Cricut Hacks That Won’t Cost a Dime

March 6, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

We love to craft but we love to save money too and sometimes it seems like those two things don’t go together. So, whenever we find some great ways to save money on our craft projects, we love to share them. These Cricut Hacks That Won’t Cost a Dime are some of our all-time favorite economical tips!

When you can save money on craft supplies, you can buy and make even more. Keep reading to find out how you can save some cash on your Cricut projects.

Cricut Hacks That Won’t Cost a Dime

1 – Save those empty wipes containers.

You can use them as a place to contain all those little pieces of vinyl that you weed away from your projects. You can cover it with adhesive paper or cardstock if you want to, but it’s not necessary. This is a really helpful way to keep your workspace neat and tidy.

2 – Put redeemed gift cards to use.

Old gift cards are perfect for burnishing vinyl! Use it just as you would a squeegee and rub it across your vinyl or transfer tape to help it adhere better.

Using Parchment Paper When Layering Vinyl

3 – Use parchment paper for easier application of adhesive vinyl.

This is an especially helpful tip when you’re trying to layer vinyl. Simply place the top layer on a piece of parchment paper and pull back a little at the top to reveal the adhesive. Line it up over your design and gradually pull back more of the parchment paper, a little at a time, until the top layer is perfectly placed.

4 – Attach two glue sticks together for longer use.

When you’re in the groove and working on a large project with hot glue, it can be frustrating to have to stop and add more glue sticks. All you have to do is apply some hot glue to the end of one glue stick and glue it to another! Hold for 15-20 seconds until set. Now you can keep crafting for a longer time without having to refill your glue gun.

5 – Apply HTV to a t-shirt perfectly every time.

To line up and center your design, we like to use the folding trick. Fold the shirt in half lengthwise, lining it up at the sleeve seams. Lay the folded shirt on the heat press mat and press along that fold for 15-20 seconds. Now you’ve got a center line to help position your design perfectly.

6 – Use your household hair dryer when applying vinyl to a textured surface.

That’s right. We’re going to make use of your hair dryer. Apply your adhesive vinyl to the textured surface and be sure to burnish well. You might want to use your fingers to help get it into all of the grooves. Use the hair dryer to apply a little heat to help it adhere even better.

7 – Save your transfer tape!

Save your transfer tape and reuse it for other projects BUT if you don’t happen to have any, we’ve got alternatives you can use instead. Best of all, you probably have them on hand already. Painter’s tape works really well as does a lint roller. The lint roller is good for smaller projects and isn’t quite as sticky as the painter’s tape.

8 – Tape vinyl down to your mat.

With materials like glitter heat transfer vinyl, it will have a tendency to want to roll up. Use some pieces of painter’s tape on each corner to help it stay flat on your cutting mat so you can get a better cut.

9 – Add an offset to Print then Cut images.

By adding an offset you can turn a Print then Cut image into a beautiful sticker. Add the offset (it’s a free feature on Cricut Design Space) and change the color as desired. Turn your whole design into a Print and Cut sticker in just a few easy steps!

10 – Use non-Cricut brand markers in your Cricut machine.

This is such a great way to use markers that you already have on hand.

11 – Turn any font into a drawing font.

If you have a font that you’d like to use with pens and the drawing function, but Design Space only wants to draw the outline, we’ve got a great hack for you. Using our Lines file as well as a font (we’re using our font Atmospheric), place the lines over the text, and with both selected, choose Intersect (under Combine). Change the Operation from Basic Cut to Pen.

Now your Cricut will draw not only the outline of the text but it will also fill in with all the lines too.

12 – Stop paying for Cricut Access.

Did you know that you don’t need to pay in order to use Cricut Design Space? It is free software used with your Cricut machine. But some people think that this is the same thing as Cricut Access. It’s not!

Cricut Access is a subscription that allows you to use Cricut’s library of cut files and fonts. If you have a Makers Gonna Learn subscription, you don’t need Cricut Access. So, if you’re not actually using their files, cancel your Cricut Access subscription and save some money!

Note: There are a few premium features for Cricut Design Space that are available through your Access subscription. You can easily make most of your crafts without ever needing these premium features.

13 – Use this amazing stencil hack for flawless results.

