Customer Reviews

Gypsy Handheld Design Studio for Cricut

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Before you use it - charge it, sync it online to have the most current software, watch the instructional videos off their site, link cartridges, plan to get sucked in for HOURS playing with it.

At first it's annoying b/c there wasn't an instruction manual so i had to go online to find it. The help function on the machine is actually helpful. Very quick blip of info on the buttons. I'm glad i used a screen protector on it - don't get the ones that come with the gypsy sleeve - they either are too big / too small (common forum complaint) and are a pain. I had a set of screen protectors - the generic kind you get and cut it down to size. Silicone sleeve is useless - it's just for aesthetics - serves no function beyond that.

Concerns - if i link my cartridge what happens to the cartridge - the cartridges are still functional. The booklets that come with the cartridges are VERY useful. It would be nice if the machine would zoom in the keypad so you can get a good view of what's what - so the booklets come in handy to get a clearer idea of what i'm doing. Supposedly the machine remembers your serial so you can't link it to another gypsy.

Why get this ---
This isn't a necessity product. I can't do designs like i thought i could, like if i picked a graphic off my cartridges, i can't "wipe" away a line. Example - Child's First Year Cartridge, there's a cut out of a boy inside a balloon - i can't "wipe away" the balloon to keep just he little boy shape. What I can do is combine several graphics into 1 picture...example - balloon graphic, put a picture of a bird inside it from the serenade cartridge.

It's also great way to see other cartridges that may not be available at your local stores so you can decide if you want to buy a cartridge - i like to see ALL the available options within a cartridge and sometimes it's hard to see on cricut's site. It's also very portable - the same of a game gear (remembe Sega's handheld gaming device) - pretty light. I've been able to sit on the couch and design stuff - and then plug it into my cricut and cut away - saves time and doesn't tie me to my cricut machine. It also leaves a lot of guess work out. When i set a shape to a 3" size, i actually know what the width will be (not just the height) - so i'm saving paper by less trial and error by cutting - which is what i've been doing trying to gauge size.

I'm still getting the hang of the machine (I've only had it for a couple of weeks) but I don't regret dropping the $ for it. I think it's a great resource to design when i have a few minutes here and there. I don't think it's a necessity but if you're a serious scrapbooker - then probably (I'm not). It's very convienent to have all the cartridges in 1 place so I don't have to pull out the entire bin of them.

The system does take a lot longer than i thought to load - i expected this to be MAC fast but it's really PC style on loading. Once it's loaded, it runs pretty smoothly.

I am so disappointed in this provocraft tool. Gypsy Handheld Design Studio for Cricut I have two Cricuts, the recently discontinued Coluzzle System, a Yudu and some other provocraft products that work great. In hindsight, I did not read enough of the reviews on the Gypsy in the Cricut Community boards before I ordered the Gypsy. I got caught-up in the frenzy of trying to get a Gypsy from HSN before they ran out again. BTW, I do not have a problem with HSN -- rather provo craft (yes, that lower-case "p" is intentional).
There are "oodles" of people who are very happy with their Gypsies -- but if you research and read, you will see that there are plenty of purchasers who are not.
So that I avoid sounding like a lone-nut, I won't go into any details about the problems that I experienced with the Gypsy. Rather, I will encourage you to go to the Cricut homepage and visit the community boards. Join (it's worth it), then search/filter on Gypsy and go to the tech forums.
As for me, I am returning this product to HSN for a refund as defective. After fairly extensive -- albeit LATE reading about provocraft customer service, I will not be sending the Gypsy to provocraft for repair. The Gypsy is potentially a great gadget and a fantastic concept but. I can see where it could become addictive because it is sooo freakin' cute and portable. I really want one -- but one that works. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that the quality and stability of the Gypsy are currently hit-or-miss. Even with "4 interest-free monthly payments", $300 is too much to pay for an inconsistent, battery operated paperweight. Congratulations to those who got good ones. Yes, I read and followed the instructions carefully and treated it with kid-gloves. I even sat through an hour + call with provocraft customer service to diagnose the problems. Provocraft admitted the devices were defective. I want one but I'll wait until this sucker has been on the market for at least a year. Oh -- and don't be too enamoured with the "exclusive" totebag offered with the Gypsy. You can find very cute purse-styled camera bags that are much more attractive should you decide to buy a Gypsy.
Happy crafting!

