Too Cheap for a Cricut

Like so many Bees before me, I have swooned over the Cricut.  In my opinion, it's just the mother of all crafting tools.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Cricut allows you to "print" shapes.  It basically cuts out special shapes for you with the touch of a button.  They even make a special device for cakes.  The possibilities are endless, and it can certainly make for some very creative DIY invitations, menus, programs, etc.  Not to mention the fact that it makes it much easier to obtain the highly coveted "bracket."

Source

The only problem I had with a Cricut was the price.  Sure, you can usually find one secondhand.  You may even be able to find an awesome coupon.  I still had trouble justifying it.  As Mrs. Hot Wings mentioned previously, it's best to keep it simple.  Wedding purchases are so often one-time things.  We pay vendors so much money for just one day.  We spend so much money on a dress that we wear once.  I just couldn't bring myself to buy something like this knowing that I would probably never use it again.  Sure, I could make birthday cards for friends...but I know myself and I probably wouldn't.  Fortunately, I found an alternative.

Did you know that Michael's has some pretty awesome sales sometimes?  They do.  I waited for a sale and I waited for some coupons.  Finally, I received the news that all paper punches were 50%.  I also received a coupon for 50% off of one regularly priced item.

I found these items for 50% off:

Clockwise from top left: 2" tag punch, 1/4" heart punch, and fleur de lis embossed border punch

Using the tag punch and the heart punch (along with my mad embossing tools from earlier), I made these for our future invitations:

The little heart just makes me melt a little bit, if I do say so myself.

I also wanted to get a few circle punches, but I couldn't decide on what size circle to get.  Then I found a circle cutter, which kind of works like a compass (sorry if I just gave you terrible flashbacks of geometry class!) therefore allowing you to create circles of all different sizes.  This did not count as a "paper punch," so it was not 50% off.  Helloooo 50% off coupon!

And finally, I borrowed a straight up paper slicer from a friend.

{all personal photos}

Overall, I saved about $80.  Not too shabby!  What kinds of crafting tools have you invested in or avoided investing in?