Cricut vs. Sizzix

I don't have a lot of "dies", but I wouldn't give up my Big Shot for embossing. I have tons and tons of embossing folders - they're fantastic for cards and even scrapbook page embellies. I've even cut out letters with my Cricut, then ran them through the Big Shot to give them some pattern.

I have that problem too. I get overwhelmed and feel like I need everything sometimes. I know that I really don't though.

I don't go to crops, but some have mentioned that stores like Mike's have machines/tools that you can use at their crops. I know ours has demos of cricuts and other machines. The LSS I've gone to also has machines to use, so maybe you could check out some of the machines and see what feels comfortable to you.

My main reason for liking the cuttlebug is that it's small. I keep it at my feet and it's quick to use. My creatopia, cricut and cameo are bigger to move into place. OK, now you all know...I'm a lazy, wimpy scrapper :>) ~Judy

I spent part of Sunday afternoon at Bonnie's house (sbartist) and we played a lot with her Cuttlebug and dies and now I can't wait to get home and play with my new Big Shot.

She really inspired me. She has a huge collection of dies - she has dies for everything. Embossing folders too. I never realized how much I could do with them and now I'm going to really have fun with mine!

I have no idea what I want but I do want to purchase something to scrapbook with. There are just so many products to choose from.

I LOVE my Big Shot. I did have the original Cricut and i didn't like it so i returned it.

I am a die fanatic. I love dies. Theres so many great companies out there. The prices do range from a $1.00 and up. You could always try browsing the different die companies and see if you find some dies you would like to own.

My favorites are Cottage Cutz, Quickutz, and Lifestyle Crafts ( the new quickutz company).

Plus i love when stamp companies come out with coordinating dies with there stamp and i know i can use them with my machine.

I was on the fence about this, but I caved in and ordered a Big Shot and 2 embossing folders this afternoon.

Now,I have to decide what dies are necessary. (I have a Slice, but I'm going to wear out a couple of shapes I do all the time!)

My poor little cuttlebug groans when I use him following the directions. I'd be scared to try something like that...Hmmm, but if I find the right bottle cap...

I've used my Cuttlebug to flatten bottle caps too. Looks cool!

Honestly, I think I did it against the multi-purpose platform. And it did leave gouges, nothing severe. But you could always do it with the sharper edges toward the cutting plate if you're worried about messing up the platform. I think the sandwich was just the platform (can't remember which tab), the cap, and a single clear plate. It turned out much better than the time I took a sledgehammer to bottlecaps on my garage floor.

• aquabunny Said:

No kidding?! Did you use the clear cutting plates against the cap? If so, did it leave deep gouges in the plate?

I was smashing stuff in "big red" long before I got a Big Shot, so I never thought to try it with that.

Just wondering if it would really mess up the plates.

I've had success flattening bottle caps with my Big Shot, though it took some playing around with the sandwich to get it exactly right.

I have a Cricut Expression and a Cuttlebug. I love my Cricut because when I make invitations I can cut out mass quantities of an object without the fuss of having to do them one by one. I love my Cuttlebug for the embossing.

I want to try the smashing technique of bottle caps now!

• corrie fan Said:

Can't imagine that it wouldn't. Try it and report back! Then you can be brilliant, too

• Seaexplore Said:

we can both be brilliant!!!

I have 2 cricuts and a vagabond. i love both. to me the sizzix dies are cheaper, unless you also start buying other brands of dies to use with it. what i like about my cricut is that I can choose the size of the cut i want, i can download the carts to my craftroom and work with them that way also. a lot of options. both are great to me!

I have the Cricut Expression, the Big Kick, and the Spellbinders Grand Calibur,,,,

I honestly probably USE my Grand Calibur more,,,,but if I could only have one and if price were an issue,,,,,I'd go with the cricut,,,,,,

for 30 bucks or less, I can have a cartridge that will cut hundreds of die cuts at thousands of sizes,,,,,,

for 30 bucks I can have about 2 spellbinders die sets that will cut 2 shapes at about 5 different sizes.

there's no comparison if I could only have one.

Hmmm,

Completely unrelated tool but you got me thinking.

