Although it is not our favorite die cutting machine, the Silhouette CAMEO may become yours. It is the perfect tool for crafters with certain interests. This is not a machine that will pierce or emboss sheet metal, but it will definitely do everything it is designed to do – and not everyone needs their die cutting machine to cut every type of material. The CAMEO can help you create gorgeous scrapbook pages, vinyl signs and much more.

You design for this die cutting machine with Silhouette Studio, the software that is included with the machine. Silhouette Studio makes it easy to create original designs with drag-and-drop tools that help you move, resize and add texture to your images. If you don't want to make your own designs for cutting, you can purchase premade designs from the Silhouette Online Store, which has thousands of them. Each CAMEO comes with 51 designs to get you started.

Weighing in at 12 pounds, this machine falls somewhere in the middle of the pack for portability. There is no onboard tool storage or carrying handle, which makes it a little less convenient for travel. That doesn't mean you can't take it out of the house. You just need the right bag. The official wheeled CAMEO tote is available on the Silhouette website, but another bag might do just as well if you are concerned with both portability and price.

As mentioned, the Silhouette CAMEO, like its predecessor the SD, is not really designed for cutting heavy-duty items. It is made to cut drawing paper, vinyl, postcards, scrapbooking paper and photo paper. It can handle a few other things, but it is geared primarily for cardstock – cardstock with up to a 90-pound rating to be exact. If you plan to branch out into other areas of crafting at some point, you may want to invest in a sturdier die cutting machine.

Silhouette CAMEO is not terribly versatile in terms of its capabilities either. It can cut – and cut well – but it is not designed to pierce, engrave or emboss. This is one of the die cutting machines we looked at that can draw, though. That capability has a number of applications in crafting, which might go without saying.

The customer service provided through Silhouette's web site is abysmal. We spoke with helpful and friendly people on the phone every time we called, but the website is so barren. It looks like designers are still working on it. We did find a few tutorials, with the promise of more to come, but we think many new users especially will want more help.

One thing we did find on the Silhouette website was inspiration. There are pages and pages of ideas for crafts that you can make with the CAMEO. This die cutting machine makes it really easy to create temporary tattoos, for example. You can just select or create a design, manipulate it in Silhouette Studio and then have the CAMEO cut it out on temporary-tattoo paper.