After you have laid your stencil down on the surface, apply your paint/ink using the same color as the base color you have on the blank. This may seem like a waste of time, but it really helps to give you crisp, clean lines. Be sure to apply a very thin layer of the base color. Once that layer is dry, you can go over the stencil with your chosen color.

14 – With this trick, you can easily apply vinyl to rounded surfaces.

When working on a rounded surface like a mug or an ornament, it is sometimes difficult to get it to lay flat. Our trick is to snip around the design – just where the transfer tape and backing are. Be sure not to cut into the design itself. This gives you leeway as you apply the vinyl to the surface and you’ll be able to get it to lay flat!

HTV Hacks You Need to Know

February 20, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

If you love working with heat transfer vinyl, you’re going to love this post about HTV Hacks You Need to Know. We’re going to teach every single iron-on vinyl hack that we know here! Whether you are a Cricut beginner or a seasoned pro, you might just learn some really helpful tips and tricks today.

HTV can be used on a wide variety of surfaces (not just fabric!) and offers so many possibilities for Cricut projects. Once you see these Cricut hacks, you’ll be all set to make all kinds of Cricut iron-on projects.

HTV Hacks You Need to Know

Working with mandalas

Use a setting like Kraft board or heavy cardstock or add more pressure and it will cut your mandala all the way through. Then, instead of having to weed it, you will be able to peel the mandala up and it will be ready to go. A few pieces may be left behind but it’s quick and easy to remove those.

Once you apply it to your surface and heat it, we like to then go in with a weeding tool to help lift away the transfer tape. Even though you cut it all the way through, the transfer tape is still there and needs to be removed. We like to do a warm peel on this.

Make weeding easier

Heat up your heat press to about 300-350 degrees. Press it down for about 10 seconds to heat up the bottom plate. Open up the press and place your HTV on the bottom plate. Weed (carefully – be mindful of the heat!) right there on the press and you’ll find it so much easier.

Pro Tip: You can do the same thing with an EasyPress. Heat up your EasyPress mat and place your HTV on it for weeding.

Find the center of your shirts.

This is so simple and so helpful when it comes to lining up and centering your designs. There are a few different ways of doing this.

1 – Match up the seams where the sleeves are attached to the shirt. Lay it down and press along that line to leave a gentle crease that marks the center.

2 – Use a t-shirt ruler. Simply place it on your shirt and it will show you exactly where to position your design.

Center your design on your shirt.

The next step after you have found the center of your shirt is to find the center of your design. To do this, gently fold over your design, matching up the edges of it. Remember to line up the edges of the actual design, not the transfer tape. Then, make a little crease at the top and the bottom to mark the center. Be sure to only crease the transfer tape and not your design. Match this center line with the center of your shirt! Ta-da!

Remove HTV from a shirt.

Place your EasyPress Mini inside the shirt with the design positioned over the heat plate. You want to set your EasyPress to the second level. As it heats up the design, you can use a weeding tool to easily start removing it from the shirt. Keep moving it as needed to heat up the rest of the design until your whole design – or the part of the design you need – has been removed.

Don’t choose tiny fonts.

Tiny fonts, skinny fonts, intricate fonts – these can all be more difficult to work with. If they are going to be less than 3-4 inches in size and are really thin fonts, you want to avoid these with HTV. Although your Cricut may be able to cut it out really well and you have no problem with weeding it, once you apply heat, these fonts can start looking a bit wavy and distorted. You won’t get the clean look you are going for.

It’s also important to know that even if you’re able to apply it well, since it is so thin, there isn’t much adhesive to hold it in place and keep it down. The durability of such designs is not as high as with a larger design.

Layer vinyl without it being bulky.

When you layer vinyl, especially on things like clothing, it can start feeling and looking bulky. So, we like to use the knockout method instead. You’re going to create two layers but one of them is essentially going to be an outline of the second one. That way, when you line them up, they will appear layered but won’t have the bulk of two pieces of vinyl on top of each other. You’ll also save vinyl this way!

And best of all, with this method, each layer of heat transfer vinyl gets to adhere directly to the fabric you’re applying it to thereby giving you a better and longer-lasting result.

Use up your HTV scraps.

Cut them into strips and lay them shiny side up on your cutting mat. Do not mirror your design. Cut the same way as with the mandala – heavy cardstock, more pressure, Kraft board or something similar to cut through it.

