Cricut review-Part 1-introduction and cartridges

So do you own a cricut?


The Cricut is a die cutting machine that is electronic. It comes a variety of styles: The Original, the Expression, the create, the cricut Cake, and a new one that is made its debut on HSN (AKA the Home Shopping Network) on September 14th. Explanations the different sizes and do they all mean for user will come in a minute, but first what do all these machines have in common. Each machine comes with a mat, a cartridge, blade and housing, instruction manual and sometimes a DVD. The Original and the Create have mat sizes are 6x12 while the expression, the Cake, and the Imagine have 12x12 and 12 x24 size mats. The 6 x 12 mats do not work in the last three machines. There have been You Tube videos on the subject, but if it does work, it could void out the EULA (End Users License Agreement).

How does it cut out the die cuts?

Through a cartridge. Depending on what type of cart that a person is using will determine how many images are on there. The basic cartridges are:

• Foundation carts- these cartridges come with the machine. They usually show off a sampling of the different shapes, fonts, and features of that machine.

• Full Carts-full cartridges are exactly what the name implies. They contain at least 100 images to cut from, which includes features such as Accessories, blackout, and tabs.

• Solutions-contains at least 50 images and include on feature.

• Seasonal-These are carts that have a particular holiday in mind, such as Independence Day, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s Day. They will also have at least 50 images and only one feature

• Lite- These are new as of June 1, and they are just that light cartridges that have fewer than 39 images. The cartridges can only be purchased new at a Walmart store, or purchased used On Ebay.

• Imagine-This machine was introduced to the public just this week on The Home Shopping network. The cartridges are very different from the regular carts as they are exclusive to this machine and to this machine alone.



Full carts started the whole cartridge revolution. Using the example of the retired cart, Tags, bags, Boxes, and More, The typical cart will be either a shape cartridge, a font Cartridge, or in the case of the foundation carts a little of both. Speaking of foundation carts, please note the following: Plantation Schoolbook Cart comes with the Expression, George and Basic Shapes come with the Original, Don Juan comes with the Create, Basic Cake design (not sire of the title) comes with the cake machine, and a basic cart comes with the Imagine. These carts gives a good foundation of what is on the other carts. Solution carts solve a problem. They will eventually all retire, but for now, get it now. If a person have baseball pictures to scrapbook, there is a cart for that, Home décor, and Wedding to name a few. Seasonal Cartridges started towards the end of 2009 with “Very Merry Tags”, “Let it Snow”, and “When it’s cold Outside”. They are of limited edition so people pre-order them as soon as they are available for that. They cost from $15-25 depending where you buy the cartridges. The newest type carts are Lite and Imagine cartridges. Lite carts can only be found at Walmart (unless a person likes Ebay). They contain 50 basic images with room to spare. This means there could be tags, layering on a cart, but only that feature. They cost less than the typical cart, which retails in some places $60-89 a cart, but get them on sale when can or go to Ebay. The price of the lite carts are $39.

Just to note I am just an owner of two cricut machines, and these are my opinions. I enjoy the Cricut, and would be happy to show anyone how to work them. In my next post, I will explain each machine, and the basic principle behind these Cricut machines. Be well, and God bless you. Talk to you later.