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Your simple guide to the DIY die-cutting machine that lets you create without limitations
Your new Cricut can help you cut paper, vinyl, fabric, and beyond. Perfect for DIY enthusiasts, scrapbookers, and professional designers, Cricut machines are favorites among makers of all types. Cricut For Dummies gives you clear, simple instructions for using a Cricut machine, so you can start creating today. You'll learn how to achieve intricate, precise cuts, much faster than would be possible by hand. This step-by-step guide shows you how to make greeting cards, fun labels, personalized clothing, stickers, and even unique wood or leather goods. Don't have your Cricut yet? No problem! Cricut For Dummies explains the differences between the models and how to choose the best machine for your needs.
This book is for anyone who wants to learn how to use a Cricut machine to design, create, or perfect their craft. Cricut For Dummies is ideal for beginners who have no experience using a cutting machine, and it's a handy reference for those who want to improve their Cricut skills.
Kerri Adamczyk is an enthusiastic crafter who loves to share her Cricut ideas and tips with fellow crafters. She hosts the popular YouTube channel Kerri Crafts It and blog kerricraftsit.com, offering step-by-step Cricut tips, tricks, and tutorials for all skill levels.
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting Started with Your Cricut 5
Chapter 1: Welcome to the World of Cricut 7
Cricut 101: What It Is and What It Does 8
Making Cool Stuff with a Cricut 8
Joining the Cricut Community 9
Chapter 2: Choosing the Right Cricut for You 11
The Cricut Maker Series 12
The Cricut Maker 4 12
The Cricut Maker 3 12
The Cricut Maker 14
The Cricut Explore Series 15
The Cricut Explore 4 15
The Cricut Explore 3 15
The Cricut Explore Air 2 16
The Cricut Joy Series 17
The Cricut Joy Xtra 17
The Cricut Joy 18
The Cricut Venture 19
Where to Buy a Cricut 21
Chapter 3: Setting Up Your Cricut 23
Firing Up Your Cricut 23
Syncing Your Cricut with Your Computer 24
Connecting via USB cable 24
Connecting via Bluetooth 25
Creating Your Cricut Account 27
Getting Cricut Design Space Up and Running 28
Meeting system and internet connection requirements 29
Installing Design Space on different devices 29
Navigating the Home screen 31
Finding and adjusting your settings 32
Saving for online or offline use 33
Chapter 4: Checking Out Cricut Tools and Materials 39
Looking at Tools and Accessories for All Cricut Machines 39
Starting with the Cricut Essential Tool Set 40
Considering other essentials 40
Choosing the Right Cricut Mat 41
Distinguishing types of mats 41
Picking the right size mat for your machine 42
Surveying Smart Materials 43
Cutting with Basic Blades 43
Writing and Drawing with Pens and Markers 44
Looking at Cricut Pens and Markers 45
How to use Cricut Pens and Markers 45
Adding Accents with a Foil Transfer Kit 47
Making Lines with the Scoring Stylus 49
Staying Sharp with the Bonded-Fabric Blade 52
Trying Out Cricut Maker Series Tools 53
QuickSwap tools 53
Specialty blades 56
Picking the Right Heat Press 56
Features to look for 57
Types of heat presses 58
Heat press accessories 59
Customizing Items with Blanks 60
Chapter 5: Keeping Your Cricut in Top Shape 63
Cleaning Your Cricut Regularly 63
Changing Your Cricut Blade 64
For Cricut Explore, Maker, and Venture machines 65
For the Cricut Joy series 67
Cleaning Your Cricut Blade 67
Caring for Your Cricut Mats 68
Maintaining the Software and Firmware 69
Updating Cricut Design Space software 69
Updating your Cricut's firmware 70
Calibrating Your Cricut 71
Troubleshooting Common Issues 71
Identifying cutting problems 71
Resolving Design Space connectivity issues 72
Applying advanced troubleshooting tips 72
