Usually, when you hear “Xyron” you think of adhesives and paper crafting. However, for National Sewing Month I wanted to use my Xyron Creatopia in a different way- creating fabulous appliques using the Stickz Fabric Adhesive Cartridge and the Shapez Die-Cutting component.
A while ago, I reviewed the Creatopia for Craft Critique, and found some issues with it. However, since then, they have tweaked the design, so I wanted to look at it with fresh eyes.
So first, let’s see what the company says about they Xyron Creatopia Machine:
Creatopia is your all-in-one creative companion. Apply 3 types of adhesive and laminate to a variety of surfaces such as paper, fabric, craft metal, vellum and more. Cut items into strips using straight or decorative edges and emboss full sheets of paper and borders. You can also die cut shapes using leading manufacturers’ dies. Best of all, Creatopia does not require heat, electricity or batteries. Just turn the handle and crank it out!
Features:
- Machine includes 25 feet of Acid-Free Permanent Adhesive.
- Easy to change components, easy to use. Simply insert your item, turn the handle and remove.
- Other components sold separately.
Stickz by Xyron are the easiest way to apply even edge-to-edge adhesive to items up to 12 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Stickz are acid-free and non-toxic.
Fabric Adhesive is repositionable with fabric-to-fabric use, but adheres more aggressively on other surfaces.
SKU: 3502-10-40
Features:
- Perfect for: Appliqués on quilts, garments and crafts, machine embroidery, book and album covers, scrapbooking, card making, home décor and craft projects.
Embellish projects by cutting shapes and embossing designs into paper, fabric and other thin materials up to 6 ½ inches wide. Includes die press plates and embossing mats.
Includes 5 Platez (2 – Thin Pink, 1- Medium Clear, 1 – Thick White, 1 – Rubber Mat)
Features:
- Works With the Following Dies and Folders:
- AccuQuilt® Go!™
- BossKut®
- Ellison® AllStar™
- ProvoCraft® Cuttlebug™ & Cuttlekids™
- QuicKutz® Cookie Cutter™, SingleKutz™, Goosebumpz™ & Embossing Folders
- Sizzix® Clearlits™, Sizzlits®, Embosslits™, Textured Impressions™, Simple Impressions™, Bigz™, Originals™, Movers and Shapers™
- Spellbindersâ„¢ Shapeabilitiesâ„¢, Frameabilitiesâ„¢, Borderabilitiesâ„¢, Megabilitiesâ„¢ & Nestabilitiesâ„¢
I only found one glitch with the Xyron Creatopia this time around- this time, I had some problems with adhesive getting on the rollers and cutting strip. This caused the release paper to try to wrap around the rollers and cause me a serious headache! Here’s what it looked like:
If this happens to you, pull the release paper out the back of the rollers to get it to straighten out, then cut. Next, remove the roller component entirely and use a rubber eraser to remove the adhesive from the rollers and the cutting edge. As I mentioned, the fabric adhesive is really aggressive and I couldn’t get it all off- so I used a little baby powder and a paint brush to “de-stickify” it. (Yes, that’s a technical term!)
All in all, I still feel that the Xyron Creatopia is a cool machine- it’s a great way to expand your paper crafting horizons with the Fabric Adhesive, and for folks who want to try die-cutting, it’s great to have a “two-fer.” While the machine does have a sizable footprint, you do get two functions in one.
By the way, the base price of the Creatopia has DROPPED to about $99.99! Other price points of note:
- Shapez Unit: $69.99
- Stickz Fabric Adhesive Cart: $29.99
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