Cricut Settings Table

One thing that is absolutely critical to making the Cricut cut properly is to have the pressure, speed and depth of blade correct for the type of paper you are using. This, by far, is what makes or breaks your Cricut experience. No one wants to ruin expensive paper by accidently having the wrong settings in place and then shredding their paper! It's certainly happened to me enough times, especially when switching amongst different types of paper like going from heavy cardstock to thin patterned paper.

So as not to forget to check the settings each time before I cut, I created the table shown above, which visually reminds me to check the settings and also tells me what settings are appropriate. These are some good guidelines to follow, but may need some tweaking as the machines can be a little different from one another.

Another important tip to remember is to make sure the blade housing number is SQUARE ON facing you. I had mine slightly off center and none of my cuts looked good! I was ready to throw the Cricut out the window until a friend looked at it and immediately diagnosed that as the problem. Thank goodness for Tammy!

A good guideline to follow also has to do with how intricate the cut is that you are trying to make. The more detailed the cut, the SLOWER the speed. And vice versa. Keep that in mind when setting your machine.

Finally, I love to test my cuts on cardstock from Walmart. You can get a pack of 150 sheets of white cardstock (8.5 x 11) at Walmart for less than $6 and it has saved me from numerous mistakes. Look in the office suppy area for this. Another idea is to set your blade and pressure at 1 and watch how the cut moves across the page. It won't cut the page but will give you an idea of the size of the cut.

To snag a copy of my Cricut settings table, click HERE! I hope it helps you in your Cricutting adventures!

Resetting Your Cricut Machine

Have you ever had your blade drag across your design? Or the Cricut suddenly doesn't want to work right? This happens occasionally and here are some ways to fix it:

If your blade is dragging, check that your blade housing has not slipped. You may want to take it out and place it back in, just to make sure. While you've got the blade housing out, clear your blade of any stray paper bits by depressing the blade against a non-scratch surface, taking care not to get cut!

If that doesn't work or something else is going on, here are directions to reset your Cricut machine:

1) First, turn your machine on with no cartridge loaded. Then you are going to roll all your gray dials (the two on the left and the one on the right) down to there lowest setting.

2) Then you will want to grasp the green/gold cylinder blade assembly and use it to pull the entire gray carriage car unit (the one with the Cricut bug on it) along its track to the other side of the machine. Back in the cave where the gray carriage car usually sits there is a red button. Press that button and hold it down for about three seconds. Let go and then move the gray carriage car back into place.

3) This next step will sound a bit odd, but many times it can fix your little "bug". You're going to roll all your dials all the way up and all the way down three times-three times for each dial.

4) Then you are going to hit the "Cut" button and turn the machine off. Let the machine sit for a few minutes (15-20), load a cartridge, turn it on, and try a practice cut.

If this does not solve your problem, call Cricut toll free at 1-877-727-4288 7am to 6pm MST Mon-Fri (make sure you are by your machine) and someone there will walk you through some trouble shooting tips and determine if a replacement machine is needed.

Cricut Baby Bug, Cricut Create and Cricut Expression Tips

There were some great Cricut deals out there this past weekend - some should even be good through today! Wait - what is a Cricut anyway? It's a machine that electronically cuts out letters and shapes, utilizing cartridges that are sold separately. It does not require a computer to work, although later I will explain about some software that enhances the Cricut's functionality and will require computer hookup. So, what's the difference between these three machines? Here's the lowdown:

Machines

1) The Cricut Baby Bug or standard Cricut (shown above): It cuts paper sized from 6"x12" and smaller into shapes and letters using the Cricut cartridges. The smallest font size it will cut is 1" and largest is 5.5" and the longest it will cut is 11.5". It weighs around 7 lbs and is very portable. Typically, you can find these new on sale for as low as $99 (Joann's this weekend) up to $184 and they usually come with two cartridges called George and Basic Shapes. You can find used machines on craigslist and ebay for around $100, but usually they do not include any cartridges. Start looking this week because lots of people just upgraded to the Expression and will be looking to sell their machines.



2) The Cricut Create machine, above, is about the same size as the Baby Bug but has some versatility. It retails at $299 but can be found for much cheaper. According to the cricut.com website, here are some of the differences:It allows cuts from 0.25" up to 11.5" on a 6" x 12" cutting mat. The machine also includes an eight-way directional blade, Portrait mode (to cut taller images), Fit to Page mode (to cut the largest cut possible), Auto Fill mode (to mass produce cuts), Center Point function, and Flip function. An improved display screen and sleek design add greater style and convenience. So, basically, you can cut fonts smaller and use some of the functions to make multiple cuts of the same thing easier through autofill. This has a higher price point, is found usually only at Michaels, and comes with the Don Juan font and a shape cartridge.

3) The Cricut Expression, above, is much larger and more expensive than the other two machines. This weekend, it was on sale for $199 at Walmart but is listed at retail at Michaels for as high as $399. Shop around for the best price, as there is a wide variance. It accommodates paper sized 12"x24" (if you purchase a longer mat, sold separately). It comes with a 12"x12" mat. The main differences between this and the smaller cricuts are the ability to use different creative features within one cut (i.e. one letter of one style, the next of another style, etc.) and the ability to make very large cuts by using the 12"x24" mat. Also, the Expression comes with an LCD screen so you can see exactly what is going to cut before the cutting begins, a huge bonus! It comes with Plantin' Schoolbook and Accent Essentials cartridges. It is not very portable, as an FYI.

Training
After you purchase your Cricut, I highly recommend watching the videos on how to use them.

For the regular Cricut, watch Introduction, BasIc Training, and Advanced Training. There are also Maintenance and Design Studio videos.

For the Cricut Expression, watch Intro, Training One, and Training Two.

Tools
Now that we've cleared up the possibilities, once you've bought the Cricut, what else do you need? I regret to tell you that there are a few more things to buy. One is the tool kit for $25, which has all the tools you could ever need, including some non-essentials like scissors and a ruler. If you wanted to get by, you could individually purchase the scraper ($5.99),

the hook ($5),

and the spatula ($5.99) OR wait for a sale on Cricut accessories and get the tool kit then. It is really hard to use the Cricut without the scraper, at a minimum. If you have a scraper from Pampered Chef and their stoneware baking sheets, that works also. You will also need a package of mats because they do wear out. BUT, only buy one package, as you can always resticky them by either washing them and letting them dry OR wiping them down with a baby wipe and letting them dry. If that doesn't appeal to you, you can use the quilt re-positioning spray from Joann's.


Cricut also made the Jukebox, above, which will hold six cartridges so that you have access to more than one cartridge at a time. You can also link up to three Jukeboxes, thus having immediate access to 18 cartridges at once. It retails for $90 but was as low as $50 at Michael's this past weekend.

Software
Now, what if you want your letters to be welded together, like cursive writing? Cricut created the Design Studio, which allows you to weld your letters together and see a screen where you can modify your text or shape in any direction to get the cut you want. "What you see on the screen is what you get". The Design Studio retails for $90 and hooks to your computer by using a USB cord (A/B style - one end flat head, one end square head - not included). It only works on WINDOWS machines. Although the design studio claims to have all the Cricut shapes in its software, you may only actually CUT OUT those that correspond to the cartridges you already own. There are some excellent tutorials and info on the Design Studio on the cricut.com site. Many people have used the Design Studio to create those shaped word books where each letter staggers into the next (see photo below).


Cricut also allows you to download a free trial of the software to check it out - Free Design Studio Trial.

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