How I Got Started With Cricut or Confessions of a Scrapjunky

Erica has challenged everyone to share how they got started with Cricut. Being the incredibly generous person that she is, she is giving the people that link up their story a chance to win the incredible Sophie cartridge. If you haven’t been to Erica’s site, head over there now. You can read my story later. Trust me you need to see all the incredible challenges and projects posted there. She is also part of a Blog Hop this weekend and giving away another cartridge for that.

                Okay, back to my story. At the time people I knew were first starting to buy Cricuts, they were the personal cutter. Back then our local scrapbook store, Lisa’s Angels in the Attic, was still open. There was a group of us that gathered most Friday nights and scrapped. We had a fabulous time. A couple of the ladies bought the personal cutter and I was not impressed. They tore so much paper and spent three times as long cutting out a word as it took me to whip out my Sidekick and sizzlet alphabets. I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Now keep in mind I have only watched HSN once in my life and that was for 15 minutes during a National Scrapbook Day event. I don’t watch it because I know I will want things and am too cheap to buy them. So, I went ages without sad about not having a Cricut. My husband and daughter are infomercial junkies and he kept asking me why I wasn’t getting one. I told him I wasn’t wasting my money.

                Okay, fast-forward a couple of years. The LSS closed down and one of my old scrap buddies invites me to a retreat. I really needed a getaway and it was amazing. One of the most incredible things that happened was I saw ladies using the Expression effectively. These ladies knew what they were doing.  They understood speed, pressure, and blade depth. I was amazed. I wanted that flexibility. I decided right then that I was buying an expression. There was only one problem…I am such a cheapskate. There was no way I was spending that much money one something. The retreat was in November and that Black Friday was the 1^st one where Walmart had the Expressions and carts. I still wouldn’t spend the money. I did buy a cartridge though. I had seen ladies using the paperdolls cartridge and knew I would want it.

                I still didn’t know how I was going to get a Cricut for what I was willing to spend. I started watching Ebay. I bought a couple more carts at a REALLY good deal. I haven’t found those deals in a long time though. I finally ended up with a brand new machine and four carts for about what Walmart was selling it for on Black Friday. By Christmas I had a Cricut and was in love with it. I use it at least a couple of times a week. It stays out. She never gets put away. She doesn’t like the dark cabinet, so she stays out on my counter. I got tired of lugging her back and forth to my classroom, so I convinced my principal to buy two for the school. One of them lives in my classroom, so I can use her whenever I want.

                I can’t believe I once thought a Cricut was a waste of money. It is one of the best investments I ever made. My husband even bought me a heat press because of the Cricut. I have made baseball uniforms and coach’s shirts. My kids use it. My hubby is even the master of Design Studio in our house. He designs things in it for his baseball and softball teams. I didn’t have a font with the right H for the front of their batting helmets, so he went in and designed one using pieces of different letters. They team loved them. I can’t see our house being without a Cricut ever again. My husband replaced the TV within an hour of it going out. I think he would be even quicker with my Cricut.