Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have a Cricut Explore that I use at least weekly to make cards. I saw the Silhouette Cameo on my Amazon Vine queue and thought it would be a great opportunity to try it out and compare the latest and greatest from Silhouette with the latest and greatest from Cricut. But first, a brief explanation of an Electronic Cutting Machine. Electronic Cutting Machines (of any brand) use a blade to cut images, words, and designs on paper or other materials on a mat that you insert into the machine. You can customize this design in a software program included with the machine. Here's what I loved about the Silhouette Cameo Electronic Cutting Machine: - The touch screen was very responsive and easy to use. It's sleek, pretty, and had zero issues. The correct menu pops up when you need it with a few choices. - It's so light! Easy to transport to different areas or to take to a crafting retreat. - Paper peels easily off of the cutting mat and left very little residue after a few uses. - The crosscut tool allows you to make an even edge off the back of the paper as it comes out of the Cameo. - The Silhouette Studio (software for designing your cuts) is very easy to use, navigate, and create. - Excellent cut quality. Here's what I'm not crazy about: - It's louder than I expected when making a cut. - Adjusting the blade is a bit futzy. The Silhouette Studio tells you what your blade depth needs to be based on the kind of paper in your machine, which is great! BUT changing it requires taking out the blade and a special tool to adjust the depth. - The mat leaves a slight adhesive feel to the back of the first images you cut. Which could be a good thing if you want them to be sticky, but not so great if you're using the paper as a card and don't want the sticky feel all over the entire card. How I feel the Silhouette Cameo compares with the Cricut Explore: - Honestly, it's kind of like an Apple vs. Android. Both products do essentially the same thing, but people will prefer one user interface over the other. Aesthetically they look different (both the actual machine and the design studios) - I prefer the Cricut subscription service when it comes to images. Cricut charges a flat $9.99 fee per month to let you use over 20,000 images. You don't OWN them, but you can use them. You can certainly buy them if you want to keep them and ditch the subscription, but there are SO MANY images included, I can't see why you wouldn't just use the $9.99 for the sheer variety of images. - How the Silhouette subscription service works is a bit more complicated, so you'll definitely want to check that out. Basically, you pay a fee per month and get a certain amount of store credit to spend. Which means you'll own the images when you no longer pay the monthly fee, but you still have to pay for them on top of the subscription fee. If you pay more per month, you get more credit, so you'll technically get SOME for free. Like I said, it's complicated. BUT there are some really great designs that you can browse even without any subscription and buy a la carte. They have lots of fun bags, boxes, and other really fun stuff! Overall, if you've never used a Silhouette or a Cricut, watch some videos to see which you prefer. Both machines do an excellent job of cutting and allowing you to get all creative and crafty. The interfaces are a bit different on the machine and with the design software, so look into that as well. If you're debating on whether or not to get the Silhouette Cameo Electronic Cutting Machine as your main electronic cutter, it's a great choice! Lightweight, quick to set up and easy to use! Plug it in and get your craft on!