Crystal Allen - The Unofficial Book of Cricut Crafts: The Ultimate Guide to Your Electric Cutting Machine

Also by Crystal Allen
Caticorn Crafts

Copyright 2020 by Crystal Allen

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Daniel Brount

Cover photo credit: Crystal Allen

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-5714-1

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-5715-8

Printed in China

To my sisters

The sister I was born with.

The sister I gained through marriage.

The sisters who started as friends and then became family.

And to all my sisters in the crafting world, because through our creativity we are all connected!

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Hi, crafty friends! Im so excited you have discovered this book and that we get to craft together! Im Crystal Allen, and Im the owner of Hello Creative Family. If you are reading this book, then chances are you fall into one of four categories:

Youve heard about the amazing things that Cricut cutting machines can do, and youre considering buying one. (Do it!!! Your life will be forever changed.)

Youve recently purchased a Cricut, its still sitting in its box, youre feeling overwhelmed, and youre looking for a bit of help. (Youve come to the right place! I cant wait to help you get that bad boy out of the box and set up so you can get crafting!)

Youre a Cricut newbie, youve unboxed your Cricut, youve cut your first few projects, but now youre feeling overwhelmed by ALL THE THINGS it can do. (Were going to have so much fun. Before you know it, youre going to be a Cricut expert and will be cutting this, that, and everything with your Cricut.)

Youre a Cricut expert, your Cricut is your ride or die craft tool, you know it can do so many amazing things, and youre here for some extra crafty inspiration! (Yay!!! I hope youre inspired by the 40 projects in this book and that you have so much fun with it.)

Im so happy to be writing this book, because Ive been in all four of the categories listed above! I was pretty new to the craft blogging world the first time I heard about the Cricut. My crafty friends told me it was amazing, that I needed one, and that my crafting life would be forever changed once I owned a Cricut Explore. A month later, I was at a blogging conference where Cricut was a sponsor for an evening party. They had a table set up in each corner of the room where they were showing people how to use their amazing cutting machines. All around me, people were eating, dancing, and having a grand celebration, but I only had eyes for those incredible cutting machines. The table in the far corner of the room was completely abandoned, so I went over, sat myself down next to a Cricut employee, and spent the next three hours asking her every question I could possibly think of and learning about this incredible machine.

A month later, my first Cricut was delivered and my crafting life has been forever changedtruly. Its been six years since the first time I used a Cricut, and this incredible machine has taken my crafting abilities to a whole new level. My Cricut is by far my favorite craft tooland I know youll love yours too!

Ive broken this book into four sections:

Which Cricut Is Right For You?

In this section, I will share the differences between the Cricut Explore Air 2, the Cricut Maker, and the new (as of time of press) Cricut Joy, review which materials each machine cuts, and help you determine which machine is right for you!

Unboxing Your Cricut and Setting Up

I cant tell you how many people have told me that theyve bought a Cricut and its been sitting in a box in their craft room for six months or longer! Im going to show you how easy it is to unbox your Cricut, get it set up, and create your very first project.

Cricut Design Space 101

Design Space is amazing! Once you know how to use it, the sky is the limit for what you can create! Im going to walk you through the basics and, before you know it, youll be using Design Space like a pro!

40 Projects Using Cricuts Most Popular Materials

You have your Cricut, its all set up, you know how to use Design Spacenow its time for the real fun to begin! Were breaking out the most popular materials to cut with your Cricut and giving you 40 projects you can make with your machine! Projects are divided into eight sections:

Vinyl

Paper

HTV

Fabric

Basswood, Balsa wood, and Chipboard

Leather

Infusible Ink

Specialty Materials

Each chapter starts with a breakdown about that material, tips and tricks for using it, lingo, and other supplies and tools that you may want to have on hand when cutting that material.

My main goal for this section of the book is to give you a wide variety of ways you can use each type of material. For example, in the section about HTV, I show you how to apply HTV to clothing, wood, paper napkins, home decor items, and canvas bags. My hope is that once you try each project, it will blow the door wide open to a whole world of incredible, creative ideas for things you can make with your Cricut!

Are you ready to get started?

Credit: Brooke Berry

-Crystal

My favorite thing to talk about is Cricut crafts, so Id love to hear from you! Visit hellocreativefamily.com, send me a message, and show me what youve been making by using the hashtag #hcfcricutcrafts and tagging @hellocreativefamily on Instagram! I cant wait to Cricut with you!

WHICH CRICUT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Youve seen all the amazing Cricut crafts your friends have made on Facebook. Youve been dazzled by your favorite influencers Cricut creations on Instagram. Youve pinned more than a few incredible Cricut projects on Pinterest. And now youve made the decisionits time to buy a Cricut! Yay! I am so excited for you! Now the only question is: Which one to buy? The Cricut Joy, the Cricut Explore Air 2, or the Cricut Maker?

The first thing to note is that the Cricut Maker can do everything that the Cricut Explore Air can, and more. If money isnt a consideration, then I highly suggest you buy the Cricut Maker.