I’ll admit to feeling a bit sorry for myself this week, but fired up on Benylin today, my day off, I was determined to find time to play with my new toy.  My Hero very generously gave me a CraftRobo for my birthday, something I’ve been muttering about for quite some time.

I wasn’t altogether sure that I’d make good use of a die cutter but a friend made me look again when she acquired one earlier in the year.  Then whilst in New York a few weeks ago, there was an incredible deal on them at Michaels and if I’d been able to carry one home, then it would have been a no brainer.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I’d done a bit of googling and made a list.  There, at the top, was Craft Robo, because it plugs into a computer and doesn’t need any dies or patterns.  It sits there, connected by USB like a printer – except that instead of printing a design, it cuts it.

In no time at all, I’d got it going and having remembered my manners first, I then opened up a file on the disk which came with it.  Two small flourishes gave it a bit of a challenge, though the end result was pretty impressive.  Less impressive was the user’s ability to load the paper correctly, meaning that it made one or two cuts in fresh air to begin with and the pattern went off the edge – but hey, these are early days and we learn from our mistakes, don’t we?

The cuts in this light card are clean and sharp, the accuracy impressive.  I can see I’m going to have fun with it.  I have books of designs suitable for using with it and there are hundreds of free resources on the internet.  However, will I be happy to cut out simple letters and shapes?  Or will I be tempted by other, rather more complex ideas, like these and these?

Please, don’t answer that one.  I’m just off to find that Kirigami book I bought years ago…