Part 2: Mastering Cricut Design Space 73
Chapter 6: Joining Cricut Access 75
Unlocking Exclusive Content with a Standard Cricut Access Subscription 75
Checking Out Additional Cricut Access Subscription Types 77
Considering Other Options Besides Cricut Access 77
Chapter 7: Exploring the Cricut Design Space Canvas 79
Starting a New Project and Touring the Canvas 80
Finding Inspiration: Projects and Images 81
Browsing the Projects library 81
Looking through Images 83
Chapter 8: Designing in Cricut Design Space 85
Creating Cricut Projects in Design Space: The Basics 86
Using Fonts and Designs Legally 87
Selling Cricut projects under the Cricut Angel Policy 88
Understanding personal versus commercial licenses 88
Avoiding copyright and trademark issues 89
Selling your Cricut creations safely 89
Uploading Your Own Designs 90
Filling Your Designs with Patterns 93
Applying pattern fills 93
Uploading your own patterns 93
Working with Text 94
Finding and adding text 95
Installing your own fonts 96
Finding hidden font characters 97
Customizing fonts 98
Creating monograms 99
Visualizing Your Design with Templates and Guides 100
Legacy Templates 101
Guides 103
Working with Layers 104
Discovering how to use layers 105
Mastering key tools in the Layers Panel 106
Setting the Correct Operations 113
Chapter 9: Bringing Your Designs to Life 117
Saving and Sharing Projects 117
Saving for offline use 118
Creating and managing Collections 118
Sharing your projects 118
Sending Your Design to Your Cricut 119
Introducing the Prepare screen 120
Setting up your mat 121
Checking out the Make screen 123
Part 3: Projects Using Paper and Cardstock 125
Chapter 10: Cutting Gift Tags 127
Checking Out Project Ideas Using Gift Tags 127
Picking the Right Tools and Materials for Gift Tags 129
Choosing Your Gift Tag Method 130
Method 1: Simple cut 130
Method 2: Drawing and cutting 131
Method 3: Print Then Cut 132
Creating Gift Tags: A Step-by-Step Guide 133
Chapter 11: Crafting Rolled Paper Flowers 137
Exploring Project Ideas for Paper Flowers 138
Choosing the Right Paper for Rolled Flowers 139
Exploring recommended paper types 139
Avoiding papers that don't work 139
Discovering Paper Flower Templates 140
Searching Cricut Design Space for templates 140
Browsing third-party websites for templates 141
Choosing the Right Cut Size for Your Flowers 142
Mastering Quilling Tools 143
Using manual quilling tools 143
Trying electric quilling tools 144
Testing out alternatives to quilling tools 144
Rolling Paper Flowers: A Step-by-Step Guide 144
Gathering your materials 145
Step 1: Designing your flower 145
Step 2: Cutting the flower 146
Step 3: Rolling the flower 147
Step 4: Gluing the flower 148
Adding stems, leaves, and pistils 148
Chapter 12: Making Cards 151
Starting Your Card-Making Journey 152
Celebrating all occasions 152
Building your skills 152
Choosing between Insert Cards and Cutaway Cards 153
Crafting Insert Cards 153
Creating Cutaway Cards 156
Picking the right size card 156
Gathering Materials for Card-Making 157
Starting with the basics 157
Enhancing with optional materials 158
Using Cricut Card Mats 159
Making Cards with Your Cricut: A Step-by-Step Guide 160
Step 1: Finding a project 160
Step 2: Creating a template 162
Step 3: Adding your designs 165
Step 4: Adjusting operations 166
Step 5: Preparing to make your card 167
Step 6: Loading your material onto the mat 168
Step 7: Loading your tools and mat 169
Step 8: Making your project 170
Step 9: Assembling your card 171
Part 4: Vinyl and Heat Transfer Projects 173
Chapter 13: Working with Vinyl 175
Exploring Vinyl Project Ideas 176
Avoiding Surfaces Vinyl Doesn't Stick To 177
Checking Out Types of Vinyl 177
Deciding between permanent and removable vinyl 178
Exploring specialty vinyl for unique designs 178
Using Smart Vinyl for mat-free cutting 179
