The layout I made with my "Playtime" diecut. I used a Jolee's embellishment, paper from DCWV's Summer Dream stack, buttons, and cardstock. I think the train looks cute!
Ahhh, it's always fun to try something new, but it is even more fun to be able to blog about it! For those who have been around a while, you wil remember that I got a new Cricut Expression for Christmas. It came with the "Playtime" Lite cartridge, and I used it for the first time today. Here are my thoughts about my first "lite experience".
First, I have to say I actually like the little chart the Lites come with better than the binders. It is a lot quicker to look up an image on the chart than to flip through the binder. What I don't like is the flimsiness of the paper it is printed on. I think I will be laminating my little chart, and any others I might get.
Second, I have to say the quality of the cut and the image is the same as my regular carts. I chose the train, and it came out as cute as it looked in the picture.
Third, and finally, the features of the cart were...lite. In some ways, it made things easier- a lot fewer buttons to push, straightforward layering. I actually liked that. After playing with my sometimes overly-complicated Simply Charmed cart, the simplicity was a relief. What isn't a relief is the slim pickins on actual cuttable images. The Lite really reminded me of my Solutions carts as far as that was concerned. It also would have been nice if the little kids were a little more interchangeable, a la the Paper Doll carts.
So, what do I think about the Lite? I like the packaging, I like the images. I like the simplicity of the cart. However, I don't think the regular price for Lite carts is a very good deal, considering how few images you get. Wal Mart is selling these for $39 (not Playtime- I don't actually think you can buy it separately, or at least I haven't seen it for sale that way) and that is regular price. A few of the "second wave" lite carts are selling for $25 on sale right now. Wal Mart is selling regular carts in the $35-40 dollar range, as are most of the big craft retailers. Any way you do the math, the regular carts are just a better deal. Back when regular carts were $60 and upward, the $39 price point wasn't bad. Now, it just seems silly to pay the same price for a Lite cart. With Imagine being the Next Big Thing, I can't believe that regular carts will go back to the old $60-$80 price range (if they do, the Ebay sellers are going to get even richer- I can't imagine paying full price again). Bearing that in mind, $25 seems like a much more reasonable price for all of the Lite carts, with the Solutions coming in around $20.
So what's my final verdict? I'll keep my Playime cart. I like it, and it works fine. Until Wal Mart drops the prices on the rest of its Lite range, I think I will pass, though. I might get "Four-Legged Friends" at the $25 discounted price, but the other $25 carts are either pretty blah, or don't fit my needs.
What I would like to see PC do is adopt the Lite packaging for all carts, and create a sturdier version of the charts for all new carts, including Solutions and Limited Editions carts. Oh, and dump Wal Mart as exclusive Lite distributor. After Wal Mart SLASHED their scrapbooking section, they are no longer a real destination store for scrapbookers (as you can tell, I'm a little miffed with Wal Mart, but that's really its own post).
Hey, PC? Are you listening? Need some bloggers for product focus groups? Here's a girl with LOTS to say (^_^)
