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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections

Cricut Questions

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amother

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 2:33 pm

My daughter is very crafty and is begging for a Cricut Machine for her Bas Mitzvah.
Im seriously considering it.
2 questions, for those experienced with it:

1) I see many contradicting answers online about whether or not you need to pay to use Cricut Design Space. Some people say you must pay membership fees, others say that was their idea in 2021 but they changed their mind, and other say you only have to pay for using more than 20 images per month or something like that.
Anyone who is CURRENTLY using cricut, can you verify if there is a cost?
And if the answer is that there is a free limited option, can you clarify just how limited the option is? My daughter likes being creative and making her own designs but she still is only 11 and would likely need to have a decent supply of available designs and fonts.

2) I see online that it is possible for her to make her own design, and upload it to cricut design space. Some places say it must be a certain file type. I keep seeing "svg" as a recommended file type.
Is this true?
If so, where can she create her own designs to upload, that saves the designs as this compatable file type? (Please tell me there is a free option for this; im not about to pay for adobe illustrator or anything like that!)

Im not savy with graphic design at all so please keep that in mind in your explanations. Im just a mommy trying to help her creative daughter out.

Thank you so much in advance!

amother

Orchid

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 4:12 pm

You do not need to pay. Cricut tried this but backed down after public outcry. The paid option gives you access to designs provided by Cricut, but you don’t need it if you’re making your own designs, buy them from others, or want to pay for individual designs. You do have to use Cricut Design Space to actually cut your designs with the machine, but there’s no charge for it.

You can use file types other than SVG but it will give you the most flexibility. Most sites that sell designs or give them away for free use SVG format. You can also design right in Cricut Design Space. If you want to create designs outside design space, look at Inkscape.

I got the subscription from Cricut for a few months when I was getting started and don’t regret it. Once I started finding designs on other sites and making my own I stopped using it. There’sa lot of cool stuff out there

amother

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 4:42 pm

amother [ Orchid ] wrote:

Thank you!
It sounds like you're saying design space is only free for cutting the designs...are there no designs that they provide for free? (What do we mean by "designs" exactly? Is there any free option to create a word/personalize a name using their font? To add a picture like a cat or an umbrella?)

gande

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 4:53 pm

Basic shapes are free as are some designs( you need to filter your search for them) otherwise you can purchase images/projects individually there are many for 1.99. Svg files can be divided by color so it’s best but you can also use jpg. What I do is download pics from the web as jpg or png and upload it to the program for free. Any other questions I’m glad to try to help.

Edited to clarify. You can do the designing for free on design space. They give a nice amount of free fonts.

amother

Chestnut

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 5:38 pm

You don't have to subscribe to Design Space but you will be very, very limited in which of their images you can use.

amother

Candycane

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 5:55 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

You do need an app on a phone to do it. Computer program. Basically you usually need internet for it..

amother

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 9:29 pm

amother [ Candycane ] wrote:

You do need an app on a phone to do it. Computer program. Basically you usually need internet for it..

Thats not a problem

amother

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 9:32 pm

gande wrote:

Thank you. So jpg or or png will work, as long as you dont need the colors separated?

Also, do you know how she would go about uploading her own handwriting or a cartoon she doodled with a pen? I read that it is possible, but cant find how...

happy7

Wed, Jul 06 2022, 11:08 pm

Do you find the expense of the supplies to be worthwhile? My daughter wanted a circuit, but the supplies are really pricey

amother

Orchid

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:12 am

op, you might want to try installing Design Space (it’s free) before buying the machine so you can try out its features and make sure it will work for you. You’ll get promoted for a machine type so select the one you intend to buy.

amother

Orchid

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:15 am

happy7 wrote:

Do you find the expense of the supplies to be worthwhile? My daughter wanted a circuit, but the supplies are really pricey

You can use non-Cricut materials (paper, vinyl, etc) which are often cheaper. Same for tools except for the cutting blades. You can find adapters to use non-Cricut pens.

amother

Pearl

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:29 am

amother [ Orchid ] wrote:

You can use non-Cricut materials (paper, vinyl, etc) which are often cheaper. Same for tools except for the cutting blades. You can find adapters to use non-Cricut pens.

