Billie’s Love Letter to the Cricut Explore 4.
As a crafty little ADHD girlie who loves a new creative project and the opportunity to personalise anything and everything in my life, the second I came across the world of ‘Cricut’ I knew I wanted one.
A few years ago Billie was lucky enough to first review the Cricut Maker 3, but from the moment the Cricut team reached out to Billie to review the new Cricut Explore 4, I’ve been feverishly creating bookmarks, keychains and general cursed and cute curios to see just what this machine can do.
The team at Cricut very kindly gifted Billie with the latest Cricut Explore 4 and a wealth of materials, and ahead of the silly season silly season (with customisable Halloween trinkets truly on my radar before the personalised Christmas gifting opportunities open up), Billie is here to make the case of why a Cricut should be at the top of your wishlist!
What is a Cricut?
No it’s not sports, a Cricut is a Smart Cutting Machine that brings your creative visions to life. Ideal for both casual and professional crafter, these smart machines let you decorate, personalise, and customise your items with ultimate precision.
Simply use Cricut’s free ‘Design Space’ app to design your idea, select your material and watch as your Cricut machine precision-cuts your project. Assemble the pieces or apply your design to almost anything.
Earlier this year, Cricut released the next generation of its smart cutting machines: the Cricut Maker 4 in Sage and the Cricut Explore 4 in Seashell. These machines offer speeds up to two-times faster than the previous generation, coupled with improvements in the Design Space platform to empower everyone to make projects easily for their loved ones.
About the Cricut Explore 4:
Features:
Works with 100+ materials, including vinyl, iron-on and cardstock
Cuts intricate designs with precision
Writes, draws, foils, scores and more
Compatible with your home inkjet printer to print out and then cut full-colour designs
Right out of the box the Cricut Maker 4 and Explore 4 both come with additional materials, such as a LightGrip Machine Mat, Mini Weeder, Fine Point Black Pen and a small range of Smart Vinyl, Smart Iron-On and Cardstock. Cricut say this helps users jump into their first projects faster and easier, empowering them with all they need to complete their first 10 projects.
Pros:
Endless possibilities:
The Cricut Explore 4 is compatible with 100+ materials like vinyl, iron-on and cardstock, while the Cricut Maker 4 works with 300+ materials including leather, matboard and more.
While these machines’ primary purpose is to cut intricate designs with precision, additional attachments allow you to also write, draw, foil, emboss and more.
Tutorials and passionate crafting community:
If you’re ever short of ideas of what you can create, not only does the free Design Space app offer pre-made designs, inspiration and instructions, but the clever crafting community also has a wealth of projects to share. When I knew a Cricut was on its way to me, I probably spent the whole next day falling into a deep-dive on TikTok on what I could do and create, and by the end of the day had a whole saved folder of potential projects.
Cons:
Learning curve:
While you will be able to unbox, set up and print a test ‘Cricut’ logo within about 5 minutes. This is when you’ll have your first experience with ‘weeding’, the process of picking out the areas of your design that you won’t be transferring to your final product. When you begin personalising designs, it’s very possible that you’ll waste a bit of product while you learn to layer/transfer designs/work with the needs of different materials.
For this reason, we’d recommend beginning to explore the capabilities of your new Cricut machine with a cheaper material before you reach for your more expensive and premium materials.
Price point:
When basic groceries are taking up the large majority of our income right now, the cost of a Cricut machine and the ongoing costs of materials, blanks and accessories should be considered. A Cricut Explore 4 is $599 and Cricut Maker 4 is $799, but you may occasionally find these on special.
However in saying this, there are some great passive income opportunities with a Cricut machine. With a bit of planning and research you’d be able to set up a stall at your local craft fair with customised cups, bags, candles, pots, keychains, signs and much, much more. Or you could create products through an online craft market like Etsy, which is full of local suppliers.
Tools, materials and a compatible computer are also required to be able to use the Cricut on top of the cost of your machine.
Billie’s top tips for successful crafting with Cricut:
The quality of materials matter:
Cricut always recommends using Cricut-branded materials to guarantee the quality and success of your final result. You can buy Cricut-branded machines, materials and accessories at The Warehouse,
Find good-quality ‘blanks’ to personalise:
A ‘blank’ is a blank slate for personalisation, whether that’s a canvas tote you’ll be heat-transferring some vinyl onto or an acrylic round you’ll be making a keychain with.
I’ve found a few good-quality bags, cups, bookmarks, candles etc from the ‘craft supplies’ section of Kmart, but you can also find options at the likes of Spotlight and more.The tools you’ll use and most use:
Cutting Mat:
These are lightly-adhesive so the materials stick to the board as they go through the Cricut machine. The more you use these, the more the adhesive will dull. Be aware that you may need to replace the mat your Cricut comes with at some pointTools:
A weeder
Tweezers
Scraper
EasyPress and an Easy Press Mat for heat-transfer projects
Depending on the types of projects you want to make, the materials you’re most likely to use likely are:
Transfer Tape
Permanent Vinyl
Heat Vinyl
Card and cardstock
Project Ideas:
I created bookmarks and keychains for my friends (with holders for each out of cardstock!) and a light-up LED sign for their son, and also customised this Pokemon Frank Green drink bottle for my husband!
Permanent/Removable Vinyl Project Ideas:
Bookmarks
Keychains
Drink bottles
Keep cups
Signs
Pantry/Storage labels
Heat Vinyl Project Ideas:
T-shirts
Tote bags
Toiletry/beauty bags
Card and Paper Project Ideas:
Cards
Gift tags
Paper flowers
Party decor
Final thoughts.
A Cricut has been on my wishlist for many years, and I know I would have purchased one eventually. I haven’t looked back since my new Cricut arrived at my door, and have loved creating personalised and customised gifts for my nearest and dearest.
If you need one final push, head over to TikTok and get some project ideas and instructions to show you how quick and easy it is to create show-stopping crafts at home (for whatever fandom your loved one is into!).
The Cricut Explore 4 is available now for RRP $599, and Cricut Maker 4 is RRP $799 (but you can find these on the occasional sale with their retail partners like Harvey Norman, Spotlight and more).
