Make Invitations With The Mother Of All Crafty Gadgets:
The Personal Die Cutting Machine!

The Con's:

Sizzix Personal Die Cutter and Embosser
The Sizzix is available in two different sizes. You got the Sizzix Side Kick for smaller sized projects, and the Big Shot for Larger items. This is another hand crank model which is on the affordable side of things at under $100, but price will rise over time as you've got to purchase plates for new shapes, textures and projects.

The side kick is super affordable at around $40, but you can only feed small and medium sized pieces through the machine.

The Big Shot is a little more versatile. You can use much larger dies as well as the smaller ones that go with the side kick. There is a really great variety of different die shapes and embossing textures. The downfall? Some of the dies themselves are pretty expensive. In the long run buying dies all the time can definitely run you a hefty bill.

The Pro's:

The Con's:

Quickutz Epic 6 - Also Known As The L Letterpress
You will see this die cutting and embossing duo advertised most often as the L letterpress combo kit. So yes, with this die cutter you will also get a DIY letterpress kit. If you're into that sort of thing, this could be a great all in one buy.

Personally, I purchased the Letterpress combo and I was disappointed. But I expected a lot out of it, having worked in the printing industry, I wanted to produce a perfectly flawless letterpress product. And I had a bit of a hard time doing so. It took lots of innovation to get a good print. Not flawless, though. And be prepared to make an absolute mess. Those inks are no joke. You may want to use some rubber gloves to protect your manicure.
AND, the plates that come with it crack and crumble by the second or third run through the machine. so the quality is just not there for me.

OK that aside, as a die cutter and embosser I quite like my Epic 6. I don't often find plates for this product in the local craft stores though. But I'm having fun shopping on Amazon for them! So they are not impossible to find. And the prices are good. I find this product easy to use, of good quality. The only downfall is that you have to buy plates - as in all of the manual machines. But I tend to buy classic shapes that I will use over and over.

The Pro's:

The Con's:

Here's a helpful tip - many of the plates and accessories for these die cutters are somewhat interchangeable. It's been reported that some will interchange easily, and with others you merely have to add an extra layer of paper or cardboard to lend the necessary pressure to make things work correctly.

Electronic Die Cutting Machines

The Cricut
The most popular and well know of the personal die cutting machines. There are several different machines to choose from, starting with the original Cricut machine, the Cricut Create, Expression, and now the newest, Cricut Imagine.

All of these machines vary in sizes and function. The Imagine is actually and all in one cutter and printer. I own the Cricut Expression, and enjoy it, but the big downfall with the Cricut is that you are bound to use their cartridges, which limits your creativity big time. And they are expensive to boot.

The learning curve can be a bit difficult. It's easy to waste a lot of paper and cutting mats learning just the right settings for your paper, only to start over again if you change to a different weight or texture of paper.

The other thing that peeves me about the Cricut is that most of the craft stores do not allow you to use a coupon with their products. If you use your Cricut a lot then you will need to keep up with buying mats and blades. Combine that with cartridges and the costs are considerable.

The plus is that you can now get the original Cricut for a pretty reasonable price, and some of the products do go on dale form time to time. So if you hold out for a sale you could save a bundle.

Overall, If the selection of personal die cutters was as good when I bought the Cricut as it is today, I would have went with a different model which did not need cartridges.

The Pro's:

Craftwell E-Craft
The Craftwell E-craft boasts printing and cutting in one lightweight and super slim machine. All without the need for a cutting mat. Needing Less supplies is always a big plus as far as I'm concerned.

Instead of cartridges the product comes with it's own software supplied with shapes, images, and fonts. The only downfall I have read about this machine is that the software is buggy. Hopefully by this time they have supplied updates to the software to help with usability.

It's also been reported that the images supplied by the manufacturer are sub-par at best, and really not interesting. Bummer.

Have you tried the E-craft yet? I'd love to hear how your experiences went! Leave your reviews below!

The Pro's:

Craft Robo/Sillouhette
The Craft Robo/Sillhouette is a cutting machine that works in conjunction with your computer! No need for cartridges! You can cut, score, and even perforate. With software programs such as Corel Draw and Illustrator you can draw and design your own shapes to cut. The product comes with it's own software which is also pre-loaded with ready to cut shapes and designs.

This machine has been well regarded by serious paper crafters and has been referred to as a sign-maker in a box.

The Craft Robo and Sillouhette are essentially the same product. The Sillouhette is actually simply the new design of the old favorite. To give my absolute honest opinion, this is the machine I would have bought years ago in lieu of the Cricut.

That being said, it is reported that the learning curve is high for anyone who is not very computer/software savvy. And I have to admit on a scale of computer /techy / software knowledge on on the higher end of that. From 1-10 I'd have to say a 7. So if you don't have the patience for the learning curve you may want to pass this by.

The Pro's:

Pazzles Personal Die Cutting System
Pazzles is an all in one, do everything under the sun machine. But at a much higher price. If you love all the bells and whistles this one is for you. And it is expensive but with no cartridges to buy won't it all even out in the end?

This nifty machine cuts, draws, pierces, engraves, embosses, and even distresses you paper for you. It will cut any font installed on your computer to boot. What's not to love?
I personally enjoy doing the drawing, printing, and distressing by hand. What can I say? I just enjoy it! But I still think this gadget is highly enticing!

The only drawbacks that I know of is the high price, and the learning curve. But if you have money to spend and are patient enough to learn this one could be LOTS of fun!

The Pro's:

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