If you have a Cricut, chances are you've wanted to throw it out the window. When I first got my Cricut Explore Air 2, there was a huge learning curve. Now that I've had it for a few years, and refrained from chucking it out my second story window, I wanted to share some of my favorite tips that I wish someone told me!
When the directions say flat surface, they mean flat surface!
When I first got my Cricut, I placed it in a small office, perfect little space! At first things were fine, but more often than not there was trouble cutting through my material. It felt like I tried everything. Finally I ended up having to move it for a totally different reason, and noticed it cut my stickers perfectly. I suddenly remembered being a child, rolling marbles and hot wheels around in that same office and it all clicked - the floor in that room was not flat. The joys of an old house! This seems so obvious, but I don't want to tell y'all how long it took me to change my Cricut's location....
Clean your blades and blade housings often!
When you're finished for the day with your Cricut, make sure to clean your blades and blade housings. Remove the blade from its housing and check inside with a flashlight. you'll be able to see if any dust is inside. Roll a small piece of paper into a tube and use it to clear out any dust. Giving it a blow like an old NES game (which apparently never did anything!?) also can do the trick! For the blade, a swipe with a paper towel is perfect!
Change blades when needed!
A dull blade is also something to look out for when you clean your tools! The blades don't last forever, and when to replace them depends on how often you use your Cricut. If you're not used to eyeballing a dull blade, always keep extras on hand so you can quickly compare and replace!!
Using the right mats!
Use the right mat for your materials! Cricut has 3 different types of mats with different levels of stickiness! The Light Grip mat - my favorite - is best for printer paper, sticker paper, light card stock, and vinyl. Standard Grip is for heavy card stock, vinyl, and Strong Grip is for backed fabric and more. Cricut recommends storing the mat with the clear protective film cover to keep clean, but lets be real. That cover is long gone. I clean my mat by wrapping tape around my hand, sticky side up and pick up any debris that way!
Use custom pressure settings!
Cricut has huge list of materials to choose from, but you can adjust those and even create your own custom pressure setting. From the Design Space home page, click the 3 bars on the top left corner. Then click "manage custom materials" and from there you can adjust your settings. Within these settings you can also set how many times you want your design to be cut, ensuring a clean cut through your material.
And that's it! Those are my favorite tips right now for my Cricut! Did you learn something new? Or want to share your favorite tip? Leave a comment or chat with me on social media!