Decorate paper crafts using the Cricut.
The Cricut personal electric cutter from Provo Craft may look intimidating, but it's actually quite simple to use. Although you can choose to purchase optional accessories such as extra cartridges, the Cricut Jukebox, the Cricut Design Studio, or the Gypsy, these gadgets are not necessary to begin enjoying your Cricut. You can make embellishments for scrapbook layouts, handmade greeting cards, and other craft projects using nothing more than the paper in your supply stash and the cartridge that came with your Cricut.
Instructions
1. Remove the protective plastic cover and adhere your cardstock or patterned paper to the Cricut cutting mat. The Cricut cutting made contains a special adhesive that should last for between 25 and 40 full-page cuts before it starts to lose its stickiness. However, if you're having trouble getting your cardstock or paper to stick to the mat, you can try adding a few swipes of adhesive from a repositionable glue stick.
2. Turn your Cricut on and insert the cartridge you wish to use. Place the keypad that came with the cartridge over the Cricut keyboard.
3. Set the cutting mat in front of the blade. Push the button that says "Load Paper."
4. Enter in the letters or designs you wish to type. If you are worried about not having enough of a particular paper for your project, consider using the "Paper Saver" feature on your Cricut to optimize your cutting layout to use as much of the paper as possible.
5. Select the necessary special features for your design, if desired. Each cartridge comes with several different special features options to make your Cricut die cuts even more versatile. The shadow feature, for example, lets you cut out similar designs from two coordinating colors of cardstock and stack them together for a dimensional effect.
6. Adjust the speed dial, pressure dial, and size dial. The "3" setting should work for most patterned papers and lightweight cardstocks, but you may need to experiment with various combinations if you're having trouble getting your design to cut cleanly. The number you select on the size dial will depend on how large you want your embellishment to be, with larger numbers indicating larger cuts.
7. Push the "Cut" button to create your design. Do not touch the Cricut mat or attempt to pull on the paper while the machine is cutting.
8. Push the button that says "Unload Paper" when the Cricut has finished cutting. Carefully peel your design off the mat and adhere it to your scrapbook layout, greeting card, or paper crafting project.
Related posts
Use your Cricut to create beautiful craft items without using Cricut cartridges.Cricut cutting machines work well for making many craft projects, but the cartridges can be expensive. The Cricut ma...
If you are in the market for a die cutting machine than you will want to read this article. In this article, I compare the pazzles die cutting machine vs. the cricut expression machine. Also inclu...
Use The Cricut GypsyUsing the Cricut Gypsy to design and layout your designs can save time and money when working on paper-craft projects. The Cricut Gypsy is a handheld device loaded with design...
Guide a Cricut ExpressionThe Cricut Expression is popular with scrapbook enthusiasts due to the ease of use. This machine allows you to cut complex characters, symbols or complex designs with mult...
Scrapbooking Made EasyThe Cricut die cutting machine is commonly used for scrapbooking. This machine uses specialized dies to cut letters, shapes, and figures out of vinyl or scrapbook paper. Besi...
