Good Morning Crafty Friends,
Today I am going to UNF to help my son move out of the dorms for 3 weeks (then he moves back into a different one for Fall semester). It is going to be his day...actually this is his weekend.
I started to make this card late last night and just finished it this morning. I decided to use my Spellbinders after reading about some unhappy people with Provo Craft/Cricut.
Let me share, then ask.
Black and white is always elegant, but the spalsh of blue makes it fun.
Pop dots create the dimension needed to add depth to distinguish the different layers.
The inside
Materials:
My Mind's Eye paper ~ MeadowLark pad
blue, black and white card stock
Spellbinders ~ Parisian Motifs (2 cuts)
white lace
white and blue buttons
Birthday Bash Cricut cartridge ~It's Your Day!
black ink
Happy Birthday stamp
Now...onto my question(s)
I have been reading and came across some people that are unhappy with Provo Craft/Cricut. Why? I love my Cricut, but why are there so many dissatisfied people with the company? I have noticed people selling their Cricuts and all their cartridges. Is it becuase of the Rewards program? Them changing the policies on eBay in regards to selling the cartridges? Oh, I think I have been reading about the Cricut Circle too (never did that).
OR...is just becuase they want to try something new with all the new cutting machines?
I like to have input and comments would be appreciated.
I am just curious!
What better way to find out than to ask.
Thanks,
Georgiana
Georgiana ~ BEAUTIFUL card!!! Of course I LOVE thepapers as well! As for your question about Provo Craft ~ I think it is ALL of the above! I know many people who have nothing but troubles with their Gypsy, Imagine, Expression and E2! You wait for ever to get someone to talk too and when you not real solution. I myself have been VERY, vERY fortunate with my machines but some people are not as lucky!
ReplyDeleteI love this card! It would also work very well as a wedding card!
ReplyDeleteAs for Provo craft I was ready to call it quits after I had to send my machine back once but then when I got my new one I was over the moon happy just to have one again! I have heard many ppl say that the newer machines (after the expression) as not near as good. I have decided to just stick with the expression because of this and not upgrade. I think there are other companies out there making machines that can do more detailed worked and that is winning people over. Provo craft may need to look at improving what they have to improve their cuts without changing the entire machine to keep their following. I am still a CRICUT LOVER at heart though ;)
First off I love your card!!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to cricut but I just bought my expression less than 6 months ago. The housing to the blade already had to be replaced. When I called it was pretty simple and they did send me out a new one made out of metal instead of the plastic one. Not sure about the selling on Ebay. But I do purchase almost ALL my cartridges on Ebay from Provo and pay alot less than in stores! I almost always pay $20-25 and under for new cartridges. I think that's a great deal. I don't do the rewards program heard it wasn't worth it. I like my machine and will continue with it for now. Just my two cents.
Tara
Craftin Desert Divas
Wonderful card! I love the b&w with pops of color.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Provo goes, I know of quite a few people that are very dissatisfied with the quality of their products, especially the gypsy it seems to have a short shelf life. Their customer service is terrible too. I can see why others are selling to upgrade to better machines made by other companies. Since I don't use my Cricut that often, I am happy with it for now.
great card and question i wondered the same thing
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous card! Love the black and white with the splash of color! Simply stunning!!!
ReplyDeleteAs to your question...I sold all my carts and my cricut because I was tired of paying so much for carts when I was only using one or 2 cuts on them. I purchased the Cameo and LOVE it!!! The files are cheaper....99 cents each and I have a monthly subscription that gives me $150 work of files for $18. Plus the store has EVERYTHING I could possibly want plus always coming out with new files!
My Cameo cuts so much better than the cricut ever did so all in all I am very happy with the route I took.
Have a GREAT Friday!!!
Love the card.
ReplyDeleteAs to Provo Craft, I still have my expression and plan to keep it. However I find it difficult to cut smoothly (might be my fault) with it. I have had good experience with customer service as well. My biggest problem with the company is their fear of competition. They sued companies which have developed usable add-ons to their machines and have tried to corner the market by eliminating competition, not by making their products more what I want.
Beautiful card.love the black and white.Beautiful die cuts.
