Sunday 6 July 2014

Welcome Dora - Dora the Explorer

Hi Guys, 

So today I thought would do a  post with regards to my new machine and the pros and cons of it. I have to say I am a very lucky lady to get this, I mentioned it only once or twice to hubby but didn't think I would be in for a chance of getting one as I had only just purchased a Cameo machine. Bless him he come to me after getting some unsettling news from the hospital and told me to get it ordered before it sells out! I wasn't asking twice!

I also took photos of the unpacking of it, to show you exactly what you get in the box because some websites are not 100% clear of what you get. 

I will leave the photos as small so that you can view it easier on a tablet or a phone. 


























(Please ignore the holes in the wall I moved my second monitor so I could fit him in that slot and snapped a photo, before I could repair and paint it)


I haven't labelled all the photos, as it is pretty clear what is what but I have outlined below what was in the box. 


What Is In The Box 

Cricut Explore Machine 
12 X 12 Green Mat - This is the standard sticky mat 
Power Cable 
Pen - For drawing
"Start Here" envelope
"Project Material" envelope 
USB lead - Machine to Computer - Hubby measured it for me and it is about 2 meters long.
Carry Bag

What is in the "Start Here" Envelope 
Warranty Booklet
What's In The Box Booklet 
Tips and Tricks Booklet 


What is in the "Project Materials" envelope  ** contents may change**
8.25 x 10 inch - Blue Duck Tape
8.25 x 10 inch - Multi-coloured Duck Tape
2x A4 Black card stock
5.25 x 4 inch - Teal blue card
11.75 x 3 inch - Iron on Vinyl 
Instructions for Duck tape and Vinyl. 


So that is what we get in the box I ordered mine on the 16th at 3 o'clock via Amazon and as I am a prime customer I took delivery of her on the 17th at lunch time. Less than 24 hours - perfect.


Okay the most important bit. 

Pros and Cons 

Pros 
Can use both SVG and Cartridges
Quiet at cutting
Can use a pen and a blade together

Cons
Design studio is internet based only
Design space is not 100% user friendly, I would say I am confident with a computer and it even has me baffled at some points.
Design studio can be slow. 

Now I have had her for a few weeks and to be totally honest it has been a love / hate relationship I have hated her and got her box back out ready to ship  her back, but really liked the idea of combining all my SVG/ Cutting files and cartridges together to create unique layouts/cards - so I have persisted with her and to be honest I am really starting to fall in love with her, the other day I didn't have a certain image on any of my cartridges but I did have it in a SVG file so I could combine the two without having to start up the cameo machine! 

I will keep on playing with her and I will do a comparison between the explore, the Cricut original and the cameo machine and I will try and do it in a easy to view chart for you.

Please remember these are only my opinions on the machine I am no way affiliated with Cricut and I receive no profit from them for doing this post and I purchased the machine with my hubby’s hard earned cash - ha ha.


Thanks for stopping in! 
Crafty Hugs
Kelly
xxx

1 comment:

Irene said...

Hi Kellt

You are a lucky girl. Keep us posted as to how it goes. Great that you can still use both files n cartridges.

Irene