This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
Creative people everywhere rejoice in the newest line of Cricut Machines, the Explore Air 2. They come in the most beautiful colors, The design is sleek and luxurious. For a person like me who is a Cricut Beginner, the design of the machine is pretty simple. When I received my box I couldn’t wait to open it up and use my new machine. I mean, I was about to start customizing everything in my house including our shoes…too much? Nope because I have a Cricut.
The Hardest Thing About Cricut for Beginners is…
The first thing I had to learn before I started my projects was how to use The Explore Air 2. As I opened the box the instructions and supplies, I did start to get intimidated, thinking I would not be able to figure this machine out. The hardest part was actually not reading the basic steps first (go figure). There are a couple of moving parts to create your design. So take it from me and take it one step at a time. The helpful cards that come in the box, are literally labeled 1,2,3. Also when creating your design, for those of us that are more visual, the program Design Space walks you through each step.
Tip: Just remember to look at your instruction manual to register your Explore Air 2 machine and to get familiar with the buttons. You can also refer to the Cricut website for information and videos.
Basic Cricut Accessories to Get Started
My suggestion would be to figure out what craft you want to start doing first and then by at least two colors. For example, if you are going to make hats and mugs, buy at least 2 colors/designs of iron-on vinyl and 2 vinyl designs for mugs. Trust me you’re going to want to have options. But my number one suggestion is to purchase a starter kit that includes things like your weeding tools and scraper.
The Machine comes with a blade that you will use for most projects and is good to get you started with your creations. But once you master your machine there are more blades available . Something new I learned was there are different grip mates you can use depending on the cuts your are making. The Circuit website and of course youtube can help you with questions you may have.
Easy Starter Projects
If you’re like me, you need a warm-up project to get started and that’s just what I did. Now I consider myself very creative, but I wanted to practice getting familiar with my weeding tools, vinyl, and other supplies first. So I opted for the nicely prepared designs in Design Space. I love the templates because it tells you everything you need to make your project. The screen prompts you when to load and when to cut.
My first project is an inspirational mug because, with my busy schedule, I’m always drinking coffee. I love anything with positive quotes and affirmations, so it was only right to personally a coffee mug just for me. So I bought 2 coffee mugs and used the white one as my trial run. I found a cute cactus design and got my feet wet with cutting.
The biggest mistake I made was forgetting to put the transfer tape on the design, so there I was, peeling and sticking each element. It didn’t take long for me to learn my lesson and realize my mistake for my next mug. I wanted to try my hand at designing letters on my own. So I created my very first design without the help of a template. I’m excited at all the new thinks I will create. Stay tuned for my next project and let me know what you think of the Explore Air 2?
*Like This Design Follow This Link and this Link to customize your own.
…..DREAM BIGGER