Once your design is cut out in those beautiful multiple colors of heat transfer vinyl, you will want to grab some HTV transfer tape to peel the whole thing up. Apply it to your design and remove it from the mat. Use heat, as usual, to adhere your design to the blank and then peel up both layers of transfer tape.

Pro Tip: You may be thinking that you don’t want to purchase any HTV transfer tape since you’ll only use it once in a while. Here’s what you can do. Save your pieces of HTV transfer tape from other projects. We use waxed paper as backing paper for it to keep it safe until we use it. Another great use for this is with printable HTV. Some brands don’t include a transfer sheet in the package so this can really come in handy there too.

Use HTV on top of traditional adhesive vinyl.

This is a great hack for when you have run out of the color you need in regular adhesive vinyl but you have it in iron-on vinyl. You can actually use the HTV over top of regular vinyl. Simply apply the HTV on top of the regular vinyl and lay it on your EasyPress mat. Use light pressure with your EasyPress and apply some heat to the design to adhere it.

Let it cool completely. Peel away the transfer tape. Now you have a regular vinyl design that you can apply just like a sticker.

Make weeding easier.

Use cocoa powder with light-colored HTV and baby powder with dark-colored HTV. We like to apply it with a small paintbrush. Then, you can brush away the excess and you’ll see that the cut lines stand out better and make it easier to see where to weed.

Apply heat transfer vinyl to cardstock.

Simply place the HTV on the cardstock and heat for about 10 seconds. This is a great method to use on paper napkins too! Customize them for a party.

Use HTV on wood.

This is a method we use all the time! Once again, simply place the HTV design onto the wood and heat. We find it especially easy when using the EasyPress Mini! Heat for about 20 seconds in each section of your design. Remember that you want to see bubbles forming. This is a great alternative to stenciling.

Pro Tip: When choosing the wood for this project, you want to use wood that is really smooth and not too textured. The smoother the better!

Cut out and weed glitter heat transfer vinyl more easily.

Create your design and then duplicate it. For the second one, you want to use the drawing function. Attach the two together. This way your vinyl will cut out and it will draw the design on the back. It makes it much easier to see and to weed!

Apply HTV on a mug.

Use heat-resistant tape to tape down your design to the mug. Even with the curved surface, this will help it to adhere to the mug. It’s okay if the transfer tape crinkles a little bit as long as the design is sticking well to the mug. Using the high setting, apply heat with your heat gun. It will take about 10-20 seconds. Don’t put the heat gun too close to the surface of the mug. Do a cold peel.

We hope you learned something new in this post about some of the best HTV tips we’ve found. Which of these HTV hacks is your favorite?

#1 Way to Clean Cricut Mats

February 13, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

When you make a lot of Cricut projects, your Cricut mats are bound to get dirty now and then. The dirtier they are, the less adhesive they are. So, we want to share the #1 way to clean Cricut mats with you.

When you clean your Cricut mats, you will be able to get more use out of them and won’t have to replace them as often. This will save you money and time as you won’t need to run out to the store in the middle of a crafting session. Keep reading to find out our favorite way to clean Cricut mats.

Check out these Cricut Maintenance Tasks You Need to Perform too!

#1 Way to Clean Cricut Mats

baby wipes for cleaning cricut cutting mats

This is our all-time favorite way to clean our Cricut cutting mats because it is inexpensive and easy to do. Simply grab a baby wipe and using a small circular motion, go over the cutting mat one section at a time.

As you work your way across the mat, you’ll see that even the toughest debris, such as these bits of felt left behind from a Cricut project, will come off of the mat.

Once you allow the cutting mat to dry, the adhesive will be back to new again! Your mat will last 2-3 times longer simply by using this cleaning technique.

This is such a handy way to clean your mats without even having to leave your crafting space.

12 Most Asked Cricut Questions

January 16, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

If you’re new to Cricut – or maybe you just want to level up your Cricut skills – this is a great place to start. We are providing answers to our 12 Most Asked Cricut Questions today. Throughout the years of working with Cricut machines and teaching others how to use them, these are the questions that pop up again and again.

If you’ve ever felt held back because you didn’t know the answer to your Cricut questions, be sure to check out the answers below. You might just find the one you need to take your Cricut crafting to the next level.

