Crafters, I need your advice
5I have never done any type of papercrafting before, but I am seriously thinking of pulling the trigger on the Silhouette Portrait 2 Starter Bundle over at Woot. Its $100, so not a huge investment on something I have wanted to learn. What do you think, is this a good machine for a beginner?
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@mikibell??
@therealjrn Thanks! I knew there were a ton of crafters, but could not remember names.
Morning… It is a good deal. The portrait has an 8x12 cutting area. It can do just about everything we discuss in this thread:
https://meh.com/forum/topics/silhouette-freebie-part-2-and-other-things (there is a link to a preceeding conversation too).
You didnt say why you wanted to purchase it. Here is my theory on the smaller version of “toys” and totally my own opinion. I find every time I buy a small version of such, I soon want the better version. So the money “saved” on the smaller thing is wasted unless you can find someone to buy it off of you.
Woot has been selling the larger machine for $189 ish lately and I have found a refurbed for $90. I completely get that the 189 is nearly double, but if you are like me, you will be spending the extra soon enough.
I have cricut and silhouette products, and I am paring down to silhouette because I like their software and the ability to not be connected to the web. I have no experience with this specific machine, I bought the gateway cricut and moved up to the 12x12 before I got to silhouette.
My only true negative about this size machine is that the mats and cutting materials are not the readily available standard. As in, if you walk into a craft store, they probably wont have mats this size on hand. You can cut the larger mats/paper/vinyl down easily enough but you aren’t getting what you paid for
So long post… But it is a good deal.
@lisaviolet @djslack @ruouttaurmind
@mikibell Thanks for all the info. I have been interested in something like this for a while and wanted to get something fairly basic until I can decide if this is something I would like to do. While this does sound like a good deal, it sounds like if I really search for a refurb of the bigger version, it will be a better deal. Thank you so much for the info!
@ConAndLibrarian or craiglist/destash site.on FB for a “like new”. I would not sneeze at a cameo 2 either. Cameo 3 is current model, but I still use my 2 as my primary. Not as many bells and whistles, solid machine.
I agree with @mikibell and it looks to me as if she has it covered. Supplies, ease of use, project options…
If at all possible, go with a Cameo to begin with. I started with a Silhouette SD (like today’s Portrait, which was all they had at the time) with its 8" wide cutting area. When the Cameo came out, I got one and haven’t looked back. When the Cameo 3 came out, with its two tool function, I upgraded. This capability makes things a lot easier. I’ll use one to cut, the other to score. Scoring makes folding cardstock so much easier.
I mostly use kits for my projects and most of the ones now use 12" x 12" cardstock. In the first Silhouette freebie link, there are a couple of things I’ve made from kits and they use the larger paper. Check out the link @mikibell gave you as well as the first Silhouette Freebie thread. There is a lot of good information in both of them, as well as ideas of what can be done.
The learning curve for the Cameo isn’t any more difficult than the Portrait.
@lisaviolet Thanks for the info! I will keep my eye out for a cameo, new they are pretty pricey, but I am sure they come up as a deal in some places. Thanks again!
I can’t do anything but echo what’s been said above. It’s a good machine but that 8x12 area is limiting and unless you know you’ll only be working on small stuff you’ll probably be wanting to upgrade soon.
It is an introduction to the silhouette software and process, all of those will be the same. But the physical size will be a big limit, unless you’re sure it won’t be.
I will be a little more positive on it, though - if $100 is your target of what you will spend to see if you want to get into this, you get a lot for the money and you should be able to sell it for all or most of what you have in it when it’s time to upgrade.
@djslack I had no idea that there was a resale value to this! I just expected that I would give it away if I upgraded or was not into it. Thanks for the tip!
@ConAndLibrarian, The experts have spoken. They have much more experience than I, and know of what they speak.
I’ve had my Silhouette Cameo 3 for about a year. I have not used it much. A couple paper crafts, but mostly I’ve been cutting adhesive vinyl, developing my decal crafting techniques.
I can only speak from my very limited experience, so take it FWIW…
I’ve never used the dual toolhead capability on the Cameo. I’m sure it has utility, but so far I haven’t encountered a use case.
I’ve never cut a design wider than about 6 or 7 inches x 11 inches. Everything I’ve cut so far could have been cut on a Portrait. I did a paper project for my mom, cutting and assembling 12 dozen little paper flowers (which took months BTW) so I made use of the full 12x12 cutting area to cut more pieces at a pass, but since each flower was 2 inches wide, this could have been done on a Portrait. I just wouldn’t have been able to cut as many pieces per pass.
Nearly as I can tell, those are the two biggest differences between the machines. For my use so far a Portrait could have worked.
As far as available material sizes, it’s a pretty simple proposition to cut down larger materials, but you potentially have more waste. Cut a 12x12 sheet in half, you have two identical 12x6 bits ready to go. Cut a 12x12 sheet to 12x8… now you have this orphan scrap of 12x4. It’s not waste per se, you can still use it, but it’s life options are limited.
