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Getting to know your Cricut

 

GETTING STARTED WITH THE CRICUT

(This page contains affiliate links.)

Let’s go over some of the basics. Some of this you may already know and some info may still be new to you. Follow along at your own pace. Tomorrow we’ll start your FREE email course!

What can I cut with my Cricut?

Paper|Vinyl|Cardstock|Bonded fabric|Poster Board|Craft Foam|Cork Board|Wax Paper|Aluminum Foil|Washi Sheet|Washi Tape|Wrapping Paper|Construction Paper|Parchment Paper|Duct Tape|Window Cling|Leather|Faux Leather|Canvas|Magnetic Sheet|Cardboard|Birch Wood|Chipboard|Bonded Felt

With the Cricut Maker you can cut all of the above and also any fabric your little heart desires without bonding it first. You can also cut Basswood and Balsa Wood.

What blade does what?

The Cricut Explore series uses mostly the fine point blade but you can also use the deep point blade and the bonded fabric blade. The deep cut blade is more for the wood and foam material. The bonded fabric blade is for bonded fabric (although I still cut this with the fine point blade and it works just fine for me).

The Cricut Maker uses the same blades as the Explore series along with a rotary blade and the knife blade. The rotary blade is used to cut fabrics that are not bonded. The knife blade is used for wood, foam and cardboard.

What are the different mats for?

Light Grip (blue mat) is used for light cardstock, printer paper, notebook paper and vellum

Standard Grip (green mat) is used for both heat transfer vinyl and adhesive vinyl, cardstock, washi and window cling. If you’re unsure what mat to use, use this one. It works on almost everything.

Strong Grip (purple mat) is used for thick cardstock, glitter cardstock, poster board and bonded fabrics

Fabric Grip (pink mat) is used for all fabric that is not bonded.

Do I need a subscription to Cricut Access?

Well, technically no, you don’t NEED it but I bet you’re going to WANT it! Most of the videos I’m going to show you over the next 4 days use images and fonts only available with Cricut Access. I have the premium membership.

Cricut Access Fonts $60/year or $6.99/mo

·        Unlimited access to over 400 beautiful fonts

Cricut Access Standard $96/year or $9.99/mo

·        Unlimited access to over 400 beautiful fonts

·        Unlimited use of over 30,000 covet-worthy, cut-ready premium Cricut images, including exclusive designs

·        10% savings on licensed fonts, images, and ready-to-make projects

 

·        10% savings on all product purchases on cricut.com, including machines, accessories, materials, and more

Cricut Access Premium $120/year (no monthly billing option)

·        Unlimited access to over 400 beautiful fonts

·        Unlimited use of over 30,000 covet-worthy, cut-ready premium Cricut images, including exclusive designs

·        10% savings on licensed fonts, images, and ready-to-make projects

 

·        10% savings on all product purchases on cricut.com, including machines, accessories, materials, and more

 

·        Up to 50% savings on designer fonts, images, and ready-to-make projects

 

·        Free economy shipping on orders over $50

What kind of Vinyl do I need?

There are a few different kinds of vinyl. You have adhesive vinyl and heat transfer vinyl (HTV). Your best choice for adhesive vinyl is Oracal. They are simply the BEST! Oracal offers 651 (permanent outdoor grade vinyl) and 631 (interior/decorative vinyl). 651 us used most often for car decals, wood projects and decal stickers for tumblers and cups. 631 is used most often for wall murals and interior decorating. For HTV I’d go with either Siser, Cricut or Happy Crafters brands. HTV is used on any kind of fabric.

 

Where do I buy vinyl?

Okay guys, I’m going to share a big secret with you here. I’m not really a big fan of the Cricut adhesive vinyl. I LOVE almost all things Cricut (even though they’re usually a little more expensive) but their adhesive vinyl is just not one of them. The Cricut iron on vinyl is great though. So, where do I get my vinyl? All over the place lol. I’m a deal shopper so I’m going to link a couple different places to get Ah-Mazing vinyl and Ah-Mazing deals.

Amazon! As far as adhesive vinyl goes I stick to Oracal 651 for all my solid colors. I buy all of my Oracal 651 on Amazon and since I have a prime membership, it ships free, SCORE!

(The bundle I have linked for Amazon doesn’t offer prime shipping but I linked it anyways because it gives you a good assortment of colors at a great price AND it comes with a swatch book showing you all available Oracal 651 colors including their names and sku numbers making ordering from any dealer in the future super easy!)

Happy Crafters! I get all of my HTV and patterned vinyl from Happy Crafters.  If you’re not sure what to get from them then I highly recommend the HTV Subscription Box. They’ll send you a box FULL of fun stuff and you’ll get a good variety of different HTV materials so you can explore and try it all out.

What tools do I need?

The Cricut tool list goes on and on and ON. I’m going to link ONLY the tools I actually use every day.

Cricut Tools Basic Set I use every single one of these tools almost daily (except the scissors but if you’re working with fabric, they’re great!).

XL Scraper In addition to the little scraper that comes in the tool set I use this XL Scraper a ton too.

The basic tool set pretty much gives you everything you need. The XL scraper is a nice bonus but you could live without it for a while. There is another weeding tool that’s not sold separately. It’s the hook weeder and it only coms in the weeding tool set. I simply could not weed all the teeny tiny detailed designs I have in my Etsy shop without the hook weeder but you may not need it at all. It’s probably just personal preference. I did want to mention it though because it is my go-to tool!

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Are you crafty or do you have a unique talent? Do you want to learn how to use the Cricut or be your own boss by starting your own Etsy shop?

At Crystal's Crafties I provide detailed tutorials on how to use the Cricut and create other DIY crafts. I also provide step-by-step instructions and tips for creating an Etsy shop and being a successful Etsy seller. When I started with my Cricut and my Etsy shop I found that I was having to look through dozens of websites to get all the info I needed. There just wasn't a one-stop-shop for everything I needed.

That's why it's my mission to provide you with all the info you need to set up your Etsy shop and be a successful Etsy seller. And to get you crafting some of the DIY's you're going to want to sell in your Etsy shop.

If you're struggling with how to use the Cricut, with DIY crafts or your Etsy shop I think you'd really enjoy reading my blog.

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