I have the Quickutz Squeeze that I no longer use. I imagine I could crush a bottle cap with it. Must find a cap and try it out.

lol

• Kim222 Said:

And here I was thinking I was the brilliant one who came up with that one! it is amazing at smashing stuff!

The reason I love the big shot is because it not only embosses paper and foil etc, but it will cut chipboard, fun foam, veneer, thin metal, sponge, magnet, fabric, cork etc etc etc.

And--I still have "big red" because nothing flattens bottle caps better

I just have the little red sizzix sidekick and a cricut create and the cricut expression.

I haven't used the sizzix sidekick since I first bought the create. Then I finally bought the expression cause the create was still to limiting on size for me.

No more dies for me as I don't have the room and dies are once size. Size is the main issue for me. I want to be able to cut whatever size I want.

I get most all of my carts on ebay so it's cheaper than buying them in a store.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and input on the matter. I love how supportive and honest our scrap community is. Thank you ladies!

you can wash them and let them dry that usually helps extend their life... if your warrantee is up on your cricut you can spray them or use a 2 way glue pen, make sure its repositionable adhesive

While on the subject has anyone figured out how to extend the life of the Cricut cutting mats. I use 12x24 it may cost a little more but it's like getting 4 12x12's. I still go through them fast as I use my Cricut just about every other day.

I started with sizzix a LONG time ago. I have THOUSANDS of dollars worth of dies that cut ONE SIZE.

I got a cricut and LOVE it. I can cut lots of shapes in any size I want.

Each machine has pluses and minuses.

IMO, the cartridges are cheaper than the dies and you get more versatility.

Personally, when my cricut dies, I plan to get a cameo or gazelle. I like being able to use my own shapes (I was one of the lucky ones to get SCAL when it was able to be used on a cricut) and not be tied to specific sizes/shapes.

it would be like comparing apples and oranges...each of them do entirely different things. I have the Cricut Expression, the Big Shot as well as the Grande Calibur for the Grande Spellbinder dies. I like being able to both cut and emboss with the Big Shot and Grande Calibur. The advantage to the Cricut is you can resize things and weld letters together using the Cricut Craft Room. Though you do have to buy the cartridges for it. Good luck with your decision

but then you can go into the value of the cricut and then cameo... where I can buy a year subscription and get 150 dollars worth of downloads a month and pick and choose just the images I would like to have to cut most images are 99 cent... then you can pay more if you plan to use the file for more then just personal use ie in kits and stuff... i love my cameo my poor cricut gets ignored... that machine is so sad

I have the cricut E, a big shot, and a cuttlebug. It's not really a "which" one between the E and the other two, because they have entirely different uses. I have had the bug for years and bought the big shot because I had bought the TH wordplay dies, and it was a little too wide for the bug. I have since put the bug up and only use the big shot. I love it. It's so much sturdier and holds still when you put dies thru it. But it does take up more space. I can cut chipboard with the big shot and emboss, which the E just can't do. I can cut something with my E, then emboss it with the big shot.

I bought the original "Big Red" Sizzix and I love it, but I eventually bought the Cricut because it's a much better value. I've never paid full price for a cartridge. For about $30, I can get 3-4 Sixxiz dies, or dozens of Cricut images (that I can further maximize by changing the size, flipping the image, welding, etc.). I think the Cricut is the better value, but I enjoy both of my purchases.

I think the only dies that a bigshot/cuttlebug/bigkick /vagabond wont do are the real large spellbinders the dies for the bigshot pro and the accucut dies if I remember correctly

I had a Sizzix and decided to buy myself the Cricut E2 when it was on sale this past winter. I like being able to adjust the size of the image, cutting multiple images at once, the ease of storing cartridges and all the choices on one cart. I buy my cartridges on eBay and other sites for considerably less. I haven't paid more than $30 for any cartridge I have.

I didn't care for the sizzix because it was heavy and hard to bring to crops. It takes longer to do something (for me), especially when doing a title or something with words. I also "inherited" a bunch of dies when I bought the sizzix from a friend. It was SOOO much. I didn't have the room to store it and it was too have to bring to crops. ETA: I had the original Sizzix machine.

That's just my 2 cents.

