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Okay! So you have picked the machine you think is best for you and now you are ready to stock on the essentials! If you haven’t picked your machine yet, check out this post here.
There are just a few things I recommend and chances are they came in your bundle if you opted to buy a bundle. But if you just purchased the machine, then check out this list so you are ready to go when your machine arrives!
Tools
While your Cricut machine will do the heavy lifting, there are some extra tools that will make your life so much easier. If your budget allows, I recommend this tool kit!
From left to right, this tool kit includes tweezers, a weeding hook, spatula, trimmer, scraper, scissors, and a scoring stylus.
Tweezers are good to have on hand for several craft scenarios. I use them the most when working with small crafts. They will hold your paper pieces while you are applying glue, or help you position your small cuts precisely with minimal effort.
The weeding hook is used when you are weeding. Weeding is the process of peeling away your unwanted cuts from your image. This technique is used with vinyl, iron- on/ heat transfer vinyl (htv), and a few other materials. Having a sharp hook to grab your materials will make your life so much easier! If you think you will be working with vinyl and heat transfer vinyl (htv) often, there is another tool kit that makes weeding such a breeze! If you can afford both, scoop them up!
Next is the spatula. You can use this to help remove pieces from your cutting mat. The cutting mat is sticky to hold down your materials. To get the materials off of your mat, this little tool will get underneath them to release them from the adhesive without damaging your project.
The trimmer. You need it. Enough said. Just trust me haha. This is probably the most underrated tools in my craft arsenal and I use it all of the time!!! The trimmer is a must have to trim down vinyl, iron-on, any material on a roll, scraps, paper… etc. You can cut everything with it. There is also a little arm that swings out from under it which makes measuring super easy!
The scraper can be used a few different ways. If you plan to craft with adhesive vinyl, you will start learning about transfer tape. This scraper will help you burnish on your transfer tape and apply your designs to your final surfaces. You can also use it to quickly scrape off your machine cutting mat so that it is ready for your next cut.
Scissors. Who has enough scissors!? No one. You always need more. And these scissors have a guard, so I throw them in my bag and don’t have to worry about them poking through.
Lastly, the scoring stylus. This will work in both the Explore and Maker machines. The Maker has another scoring tool, called the “scoring wheel” but there are times where I prefer to use my scoring stylus. It’s nice to have on hand. Since the scoring wheel doesn’t fit into the Explore machines, if you want to score, you will need one of these guys.
If this tool kit seems too aggressive or not in the budget right now, this one is a good alternative!
Mats
When I got my first cutting machine, I did not understand why you needed a mat and wish someone who have explained it to me. Why can’t I just load in my paper and have it cut? If you understand how a cutting mat works, then that may seem silly to think I was confused. But I was… so to those of you who don’t understand the purpose of a cutting mat, let me break it down for you. A machine cutting mat has a sticky adhesive all over it so that it can hold your material in place while it cuts. Without the mat, materials like paper would cut, and then fall away, and cause the machine to jam up, crumbling the paper. With the mat, you can place materials on it, and all of the pieces you cut will be held in place, and then you can gently remove them from the mat once your machine is done cutting. So now that we understand those basics, there are a few more things. Mats that fit in the Explore and Maker machines come in 4 different strengths and 2 different sizes.
LightGrip Mats (light blue) are great for holding delicate materials like copy paper. StandardGrip Mats (green) work well with cardstock, vinyls, heat transfer vinyls… really the bulk of materials. StrongGrip Mats (purple) will hold sturdy materials like leather and chipboard. As a beginner, I recommend having all the different mat strengths on hand because you never know when you may need a stronger mat! Your machine will come with a mat, but you quickly realize, having extras will never hurt! You can order a variety pack of mats here! If you decided the Cricut Maker is the machine for you, your machine will come with a FabricGrip mat (pink), but you may want to consider buying an extra! Having more than one mat will allow you to cut bigger projects faster– you can load your material on a fresh mat while your machine is cutting. This will speed up your crafting a ton!
Mats also are available in a larger, 12 x 24″, size. You can order those here.
Extra Blades
I like to be prepared, so if you want to have extra blades on hand, you can buy these blade replacements for both your Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker machines. I love that with Cricut blades, you only have to replace the actual blade and not the entire housing. I use my Cricut A LOT! But I really don’t find myself needing to replace my blade often. It will dull faster if you cut a lot of paper, but since I am cutting mostly vinyl and heat transfer vinyl, I change mine about every 9 months. If you notice your cuts aren’t as clean or the material is dragging, it may be time for a new blade. Having them on hand, makes it an easy problem to fix!
Materials
In your machine box, you have everything you need to get started! Your next question may be, what materials do I need?! And that largely depends on what you want to make. I am going to put the shopping list for the most common Cricut Craft and links to videos that will help you get started!
Adhesive Vinyl Crafts (like vinyl on a mug):
Here is a how-to tutorial on how to work with adhesive vinyl and a list of materials to get started. If you buy the tool kit above, then you will have all the tools necessary for this project!
- StandardGrip Mat
- Premium Vinyl
- Weeding Tool
- Transfer Tape
- Scraper
- Masking Tape
- Scissors
- Paper Trimmer (optional)
- Mug
Heat Transfer Vinyl Crafts (applying a design on a shirt):
Here is a how-to tutorial on how to work with heat transfer vinyl and a list of materials to get started. An EasyPress or HeatPress will make this a lot easier, but you can absolutely use an iron to get started!
- StandardGrip Mat
- Everyday Iron-on
- Weeding Tool
- BrightPad (optional) or Light Box
- T-shirt
- EasyPress or Heat Press or Iron
- EasyPress Mat
Pick one or two crafts you want to try first. You can make so many things with your machine that it may be a little overwhelming. By choosing a craft to start with, you will learn skills that will make your Cricut seem more approachable. It will also keep you from dumping money into one craft that you may not enjoy. So order a roll or two of vinyl or iron-on and try out some different crafts! If you love it, stock up, but if not, you can move on to making cards or paper flowers or a million other things that we will learn about here!
Computers & Devices
You can use your Cricut machine with several different computers and devices. Check out this helpful article to see your options. I want to note that if you have a Google Chromebook, it may be compatible. On Cricut’s website it currently (5/2020) says it’s not compatible. But if you have access to the Google Play Store on your Chromebook, you will be able to download and use the Android App.
You can download and play around in Design Space even before you buy a machine. It is 100% free to download and use. Check it out here! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!
I’m so glad you are here
This is a fun and exciting new journey you are on. I can remember exactly where I was when I ordered my first cutting machine. It completely changed my entire life. I actually think aside from marrying my husband, Ryan, that it was the most pivotal moment in my life. This machine will bring you so much more than you can imagine! Congratulations on one of the the best investments you can make for yourself!
You are not in this alone and I encourage you to join our crafting community online. To join my free Facebook Group, click here! We are all there to help you!
If you found this post helpful and it led you to click on a link and purchase supplies, I want to say thank you for supporting my business! By clicking on my links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These are called affiliate links and affiliate links show retailers that I sent you to shop and they may reward me with a small commission. You are the reason I can create educational, how-to content for this blog! If you are looking for a coupon code for Cricut’s website, join my Facebook Group to get the most up to date one since it changes each quarter!
I want to get to know you, so check out the links below and say hello! Tell me which machine and supplies you just bought and what you are most excited to make. Thanks again for being here– I can’t wait to get to know you even better!
Karley
