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One of my favorite things about my Cricut machines is that you can use them to write and draw. There are some times when printing isn’t an option! For example, I loaded a piece of acrylic mirror into my Maker Machine and had my machine draw on it to make a cute little sign. Some other ideas include decorating gift bags, addressing envelopes, or drawing with permanent markers on materials that ink would typically rinse off of!
People often ask me for advice on using markers or pens they already own. I hadn’t found any adapters that I loved… until now! These adapters work with so many pens and markers and allow you to experiment with all of the writing supplies you already have at home! I did quite a bit of experimenting and I’m excited to share my results with you!
Pens that work without adapters
Before I get to the adapters, I found some pens that you can use in both the Cricut Explore Air Machines and Cricut Maker machines without any adjustments. These fit in the existing tool holder in clamp A. The pen barrel is the exact same size as the Cricut pens and markers. According to the reviews, some people reported they received pens that were dried out. I didn’t run into this issue, but the caps don’t click on, so I could see how this may be an issue. I loved the way they wrote and will definitely be purchasing more in the future!
Pens Using Adapters
You may not know that your machine (Explore Air 2 & Makers) has a white adapter built into it already! I didn’t realize (even after working at Cricut), that this little piece pops out.
Before you take apart your machine, let’s talk about warranty. Cricut provides you a 1 year limited warranty if you purchase your machine from an authorized retailer. All over the internet, Cricut users will warn you against using 3rd party tools in your machine because it will void your warranty. I took a look at Cricut’s warranty policy and while I was unable to find any language that directly states this, if you are worried, I’d recommend waiting until your 1 year warranty is up! Of course, Cricut can update their warranty policy at anytime, so make sure to check it out so you know what’s included! I personally will not recommend products that I have not tested. If I feel a tool has any risk to your machine, rest assured, I will not recommend it!
Now that you’ve reviewed the warranty or have waited until yours is up, open the clamp on the left, and from the bottom, gently push up on the white piece to pop out the existing adapter. This will allow you to use the Amazon adapters that will accommodate so many pens and markers. Check out the video at the bottom of this post if you need more help removing this adapter.
This pack of adapters comes with 8 different adapters! It’s a great deal and I will share with you the pens that work with 4 of the adapters I’ve tested. The kit comes with a list of pens that fit each adapter, but don’t be afraid to test out additional pens!
Pens that Work With Pink Adapter
I think the Tombow Pens may be my favorite that I tested. These ones will fit in the light pink housing.
The Crayola SuperTips also fit in this adapter. Although, there is a larger adapter kit that includes an adapter specifically designed for this marker. Since I was cheap and went for the less expensive adapter kit, I wanted to see if I could make it work. This one requires a little hack, but it’s not terrible. Place the pink adapter in the left slot, then place the marker in. If you let go, the marker will fall down and hit the paper. Adjust the pen to slightly hover above the page and then clamp it into place. This worked great for me, but if you want the actual adapter, you make want to upgrade to the larger kit. All of the other pens and markers I recommend will fit perfectly and don’t need this hack 🙂
Pens that Work With the Dark Blue Adapter
Pens that Work With the Red Adapter
Pens that Work With the Yellow Adapter
How to Write with your Cricut
If you have questions about how to design your projects to work with pens, I have a full tutorial on how to use writing fonts with your Cricut! Let me know if you have any other questions– I am happy to help!
Karley