I have a Big Shot, an Expression and a Silhouette Cameo. I would keep the Cameo and the Big Shot. One thing to consider is that you can use all other company's dies in the Big Shot. My local craft stores have one of the brand name's dies on sale every week or so. I picked up 2 wonderful Spellbinders die sets yesterday for 10 bucks each. I know that Sizzix is coming out with bunches of "nesting" dies and thin dies, which are quite easy to store, and they don't take up much room. If you like to make cards or mini books, these are wonderful. Good luck!

I have both a Cricut (purchased in 2009) and a BigKick (purchased in 2008, though I had been using the old big red one since 2004 or so), and I love them both.

I have both a Cricut Expression and Big Shot. Love my Cricut and wouldn't trade it for anything. I purchased my Big Shot mainly for the embossing, although I have a few dies for it. Either way they are great products.

The cricut and the sizzix (including Big Shot, Cuttlebug, etc.) are two very different animals. The cricut is an electronic machine that works with cartridges. Each cartridge includes several dozen and up to 700 different images, each of which can be resized. The others are manual die-cutting and embossing machines. They use fixed dies or folders that cannot be resized. Some of those dies are no less expensive than the cricut cartridges.

I have both the cricut expression and the Cuttlebug. The cricut takes up more room and requires a mat. It does not do embossing. Many of the carts can be purchased on ebay for around $20 each. The Cuttlebug is a lot smaller and handier. Sizzix alphabet sets (that also work with the Cuttlebug) are more expensive than the cricut font cartidges, take up a lot more space, and are not resizeable. However, they are very handy to use with a small manual machine.

Each type of machine has its pluses and minuses. You may want one of each -- the cricut (which you already have) and one of the manual die-cutting/embossing machines. I suggest you research each of the manual machines to see which one will best suit your purposes.

The dies are really expensive and you don't get much for variety. The Cricut is a much better value. I have both. I have been known to buy a die only to find out I have a similar one on my Cricut. I think Tim Holtz has a marketing staff of brilliant people (or Sizzix does). They always make dies dies look amazing on the packaging and then you get it home and it takes an hour to make it look half as good.

I love my vagabong (sizzix machine) but really look into first if the cost of the carts are getting you down you can pay 20-65 dollars for ONE DIE... so make sure you do your homework before you buy it thinking its less expensive...

now onto the cool part (I am a die cutting machine junkie with a cricut, sihouette cameo, accucut grandemark, and a vagabond) The real cool part in the sizzix is the fact that you can get folders and dry emboss with the machine as well, you can also make your own embossing folders and do other cool techniques with the machine once you loose your fear of shoving stuff through it lol

I have a Cuttlebug (manual die cutter and embosser) and a Silhouette (electronic digital cutter). Both get used, but the Cuttlebug far more. They have different uses - each has its place on my desk, and I wouldn't be without either of them.

For any manual die cutting/embossing machine you will need dies (which can't be resized in the same way that the Cricut can resize its shapes) and embossing folders, which of course cost and need to be stored the same as Cricut cartridges do.

One good thing is that nearly all dies and folders from other companies will fit the Big Shot. I think there are a few dies which are too big for it - you'll have to check the sizes - but not enough to worry about.

I say go for it and have fun!

Have a look at the new EBosser that is coming out very soon. This elecrically operated Die Cutting machine claims to be able to cut most brand dies.
Don't know why they have called it the EBosser as it gives the impression that it can only be used for embossing. This is not the case as it Die Cuts as well. Have a look on YouTube for some demos.

The sizzix is great to have but the dies really add up. Even getting them with a coupon you'd still be paying at least $10 per die. Also, is the selection of the dies what you are looking for? For me, the only plus to the sizzix is that it cuts chipboard very easily and it cuts very clean. I would not compare the two, they each have their place. If I had to choose,it would be the Cricut.

I have a Cricut and just purchased a Big Shot.

I already use my Cricut (not enough) and my Slice but the Big Shot is going to be a nice addition to my tools.

I've been an advocate for the cricut for many years. Ever since I recieved an expression for Christmas from my now husband. However recently I have been thinking about about purchasing a Sizzex. Mainly because of the cost of the cricut cartridges. But I don't know much if anything about the Sizzix. What are the pros and cons? What other things do I have to purchase for the Sizzix besides the dies? What do other scrapers prefer? Cricut or Sizzix? I really appreciate the input thanks y'all!