Introducing Our New Cricut Maker

The folks over at Cricut call their new Cricut Maker the “ultimate smart cutting machine”.  It can cut fabrics, leather, sewing patterns, card stock, vinyl and more.  Take a look at their Projects page to see examples of what it can do. I got my feet wet by trying some of the simpler card and vinyl stuff, picking out a couple ready-made projects from Cricut to get started.  I found a simple envelope and card combination that used card stock and vinyl and a festive holiday wreath that uses pine green cardstock for the leaves and brown cardstock for the pine cones.  Apparently, I forgot to pick up something in red or a make a bow.  I also tried some winter window clings but they weren’t camera friendly.

Materials

Like our vinyl and laser cutters, we don’t have any of the materials on hand but you can find a wide variety of card stock and vinyl (max 12”x 12”) at most local craft stores.  Many of those same places will have Cricut branded materials too.  Our kit includes the basic weeding toolset, scoring stylus, and Cricut pen set.  We also currently have a few each of the light and standard grip cutting mats which are necessary to use the machine.  

Getting Started

To use the Cricut Maker at Do Space you’ll need to reserve the equipment online then check-in at the Help Desk.   You’ll also need to setup your own Cricut account to manage your projects and purchases for things like templates, fonts, and patterns.  You can also do your own designs from home.  Once you’ve signed up for a Cricut account, go to the Cricut Design Space to start viewing and creating projects from home or at a computer here at Do Space.

Keep an eye out on our blog for some examples and maybe a guest post from one of our members that have used a Cricut for their projects.  Also like most of our equipment and software, you may also submit a mentor request if you think you might need some help designing or using the Cricut.