What tools & supplies to buy, and what not to buy, when starting out with a new cricut.
If you just got a new cricut machine, you are probably wondering what else you should buy to go with it. I know you are excited and want to have everything right away - but don't buy too much just yet. Wait and see what projects you truly enjoy, and will be making the most of. Because the supplies you need for making paper flowers are drastically different than the supplies you need for making t-shirts, and those supplies are different than what you need to make designs for coffee mugs, and those supplies are different than what you need to make faux leather earrings.....
The Basic Tools Most Everyone Uses At Some Point:
The Tool Set
Although I am often not a fan of cricut products (I have NO luck with their vinyl), I do recommend their tool set. You can buy much cheaper weeding tools (a dental pick from the dollar tree, or a tool set from harbor freight) but personally, I prefer the cricut weeding tool. Update - I ordered vinyl from htvront and it came with a free weeding tool that I like just as much, if not more, than the Cricut version. But I still am glad I started with the cricut tool set - I've used all of the tools, frequently.
I've been meaning to try the pin pen - many rave over these as well, but I've yet to make or buy one.
The Dollar Tree now carries a complete line of knock off tools, nearly identical to the cricut brand. My only suggestion is to look for a metal scraper, like the one shown in the cricut tools, and not one with a plastic head. I find that the metal one is much better for lifting paper from the mat.
A Fabric Tape Measure
A fabric tape measure is the first thing I recommend to everyone with a cricut. No matter what you are making, you are likely to need to measure it. (Ok, maybe not for some of the paper projects... but everything else.) Making a t-shirt? You'll want to see the measurements of your design on the shirt to see if it's the right size. Making a cup? Measure the space where you are placing the design... etc. You can buy this two pack at the Dollar Tree.
Transfer Tape
Transfer Tape is what you use to transfer your cut design onto the item. Htv (which is used for fabric) comes with it's own transfer tape right on it, but if you are doing a design on a coffee mug, you will want to use 651 vinyl - and then you will need something to transfer the design.
Here is an example of how to use transfer tape, step by step:
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/01/thrift-store-redo-simple-vinyl-transfer.html
While at the Dollar Tree, pick up a roll of cheap contact paper. This is my favorite "transfer tape". Which transfer tape works best for you will be trial and error, but at $1 a roll, this is a great one to try when starting out. Pick up a roll of painters tape if they have it, while here too.
Other options for transfer tape:
- Cricut Transfer Tape This comes by the roll and has a grid on it. It's VERY sticky, and often if someone asks "why can't I get my design off the transfer tape?" it's because they used this. This is, however, the BEST, and sometimes the only, transfer tape that works with glitter vinyl.
- Duck Brand Contact Paper This is one of the most popular choices for transfer tape. You can buy it at Wal-mart, near the shelf liners. It's a little thicker and stickier than the contact paper from the Dollar Tree.
- Painters Tape/Masking Tape This is great to keep on hand for smaller projects - it's one of the easiest ways to transfer small designs onto Christmas ornaments.
- Press & Seal I've had NO luck with this method, but I see others rave over it. If you have some on hand, it might be worth giving it a try!
- Craftopia Transfer Tape I have never used this one myself, but it comes up as a recommended option by others, repeatedly. They swear it is the best. :-) I have great luck with the Dollar Tree contact paper, painters tape, and occasionally the thicker duck brand contact paper... so I have never purchased this. You can find it on amazon, here.
A Light (Possibly A Light Pad)
As with almost everything, you will need to figure out what works best for you, and there are a lot of options. Some people work better with a light underneath their design (like the cricut lightpad) while others work better with a light over their design, like an ott light. And still others work just fine with whatever light is in the room.
General opinion seems to be that the cricut lightpad is really not worth the money. (Although some people think they are the best thing ever - so again, it depends on your preference!) Other options, if you like light under your design, are to make your own light box with a rubbermaid container and a light inside. Crayola makes a lightbox for kids, that I've seen a lot of people use with their cricut. And there's a much cheaper lightpad option on amazon that seems to be the most popular choice.
I bought the amazon option, but for me, I found I much prefer a good overhead light. I love the Ott lights. In my cricut craft area (part of my laundry room) I use a shoplight from Sams club. It's one of my favorite things - although again, it's not something that would work for everyone!
Mats -
I made the mistake of buying my mats on sale at Michaels. They are MUCH cheaper at Wal-mart and on Amazon. (A 2 pack of standard grip is $8.39 currently on Amazon)
Again, what you need will vary drastically from person to person. I find that I use the green mats the most, and I have about 6 of those... When first cleaned and super sticky, they work with the faux leather. When they have been used quite a few times and need cleaned, they work well for paper. But I work mostly with vinyl - so the green mats are what I would expect to need the most in general.
There is also a pink mat for the maker, for fabric.
These Nicapa Mats are the one I buy most often. Watch for them to go on sale, 3 mats for $7.99. https://amzn.to/3F32Dvk
Eventually you may want an extra long mat as well. They come in 24 inches long, for longer projects. And if you cut a lot of really large items, you will want to research "off the mat" projects. Apparently cricut CAN cut without a mat - although I've never tried it myself. I've "needed" the longer mat exactly twice in the last year, and I make hundreds of items. You can use them for smaller projects, so it won't go to waste if this is what you buy,
SVGs
Svg - Scalable Vector Graphic. Svgs are what the cricut most commonly uses. It will have each color in a separate "layer" and will resize without making rough lines.
