.