The Complete Cricut Machine Handbook: A Beginner’s Guide to Creative Crafting with Vinyl, Paper, Infusible Ink and More!

THE COMPLETE

CRICUT® MACHINE

HANDBOOK

A Beginner’s Guide to Creative Crafting with Vinyl,

Paper, Infusible Ink and More!

ANGIE HOLDEN

CREATOR OF THE COUNTRY CHIC COTTAGE

Table of Contents

About the Author

Copyright Page

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HELLO AND WELCOME!

You are entering the exciting world of Cricut®! You may feel overwhelmed, confused and even unclear on where to begin. I am here to help you! I have been creating my entire life; after I discovered craft cutting machines over a decade ago, I’ve been hooked ever since.

I am passionate about teaching and inspiring others to use their Cricut machines through my blog and YouTube channel. Now I’m taking that one step further and giving you a printed handbook that you can use to learn everything you need to know about your machine.

This book will walk you through a variety of projects, each of which teaches you a new skill with your Cricut machine. Start with the preliminary sections that highlight essential materials and basic Cricut techniques, then move on to the projects. To get the most from this guide, you should work through each project in order, as each one builds your skills as well as your confidence. By the end of this book, you will be ready to tackle any Cricut project you can imagine!

Need to skip to a specific skill quickly? Reference the index for the location of tutorials in this book. Remember that not every machine has the capability to make every project. Pick the projects that use your machine and build your skill set as you create.

Remember that all screenshots of Cricut Design Space® in this book are of a PC computer and will be similar on a Mac. You can also find an app for mobile and tablet; however, not all functions will be available. There are notes about which operations cannot be used on mobile; however, no specific mobile instructions are included. Also, Cricut often makes changes to the interface so things may look slightly different on your end depending on when you purchased this book.

Ready to start creating? You will need the project files and material sources, and you can find those at cricuthandbook.com. You will need to upload these files to Cricut Design Space for some of the projects. All files are for personal use only, and you can read more about licensing here.

Get ready to learn both your machine and Cricut Design Space. From the very first project, you will be making gorgeous creations just like you see on Pinterest and your favorite craft blogs. Get that Cricut machine out of the box and start making things for yourself, to give as gifts and even to sell. I know that you can make amazing things with your machine!

Happy creating!

Welcome to Cricut Setup

Select a product type to continue.

Smart Cutting Machine

Heat Press

GETTING STARTED

Do you have a brand-new Cricut machine? Open that box and let’s get started. Inside you will find your machine and some cords, as well as some materials. There should also be a get started guide that gives you a website address. Head to that website to begin the setup process. That process will actually guide you through downloading Cricut Design Space as well as making your very first cuts. Cricut Design Space is the application that will communicate with your machine, and this book will help walk you through how to use it.

You will need to either use the provided cord to connect your machine to your computer or connect via Bluetooth®. The cord connects to a USB port on your computer and can be used with any Cricut except the Joy™. Bluetooth is a wireless way to connect your machine and is standard on the Joy, Explore Air® 2, Explore® 3, Maker® and Maker® 3. You may need to use passcode 0000 to connect for the first time.

If for some reason you get lost in this process and can’t seem to find the website, head to design.cricut.com to download Cricut Design Space. Open the program and click the three lines in the upper left-hand corner. Click new product setup to get started. This will register your product and get it ready for use.

Once you are done with the machine setup, you are ready to start learning more about your machine. Just continue with this book to get creative and make some projects, all while learning the functions of Design Space and your Cricut machine.

CRICUT BASICS, MATERIALS AND TOOLS

Whether you are purchasing your first Cricut machine or have had a machine for years, you will need to know a few basics before getting started. Let’s start with a brief machine explanation, then move on to the materials and tools that you may want to consider.

CRICUT MACHINES

There is currently a wide range of Cricut machines on the market that are all slightly different. Have no fear! This book has projects that work with every machine type. Want to expand your Cricut collection or upgrade? Here is a brief description of each machine. Remember there is no wrong answer here! All of the Cricut machines are amazing. You just need to find the one that is right for you.

CRICUT JOY

The Cricut Joy is small and easy to use, making it perfect for beginners. It is also great for those who have space constraints or want to travel with their machine. However, this machine can only cut lightweight materials and you will not be able to make Print Then Cut projects like those here to here or add score lines to your material. Otherwise, you can draw or add foil lines to your project just like the other machines! Please note that all of the tools and pens are specific to the Joy.

When using your Joy, keep in mind the size limits as you may need to alter some projects. For material on a mat, the maximum cutting area is 4.25 x 11.75 inches (10.6795 x 29.44 cm). You do have the option of cutting Cricut Smart Materials without a mat up to 4.5 inches (11.253 cm) wide and 4 feet (1.22 m) long for a single cut or up to 20 feet (6.1 m) long for repeated cuts.