ReplyDeleteI have had bad CS.But i really enjoy my cricut buggs and all the friends i have made through the years.If it wasnt through cricut i would have never met many of you.I dont think i would sell until i really needed the money.
Pretty card.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other question...I'm still a tried and true Cricut lover. I love my Gypsy...and thank goodness...it still works great. My Expression has no problems. I have tons of carts too...why start new. If things start fouling up I might change my mind. I don't want to have to bring my computer everywhere to scrapbook and card make...which is what you'd have to do to scrap with a Cameo...or if you didn't have a Gypsy and wanted to alter cuts and use the Craftroom a lot. Anyways...I'm still a Cricut devotee!! Lee-Ann :)
This is so elegant and beautiful, Georgiana!! Love the punch of blue with the black and white!!
ReplyDeleteSince I fell in love with Spellbinders, that's pretty much all I purchase now. I still love my Circut and will keep it, but I get so tired of the mats losing their stickiness and having to tape everything down, and the blade dulling so quickly that my papers tear. It gets expensive and time consuming and since I can crank a Spellbinders through a machine quickly and easily, I'd rather do that. I haven't purchased a cart in a long time. I haven't heard about the new policy of selling on Ebay...what is it??
Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts
Beautiful card, Georgiana! Love the color scheme!
ReplyDeleteI still love my cricuts! Haven't had any problems with anything! :)
Hugs,
Heather Lynn
love your card hope you enjoy your day with your son! As for you question I think Provo craft as a company made a few mistakes. Thinking the were the biggest and the best. People found other machine that don't require carts you can purchase cut files on line for much less. I am happy with my machine but if it ever dies not sure what I will do! Karen
ReplyDeleteBeautiful card!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a circle member and currently own 4 cricut machines. I do like my cricuts, but I will say that each has been replaced at least once and a couple of them twice. With the Gypsy, I like the freedom of creating on the go and I don't know of another company that offers that without having a computer. Recent changes has made me question my membership, but for now. I'm standing by my cricut, just wish the quality of the machines were a more reliable.
Have a great weekend!!
Georgiana,
ReplyDeleteI love your card. Good luck with all the dorm changes. My daughter was in a Sorority house and they had to move in/out every time the holidays would come up.
Now onto your question... I have several provo craft machines and a silhouette. I'm very pleased with all.
Hi Georgiana! I love your card! Black and white with a splash of color is a great combo... :)
ReplyDeleteNow, on to your question... I LOVE my Cricut! I also love my Cuttlebug and Gypsy... I haven't had any problems with mine (knock on wood)... Sometimes I think about looking into another machine, just to have access to more stuff, but I know I will always love using my Cricut! :)
Amy
redheadedcrafter.blogspot.com
Super cute card:)
ReplyDeleteHugs
Hey my crafting pal. I love that card, especially the pop of blue. Very great idea. I love my Cricut and would literally crumble without it. Personally, I have had really good luck (So far) with customer service. In NB, the only place to get carts are at Michael's & the limited selection at Walmart so I buy most of my carts on Ebay. I love Cricut, but do find there stuff a little over priced.
ReplyDeleteLove your card!
ReplyDeleteI am a die hard Cricut user. I have been very fortunate and have not had any issues with mine. I am thinking about getting the Sihouette Cameo but I will not get rid of my Cricuts and cartridges.
Kerry
mommakcrafts.blogspot.com
Great card!
ReplyDeleteAs to your question (you asked and I am sure you wil get lots of responses), I have several reasons that I do not use and willnot purchase PC products.
1. The machine is just not up to quality when compared with the other machines available. It does not cut round and even circles and they think this is "acceptable". It also can not cut detailed designs either. I had the cricut and quickly migrated to the Silhouette - a much better machine.
2. As Julie so elegantly states above, they will not allow better software programs to work with their machines (and sued the companies to keep them from doing s0). I had CDS and it was the worst $50 I ever spent. The program was poorly written and they would not improve it. The other software companies showed that it was possible to have a highly functioning software program but PC just would not pay to have it developed properly. They just kept introducing new machines instead of improving what they had.
3. The other cutters have software that allows the user to import their own design from tracing or other means. PC does not. This ties the user to just the PC designs, whereas the other cutters allow you to expand beyond the cartridges. This is the main reason that I will never use a PC product again. I want the freedom to design my own images and import them to be cut.