12 Most Asked Cricut Questions

Which Cricut Should I Buy?

Do you suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out)? If so, easy answer. You need the Cricut Maker 3. It has all the bells and whistles and can do more than any other Cricut machine. This is their top-of-the-line machine at the moment and the one you need to buy if you want to be able to do it all.

Are you more of an economical crafter? If you’re looking for a machine that will still deliver a lot, but at a more budget-friendly price, you want the Cricut Explore. You could look at the Cricut Explore Air 2 (which is the older model but still a great machine) or the newer Cricut Explore 3. You could even look at getting a legacy Cricut Maker. Again, it’s still a great machine and there really isn’t a big difference between it and the newer Maker 3 other than the Maker 3’s ability to use Cricut Smart Materials. Here’s our secret though – we don’t actually use Smart Materials as we prefer to use the kind that is cut on a mat.

Pro Tip: If you purchase a Cricut Maker, you will still receive 2 cutting mats with it. Mats are not included with the Maker 3 or the Explore 3 as they use Smart Materials and are capable of matless cutting. Even with the newer machines, you will find that there are times when you need a mat.

Complete Guide to the Cricut Maker 3 and Cricut Explore 3

Which Cricut to Buy

What is Cricut Access and do I need it?

Cricut Access is not the same as Cricut Design Space. Cricut Design Space is the software you need to use your Cricut machine and it is free to use. On the other hand, Cricut Access is a subscription service that gives you access to Cricut’s library of cut files and fonts. However, once you cancel your membership to Cricut Access, you no longer have access to those files and fonts. With a Makers Gonna Learn membership, you get to keep any files and fonts you downloaded forever. Cricut Access is optional and you don’t have to have it in order to use the free Cricut Design Space software.

How Do I Know If I Need to Seal My Projects?

For the vast majority of projects, you do not need to seal them. If you watch any of our tutorials here at Makers Gonna Learn and we don’t mention sealing, then don’t seal it. It’s simply not necessary. In fact, sometimes by adding a sealant, you can make your project look less professional. The only times when you might need sealant is for an outdoor project that will get quite weathered or something of that sort, but when we demonstrate such projects for you, we will always show you which sealant we recommend and how to use it. If you need to use a sealant, we recommend spray sealers to avoid the appearance of brush marks.

Pro Tip: It’s important to note that we use high-quality vinyl and paints/stains and that plays a factor in the longevity of our projects as well.

Learn more here: How to Make Cricut Projects Last

What are the Different Types of Vinyl?

When you see vinyl with the grid backing on it, it is adhesive vinyl. Adhesive vinyl is like a sticker – you peel off the backing and apply it. The adhesive is activated by pressure. If you see vinyl that has a dull side and a shiny side, it’s heat transfer vinyl (also known as iron on vinyl). As the name implies, you have to use heat to activate the adhesive and make it stick to the surface of your blank.

Our favorite vinyl – for both price and quality – is from 143Vinyl. We really like the Starcraft and Siser EasyWeed brands.

Pro Tip: To keep the different types of vinyl straight (glitter vinyl, flocked HTV, iridescent vinyl, etc), we like to label ours with a piece of masking tape.

Check out the Ultimate Guide to Vinyl here.

How Large a Project Can I Cut with my Cricut and How Can I Make Something Larger than Mat?

With a regular mat, you can cut a design that is a little less than 12 x 12 inches. With the larger mat, you can cut a design that is a little less than 12 x 24 inches. Remember that with a Cricut Maker 3 or Explore 3, you can do matless cutting. This allows you to make longer than mat projects but you are still only able to make them 12 inches wide. Beyond that option, you will be looking at a multi-mat project if you want to make one that’s larger than mat. This means you will need to divide up your design and slice it into pieces to fit on the mats. Then, you will reassemble your design on your blank.

Pro Tip: A larger than mat project is an advanced craft. It’s possible but it’s more complicated than a basic design that fits on one mat. If you find that you consistently need to cut larger designs, look into an industrial cutter that can handle wider materials.

How to make a larger than mat project tutorial.

How Do I Make My Letters Touch?