CRICUT EXPLORE

The Cricut Explore Air 2 and Explore 3 are the current models on the market as of 2022, but this series also includes the Explore and Explore One. These machines can cut a wider range of materials than the Cricut Joy, especially materials that are slightly thicker since you have the option of adding the deep point blade. Plus, you will love making Print Then Cut projects and even adding score lines to your cards. Add pens or even the foil tool to your collection for additional options when creating.

When cutting on a mat, you can go up to 11.5 x 23.5 inches (29.21 x 59.69 cm). The Explore 3 has the ability to cut Cricut Smart Materials without a mat, and those can go up to 11.75 inches (29.84 cm) wide and 12 feet (3.5 m) long. The maximum size for any Print Then Cut project is 6.75 x 9.25 inches (17.145 x 23.495 cm).

CRICUT MAKER

The Cricut Maker is the most powerful Cricut machine on the market. The Maker series of machines includes the Maker and the Maker 3. They did skip a number in this series, so there is no Maker 2 machine. These machines are the top of the line and do the most of any Cricut machine currently on the market. A Maker can do anything any of the other machines can do and so much more! This includes cutting fabric like a dream and diving into thick materials like basswood, chipboard and even leather.

The Maker series can use any of the Explore blades, plus a special series of blades just for these machines. That means you can cut thicker materials, engrave, deboss and so much more! The projects in this book will teach you how to use most of the tools and give you ideas for creating with them. Just keep any projects you create in the same size restrictions as mentioned for the Explore series and decide which projects you will tackle first!

CRICUT MACHINE PARTS

Let’s take a tour of a typical Cricut machine and what each part is called. On the outside of the Explore and Maker machines, you will find various buttons. The Cricut Joy actually does not have any buttons. The button appearance and location are dependent on the machine you have, but here is a quick rundown:

• Power button: The power button is used to turn the machine on and off.

• Unload/load button: This button is indicated by an arrow and used to load or unload the mat from the machine.

• Go button: This looks like either the Cricut C symbol or a triangle play symbol. Press this to start your cut.

• Pause button: Pause is indicated by two lines and will temporarily stop the machine in the middle of a cut.

• Dial: Explore Air 2 and earlier machines also have a material setting dial. You can choose a material from here or leave it on custom to choose from a more comprehensive list in Cricut Design Space.

• Open button: Only the Explore series has an additional button for opening your machine. With other machines, you just pull to open instead of pushing a button.

• Cartridge slot: Explore Air 2 and earlier machines will also have a slot where you can add cartridges. These are obsolete technology for older machines that stored images. You can use this slot to connect the cartridges to your account. For newer machines, contact Cricut customer service if you have cartridges and they can assist you with accessing those.

• USB port and power cord connection: You can find these slots on the back of your Cricut machine; however, you can also use Bluetooth connection with current Cricut models.

The inside of a Cricut machine has the carriage, which is where the clamps are located. The clamps are what will hold the blades and pens inside the machine. The Cricut Joy only has one clamp, while the Explore and Maker series have two clamps (A and B). This carriage rides along a silver roller bar.

There is an additional roller bar that has some white star wheels all along the length. These will need to be moved for thicker materials or those that mar easily. Power off your machine and move the carriage out of the way. Then push the star wheels all the way over to the right. This is fairly easy to do on new models but the older Explore models can be a pain. The wheels will move with enough effort!

The roller also has some gray wheels on both sides for guiding your mats. These are not to be moved and need to stay in location. You will also notice white mat guides on the sides of the machine. You will place the mat under these and against these gray rollers when loading.

You will also find that your Cricut Explore or Maker machine has some built-in storage. From cups on the side to a tray that opens, you are able to store a few things right inside your machine. The Cricut Joy does not have any of these storage features.

The Cricut Maker 3

CRICUT MATERIALS

There are so many materials out there that your Cricut machine can cut! In fact, the Cricut Maker has over 300 materials listed. Each machine is different, of course, but there is a wide variety that will cut on each one. I tried to choose commonly used materials for this book. Here is a quick glimpse at what you can cut with your Cricut:

• Paper

• Vinyl

• HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl)

• Infusible Ink™

• Stencil materials

• Fabric

• Wood

• Printable materials

• And other specialty materials like leather, craft foam and metal

You do not have to purchase materials from the Cricut brand. Your Cricut machine will cut any materials in a particular family no matter what brand makes them. For example, you can cut Cricut or Siser® HTV. However, for each new brand of material, you may find that you need to play around and find the right cut settings. Generally, the cut settings are intended for the Cricut brand and may need some adjustment with other brands for a successful cut.

CRICUT BLADES

All Cricut machines come with the fine point blade; however, you may want to purchase additional blades as you expand your crafting knowledge. This can get a bit confusing, and you don’t want to waste your money purchasing the wrong ones. Use this guide to determine which blades work