Gypsy by Cricut personal design studio with Accessories

*** Update 9 Dec 2009 Update****
Okay, I whimped out. I ordered a second Gypsy and I kid you not! --it too had problems. (sounds like the lone-nut again, I know, WHY would I do this to myself?!?). Instead of sending it back to HSN, I decided that I would give Provo Craft a chance to fix or refurb it. I have now received the second Gypsy from the Provo Craft repair facility. I have no way of knowing if it's a new one or a refurbished one because it looks new to me. Provo Craft did as they promised. They sent me a Gypsy that works. It has a serial number that matches the cartridges that I'd previously linked. I linked them and more. Provo Craft sent me return postage for the repair. It took them less than 30 days (it was about 18 days) to receive, repair/replace and return the Gypsy and so far she is working beautifully.
I've upgraded the firmware on the Gypsy and both of my Cricuts, and started several projects. My passion in the earlier review was grounded and I stand by my original feelings about receiving faulty products. -- thiat is why I won't delete them. I will however upgrade my rating by 2 stars for the following reasons;
1. Provo Craft stood behind their product
2. The Gypsy is SO enjoyable and addictive and I really WANT to like and use one
3. As I said earlier, there are people who have never had a problem with their Gypsy

If the Gypsy had worked straight of out of the box, I would have given it 5 stars PLUS a fantastic review.
It may be my paranoia but I think that it matters where you buy your Gypsy. Both of my retail shipments of the Gypsy, were in boxes with significantly less packing -(a few of those air-filled-bags and brown wrapping paper).The Gypsy box shifted around ALOT inside the shipping box. I gotta point the finger at HSN when I say this - HSN? Pack it better -- just in case that's part of the problem. Let's save everyone some pain and aggravation.

When the repaired/replaced Gypsy came it me, it was surrounded by bubble wrap with HUGE pink bubbles and there was absolutely no movement of the Gypsy box inside the shipping box. I think that when you are packing a UPS or FEDEX truck with packages, it's efficient and one might be tempted to toss the smaller boxes into place on occasion -- well, even if it is a flash-drive type device (I think) THAT can't be good for it if it's shifting around in the shipping box.
Provo Craft? things happen and I shouldn't have had THIS many problems with a Provo Craft product. None the less, Provo Craft (notice the capitol "P" in this revisit to my rating) you made good on your product and your warranty. Except for discontinuing the Coluzzle system, I forgive you and your corporate -selves for this Gypsy fiasco and I am once again, a happy Provo Craft customer.

Ehh.. okay, I'll make it 4 stars (my first review was 1 star). I love this little thing. I'm even going to give her a name!! Buyers, just try to get it from a store with a good return policy and if it doesn't look or act as promised, exercise the option to return it for refund, exchange or return it to Provo Craft so that they can fix the situation. If you are giving it as a gift, you might want to give it with a caveat (odds are low but there COULD be some problems -- but Provo Craft is responsive and gives good customer support.
L

When I got this Gypsy for Christmas, my initial thought was that it would be nice to not have to get out a cartridge / my Jukebox to do something. After trying to figure it out myself, I hated it so much that I tried to return it. In true ProvoCraft form, they don't include instructions, and none of the buttons are terribly intuitive initially.

Enter Christina -- If you have one of these and are frustrated, take the time to watch this friendly and informative series by Creations with Christina:
[...]

I went from hating my Gypsy to being obsessed with it. Here's what it does for you:

1) Stores all your cartridges. Christina will show you how to view just your cartridges, as the Gypsy actually shows you all the cartridges in existence (which is rather useless as you can't download them or use them unless you buy the physical cartridge and link it).

2) Stop wasting paper. You can now see exactly where your image will print on your mat, so you can use a smaller scrap of paper and it lines up beautifully.

3) Design on the go. I take the train to work, so if I know I need to make a card, I can lay it all out and hit print when I get home.

4) Create a card template. If you often use an A2 card (or whatever size), you can now SEE exactly what will fit in that space so you print the right size image / letters the first time. This will save me so much time and paper!

5) "Weld" letters. You can now merge letters and words so you don't have to individually punch-n-glue each letter. rock!

6) Search. This is the biggest flaw to me that has the biggest potential for greatness. You can search for something like a tea pot or a wine glass, which is awesome in theory as I often forget what images are on which cartridge. However it searches through ALL cartridges in existence -- and right now there is not a way to limit it to your linked/purchased cartridges. So it says "yes there is a wine glass on Birthday Bash, but you don't have it." I emailed ProvoCraft, it would be great if they would update this.

I am also not sure why they don't offer cartridges for download, especially blacklist items they don't sell any longer. It would be great to offer some $10 cartridge downloads to stock up on some images for your search database.

This is definitely a product you need to LEARN, but once you figure out what the buttons mean, it is golden for all you Cricut Crafty types out there.

