Cricut Machine

A Cricut machine is considered an essential tool by many scrapbookers these days. They provide professional looking titles and accents, but also can provide usefulness for many other crafting chores.

When the Cricut was introduced a few years ago, scrapbookers lined up to have the new machine. While many people who craft have used die cutting machines for years, Cricut machines offered a new and different way to do things.

In short, a Cricut is an electronic machine that cuts letters and shapes for you. You choose a specific cartridge from the dozens available. You can choose a font cartridge in any popular font, or you might choose a theme cartridge, like a Disney theme which will feature shapes and fonts that fit with the Disney look.

The cartridge is inserted into the machine and an overlay placed on the keyboard. You simply choose the size you want your letters and images to be and type your words or choose your images. There is a special cutting mat that is used in the machine with the paper you will have cut out. Slide these into the machine, hit “cut” and let the machine do all the work.

With traditional die cutting machines, you must insert the individual die into a machine with the paper before manually cutting each shape or letter out. The Cricut was exciting when it was launched because it could cut several letters and shapes at one time and without any effort on the user’s part.

For scrapbookers, Cricut machines offer many benefits:

  • Faster and easier lettering for pages
  • The ability to make special titles and graphic elements that otherwise would take a good deal of time
  • Savings on the cost of paper since 12 x 12 paper only needs to be cut into 6 x 12 pieces to fit into the machine. Previous die cutting machines required smaller bits of paper that often left scraps
  • Ability to create handmade tags and other elements that can be purchased at a high cost, thereby saving the crafter money

But it’s not just scrapbookers that use the Cricut with success. There are many other applications for the Cricut. Some of the additional uses for the Cricut include:

  • School projects
  • Home décor items (upgraded versions of the Cricut can cut through vinyl so you can make your own vinyl letters and sayings for walls.
  • Work projects that require project boards or other graphic elements
  • Lettering for home uses, such as garage sale signs and bake sale signs
  • Children often find a multitude of uses for the Cricut as well

Prices for Cricut machines are varied depending on where it is purchased, but prices have come down in recent years as additional Cricut products have been introduced. The purchase of the machine isn’t the last purchase, however. Users can buy extra mats, replacement blades, and tools that help get the letters and images safely off the sticky mat.

Cricut machines changed the way scrapbookers and crafters to business, so it’s unlikely they’ll be leaving the craft landscape anytime soon.