Does anyone have links for the non cricut paper vinyl and tools
I would really appre cite it

ruby slippers

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:03 pm

Was just looking at cricut which would you recommend the maker or the explorer- sorry to hijack- The maker is more expensive. was hoping for sales- I think I missed them...

amother

DarkRed

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:24 pm

eema1 wrote:

Was just looking at cricut which would you recommend the maker or the explorer- sorry to hijack- The maker is more expensive. was hoping for sales- I think I missed them...

Was just 30% off on prime day.

amother

Orchid

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:41 pm

amother [ Pearl ] wrote:

Does anyone have links for the non cricut paper vinyl and tools
I would really appre cite it

Paper: you can use any paper you want. I use whatever my local craft store has. Keep larger scraps from cuts for reuse. I had a project where I needed a small circle, so I pulled a tiny scrap out of my pile and placed it on the map in the position on the mat (the software will show you). This really cuts down on cost.

Vinyl: For small projects, you can use any vinyl that fits on a Cricut mat. Ive used stuff from https://www.143vinyl.com/htv-h.....nyl/. I actually do use the Cricut “smart” rolls on my Maker for convenience when I’m making a lot of labels for convenience because you don’t need a mat. Otherwise, whatever fits on a mat.

Tools: I use cheap Nicapa mats from Amazon instead of Cricut standard grip mats. Most weeding tools (for removing cut material from mats and trimming stuck pieces) that get good reviews on Amazon or from your crafts store will be fine. The basic set from Cricut will be completely fine too and it’s reasonably priced. I haven’t found a brand of transfer tape that I like. Cricut’s can be TOO sticky but the others I’ve tried are just barely sticky enough and hard to reuse. I invested in a Light box for weeding that’s so much cheaper than Cricut’s, but I’d wait on that until you know that you need one.

Updated to add: I haven’t tried any pen adapters yet. There’s a list here: https://www.howtoheatpress.com.....ter/. Has anyone tried any of them? I needed pens for one project and had Michael’s reward points so I caved and bought the expensive Cricut ones.

If you let us know what kind of projects your daughter wants to do we might have more specifics.this page

amother

Daphne

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:42 pm

Explore air 2 is very good and cheap now. The Maker can cut additional stuff such as fabric and thicker stuff. Do not buy cricut vinyl its very expensive and not so good. For sticker paper look for oracle brand and htv siser brand is great. I have also bought off brand patterned htv on amazon and they have been great as well.

amother

Bellflower

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:45 pm

amother [ Daphne ] wrote:

Is it worth it to spend the extra money on the explorer three so that you don't have to use a mat?

amother

Orchid

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:53 pm

eema1 wrote:

Was just looking at cricut which would you recommend the maker or the explorer- sorry to hijack- The maker is more expensive. was hoping for sales- I think I missed them...

What kind of projects are you interested in?

Cricut’s info page is pretty good: https://cricut.com/blog/cricut.....ison/

I got the Maker 3 for Smart materials (especially rolls of vinyl). The new Explorer 3 supports them and if it had been around when I bought the machine I might have used it. I do like being able to deboss (create imprinted or raised letters) and might do some engraving in the future, which you can’t do with the Explorer machines. I also have cut some materials like heavy chipboard and foam that the Explorer can’t.

If I were just making paper crafts and small numbers of vinyl labels I might have gone with the Explorer 3 if it had been out at the time.

Funny enough, my husband wanted a laser cutter but that’s outrageously expensive, so the Maker 3 was a weirdly good compromise for us. 😀

amother

Orchid

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 5:56 pm

amother [ Daphne ] wrote:

Do not buy cricut vinyl its very expensive and not so good. For sticker paper look for oracle brand and htv siser brand is great.

I forgot about this in my previous post, but I’ve heard great things about Siser Easy Weed and, surprisingly, Dollar Tree vinyl.

ruby slippers

Mon, Jul 18 2022, 1:14 pm

amother [ DarkRed ] wrote:

Was just 30% off on prime day.

Yeh- I missed that- but its on sale still at Michaels Expolore 3 for $279. Where do you buy cardstock for it. Does it need special cardstock?

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