In search of an easy-to-use electonic cutter. Update-ish.

I am not very computer savvy. I really like the Silhouette's software. It seems easy for me to grasp.

Maybe look at a few you tubes of people doing tutorials for both machines?

I started as a Cricut user 20+ years ago. Then we began to travel in our motorhome and I moved to a Silhouette because it did not require and internet connection. I've never looked back. The Silhouette School was a huge help for me.

The Silhouette software will let you do so much more than the Cricut software. And there are lots of online videos to teach you how to do just about anything you want.

The software for Cricut is simpler, but it doesn’t do anywhere near as much. It’s really too basic.

I love the Silhouette and I know I’ve only done the basics. Silhouette School is an amazing resource and if you like this kind of thing, her beginners class is worth every penny!

I’m guessing the above is a typo, and you meant to say Cricut instead of Cameo. Cameo is a Silhouette machine. I don’t want the OP to be confused.

This is a really good point. I bought my first electronic cutter back in 2005, mainly to cut letters for titles, so I could stop buying alphabet dies (which were really expensive). I quickly realized that I could do a lot more with my machine than just cut letters and shapes.

I do use my cutter mostly for card making and scrapbooking, but in 2017, our family went to Disney at Christmastime, and I made 27 custom shirts with heat transfer vinyl (HTV) for our family. DH and I are going by ourselves this fall, so I’ve been making new custom HTV shirts.

I have also used my machine to make home decor items. One year, when we were really struggling financially, I made most of my Christmas gifts, and my electronic cutter definitely got put to use.

I’ve even cut fabric with it. DS3 needed an applique for a knight costume, and also vinyl cutouts for his shield.

These other crafts aren’t the reason most of us buy electronic cutters, but it can be very handy if you decide to use it for additional crafts besides card making and scrapbooking.

scrapmaven, since you plan to use it for card making, if you are interested in interactive cards, the Silhouette store has a lot of box cards, pop up cards, and other fun card designs you can purchase and download. There are lots of other online stores that also sell card cutting files.

I’m a sucker for various box cutting files. They are handy for putting Lindor Truffles or other wrapped chocolates in for little appreciation gifts for teachers and friends.

Even if all you do is use it for cards and scrapbooking, it’s well worth it. I hope you love it!

I have both a Cricut Maker and a Silhouette Portrait. I think that the Cricut software is much easier to learn and use. If you're looking for the easiest one, I think a Cricut is the way to go.  I don't find the software too basic at all.

The Cricut Joy is a good choice, it was my first electronic die cutting machine and even though I've since purchased a larger machine to cut larger items and other materials, I still use it all the time. It's cute and very user-friendly, in my opinion. Just know that you can't "print and cut" images with the Joy, unlike the Silhouette Portrait (which is a much smaller Cameo but bigger than the Joy, it can handle up to 8.5X11" paper), but if you don't need that function, I think its a great choice. Cricut has sales all the time, so keep your eye out - I would be shocked if they didn't have a big sale around Thanksgiving. 

I got a Cricut the first weekend the machine came out and you had to use the cartridges. Got a Silhouette years later and now I much prefer the Silhouette. So much easier than the Cricut software. You also have to be online to use the Cricut (at least you used to).

That being said, I might get the Joy if there are great Black Friday sales. They had them on sale at a few stores two weeks ago for $129. I decided to wait.

scrapmaven, just curious…..did you try the software for both machines? If so, did it help you to decide?