Know Scrap Review/St. Patty's Challenge Entry- Spring Cards

I honestly never even thought twice about getting the Spring Cards cartridge. The pictures of the cuts were little and hard to see,so I passed it by- until I saw a supercute project using the cart for a challenge. Then, I was hooked. So I recently bought the cart on Ebay, and I thought I would review it for you. First of all- the cuts ARE adorable. I love little smiling faces on things,so I was hooked. This cart is full of smiley inanimate objects. I also like the versatility- you can play mix-and -match with the images, the card backs, and even a couple of envelopes and treat boxes.

The cuts themselves show a lot of versatility as well. Dress them down, keep them basic, and you have the perfect no-fuss cartridge for mass-producing simple valentines as well as other spring cards. You just slide the image cut into the backing cut and you are done- you don't even need an adhesive. Dress them up, and you can make these little cards as intricate as you want. I added buttons, stickles, and my signature sequins, colored in the lettering, and backed it on a cute piece of Martha Stewart paper for my entry in Crafting With Christina's St. Patty's challenge,
and the Paper Cutz Challenge #81.
My one big gripe with the cart is a little "truth in advertising" problem. This cart, like all others ProvoCraft makes, specifically says it is for use on all Cricut machines, including the baby bug. However, the intricacy of the image cuts, coupled with their intended purpose (card fronts),makes anything less than a six inch cut a frustrating waste of time. I experimented at three inches, and couldn't even successfully remove the cut from my mat without mangling the wee little letters. If I had bought this back when I only had a baby bug, I would have been very frustrated, indeed.

I have another one of these spring-themed limited edition carts- Easter 2010- and I have always really liked it. I don't feel like I need hundreds of Easter cuts, so the fact it only cuts twenty-nine images never bothered me. Apparently, the limited part of the limited editions makes them pretty pricey to try to pick up later, so if you are feeling the Spring Cards like I am, I advise you pick one up now. I of course got mine on Ebay (where else) for the ridiculously low price of $15- free shipping. Even if you have to pay a little more for it, I'd say it was a worthwhile investment, unless you have a baby bug, which renders most of the cuts on the cartridge disappointingly small and hard to work with.