Weeding Vinyl to Reveal Your Design 179
Using Transfer Tape 181
Gathering Your Materials for Vinyl Projects 182
Working with Vinyl: A Step-by-Step Guide 183
Step 1: Designing your project 183
Step 2: Preparing the materials 184
Step 3: Loading and cutting the vinyl 185
Step 4: Weeding the excess vinyl 186
Step 5: Applying transfer tape 186
Step 6: Transferring your design 186
Caring for Your Vinyl Projects 187
Chapter 14: Layering Vinyl for Colorful Designs 189
Choosing the Right Vinyl for Layering 190
Sticking with the easiest vinyl to layer 190
Avoiding vinyl that's hard to layer 190
Layering dark colors last 190
Working with Multilayered Designs in Design Space 191
Ungrouping layered designs 191
Deciding the stack order 192
Considering the maximum number of layers 192
Simplifying designs with the Slice tool 193
Exploring Layering Techniques 194
Layering from bottom to top 194
Layering from top to bottom 194
Using registration marks for precise layering 195
Layering with parchment paper 200
Chapter 15: Using Heat Transfer Vinyl 203
Exploring HTV Project Ideas 203
Checking Out Types of HTV 204
Finding the Right Size and Placement for T-shirt Decals 206
Gathering Everything You Need for HTV Projects 207
Cutting and Applying HTV: A Step-by-Step Guide 207
Step 1: Designing your project 208
Step 2: Preparing the materials 209
Step 3: Loading and cutting the HTV 209
Step 4: Weeding and transferring your design 209
Following Washing and Care Instructions for HTV Projects 210
Chapter 16: Trying Infusible Ink 211
Exploring Infusible Project Ideas 212
Gathering Your Materials 212
Common materials for all Infusible Ink projects 213
Specific materials for projects using Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets 213
Specific materials for projects using Infusible Ink Pens and Markers 214
Choosing the right blanks for Infusible Ink 215
Working with Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets: A Stepby-Step Guide 215
Step 1: Create your design 215
Step 2: Slice multilayer designs (if necessary) 216
Step 3: Adjust settings in Design Space 216
Step 4: Clean and prepare your materials 217
Step 5: Cut and weed your design 218
Step 6: Position and apply the design 218
Step 7: Cool and reveal your design 220
Drawing with Cricut Infusible Ink Pens and Markers 220
Step 1: Create and mirror your design 220
Step 2: Draw your design 223
Step 3: Prepare your blank 223
Step 4: Position and apply your design 224
Step 5: Cool and reveal 225
Caring for Your Infusible Ink Projects 225
Chapter 17: Etching with Vinyl Stencils 227
Exploring Glass Etching Projects 228
Gathering Your Materials for Glass Etching Projects 229
Creating Your Stencil in Cricut Design Space 231
Etching Glass with Your Cricut: A Step-by-Step Guide 235
Step 1: Preparing your design 235
Step 2: Cleaning the glass 235
Step 3: Applying your transfer tape 235
Step 4: Applying the etching cream 236
Step 5: Rinsing off the etching cream 237
Part 5: Projects Using Printable Materials 239
Chapter 18: Mastering Cricut Print Then Cut 241
Knowing How Print Then Cut Works 241
Exploring Print Then Cut Project Ideas 242
Testing Different Print Then Cut Materials 243
Preparing Your Cricut for Print Then Cut 244
Calibrating your Cricut 244
Understanding Print Then Cut size limits 245
Getting the best print quality 246
Distinguishing Bleed on from Bleed off 247
Using Print Then Cut: A Step-by-Step Guide 248
Gathering your materials 248
Step 1: Setting up your design 248
Step 2: Printing your design 250
Step 3: Cutting your project 251
Chapter 19: Creating Custom Stickers 253
Exploring Project Ideas Using Stickers 254
Gathering Your Materials 255
Choosing your printable sticker paper 256
Making sure your sticker paper works with your Cricut model 256
Designing Your Stickers in Cricut Design Space 257