The price on Woot is good. Not the lowest price I’ve seen, but it’s close. OTOH, if you keep your eyes out for deals, you can get a new-in-box Cameo 3 for around $145ish. Then you open up your cutting size options to 12x120 inches. Materials are more readily available without having to cut them down. Mats are easier to find and less expensive.
The only two advantages I can see with the Portrait are:
I opted to spend the extra money for the Cameo because I didn’t want to take the chance I’d wind up eventually upgrading anyway.
So… there ya have my 2 cents. Worth exactly that.
One last note: I’ve never regretted my purchase. Even though I haven’t used it much, I have quite enjoyed what I have done and have impressed myself with the quality of results in what I’ve created. Whichever direction you choose to go, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
@ruouttaurmind @djslack @lisaviolet you all said it much more eloquently than I! I shouldn’t post between 9 pm and 9 am!!
@mikibell Your post was spot on perfect.
@ruouttaurmind Based on the advice of all you experts, it sounds like the Cameo is what I need to hold out for. I have been thinking about this for years, I can wait a little longer for the right deal. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer!
One more minor thought on the bundles, use them as a guide for cost. I have yet to use any of the pens that came with mine, and I hear they dry out soonish. Silhouette/Cricut vinyl are good to waste while learning or in a pinch but there are so much better products on the market. The better part of the deal is the two mats and blades.
@mikibell The machine featured on Woot today doesn’t include any materials. Only pens and one autoblade and one ratchet blade. 2 mats.
Unless there’s another Portrait offer on Woot today, this isn’t really a “bundle”.
@mikibell Good catch on the pens. I just checked, the sketch pen starter kit on Amazon is $15. Or you can spend $16 and get the pen holder tool and use just about any pen you want, not just the Silhouette branded pens.
@lisaviolet @mikibell @ConAndLibrarian, I paid about $9 for my pen holder at Hobby Lobby and used their perpetual in-app 20% off coupon in the store. I stopped by the dollar store on the way home and got an color assortment of 36 fine point felt pens for a buck. This has worked well for me so far.
@mikibell I appreciate all of your input, I wouldn’t even know what to do with the pens, haha.
@lisaviolet @mikibell @ruouttaurmind I have never been to a Hobby Lobby. I am house sitting next to one, I guess I should stop in and see what it is all about.
@ConAndLibrarian @lisaviolet @mikibell @ruouttaurmind Yeah buddy. We’re big Hobby Lobby supporters around here. Us Okies sometimes get it right.
@ConAndLibrarian @lisaviolet @ruouttaurmind I know there is no material in this bundle, but woot has been offering different ones with the cameo. So sometimes it “looks” like a better deal, but in reality, the bundle just changed.
@ConAndLibrarian ahhhhhh but once you get addicted, you will figure out what to do with the pens! I am thinking there is a teacher in your household? Lots and lots of potential for a classroom. Bulletin board letters and centerpieces are freakin expensive to buy, but easy to make… Muhhhahhhaa (totally my evil side showing!)
@therealjrn OK is !
@mikibell Our license plates used to read “Oklahoma is OK”
Yep, our legislators can be counted on to find that lowest common denominator.
@ConAndLibrarian
YMMV with Hobby Lobby. The location near me is quite large. About the size of a large supermarket. They tend to have a pretty decent variety of nearly everything they carry. The Michaels location near me is tiny by comparison and has a very limited selection, particularly when it comes to Silhouette and Cricut stuff.
There’s a JOANN location not too far away, but I’ve never stopped in. Rumor has it they have a reasonable selection of papercrafting supplies also.
@ConAndLibrarian @mikibell @ruouttaurmind I haven’t been either and most likely never will.
But there are a ton of places online with awesome prices and a phenomenal amount of stock. I love shopping online.
I used a pen tool (a different one) on my first Cameo for some stuff I handed out at our last Disney meet. Here’s video of it working.
My wife has both the Cameo and the Portrait. She always uses the Portrait. She rarely needs to cut 12x12 so the Portrait is the best choice for her
IMO, whether or not the Portrait is a good buy will largely depend on how you intend to use the machine. I started off with the smaller version of the Cricut (about the size of the Portrait) and ditched it. I ended up with a Silhouette Cameo v2 and haven’t looked back.
I bought the Cricut machine as a special - kind of like the Portrait special you’re looking at without considering how I wanted to use it. I do everything EXCEPT paper crafting (lots of heat-transfer vinyl, adhesive vinyl, stencils, etc.) The limitations imposed by the limited cutting area of the smaller machine were way too much of a hassel, and I ended up giving away that machine (and a f-ton of cartridges) to someone who ONLY wanted it for scrapbooking cuts.
In the end, I wish that I had gone with the Cameo from the get-go. The Silhouette software allows much more versatility than anything I could do with the Cricut, and the consumables (e.g., pre-cut materials such as vinyl & specialty materials) are easier to grab-and-go without having to cut anything down. Also, if you’re interested in the 3-D projects through the Silhouette Store, most of the the cut files are sized and layed-out for a 12"x12" mat.
TL;DR: The Cameo is allows for more versatility.
3 12x12 stong grip mats…lightning deal on amazon $10.60.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07FNQJP27/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=AHW5SGOC5K3K5&psc=1