I own a Cricut and I also own a Big Shot Die Cutting Machine. Between the two, my Cricut gathers dust while the Big Shot is a workhorse in my craft studio. I never got the hang of the Cricut often becoming frustrated with the complexity of it. Loading and unloading card stock and trying to determine what size cut I need seems to be time consuming as well.
On the other hand the Big Shot is quick and easy to use and I always know what I’m going to get when I run a die through it. I also like the fact that I can use it for both die cutting and embossing. Probably the Big Shot’s biggest selling point for me though is that stamps with coordinating dies are readily available everywhere. My paper projects have a more polished, crisp look because the dies cut out a stamped image perfectly. I love that! No more fussy cutting!!!!!
This cute card was made with coordinating stamps and Framelits Dies. The card base is embellished with balloon shapes cut from Designer Series Paper using the Balloon Framelits Dies and stamped with the coordinating stamp set Celebrate Today. An easy peasy card taking no time to complete because the Big Shot does all the work. Love that tiny polka-dot bow that was stamped then cut out using the Big Shot.
The Big Shot also lets me add design and texture to my cards by embossing them. Embossing folders are relatively inexpensive and some have coordinating stamp sets as well. Here are two cards that were made with card stock run through the Big Shot using an embossing folder. The green tag on the Thank You card was made using the Fancy Fan Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and the Happy Easter card base was made using the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. The tag on the little treat bag was made with the Chalk Talk Framelits and coordinating Chalk Talk stamp set.
Bigz dies allow you to cut multiple shapes and images in one cut through the Big Shot. There are also fun 3-D projects. Here’s a few examples:
Berry Basket Bigz L Die
Fry Box Bigz L Die
Top Note Bigz Die
Can you tell that I love my Big Shot Die Cutting Machine! See it in action – watch this video that demonstrates making a berry basket using the Berry Basket Bigz L Die.