Using the Create Sticker tool with Cricut Access 257
Adding borders to your stickers without Cricut Access 258
Printing Your Stickers 260
Waterproofing Your Stickers 262
Cutting Both Ways: Kiss-Cut Stickers versus Die-Cut Stickers 262
Chapter 20: Crafting with Printable Heat Transfer Vinyl 265
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Printable HTV 265
Exploring Project Ideas with Printable HTV 266
Gathering Your Materials for Printable HTV Projects 266
Using Printable HTV: A Step-by-Step Guide 268
Step 1: Creating your design 268
Step 2: Printing your design 269
Step 3: Cutting your design 270
Step 4: Preparing your fabric 270
Step 5: Applying the design 271
Step 6: Peeling the backing (if needed) 271
Following Proper Care Instructions 272
Part 6: the Part of Tens 273
Chapter 21: Ten Beginner Cricut Projects 275
Making Birthday Banners 276
Crafting Custom Bookmarks 277
Personalizing Water Bottles 278
Assembling Acrylic Key Chains 280
Decorating Throw Pillows 281
Designing Custom Hats 282
Monogramming Towels 284
Creating Infusible Ink Coasters 285
Organizing with Custom Labels 287
Creating Custom Candle Labels 288
Chapter 22: Ten Advanced Cricut Projects 291
Engraving Pet ID Tags 291
"Etching" Coated Metal with Citristrip 293
Fashioning Leather Earrings 295
Assembling Fabric Flowers 297
Stenciling Wood Signs 299
Creating Vibrant Coffee Mugs 301
Making Decorative Cake Toppers 303
Cutting Perfect Quilt Blocks 304
Piecing Together Custom Puzzles 306
Personalizing Elegant Envelopes 309
Index 313
Chapter 2
IN THIS CHAPTER
Exploring different models
Discovering each machine's capabilities
Shopping for a new Cricut
You may be asking yourself, "Which Cricut machine is the best fit for me?" Choosing the perfect Cricut can feel a bit overwhelming with all the options out there, but don't worry - I've got you covered! The answer comes down to the types of projects you want to make, your budget, and what each machine can do.
Cricut currently offers four families of machines: the Maker series, the Explore series, the Joy series, and the Venture. Each family offers something a little different depending on the types of projects you're looking to make. This is the complete lineup of machines available at the time of writing:
Older models like the Cricut Explore Air 2, the original Maker, and the Explore 3 and Maker 3 are still available in some places, but they're gradually being phased out. Although fully discontinued models aren't covered in detail, this chapter walks you through each of the machines currently offered by Cricut, their capabilities, and the types of projects they're best suited for. So dive in and find your perfect match!
Chapter 4 has details on tools and materials for your new Cricut machine. Parts 3, 4, and 5 are chock-full of project ideas.
The Cricut Maker series is designed for crafters who want more power, precision, and versatility. With models including the Cricut Maker, Cricut Maker 3, and the newest Cricut Maker 4, these machines can handle everything from delicate fabrics to tough materials like leather and balsa wood. With a variety of interchangeable tools, these machines go beyond cutting - you can engrave, deboss, and even use the Rotary Blade for fabric projects. The Maker series gives you the flexibility to tackle just about any creative project you have in mind!
The Cricut Maker 4, released in February 2025, is the latest addition to the Cricut Maker series. It does everything the Maker 3 does but can be up to two times faster, with speed varying by the material and use of a cutting mat. This model introduces two new colors, seashell and sage.
The Cricut Maker 3, released in June 2021, is an upgraded version of the original Cricut Maker (which I cover later in this chapter) and is the most versatile Cricut machine for both hobbyists and pros.
