I saw you mentioned cricut machines in your last post. I've been considering getting one, but there seem to be a whole lot of models and I don’t know anything about them — do you have any tips?

I have the Explore Air 2, and it's just fine.

I did what I usually do when it comes to buying nonessential tech--figure out what I need it to do (in this case, cut vinyl and paper in formats up to 12 in wide) and then read a few articles about the best [whatever tech item] of the year is for several years running, avoiding sponsored articles. If I'm looking at a specific brand, like Cricut, I look up "versus" style articles, which compare the pros and cons of different models by that brand. For Cricut, the "Maker" line is their highest-end machine, intended for people who do serious production. If you're not doing a small business level of cricut work, it's probably overkill. The "Explore" is the midrange machine, for casual crafters.

I look for anything along the lines of "The new model fixes a major problem that the previous model had, which was..." If the current model is just a faster, shinier version of the old one, I'm getting the prior model--it'll be less expensive and for a tool I'm only using intermittently, speed isn't a high priority. The current Explore 3 model is running $300-$400; the Explore 2 can be found for about $200.

I think it does the job well. I actually already have a larger-format vinyl cutter--my brother and I went halfsies on a commercial scale machine we've affectionately named Arty Boi--but the cricut is faster to set up, more portable, and I like the grippy-mat material system. It does a good job for my needs, which are really pretty simple.