I have a few questions for anyone that uses this machine. I have purchased one for my daughter for Christmas (it will be here later this week). I can't seem to find the info on the internet that I need.
Do you have to have the mats? I would assume so since they sell them.
Do all the cartidges fit all the machines-or do they have special ones for each machine?
What about paper? Do I need to buy their paper, or will her regular scrapbooking paper work?
Anything else I need to buy to get her started? I have the machine, one other cartridge and the cleaning picks coming.

I have an accuquilt Go! and was thinking that this might be the same concept, but not sure.

Thanks!

The machine should come with a mat, but it is good to have an additional one. Scrapbooking paper is what I use, cut to 6" width. The tool kit that includes the "spatual" is really helpful as the cutouts can be somewhat difficult to remove from the mat, especially when they are new and very sticky.

Yes, you do need the mats to used the cricut.
They are slightly "tacky" which is what holds the paper down while the machine cuts the shapes/letters.

All the cricut cartridges fit all cricut machines, and you can use any scrapbooking paper. You can also purchase the deep cut housing piece which will enable you to cut chip board.

Love my cricut!

Thank you so much for the info!!! I will order more cartidges and some extra mats! She will be so happy!!!

Perfect!! You can get extra mats at craft stores with coupons -- don't ever pay full price!! (Same with cartridges)

I've used vellum, regular paper, and cardstock - you don't need to use the cricut paper exclusively.

She will love it -- I've used mine for so many scrapbooks, pages, and projects for work.

Watch for sales on these cartridges! They are usually $40 & up! It seems that everyone had them on sale on black friday. My SIL bought one for me for xmas and I bought the same one so I am taking mine back (her's was cheaper)! She is going to love this machine!!

My daughter is only 16 and she bought one for herself a couple years ago with her Christmas money. She likes to scrap book. It is a wonderful machine--I don't know how to use it though--I don't scrapbook--I quilt and garden (of which my daughter has no interest!!) Yes, get an extra mat right away and you can use any kind of paper--and get a couple different cartridges so she can be more creative. JoAnn's often has the catridges on sale for $39. What a wonderful present you bought your daughter. And I'm sure many craft stores will have them on sale between now and Christmas.

Yeah, I am not the type of person that pays full price for much-I have been watching the sales. got the machine ($199) for $59 on sale~free shipping~then, because the site was messed up, they gave me another 25% off~~~$45 total!!!
I bought the extra cartridge on eBay ($14) free shipping!

Do ppl ever sell used cartridges? Are they ok to use? Or, are they like my dies-after much use, they will need replaced?

perfectly okay. they're kind of like memory cards -- you will need to change cutting blades every so often - but the cartridges should last forever.

They've also done a GREAT job keeping the catridges the same as they've upgraded the machines themselves.

I have the cricut expression and MTC. I bought MTC to go with the expression so I didn't have to keep buying carts all the time. I can cut anything I pretty much want to with this program. All you need is 1 cart that sits in the machine itself. It's the best money I have spent for this hobby.

You can cut fabric with it, but you have to put heat and bond on the back. I've tried Steam a Seam and it didn't work.

Yes, you do have to have a mat, but if you've bought the machine brand new, you'll get one with the machine.

All of the carts will fit all the machines, even the new Imagine. Only thing with the Imagine, you have 2 carts instead of the one, plus you have to buy ink for it.

If you're set on buying carts, go to eBay. Buy them there as they are much cheaper, or Michaels and Joann's has sales on them.
There are others online that sell the carts on sale too. Oh My Crafts, Memory Miser, etc.

You can cut paper, vinyl, and chipboard. If you own Amy Chomas pen holder/marker holder/embossing holder, you can make your cricut write or emboss with a special tool. It's pretty slick to see it emboss on metal.

You might want to invest in some Zig glue. That way when her mat gets not so sticky anymore, she can put the Zig glue on it and it'll be just as sticky as it was before. You might want to get a extra blade or even the deep cut blade. Those are just extra's.

HTH.

I have one and bought my daughter the newer model for Christmas this year. Walmart has a nice group of cartridges for $39. Another great place is www.craft-e-corner.com. Good prices and never charge shipping and handling. I buy most of my cartridges and supplies from them.

I get my cartridges at walmart now. When I first got my machine, they were $80 and up. I got a few off ebay too. It's a neat machine to have. My daughter ran for fair princess last summer and she made her banner with that. Hers looked so professional compared to the other kids' banners. She cut out a ton of starts and layered them in red white and blue paper. It was awesome and it lasted through the whole parade in the rain....lol. That was some good scrapbooking paper.

I also have MTC (and SCAL2 also-it's a similar program). I also buy too many cartridges but I've been able to almost quit after getting MTC. Lettering Delights' website has a ton of cute graphic sets to use with it.

I'll have to look into the MTC software for my mother! She has a Cricut as well as Sizzix (which is more like the Accuquilt Go apparently), but can never decide what cartridges she might use.

I also have MTC (Make the Cut) software...and I have pretty much quit buying cartridges! For the cost of one cart you can get the software, and there are all kinds of free cut files on the internet!

She will adore that Cricut. I have one and used it when I was scrapbooking. Now, I will be using it for quilt patterns. I have an idea for a wall hanging that will include a pine tree, ocean wave and mountains. I'll cut the patterns with my Cricut.

She will love the cricut. I bought the little one and then invested in the Expression so I could cut bigger sizes. It
makes scrapbooking so easy and fun. I recommend getting 2 mats so you can swap out. They last a long time.

I love my circuit and use it a lot. I second the folks who say buy one of the programs that let you cut things that are not on the cartridges. I have scal-2 and have found lots of free files on the net. I also use the zig pen ( adhesive) to re-stick my mats and find it works well. If you are going to cut fabric start a new blade and then keep it for fabric only.

Alsosecond the e-bay suggestion for cartridges as are often much cheaper.