I am thinking of purchasing a Cricut machine. Mostly for school projects. I am not very crafty to say the least.
I would love to hear feedback. Pros, cons, etc.
I would buy a package deal on the machine when they are on sale at cricut.com I watched videos by Jennifer Maker and MakersGonnaLearn at Youtube to see what the machine could do. Then I bought the Cricut and took a basic class from Jennifer Maker. I focused on cutting paper first in order to cut down on costs. The class was very helpful in learning the software which to me is very user friendly compared to other cutting machines I have had. The only con I found was it is a fun black hole that can cost money and the possibilities are endless.
There are differences but not too many. I watch a feed on Facebook for Cricut and when this topic comes up many suggest the Cricut Maker because it can cut more materials than the Cricut Explore Air. The Maker3,which is the second edition of the Maker,uses "smart" materials which drives up the cost a bit but there are some additional functions that it will do.From what I understand the Maker three cuts the same materials as the first Maker edition but it cuts it a bit faster.
There is a slight learning curve but I found it easy to do once I took a class. That prevented me from wasting costly craft materials and time.Some people claim they bought one and then were too intimidated. I tried to avoid that by taking the class right after my purchase. I watched Jennifer Maker's getting started videos and the unboxing videos and transitioned to her online class soon after. I think I use it a lot because I fully understand what it can do due to the class instruction.
Thanks Anna for your information. I, too, am thinking about getting a cricut but I have been overwhelmed on where to start. Your advice was very helpful!
I have a lot of fun with the Maker and even bought the Cricut Joy a few months after learning the Maker. The Joy is my portable mini"Maker" for going to classes.
My daughter and I both have the Cricut Maker and love it. There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube that are helpful. I do agree about it being a fun black hole. We make a lot of graphic t-shirts and other clothing, so we each bought the Easy Press too
I have the Cricut maker. My first machine. I love it. It hasn't been difficult to use. I agree with watching Jennifer Maker and others on youtube or FB for helpful videos.
I love my Cricut! I have an explore air 3 at home and our grade level has a maker at school. I've heard a lot of bad feedback about the maker 3 on cricut groups, so I'd be a little wary to get it. I really don't use it for any of the "fancier" materials, so the explore is just fine for my needs. I mostly do paper and vinyl.
It's very easy to use once you get the hang of it. I use it mostly for school - labels, shirts, nametags, etc. I've made magnets, game pieces, bulletin board stuff, signs, so many things and they look so much better with not much more effort!
DH bought me an Explore Air in 2016. It was still working great in 2021, but I upgraded to a Maker when I retired because I planned on doing more of a variety of projects.
I also have a Joy which is great for small vinyl projects.
There are plenty of online resources. Any time I want to try something new, I do a quick YouTube search first.
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04-18-2022, 10:37 AM