Some cricut users LOVE cricut access and gladly pay the fee to have access to some of the designs built right into the software. Cricut access allows you to "rent" many of the designs in design space. If you stop paying the fee, you will no longer have access to those images.
I am cheap. I prefer free, and luckily, there are SO MANY free options for free svgs, that I have never had any need to subscribe.
I have a long list of good sites with free svgs here:
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/11/where-to-find-free-cut-files-for-cricut.html
and here's more about where to find free svgs and how to use them:
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/12/freebies-for-cricut-how-to-use-design.html
A Note About Etsy
While there are some great, reputable, designers on Etsy... there are a lot of others too.
A few months after buying my cricut, I saw a post on a facebook group from a designer who had shared an svg freely in this facebook group, but asked that it "not be sold". I assumed she meant do not use the svg to make shirts to sell. No. She meant please do not take the free svg that she made and upload it to Etsy and sell the svg to others. I figured this out when it actually happened. Someone took the design she had made freely for a member of the group, and uploaded it to Etsy and sold it as their own.
And then I found out that that is SUPER common. I had actually purchased two designs from Etsy that I later learned were not made by the person selling them. One was taken from a free svg site and resold on Etsy, another was stolen from a facebook group.
I know - unbelievable, isn't it? But it is very, very common.
Here's another common Etsy problem. If the design is Harry Potter, or Disney, or an NFL logo... they do not have the legal right to sell the image, even if they created it. How you feel about that, and what you do about it, is a personal decision. But you should know that just because you bought a Disney design "with commercial use license" on Etsy, you do not have the right to make a shirt with that design and sell it - because the Etsy seller did not have the right to make the design and sell it to you. Those images and designs are copyrighted, and the licensing fee to be legally allowed to use them is so astronomical, and so rarely even granted, that anyone paying for that license is extremely unlikely to be selling in an Etsy shop.
Fonts
Fonts are installed on your device, and then can be used in design space. There are millions and millions of great free fonts! For those who are completely new to this, I have a very detailed step by step on how to download fonts and use them in design space:
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/12/all-about-fonts-text-in-cricut-design.html
Here's where to find a list of my favorites, with cheat sheets on how to use them:
Paper -
There are so many great 3d paper projects you can make with cricut (including beautiful paper flowers!) - I keep a list of free svgs for making them here:
I tend to buy my paper from Hobby Lobby, locally that is the best selection for me. It's typically 40% off every other week. Sometimes I buy from Michaels too, but the sales have not been as good, and our local stores selection has been disappointing. However, Michaels is the only place locally I can buy 12x24 cardstock - not that I use that often.
Pens
My favorite pens for the cricut (no adaptor needed) are currently the Jot markers from the Dollar Tree! Really - they work great, are super cheap, and fit right in the pen holder the same as the cricut markers.
I have samples & Examples and a long list of others that are reported two work well, here:
Iron, Heat Press, Or Easy Press
You will need a heat source of some type, if you want to apply htv to fabric such as a design on a t-shirt or pillow. If you ask on any facebook group, you will be told that you absolutely have to have a heat press. And if you do want to use an iron, you will have to "stand on it with all of your body weight" . (No, no you do not.)
I don't sell my items. But I can tell you that I have successfully made hundreds of shirts now (we have a huge family) with no problems, with an iron. And it does NOT require that much pressure. You have to press, yes, but it shouldn't make your arms hurt. You definitely do not need to stand on the iron. I also do not wash our shirts specially - they are tossed into the regular laundry and just washed and dried with everything else.
I can't imagine telling my daughter in law that the shirts I made for my grandsons have to be turned inside out and never put in the dryer... she has her hands full enough with those boys as it is! They hold up great. I have some that have been washed dozens of times now - no problems.
Since the iron works so well for me, I've never really even looked at the easy press... but I have heard so many say that it's really just an iron, and that if you are going to spend the money, that same amount would buy you a heat press. I really don't know..
Vinyl -
You don't need vinyl if you are only doing paper projects, but most of us who buy a cricut also "need" vinyl. There are different types of vinyl, and many, many places to buy it. It can be a bit confusing. It is much cheaper to buy online, and no matter what you buy, you likely will "need" something different every time you find a new project. But if you start with a black and a white, it's very likely you will use them somewhere and they won't go to waste.
"Blanks" - The Things You Put Vinyl On
A quick trip to the Dollar Tree will be great - you can find all sorts of "blanks" to get started on. Coffee mugs, pot holders, etc. I have a list here of Dollar Tree projects I have made, and suggestions for what to look for when shopping there:
T-shirts are often cheap at Michaels on Sale.
Your local thrift store is also likely to have a lot of great items you can practice on!
Apps
There are a variety of apps & websites that will help a lot when using Design Space! Especially sites like Wordmark.it that will show your text in every font installed on your computer, and the utility FontLab Pad, which will properly read and display system fonts and save them as svgs (Design space cannot read font kerning properly, and will not space/connect script fonts properly)
Tutorials
I hope that helps you get started! If you are looking for more, I keep an index of my posts here:
You can find me on facebook here:
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