I’m sure you have heard everyone talking about the best cutting machine around…the Cricut! But, even though I just told you what it is, I bet you still have no idea what it can do and the many things you can make with it.
What do you do with a Cricut machine?
The Cricut machine is a tool that can write, cut, and score a wide variety of materials. I know what your thinking…So can a pencil, markers, scissors, knives, saws, razor blades, and many more. LOL But, this one machine can replace all of those with a push of a button!
Yup. Imagine your making a greeting card for a friend. No more getting out your markers to draw some flowers. No more getting out the scissors to cut out your design. Forget about a scoring tool to fold your card. You don’t even have to hand write your message. This machine does it all for you!
Wanna make some custom mugs? Use Design Space (Cricut’s software program) to create your design then send the project to the Cricut to cut. All you have to do is put the design on the mug.
Do you love all the custom farmhouse signs you see for mucho money? You can make one yourself…easily! And for very little money. I wish I had a picture of the porch sign I made so I could show you, UGH!
Need matching t-shirts for your family trip to Disney? Easy peasy! It’s just a matter of creating your design, sending it to the machine, and ironing it on your shirt. Check out the t-shirt I helped my granddaughter make below (and yes it’s a joke).
Which Cricut should I get? There’s a few different machines to choose from
The Cricut explore line has a few different models to choose from. They are basically upgrades from their previous machines, but all work exactly the same with a few added features.
Cricut Explore One
The Cricut Explore One machines can cut 100’s of different materials such as paper, card stock, vinyl, iron-on, cork and bonded fabrics. This machine is one of the older ones and is not blue-tooth enabled and is a bit slower to cut than the newer models. It comes with a few different blades for cutting different materials as well as a holder for writing with pens. I made this mirrored try with my Cricut Explore One a long time ago.
Cricut Explore Air and Air 2
The Cricut Explore Air and Air 2 have blue-tooth capabilities and is much faster than the original Explore. The latter being even faster. They come with a double tool holder for blades and pens.
Cricut Maker
This is the Mac-Daddy of all Cricut machines…The Cricut Maker! This machine does everything the others do and much more. It has 10 times the power for cutting 100’s more fabrics than the Explore machines, cuts with a rotary blade which is way better for cutting fabrics, and they do not have to be bonded materials. It has a knife blade for cutting thicker materials such as leather and chipboard. And it comes with a scoring blade for razor sharp folds.
Now having purchased all of the machines above, yikes! I can say you are better off purchasing the Maker. The Maker, even though it is considered the elite, works exactly the same way as all the other machines. It’s just way more powerful and can cut way more materials.
So, if your thinking you won’t need all that it has to offer, I’m telling you now, once you realize what this machine and software can do, you will want to make more and more things.
Don’t do what I did and get the least expensive model. Trust me you are going to want to cut something that the other machines won’t cut.
I literally have 3 machines sitting in my craft room because I can’t part with any of them. I bring one with me to have in our camper so I can craft while we are away. And the other two are on two separate work spaces so depending on what project I’m working on, I have one right next to me.
Oh, and did I mention they come in all different colors! I have to stop myself from buying another one. They are sooo pretty!
Accessories available for Cricut
Depending on where you buy your Cricut, and what sales are happening, will determine what accessories come with your machine, if any. But, there are plenty more you can purchase separately.
Cricut Mats
Mats are what you put your material on to send through the machine. There are a few different mats designed to hold different types of materials.
They have some for thin papers like rice paper, notebook paper, and foils. So, these mats are less sticky than the others so you can easily remove your cuts.
Thicker materials such as card stock, craft board, or stencil material will need a different mat with more sticking power.
They also have one specifically for fabrics.
Also, the mats also come in a few different sizes, 12 x 12 for cutting smaller projects, and 12 x 24 for larger project cuts. I’ve seen smaller ones but didn’t see those on the Cricut site.
Cricut Tools
Cricut makes many tools to use with the machine and for use with crafting in general. Here is a partial list.
- Rotary Cutter
- knives and blades
- scissors, tweezers, and weeders
- scrapers, spatulas
- stylus
- paper trimmer
- rulers
- piercing and quilling tools
- fabric crafting supplies such as brayers, seam ripper, thread snips
- and lot’s of accessory sets
Shop for all Cricut accessories here
Materials you can use with your Cricut
There are hundreds of materials you can use with your Cricut devices and here are a few category types
- Paper and card stock such as copy paper, vellum, construction, photo, cardboard, metallic and glitter, freezer paper, rice paper, scrapbook and more
- Vinyl adhesive, chalkboard, dry erase, printable and more
- Iron-on materials…printable, glitter, glossy and more
- Fabrics such as cotton, leather, flannel, linen, oil cloth and more
- Thin woods such as Balsa, chip board, birch wood and more
- Misc materials such as tape, foam, cork, magnet sheets, transparency sheets, window cling and many more
Look at these cute mason jars. Some of these would be so easy to make by using your Cricut to make a vinyl stencil or image cutout. Check out the painted leaf, home, chalk desk jars, and the farmhouse animal jars. All of these would literally take you less than 1/2 hour to make.