In previous tutorials, we taught our viewers how to manually kern their text. Cricut has updated its Design Space capabilities and now with many fonts, you will find that when you use them in Design Space, they are already kerned for you. This can be both a blessing and a curse at times.

You can see in the text above that it has been kerned automatically by Cricut and while the H and e are nicely done, the rest of the letters are just too close together. To fix this, go to Advanced, Ungroup to Letters. Use your arrow keys to move the letters until you’re happy with their arrangement. Then, select the whole word and choose Weld under the Combine Menu which is below the Layers Panel.

Can I Use My Household Iron Instead of a Heat Press?

Yes, you can but you may not get consistent results. Your results will vary depending on your particular iron. In addition, if it’s a steam iron and you’ve been using water in it, this won’t be good for applying your heat transfer vinyl. A household iron tends to have different temperatures at various points on the plate, whereas a heat press offers consistent heat on every part of it. How do you combat that? Move the iron to different parts of the design until you see the bubbles that indicate that the vinyl has released from the transfer tape and is adhering to your surface instead. So yes, you can use a household iron but it may not work as well as a heat press would.

Find a complete guide to working with iron-on here.

Should I Get an EasyPress or a Heat Press?

If you are interested in sublimation, we think that you should skip right over the EasyPress and go for a heat press. It works better with sublimation and will give you the best results and of course, you can use it with heat transfer vinyl as well. With sublimation, you tend to need a larger heat press, but if you’re not planning to make sublimation projects, we suggest going with a 9 x 9 EasyPress or an EasyPress Mini.

Check this out! >>>> A Comprehensive Guide to EasyPress

Why Won’t My Print Then Cut Print?

Most of the time, it’s because your image is too large. The maximum size Cricut allows for Print then Cut is 9.25 x 6.75 inches.

Your Ultimate Guide to Print then Cut is here!

What is the Difference Between a PNG and an SVG?

PNG stands for Portable Network Graphic. SVG is a Scalable Vector Graphic. We offer both at Makers Gonna Learn. A PNG is what we use for our Print then Cuts – anything that has so many colors that it would be impractical to break it up into layers and cutting them all out. An SVG has all the layers available for cutting. When you scale an SVG up or down in size, it will retain its quality and not become pixelated. If you try to scale a PNG up, you will begin to lose quality.

Do I Need to Prewash My Shirts?

We often buy prewashed shirts and that takes care of the issue for us, but if you’re not buying those, yes, you do need to prewash them. This is so that if there is going to be any shrinkage, it happens prior to adding any heat transfer vinyl. Otherwise, when you wash the shirt, it might shrink but your HTV design won’t and your design will be ruined.

Pro Tip: When you prewash the shirt, make sure not to use any fabric softener.

What Cricut Accessories Do I Need?

Check out this video for all of our Cricut Must Haves!

Screen Printing Multiple Colors

January 13, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

Have you tried screen printing with your Cricut machine? We love this craft technique, but single color screen printing can be limiting at times. That’s why we’re so excited to share this technique for screen printing multiple colors.

We’ll take you through a step-by-step Cricut screen printing tutorial using more than one color. It can seem intimidating if you’re a Cricut beginner, but we’ll teach you everything you need to know to make successful screen printing projects every time.

Screen Printing Multiple Colors

Materials Needed:

Cut File – https://makersgonnalearn.com/cut_files/a-little-bit-of-dolly/

T-shirt – https://amzn.to/3BGwrNr

Screen Print Frame – https://amzn.to/3QlF3wW (or you can make your own – check out our frame building course which is FREE with your Makers Gonna Learn membership!)

White Screen Print Ink – https://amzn.to/3zE2CL0

Hot pink Screen Print Ink – https://amzn.to/3d8mJJl

Turquoise Screen Print Ink – https://amzn.to/3zuMsn6

Squeegee – https://amzn.to/3zXhwx5

Starcraft Vinyl: https://bit.ly/3uP2GUo

How To Screen Print With Multiple Colors

Step-by-Step Tutorial:

WORKING IN CRICUT DESIGN SPACE –

creating 3 layer design in Cricut Design Space

1 – Let’s start our project in Design Space. Download the cut file from Makers Gonna Learn and upload the SVG into Design Space.

2 – Measure the space available on your blank (in our case, a t-shirt) for your design. This is important to know so you can size your design accordingly.

