Can anyone give me any feedback, good and bad, about using die cutting machines? I recently stumbled across some awesome die cut plates and it struck my interest (finally) in a die cutting machine. I've been researching all day and with sales and such I have begun drooling over this. At first I was looking at the Sizzix manual cutter that sells for $99 that I could get on sale for $69, but I think I can get the Vagabond for $160 at A.C. Moore on Saturday. I'm interested in using it to make LTCs and logbooks. What do you all think?

I have several die cuting machines. I have the Sizzix, the cricut and the Quickutz Revolution. and I have to admit that I use the Quickutz Revolution more than the other two. The quicktuz has a small footprint so it doesnt take up my room on my work table and it probably has the larger number of dies than does sizzix. Every month the release new dies .. so there is always something new to buy!! Quicktuz prices seem to be cheaper too.. they start at 3.99 for a simple 2 x 2 die and goes as high was $24.99 for a very complex 4 x 4 die! they also have the border dies. The alphabet dies are beautiful (more expensive) and I use them alot. I know many people love the Cricut but I find the machine hard to use. Maybe if you use it constantly it gets easier but I dont use it that often so I find I waste paper trying to figure the depth of the cutting knife and speed of the machine.. The sizzix is nice but they dont seem to put out many new dies.. I notice that Tim Holz is now marketing new dies so that helps. Hope this helps!

Well it's certainly cute! The big question is, how many dies do you get with the machine for your $169? Also he's combined the expense/ hassle of a machine that has to be plugged in with the limitations of a manual die cutter. Normally a die/embossing machine is manual and if you're the kind of person who has a "feel" for your machine you have a better control than one that whips it through as I saw in the very short part of video I just watched. (confession, he took too long getting to the point so I clinked on a couple other Vagabond vids but didn't watch to the end.) I wonder if this will last as long as the manual ones?
It really depends what you want it for. You could make some really awesome logbooks with the textures, etc. =-) The fact that it does both cutting and embossing is a plus.
I love my Cricut. (I bought it and all my cartridges on ebay, BTW, much cheaper than in stores.) The big advantage to electronic cutters is the adjustable cutting size, which would be handy for LTCs.
If you check the independent scrapbook supply stores in your area they might have some machines you could see and/or try first hand.
There are so many cool machines and everybody has their favorites, so if you like this one I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it.

And please keep us posted: let us know how you like whichever machine you buy! =-)

Well I did finally locate one of those Vagabond machines and was able to use a coupon so I paid $150. I'm going to try it out and see how I like it. I just love how it sounds, powerful, sturdy, automatic (I break manual stuff), able to use dies from almost any company, and I love that it cuts thru heavy-duty stuff. I'll report back after a couple days when I've played around with it. But if I don't like it it's going right back!

I have heard wonderful things about the Vagabond. It is supposed to cut through anything.

I have a Big shot and I love it. I find it perfect for me and it work well with many different dies/embossing folders. I got it on sale for about sixty bucks on Joanne's website. They often run 40 percent of dies and cutting machines.

Happy shopping!

Starrgazer

http://starrgazercreates.blogspot.com/

I've been trying to find the dies by Tim Holtz. What a nightmare! I'm guessing they're too new at Michael's. Oh how I hate Michael's.

I haven't seen any cutting dies but Hobby Lobby carries the embossing dies.

Ok, so here's the deal now. I have found some of the dies I wanted at Michael's after they got a new shipment in. I bought one large die and a texture thingy. I saw a few sizzlits that interested me but couldn't find anyone who knew how to use the machine to find out if I need some sort of adapter like with the Bigz XL dies. After playing with the machine and doing research on YouTube, I'm in love! I think I could have gotten away with spending half as much on the machine by buying the Bigz instead of the Vagabond, but it claims to be more hearty. But I have been compensating by buying all my dies really cheap with various places online.

SO jealous of your purchase! I heard that thing will cut anything! I have gotten great prices on dies at Joannes.com (they go on sale for 40% off quite often) and also on ebay (found a few lots that were awesome). I find that the dies that the stores usually carry are usually a bit to cutesy for my personal taste. I am a Tim Holtz fan all the way, so I am usually looking for his Alterations line of steel rule dies.

I have also fallen in love with embossing. I never knew the cool things you can do with these folders and a die cutting machine, util I found Tim's blog that is....

Happy crafting! I hope your machine helps you to make some lovely logbooks and other goodies!

starrgazer

http://starrgazercreates.blogspot.com/