Introducing the Cricut Maker
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
My quest to organise and personalise our home has
taken a huge leap recently because the lovely people at Cricut have sent me
their latest machine to review! The new Cricut Maker!
I’ve been a huge fan of Cricut
for years now since I discovered the Cricut
(pronounced cricket) mini 5 years ago! Between that and the Cricut Explore I haven't bought a card and have created none stop beautiful projects
from summery flowery wreaths to creating 20 personalised t-shirts for my
schools PTA group and summer fayre!
Whats
the difference?
So with having these two on my
desk and being moved almost weekly up to my mums and back again what can the
all new Cricut Maker do that my older Cricut cant…Well the main one for us is
the fact that this wonderful model can cut fabric! My mum is a huge patchwork
maker and leap up in shouts of delight when she discovered this. Although difficult
pieces which are so hand to cut cleanly can now be cut by machine. My
excitement comes in that this can also cut leather!! Oh my goodness I cannot
wait to start on this! The most gorgeous earrings and jewellery can be created
by this – I’ll will show how to jazz up your outfit in seconds in a post next
month with Cricut! The storage whole on the side has two different depths so no
hunting around at the bottom of the hole for blades or pen lids.
Design
The machine design I have to say
puts everything else in my craft room to shame. The beautiful brushed rose gold
lid is really just a glorious shout out to its luxury. The whole finish to the
machine top quality, the lines are sleek and smooth and the slow touch open and
close. The tools that are included and the extras are also of not to be found on
the high street quality. I rather ashamedly am very precious with my older Cricut tools and use them in my clothes sewing! That storage I mentioned on the
side? The bottom of each of those holders has a soft base so you don’t damage
or blunt your tools.
What
can it cut
So most importantly what can be
cut with the new Cricut Maker?
- Cardstock
- Fabric
- Art board
- Felt – yes! Felt flower accessories here I come!
- Foil & Metal – even my dad got excited by this one.
- Foam
- Iron On
- Leather
- Plastic
- Vinyl
- Wood – yes really!
- LOTS OF OTHER STUFF!!!!
Another handy thing I noticed on the new machine was that the
Smart Dial was no longer to select the material. Instead this is all chosen in
the Cricut Design App to ensure less errors! The caught my interest hugely –
why? Well the machine comes with over 240 material settings. That left me more
than a little stunned but glancing through this I noticed that the machine will
not only cut balsa wood (there's a design to make simple aeroplanes) but also
silk gauze, which my scissors have caught and shredded countless times. I just
have to assure you here that the 3 blades are used across these materials and
watching them cut is like poetry in motion – the blade cut the silk like a hot
knife through butter and it didn’t catch! So if you’re anything like us and
leave homework projects to the last minute this is ideal for creating masterpieces
out of even Cereal boxes – yup there's a preset for that! However if its 11 o
clock and you’re desperate for bed the
wonderful fail safe automatic preset cut works wonders on most of these!
Latest
Technology
This new machine is also a thinking a machine! While you can
use your normal computer and the Cricut Design space from that you can also use
your phone or device to cut through the Cricut design space app! As you can see
your device sits in nicely on the special groove and it also lets your scroll
through ideas from the comfort or your phone (or bed) without having to power
up your computer.
The Cricut Maker as I mentioned before has a huge ability for
different tools. Some come as standard with the machine but there's added extras
out there which offer up endless ideas and creations. There is a variety of
different pens, embossing tools and different blades one of which is their new
Rotary blade for the softer flexible fabrics on their new list like silk,
denim, cotton and canvas.
Projects
With all of this you can imagine my excitement about what can
be done around the house. With the Cricut Maker I can tackle the most amazing
projects, just look at my Pinterest for some ideas but they range from Home Décor,
Sewing Patterns, Quilting, Fashion, Jewelley, Kids Crafts, Party supplies &
decorations, Handmade bespoke cards and invitations and notes, Organisation and
well I should leave you a little to find out yourself.
Included with your cricut maker is a selection of materials
to make your very first project to help your get over those new machine nerves
but also they include 50 Free Projects. Theres something in this range for
everyone! Just download the Cricut Design Space and start searching! I’ve rather
fallen in love with their Martha Stewart collaborations.
My final
thoughts
I just love Cricut and this machine has really just sent my
ideas totally crazy. The big thing for me and my household is the new rotary
blade and the washable pen. This does the painful boring work which has stopped
many sewing and quilting projects from me and reopened up a whole new world of
crafting again. My mum is planning on taking it to her quilting club as the
machine is so easy to use and turns out such high quality pieces each time it’s
a dream for all creators as any level! From the very first basics and stepping out
in the crafting world to the hardened crafters who like my mum have been
creating cards and clothing and accessories for over 40 years!
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