Pro Tip: We will be adding registration marks with this design since it is multi-colored. Leave a little bit of space to allow for those marks.

3 – Once you have sized your design in Design Space, it’s time to add the registration marks. Add a small square to the corner of your design and duplicate it 3 times. Place one square in each corner of your design and use the Align function to get them lined up. Select your design and all of the squares and Weld.

4 – Duplicate your welded image 2 times.

5 – Change the colors of each layer of your design as you’d like.

Contour out the parts you don't need on each layer

6 – Use Contour on each layer to delete the parts that you don’t want cut out of that particular color.

Pro Tip: Make sure you don’t contour out the registration marks.

7 – Select all 3 layers and choose Align, Center.

How to organize design if you want ot use only 2 screens

NOTE: You can use 3 different screens for this – one for each color. However, we were able to do it with just 2 screens. To do that, instead of centering all 3 layers of your design, you would only center the Dolly and Miranda layers. They are positioned so far apart that you can easily use just one screen for them.

CUTTING OUT AND APPLYING YOUR DESIGN –

7 – Weld the Dolly/Miranda layer together. It will change it so that it’s all the same color, but since we are screenprinting, that will be fine. Click Make It.

8 – Be sure that you mirror both mats. Connect to your machine. Press Continue and choose Premium Vinyl, Removable for your material.

9 – Cut out your vinyl and weed it. Remember that you want to weed away the parts that you are going to be screenprinting. (This is the opposite of what you would usually weed away.) Add a piece of transfer tape over your design.

10 – Remove the backing from your vinyl. You might need to do some burnishing to ensure that your design remains down and well-adhered to the transfer tape.

11 – Apply your design to the screen. Flip the screen over and burnish from the other side to make sure that your design is pressed down well.

11 – Remove the transfer tape.

Pro Tip: Save and reuse it for the next layer.

Tape off the sections that you don't want painted

SCREEN PRINTING YOUR DESIGN –

12 – Use painter’s tape to cover up any parts of the screen that are not covered by the vinyl.

Use index cards or cardstock for the registration marks

13 – Add brightly colored pieces of cardstock (or index cards) in the corners where each of the registration marks are. Tape them in place.

14 – Add ink to your screen. Lift up your screen slightly so that it’s not longer touching the shirt. Run your squeegee over the screen to backfill your design with ink.

Use the squeegee to spread ink over the design several times

15 – Lay your screen back down and pull the squeegee through the ink. Be sure to cover the registration marks as well as the design. Go over your design several times. Use a decent amount of pressure on it. If you have any leftover ink, use a plastic spoon to scoop it back up and save it.

Pro Tip: Wash your screen immediately.

Note: You can use your heat gun to speed up the drying process of the ink.

WORKING ON THE NEXT LAYER –

16 – Repeat the process of applying the vinyl to the screen for the next part of your design. Tape off the parts of your screen where you don’t want the ink to show through – in this case, we taped off Miranda as well as any edges not covered by vinyl.

17 – Line up the second layer of the design on the t-shirt using the registration marks.

18 – Add your ink.

19 – Once again, lift up your screen and backfill your design. Run your squeegee over the design to screenprint this color onto the shirt. Wash your screen immediately.

Touch up any parts needed with a paintbrush

Pro Tip: If there are any sections that don’t have quite enough ink on them, you can grab a paintbrush and touch them up. Use your heat gun to dry the ink.

20 – Remove the tape from over the third part of your design – in our case, the word Miranda. Tape off the parts that you don’t want covered with ink. Line up your screen again using the registration marks. Backfill the design and then screenprint as you have done before.

Don’t forget to wash your screen right away!

Let the ink dry thoroughly and your shirt is ready to wear!

Cricut Must Haves for Beginners

January 9, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

Did you just get a new Cricut machine? YAY! We are doing a happy dance for you because we just know how much joy you are going to get out of it! We have put together this list of Cricut Must Haves for Beginners especially for you.

This is our list of the items we use the most with our Cricut. These are Cricut tools and accessories we rely on every single day in our professional die cutting craft studio and we highly recommend each one of them. Check out the list below and let’s get crafting!

Cricut Must Haves for Beginners

Check out this list of Cricut must haves and make your list!

