Before you invest your hard-earned money in a die cutting system, you need to do your research. There are several models on the market and after much consideration this is the one I have chosen and why.

The Cricut Personal cutting machine made by ProvoCraft is a fantastic edition for your scrapbooking tools. There are a few different Cricut Personal cutters. Cricut Expressions can cut 12 x 24 inch size papers. The Cricut Original cuts 6 x 12 inch paper. The Cricut Cutting Mat has a soft adhesive and holds the paper in place while cutting. Each Cricut machine comes with a cartridge, the Cricut Original comes with George & Basic Shapes and is a fundamental cartridge, combining the uppercase alphabet called George and a selection of shapes. Each cartridge consists of a cartridge, an overlay keyboard, and some come with an instruction booklet. So once you’ve unpacked your new Cricut Personal clipper, you can start experimenting right away. Along the track, you further expand the functionality of your Cricut machine, with other Cricut cartridges. ProvoCraft releases new Cricut cartridges every year and they have a wide range of themes, from alphabets, sports, in the garden to Disney characters.

On the Cricut Personal cutter, you can adjust the depth, pressure, and speed of the blade cut. This helps when cutting different materials. Lowering the cutting speed works best with more fragile scrapbook paper, while using medium pressure provides a sharper cut on scrapbook cardstock rather than the softer pressure setting.

You can cut letters and shapes by adjusting the size dial from 1 to 5 ½ inch. Available sizes are 1, 1¼, 1½, 2, 2½, 3, 3½, 4, 4½, 5, 5½.

The ability to load the scrapbook paper, cut out a few letters, unload the paper, and then reload exactly to the point it was at saves time and paper.

The Cricut Cartridge George and basic shapes it has six creative functions. Signal, Slotted, Charm, Silhouette, Shadow and Shadow Blackout.

Sign – imagine a picket sign with a cut out letter or shape

Grooved – Oval circle, a slot cut at the top for threading ribbon or twine

Charm – Your shape or letter cut out with an attached circle on top, so that you can attach the letter with a dowel to your design

Silhouette – cut the outline of your letter or shape. Great for the budget conscious as you can keep the negative cut of your letter and use it in another layout.

Shadow – Cut the letters or shapes, slightly larger than normal, these can then be used behind the normal size letter, giving the appearance of a shadow and a 3D effect to your title. This feature is on all Cricut cartridges.

Shadow blackout – similar to shadow except where there would be a cut in the middle of a 0, for example the shadow blackout just creates the outer shadow and no cut within the 0

With so many different Cricut cartridges available, you should research the features of each before your purchase to ensure that you will get enough use out of every investment. Consider whether they offer just shapes or alphabet and shapes. I have bought a few shape cartridges and because the shapes were so intricate it didn’t particularly bother me that the Christmas Cheer Cricut cartridge didn’t come with an alphabet. The Christmas Cheer cartridge is one that I would not miss.

ProvoCraft has also launched a more robust cutting blade, which can cut up to 1.5mm thick. This means that all Provo Cricut Personal cutters, with this new blade, can cut particle board, vinyl, fabric, and magnetic foil.

Other Cricut Personal cutting accessories include a Cricut Tote, Cricut Tools, Cricut JukeBox, and Cricut Create, so why not enjoy Cricut Scrapbooking? For more information on Cricut machines, visit http://www.happy2scrapbook.com