Silhouette or Cricut???

How Do You Decide Which One to Go With?

The Verdict is in ...

It's a really hard decision to decide between the two.  I recently purchased my Cricut Mini, but was a bit disappointed by the limitations of what I could do.  Between Janae and I, we probably have 20+ cartridges, which isn't a lot compared to the mass of cricut fans...  

I don't really scrapbook, but I am a Graphic and Web designer and love working with paper design and creating mini-albums.  I'm not a fussy creator of the mini-albums. I tend to decorate them down the middle-of-the-road. More of the graphic industrial type look, than lace and bunches of flowers.

My sister and partner in this blog, Janae, tends to like the elegance of floral papers, fabric flowers, lace, bobbles and lots of ribbon.  And she stretches me to do more with my albums than I do.  We're a good pair together because we each spark creativity and trying new areas of design and technique in one another.

So back to the subject at hand...  Silhouette or Cricut.  My sister is a Cricut Loyalist and is able to create and fullfill her needs through her Cricut Imagine.  My oldest sister, Melodie, also has a Cricut Imagine and puts out the most beautiful, detailed scrapbooks.  I.... recently took a trip to Denver to visit my daughter, Courtne (http://coryandcourtne.blogspot.com/), and to my surprise, she pulled out her Silhouette.  I was amazed at how I could pull images off the internet or my personal files into Adobe Illustrator, create a path, and upload to the Silhouette.  Instead of paying between $29 and $59 for a cartridge with just a few shapes that I personally would be interested in, I was able to choose the shapes I wanted to use in my mini-albums.

I do think its a personal opinion depending of your knowledge and availability to Adobe Software (Silhouette)  or whether you want the files predesigned for you and ready to use (Cricut). There's a difference in the use of the cutting matts.  It's my experience that you get many more uses out of the Silhouette matts, than the Cricut.  A downside to the Silhouette is that I recommend you buy the additional Silhouette Designer Studio Software for $50 (http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/?page=shop&cat=15), where the Cricut Craftroom is free for Cricut owners.  I saw a video on YouTube where they were showing how to "Fussy Cut".  Since I'm not a Fussy Cut type of person, the best choice for me is the Silhouette.

Anne Xannero's Fussy Cut Video

Janae has also wrote a review of her Cricut, and this is what she wants to share:


I am getting a Silhouette!  Don't get me wrong, I have invested a lot of money into my Cricut and use it almost daily. But the one thing that I was not aware of when I purchased my Cricut, was the inability to cut my own designs out. 

One of the huge bargaining chips I used with my husband was being able to cut vinyl in any shape, especially an Eagle Globe and Anchor.  Yes, yes you will say, but you can because there are all those components in the Cricut cartridge Stand and Salute.  

Well, all of you that are out there, show those designs to your Marine and see what he says.  Point being, I didn't research the potential of the Cricut enough.  However,  I'm a cheap thing and believe in a bargain and getting the most for your dollar.  So Ebay for the cartridges and I hardly pay over $20.00 for them.  And every cartridge I have bought has brought me excitement and sparked hours of creative design. 

So I am not disappointed in my Cricut.  I will probably hang onto it for a few more years.  But I am serious about the Silhouette. There are so many things that I do want to make and do not want to be limited. 

Video links:


Great Video on Silhouette vs Cricut
Silhouette Cameo
Cricut Expression