Cutting Mats:

When talking with Cricut beginners, we often find that they think they can only use Cricut brand products with their Cricut machines. While we love many Cricut products, there are some off-brand items out there that work really well too. This is especially true when it comes to cutting mats. We are huge fans of Nicapa cutting mats. They are a fraction of the cost of Cricut mats, but have worked beautifully for us consistently time after time.

Cutting Mat Comparison

EasyPress Mini:

The EasyPress Mini is our favorite of the Cricut EasyPresses. It is the most versatile one because of its size and how it’s designed, allowing you to make a wide variety of projects with it including heat transfer vinyl crafts and some small sublimation projects. It’s affordable and easy to use, making it the perfect starter heat press. We still use ours daily even with bigger presses available!

Scotch ATG (Advanced Tape Glider):

The Scotch ATG is one of the best dry adhesives we have ever found. It holds much more than those small tape runners and will serve you for a long time with your Cricut paper projects. It may look intimidating, but we promise, it’s easy to use. We even have a helpful video on how to change the tape in your ATG.

Rubbing Alcohol in a Pump Dispenser:

This pump dispenser is a game-changer. If you are applying vinyl to glass, mugs, tumblers, or anything like that with a non-porous surface, you will use this with a paper towel to clean the surface before putting the vinyl on. Having a nice clean surface, free of fingerprints and dust, makes for a longer-lasting design!

Scissors:

Scissors are a necessity for any craft room and the Tim Holtz Tonic scissors are some of our favorites when it comes to multipurpose scissors! One of the best things about these scissors is that you can loosen or tighten them based on the material you are cutting. These would not be the ones we would use for fabric, but for Cricut crafting and other general craft projects, these are ideal.

Cricut TrueControl Knife:

Of all the craft knives out there, this is hands down our favorite! Ergonomically designed with safety in mind, it feels good in your hand when you’re using it. We love how they designed it so that it won’t roll off your work surface! We use our knife to trim away excess vinyl so we can save the scraps for future projects.

Tweezers:

Having tweezers on hand when working on your Cricut projects is a great idea! We really like the Siser brand tweezers because of the firm, comfortable grip on them. In addition, if you are a paper crafter, we would recommend that you get a pair of reverse tweezers as well.

Squeegee:

A squeegee is a must in a Cricut craft room! It’s an essential tool when it comes to burnishing and applying vinyl to your blank. Squeegees are really affordable too! Some, like our Makers Gonna Learn squeegee, have grooves on them so you can use them to hold things like tumblers in place while you work on them.

Siser Easy PSV Transfer Tape:

Siser Easy PSV Transfer Tape has quickly become one of our favorite transfer tapes. If you are struggling with finding a transfer tape that works well for you, we recommend that you give this one a try.

Cricut Brayer:

This brayer works hand-in-hand with the squeegee to ensure that your materials are flat on the mat and well-adhered to your mat or blank. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Cricut brand brayer, but we do quite like theirs. If we had to choose only one tool for burnishing, it would be the squeegee but the brayer is a nice addition to your craft toolbox.

Painters’ Tape:

Painters’ tape is essential! We use it to help secure items on the cutting mat when needed. It’s perfect for use with thicker materials to ensure they stay in place during the cutting process or whenever you’re having problems getting your materials to stick well to the mat. This can help extend the life of your mat too because even if it’s not quite sticky enough anymore, you can continue to get use out of it by adding tape.

Which of these Cricut must haves do you use?

Most Popular Cricut Videos of 2022

January 6, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

We had such a wonderful year in 2022 here at Makers Gonna Learn. Our craft family grew and we got to know so many more of our members. It’s so wonderful seeing so many of you grow and thrive in your crafting journey. So, we thought it might be fun to look back on our most popular Cricut videos of 2022.

These were videos we made in 2022 to share our knowledge with you. Our goal here at Makers Gonna Learn is to serve you through education, inspiration, and motivation. These videos certainly fit the bill in all three of those ways. Ready to see which videos were most popular? Let’s dive in.

Most Popular Cricut Videos of 2022

THINGS THAT CRICUT BEGINNERS NEED TO AVOID WHEN GETTING STARTED

If you’re just getting started with Cricut, this is a must-watch video. We are going through some of the things that we didn’t know about when we first got started on our Cricut journey. You don’t need to repeat our mistakes! We’ll show you what to avoid!