Beautiful cuts and I love all of the polka dots!
ReplyDeleteI'm fuzzy on the PC details, but some other companies pirated/created software programs to work with the Cricut if you didn't update your machine. In my experience, most of the customers who bought the software seem to be the ones that are angry with PC. I am thrilled with my Cricut and the cartridges, but no one machine is perfect. It is true that the Cricut circles don't cut perfectly. I was hesitant to invest in a Cricut at first due to cost of cartridges, but it is cheaper and faster than buying metal dies (I love them too!) But I have never paid more than $34.99 for a cartridge and I have gotten some for $15 through Michael's/JoAnn's/ACMoore or cricut.com. Whenever I have had a problem, it can be difficult to get a response from customer service, but in my persistence I have gotten good service and maintained a relationship with those helpful employees. I am unaware of the ebay situation. I was very happy with the Cricut Circle rewards program, though I have not decided if I will renew under the revised membership rewards.
Love your card. As far as my Cricut goes, I do love it, but I don't really buy new carts anymore and mainly use SVG files. I have had a few problems with my Gypsy, but overall I still really love it.
ReplyDeleteTerrific card---the blue agains the black & whtie does add a great pop! Best of luck with the dorm move. I agree with June's comment about PC. I think some people have had frustrations with products not working, and another problem I see is communication from the company. When people have questions/concerns, communication sees to be something they have struggled with, but does sound as if they are trying to improve. Also, thank you so much for the kind words you left on my blog regarding my dog!!
ReplyDeleteGeorgiana your card is so nice. I hope your son has a wonderful weekend and that the move is smooth.
ReplyDeletehope you have a great weekend to.
I love my Cricut, even with glitches PC has been so good to me
Although Jessica is really tempting me with the Cameo
Thank you for joining my DL.ART Happy Birthday Linky Party.
DIANA L.
http://dianamlarson.blogspot.com
I love my cricut expression, I purchased the cricut Imagine-and am NOT so happy with that one, it is difficult to use-and the cutting mats are not near sticky enough! I personally am very disappointed with them though that they refused to allow Make The Cut continue to work with the cricut-that was the reason I had purchased it!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the pop of blue!!! Such an elegant card!!!
ReplyDeleteI think most of your questions about the Cricut have been answered already. I will say that I bought a Silhouette Cameo about a year ago and I do like it MUCH better than my Cricut, although I have kept my Cricut machine.
So glad to have a chance to comment on Provo Craft. I have decided to give my Expression, Gypsy, and many of my cartridges to my daughter. I rarely use them. I will keep my Original in my classroom as it has been for a couple of years, along with several cartridges that are fun and simple enough for my students to use (3 Birds on Parade, Create a Critter, Locker Talk and Sports Mania for sure). I was thoroughly disgusted when ProvoCraft sued to stop add-ons. If their product was so great, why would this have been a problem? And I dislike the prices I have to pay for each cartridge. I rarely use them more than occasionally. I bought a Silhouette and love the freedom it brings to buy exactly what I want. It cuts so much better also. What a shame that ProvoCraft has made such a mess of a good thing.
ReplyDeleteLove the color combo on your card!
ReplyDeleteAs to PC, I only have the original expression and I've not had any problems with it. I LOVE using it. But, I don't use it with the computer, so it's never had any updates. I have lots of carts. I think they are way overpriced, but I buy all mine either on sale at JoAnns or online for much less. I use my cricut all the time. It does seem like PC has had communications issues with it's customers and some less than perfect new products-as a company they need to step up their game, but hopefully they will. The new mats are terrible, not sticky enough, and I've gone to using the 12x24 mats and cutting them in half.
For sofare I have no trouble with PC. Last year my Gypsy Screen was defect, call PC and they have send me a new one. I love my Cricut Expression very much!
ReplyDeleteOnly the cartridges are expensive in the Netherland ($76,50 - $84,15) so I buy from Ebay! (When a cartridge from Ebay is more then $26,00 we must pay extra duty fees).
A lot of sellers won't sell anymore outside the USA (like proudparrents, tagmay etc) so we don't find so much cartridges anymore on Ebay!