The Cricut Maker 3 is loaded with features. It can cut, write, draw, foil, score, engrave, deboss, and perforate. Check out some of the new and improved features of the Cricut Maker 3:
The largest cut size for the Cricut Maker 3 is 11.7 inches wide by 12 feet long when you're using Smart Materials. Because Smart Materials don't need a mat, you're not limited by mat size for longer projects. If you're using other materials with a mat, the biggest mat size is 12 inches by 24 inches, so that's your limit.
Although the Cricut Maker 3 is incredibly versatile, it does have some limits. It can only cut materials up to 12 inches wide, which may not be enough for large projects like oversize wall decals or banners. Also, although it can engrave aluminum and acrylic using the Engraving Tip, it can't cut these materials.
The Cricut Maker 3 works with all the same tools as the original Cricut Maker, giving you lots of project options. Here's a list of the QuickSwap tools and accessories you can use:
Released in August 2017, the Cricut Maker was a big deal before the Maker 3 and 4 arrived. Although it doesn't support Smart Materials for matless cutting, it remains highly versatile with its Adaptive Tool System. You can use it for custom apparel, home décor, paper crafts, and personalized gifts like engraved items or custom mugs.
It's worth noting that the series doesn't include a "Cricut Maker 2" - it jumped right from the original Cricut Maker to the Cricut Maker 3.
The Maker can perform all the same functions as the Maker 3. It can cut, write, draw, foil, score, engrave, deboss, and perforate. Here's what you can expect from the original Cricut Maker:
With a cutting mat, the Cricut Maker can cut designs up to 11.7 inches by 24 inches. This works well for large projects like oversize wall decals or banners made in sections that you piece together. If you need continuous cuts for extra-long designs without seams, consider the Cricut Maker 3 or 4.
The Maker can't use Smart Materials, meaning you'll need a cutting mat for every project. This limits your cuts to a maximum length of 24 inches, so you can't work with extra-long matless designs. And although it's fast, it doesn't quite hit the speed of the newest Maker 4, but it's still a solid machine.
Here's a list of the tools and accessories that work with the original Cricut Maker:
The Cricut Explore series is a great middle-ground option for crafters who want more versatility than the Cricut Joy offers but don't need all the advanced tools of the Cricut Maker series. These machines, which include the Explore Air 2, the Explore 3, and the newly released Explore 4, these machines can handle a variety of materials, making them great for projects like T-shirts, decals, and greeting cards. With features like a Fine-Point Blade for precision cuts and compatibility with Cricut Pens for writing and drawing, the Explore series is a solid choice for everyday crafters looking to bring their designs to life.
Released alongside the Maker 4 in February 2025, the new Cricut Explore 4 doubles the cutting speed of its predecessor, the Explore 3. For more on what the Explore 4 can do, just look at the Explore 3's features - they're pretty much the same.
Released in June 2021, the Cricut Explore 3 is an upgrade from the Explore Air 2, offering matless cutting with Smart Materials for longer and faster projects.
The Cricut Explore 3 can cut, write, draw, score, and foil. Check out some of the new and improved features of the Cricut Explore 3:
With Smart Materials, the Explore 3 can cut up to 12 inches wide and 12 feet long. If you're using a mat, the maximum size is 11.7 inches by 24 inches.
Unlike the Maker series (which I cover earlier in this chapter), the Explore 3 doesn't support advanced tools like the Rotary Blade, Knife Blade, or Debossing Tip. It can't handle heavy materials like chipboard or thick leather, which are a breeze for the Maker machines.
The Explore 3 is compatible with the following tools:
The Cricut Explore Air 2, released in August 2017, is an upgraded version of the original Cricut Explore, cutting and writing up to two times faster. Although not as fast as the Cricut Maker series, it can still handle a variety of projects, including vinyl decals, custom T-shirts, gift boxes, personalized signs, and full-color stickers using the Print Then Cut feature.
The Cricut Explore Air 2 can cut, write, draw, foil, and score. With a mat, the Explore Air 2 can cut materials up to 11.7 x 24 inches. Benefits of the Cricut Explore Air 2 include the following:
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