If you are into scrapbooking, you likely can't get enough embellishments. Do you hoard stickers, ribbon, brads, and die-cut shapes? Don't answer that. I'm sure you do, whether you admit it to yourself or not.

If you find that you do a lot of layouts with die-cuts, either letters or other shapes, you may be spending a lot of money on them. So you might be better off investing in a die-cut tool of your own and cut all your shapes and letters right at home from whatever paper you choose.

Before you keep reading, be aware that these are NOT cheap little tools and will cost you a fair bit of money. And besides the machines themselves, you will have to buy the dies to make the letters or shapes as well. The cost savings can come in over time, as you will no longer have to keep buying those tiny little packets of pre-cut shapes.

Cricut

The Cricut (pronounced like cricket) is the ultimate die-cut tool and will make you the envy of your scrapbooking friends. It's a computerized system that takes cartridges for your various fonts, typefaces or shapes. One example of a shape cartridge is the New Arrival cartridge, containing a couple dozen baby related shapes. The system can cut your chosen shapes in a variety of sizes, making it quite versatile. The basic machine costs $300, and most cartridges are around $90.

Sizzix

Sizzix makes a full line of scrapbooking tools aside from the die-cuts. Their main die-cut machine is the Sizzix, and they also have the larger BigKick and the smaller Sidekick. This is a mechanical system, that works basically like a paper punch. You put in the die and pull back the lever to punch out the shape. The Sizzix machine costs around $70, and sets of shape dies around $10-$20 each. An entire alphabet set will cost around $150.

QuicKutz

QuicKutz has several die-cut machines available, from the digital Silhouette to the hand-held Squeeze. The Silhouette is different as it will cut from ANY font on your computer, requiring no dies or cartridges. This unit will cost you around $370. Read more about the Silhouette machine.

The simple Squeeze units (shown) are around $80 and use typical cutting dies, that run around $150 for a full alphabet or $7 and up for shape sets.

Scraparatus

A new-comer to the scrapbooking scene, these simple tools are for the budget-conscious scrapbooker. The tool itself is just a handle that fits onto the removable dies. You press down to punch your shape, kind of like using a rubber stamp on paper. The tool set is only around $30, and the alphabet die sets are about the same price. Only one font is currently available, and there are a few shape sets as well ($7 each set). They are all shaped to hang on a keyring for easy storage. You can use the tool also for basic hole punching and eyelet setting.