ACOT Message Board

I am really wanting to get either the gypsy or the cricut expressions...I already have the original cricut.


I need to weigh my options...and need to know everything about the gypsy! Help!!!



Nicki

I"m sorry I can't help. I have an Expression, but I don't know much about the Gypsy.

You can use the Gypsy with your original Cricut. The only reason I can see to upgrade to the Expression would be for the larger size mat.

The Gypsy will really enhance the use of the Cricut. You can work on stuff away from the cricut, and then hook up to the cricut to cut out what you created. Look on the cricut site. They should have a good description and possibly a video of the gypsy.

I had the same problem, but I ended up with the Gypsy. (I will get the expression in Feb for my bday). I love the Gypsy because I cant create anywhere. You can Weld words, shapes and everything else on the carts. You can change the sizes of things. Also I save more paper becuase you can place the shapes where you want them on the mat and it will cut. So you can put everything really close together before you cut. You also know the exact size of something before you cut it. You can measure it on the mat.


Go to Cricut.com they have amessage board there that may help.

Thanks!!! What about sharing cartridges? Are they only good for one time???

I checked out cricut's website...but I would still like to play with one to make sure that is what I want!?!?:bludconfused:

MiasMommy wrote:I had the same problem, but I ended up with the Gypsy. (I will get the expression in Feb for my bday). I love the Gypsy because I cant create anywhere. You can Weld words, shapes and everything else on the carts. You can change the sizes of things. Also I save more paper becuase you can place the shapes where you want them on the mat and it will cut. So you can put everything really close together before you cut. You also know the exact size of something before you cut it. You can measure it on the mat.


Go to Cricut.com they have amessage board there that may help.

MiasMommy summed it up well. I got one a few weeks ago and love it. One of the main perks for me is the convenience of being able to easily see the images without having to flip through each and every little cartridge booklet. I also like being able to see what size the cut out will be, for some reason I never seemed to be able to get size right the first time I would cut something, lol.

nmelton wrote:Thanks!!! What about sharing cartridges? Are they only good for one time???

You cannot share cartridges, they are only good for one download each.

I received a Gypsy from DH for my BD. It is the coolest! I use it constantly and get frustrated when I have to stop and recharge it because my laptop's in another room from my scraping studio. So, best advice--even though it it comes with the car charger, pick up actual plug-in-to-the-wall outlet charger and make things easier for you.


I made a 2010 calendar from one of the ladies I supervise at work--I bought a blank cal. and when I got it home, I un-shrink-wrapped it to find that it did NOT have the DAYS of each month pre-printed... I used my gypsy and cut all 365 numbers. If I would have had to do this with my die-cut machine, I would have slit my wrists. It took a while, but I sized and cut each month's numbers to match the photo-mat and general theme and it looks SPECTACULAR!!



Sharing cartridges like the others said is a no-no. You can upload them to your gypsy but you can't then give them to a friend to upload to her gypsy. You do, however, get to still use them in your cricut without the gypsy being hooked up (had to do that a couple times when mine was recharging and it was ok--couldn't do anything special like weld words or resize, but you could use the cartridges in your cricut just like you did before). I think this will be something people will have to be cautious of when buying "used" cartridges from e-bay or the like--if somebody else has uploaded the cartridge before you, it will work in your cricut but you wouldn't be able to upload it to your gypsy.



I am looking forward to the day when we can dowload stuff online without having to buy cartridges--i really think that may be the next thing coming--our at least I HOPE it will!!

I own both the Expression and the Gypsy. I've had the Expression for several years now. To be honest, unless you plan on cutting larger items on a frequent basis I would probably just use the smaller Cricut that you now own. I usually don't cut things over 6 inches in size, unless it is something big for one of the bulletin boards at school. If you own lots of cartridges and you like to mix and match images from different carts on the same layout, then the Gypsy would be a great choice for you. I love the fact that it stores all of my cartridges right there together and I can use any of them that I want on a single cutting page.

EarthMom wrote:I like the idea of the Gypsy, but I don't do much scrapping away from home, and honestly don't use my Cricut as much as I thought I would, although for what I use it for, I wouldn't use anything else. I don't want all my pages to look the same, and I am afraid that by using the cricut on everything, that will happen. What do you all mean by melding words together?

That means that you can have the words cut out all in one piece. Each letter will be attached to the next letter.

I'm a little concerned about only being able to download carts once. What if your Gypsy malfunctions or gets dropped in the toilet or lost?

DD and I had the owner of the Buffalo LSS show us all the neat things you can do with the gypsy. Really cool, but Lynn put it well. It can do some really neat things Mom, but it is cumbersome and slow in comparison to plugging a cartridge in. I also realize others may love love it. I'm getting to the point I just do not want to learn more electronics then I have to. Lynn's Cricut sits on my table and I've never used it. I told myself I would when I got my book shelves in and baskets for storage!

I'd go to a LSS and have them demo it for you, then play with it and see if you want it. At the Buffalo LSS the owner thought the Gypsy would be how you download all your carts and completely do away with the physical cart. Makes sense with our electronic age.

On downloading your carts to the machine once, nope you can download your carts as much as needed. You just can't share among many Gypsys. Like a cell phone I'm sure this little device would not work if it go dropped in water, run over, etc.

After thinking it through, I guess my main reason for wanting the gypsy would be to weld the letters together and saving paper...however, for now I think I will just stick with my original cricut.