The Sizzix Big Shot Made Tough for Scrapbooking Die Cutting

Dec. 1, 2009 - PRLog -- Scrapbooking is the form of art of some would say therapy!! Of preserving memories for the generations to come, by collating photographs and memorabilia and placing them together with their story in an album. Each page of an album can be simple, or these days many keen scrapbookers like to embellish their pages and each page becomes a piece of art.

One of scrapbookers favourite ways to embellish a scrapbook page is by adding creative titles and images. Since the invention of scrapbooking die cutting machines, scrapbook pages have taken on a new dimensions as die cuts can be now made from various forms of material and in an endless supply of wonderful designs.

There  are two types of die cut machines on the market. The electronic versions like the Making Memories Slice, Provo Craft Cricut, Xyron Wishblade and the Pazzles. Then there are the manual versions, ie no electronics involved at all like the Sizzix BigKick/Big Shot, Provo Crafts Cuttlebug and Spellbinders Wizard.

The advantages of a manual die cutting machine, is that they are no where near the price of electronic die cutters, they are also more portable and more robust. Their biggest advantage though is the types of materials they will cut. They can cut much thicker materials compared to electronic cutters, like fabric, think sheet metal, cork etc, which is only a dream for owners of an electronic cutter.

However with all machines, none is perfect and the manual machine has two disadvantages that need to be considered. Since they are manual, they obviously come with the need to be supervised while cutting, unlike most electronic die cutters which can be set to cut without you being there. Also an electronic machine can cut die shapes in different sizes, where as a manual machine is limited to cutting the die as it is.

Although the electronic cutters sound fantastic, manual die cutters are still very popular and still have a place in todays scrapbooking die cutting machine market due to their ability to cut through the toughest fabrics. The best of the manual cutting machines range available right now, would have to be the Sizzix BIGkick/ Big Shot (the same machine, just a different design). It is a fabulous machine that has come a long way since the Original Sizzix Machine came out many years ago and led the market to where it is today.

The Sizzix Big Shot (BigKick) is like a press, where you lay down a die and paper on a platform and apply pressure, so that the design is cut into the paper or whatever material you are using. The platform is now very large and can accommodate pretty much any other brand of die on the market alone, or with an adaptor. So Sizzixs Sizzlits can also be used with this machine, along with the whole range of existing Sizzix dies.

The BigShot has a much larger base now compared to the Original machine, which has the advantage of being able to cut multiple smaller dies at once, or being able to put the large red dies in sideways to be cut quicker. Also since the base is larger, obviously larger sheets of paper can be used which is great. A new set of large background style dies have also been created for the BigShot.

One of the best new features of the Big Shot is the rolling mechanism. This is absolutely the best feature compared to the original machine. It means no more having to slide the large dies through in multiple sections, like the original Sizzix, to get the shape cut out. No slippages, or having part of the die cut but part not, due to not enough pressure. Also, it saves a lot of the muscle work that was required by the press down handle of the old machine. I just love the crunching sound it makes as it cuts!

The Big Shot and BigKick can also cut the same types of thick materials as the original. So if you are wanting to spice up a page, you can have titles and die shapes cut from thick cardstock, cork, fabric, felt or even make multiple shapes at once with layers of paper or cardstock. If variety and texture is something you love on your scrapbook pages, then the Sizzix Big Shot manual die cutter is there to meet your tough needs.

# # #

http://die-cutting-machines.com When it comes to Scrapbooking Die Cut Machines, Jenny James has tried them all from the electronic to the manual. The Sizzix BigShot Die Cutting Machine was built tough and can be found at die-cutting-machines.com.