I was very excited about this new "toy" and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. After playing with it for SEVERAL days (prior to loading any of my own carts), I was very disappointed. There is no written instruction manual in the box. The "help" menus on the gypsy are not really much help. It seemed to take a lot of effort to move around the screens, although I may not have played with it long enough to really get the hang of it. My biggest complaint is the size of the display. There is no way I could see it, even with glasses on, in its "non-magnified" mode. And, when I blew up the image, I couldn't see the whole thing at one time. Perhaps this complaint comes from the fact that I use the Cricut Design Studio so much and it is incredibly easy to see everything at once. Or that my eyes are just old and don't see well anymore! In any event, it appeared I was stuck with the thing as Michaels, from whence it came, would not take it back because the box was open and Provo Craft, whom I spoke with at length, claimed they could do nothing for me. As an aside, Provo Craft also told me that they were concerned about the small screen size. So, I did took matters into my own hands, repackaged everything exactly as it came and then used the Cricut to cut out two round tape circles that matched the originals so I could tape the box back together. Returned it to Michaels and they refunded my money.

I received this as a birthday gift from my husband, and I am thrilled with this item. Though the description doesn't say so, this comes with a case, and the cords you will need to link your cartridges, connect to the Cricut, and connect to the computer and to charge it. Great item.

The Cricut Gypsy is a dream come true. I've tried to use the cricut software and though I was able to design a pattern, I could never get it to cut the pattern. with the GYPSY design machine, I am able to use my creativity and design to my heart's desire and when it press the CUT option...it actually cuts!!! If you''re a crafter or scrapbooker with a Cricut machine, RUN don't walk to get your own Gypsy.

I had my Cricut for three years prior to purchasing my Gypsy. I didn't think that I would ever "need" a gypsy and wasn't sure that I would really even like using it. But, I broke down and bought it and I absolutely love it! It is so much better than the design studio too.

I got my Gypsy in October of last year and I absolutely love it!!! I downloaded the manual off of provo craft website and read it before and while I was playing around with it. This made it a lot easier to use since it only came with start up instructions in the box.
This is the only way I cut on the cricut expression and the E2! It is so nice not to have to load cartridges and you can mix and match multiple cartridges in one cutting. I love it! I like the features like the welding and hide contours so you can used cricut cartridges but also make your own shapes with the cartridges if need be. I would recommend this to anyone who has an expression.

So the first thing you must be wondering is if I can't live without it why did it only give it 4 starts instead of 5.....my only problem with it is that the graphic display is poor quailty. What I mean is that, for example, I didn't like the Gypsy Font or Gypsy Wanderings when I looked at them on the Gypsy because they looked crappy, but once I saw the online handbook I realized how awesome the graphics and fonts really are. With my other cartridges I had the handbooks so I already knew what everything looked like. And yes, it is a little disappointing to have to get on the internet to see the handbook or the instruction book.

Now for the great things about this. It was extremely easy to load all of my cartridges onto. I love being able to create things on the Gypsy, using multiple cartridges if I want, and then just hook it up to my Cricut or Expressions and cut things out already placed the way I want them. I also love the search feature which makes it possible to find what csrtridges have what I'm looking for. Sometimes I just use the Gypsy to see what size of something will fit on the mat...like when I'm using Wild Card. It helps to know why my Expressions keeps telling me something won't fit. I tried doing someone's name with my Cricut the other day and it wouldn't fit....used the Gypsy and found out it was because the "y" in Amy was hanging down too low. I love being able to sit anywhere in my house, or car, to design things and then save them for when I'm ready to cut. I could just go on and on.

One of things I do is make t-shirts and work with the heat transfer vinyl....with the Gypsy I can set up my design exactly how I want it, position things, and have it perfect so all I have to do is cut it, weed it, and iron it on the shirt. Without the Gypsy I would have to cut each individual thing seperately so I could place each thing where I want it....time consuming and difficult.

As for being able to see what's on the screen....I am basically blind as a bat, wear contacts because glasses would be too thick, and even have reading glasses....BUT, I don't even need my reading glasses to work with the Gypsy. Someones review complained about that, but I don't find it a problem.

So bottom line....I never thought I would have a use for a Gypsy, now I can't live without it :)

I bought this with a high expectation (bc I LOVE my Cricut). Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I am an average crafter and if you are questioning whether you want this product, stop right there and don't buy it. I see how this tool could be great for the "serious" crafter (who uses it a lot), but it's frustrating to say the least. Cutting from it is awkward; loading the mat proves to be a juggling act (holding the mat in one hand, using the stylus in the other to tell the mat to load). Transfering your .cut files to .gypsy files is simple for the most part, but the Gypsy didn't maintain my "weld." I also had issues transfering a project from the 12x12 mat in Design Studio to the Gypsy. After troubleshooting, I changed the project to a 12x6 mat and it saved it immediately. Long story short, it's a lot of work for the average crafter. I'll stick to my Design Studio and Expression. The Gypsy was just not for me.