Let's get craaafty!!

…like I did!!

I learned early and I’d like to pass this on to you. I had bought the Original Sizzix die cutting machine (with press leaver) and traded with a friend for my first alpha dies (Lollipop Uppercase). I was so excited to finally have it…I titled everything with the Lollipop font!! Then, I discovered Sizzlits!! Ahhhh!!! I had to have them!! I couldn’t afford the $149 price for alphabets, but I used my coupon to get the converter, so I bought that first. It came with the acorn die. Of course, I used that one die for a few projects. Then, I had a few friends over for a scrap night! My friend, who had her machine since they came out, brought her machine over. I was using her machine and noticed how tight it was compared to mine.

During our discussion, it was determined that since she didn’t have a converter and I did, that the converter HAD to be the culprit. I called customer service the next day. I told them how long I had it, what I had used and within about 15 minutes, they were offering to fix it, if I paid for s/h to/from them. I asked her what would they do and why? She finally said, “Ma’am, we have not had many reports but if you have used the conveter with it, it is possible that prolonged use of the converter could cause damage to the machine”. I asked her to tell me STRAIGHT OUT if the converter was damaging to the machine and she refused. She said “she cannot say that with 100% certainty”. I then asked about the SideKick, which had been recently introduced at that time. She said that it was designed for use with the Sizzlit “wafer” dies. I thanked her for her time and hung up.

Then, I acquired a SideKick and tossed my converter. I have NEVER used a converter on mine again! I have only the original machine at work…and they have been using the converter on that machine FOREVER and I can tell a difference in the tension.

It could have been an expensive lesson; but I hope that you have found this early enough to save you any costly damages.

Happy Scrapping……
‘Til Next Time!!
CraftyCass

WHICH DID COME FIRST?

I would like to take a moment to give MY opinion on the Ellison v Sizzix rumors that are floating on the various message boards….

If you read about Ellison you will learn that Ellison’s MAIN focus is Education Institutions. They saw the demands by home crafting and if you read about SIZZIX, you will see that BOTH Ellison and ProvoCraft acquired Sizzix in 2001. If you take another moment, you can read this bit of very interesting history and you too will realize that Ellison has been around LONGER than scrapbooking…

I’ve not researched it completely, but at some point, I think ProvoCraft has broken off and Ellison and Sizzix are one in the same now. If you think about the products, ProvoCraft recently released the “CuttleBug” and it looks a LOT like the SideKick – just the trademark Provo Green and it’s been given some steroids.

Ellison/Sizzix released new dies just recently and prices are slowly becoming affordable – thankfully because of the ProvoCraft products. Be thankful that competition does exist as the consumer benefits. Also, think about this….the “FONTS” are trademarked and each vendor cannot duplicate them exactly thus they come out with a ’similar’ font – i.e. creating a “NEED” for you to buy their product because of the desire to use a particular font.

Again…take a moment to read the links I have provided and think ‘outside the box’ for a moment. Don’t read more into it…I do not believe Sizzix is leaving us “YET”…I don’t deny that they do have an end in sight…but I firmly believe they have a few more years left in them.

Happy Crafting….
CraftyCass

Welcome to Scrappin’ with Cass. This is my attempt at posting things for fellow scrappers. I work as an Event Coordinator for a local Arts & Crafts chain store and while I’m in charge of many classes covering a large variety of interests, my heart is still in scrapbooking and/or paper crafts. Please…take a moment to visit my site, CRAFTYCASS and learn even more about what I do.

Welcome to my world….