5 CRICUT IDEAS TO SELL IN 2022 THAT WILL MAKE YOU MONEY

You’ve learned how to use your Cricut machine to make some amazing craft projects. Are you ready to expand beyond your hobby and into a side hustle? Maybe you’re wondering what you should make and sell. These ideas are ones that sell well and are very popular!

20 CRICUT HACKS TO TURN A BEGINNER INTO A PRO FAST!

In this video, we share our 20 favorite Cricut hacks that will help turn you from beginner to Cricut pro FAST! If you’re just getting started with Cricut die cutting or you’re ready to take your crafting game to the next level, you’re going to want to check out these Cricut tips and tricks.

CRICUT HACKS EVERY BEGINNER NEEDS TO TRY

Don’t have time for 20 hacks? You can narrow it down to these 7 Cricut hacks we think every beginner needs to try! These will kick start your Cricut crafting and steer you in the right direction.

ULTIMATE CRICUT PRINT AND CUT TRAINING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MASTER PRINT AND CUT

Are you ready to learn everything you need to know about Cricut Print and Cut? In this video, we walk you through how to create Print then Cut stickers step-by-step and we’ll even share our best Cricut hacks for achieving success every time. Whether you’re making these projects for yourself or as part of a home-based craft business, you’ll want to check this out.

CAN YOU ENGRAVE COATED TUMBLERS WITH YOUR CRICUT? ENGRAVE A TUMBLER – NO LASER NEEDED!

If you like making tumblers, you’re going to love this idea. We’ll show you how to engrave coated tumblers with the help of your Cricut. NO laser needed! Prepare to have your mind blown!

MIND-BLOWING VINYL HACKS THAT WILL CHANGE THE GAME

Speaking of mind-blowing, whether you are a Cricut beginner or pro, you’re going to love the vinyl hacks we share here. We share our favorite Cricut hacks for working with both adhesive vinyl and heat transfer vinyl. Not only will these vinyl tips give you some great ideas for working on your die cutting projects, but they may even help you fix a craft fail. These handy hints will not only make working with vinyl and iron on vinyl easier, but they might just save you some money too!

7 NEW DOLLAR TREE CRICUT HACKS PUT TO THE TEST

We know that like us, you love some good crafting hacks AND you love to save money, so here we test some Dollar Tree Cricut hacks we’ve seen around the web. They’re a great way to craft more easily and economically!

HOW TO FILL IN YOUR CRICUT FONTS – STOP OUTLINING FONTS!

We know that it can be frustrating sometimes when you’re trying to write with your Cricut and instead of getting the completely filled-in fonts you want, you just keep getting outlines. Well, this video shows you exactly how to solve that issue so you can get the results you want.

Pro Tip: With our Sketch fonts, you don’t even need to fill them in. They come ready to go for use with your Cricut pens!

20 CRICUT HACKS TO TURN A BEGINNER INTO A PRO

January 4, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links provided for your convenience. This means, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase

We have learned so much over the years working with our Cricut machines and we love being able to share our knowledge with you. Here are 20 Cricut hacks that we LOVE and use all the time. These tips will turn you from Cricut beginner to pro FAST!

Sometimes when you’re learning to do something new, having a more experienced person share the tips and tricks they’ve picked up over time can really speed things along for you. From weeding and applying vinyl to making the best quality Print then Cut projects and saving money on supplies and more, you’ll find so many amazing hacks here that will make creating Cricut projects so much easier! Check out these 20 Cricut hacks and level up your crafting!

20 CRICUT HACKS TO TURN A BEGINNER INTO A PRO FAST!

1 – Weed on the mat.

We LOVE to weed on the mat. This Cricut hack was a game-changer when we first figured it out and it is definitely one of our all-time favorite tips. The reason why we like to weed on the mat is that it’s like having a third hand to help hold down your material during the weeding process.

cricut hack for pressing a t-shirt with an easypress to mark the center

2 – How to find the middle of your shirt.

Line up the shoulder seams of your shirt, folding it in half lengthwise. Once you have them lined up, simply use your EasyPress to press a line down the middle of your shirt. Press for about 5-10 seconds. Then, line up the two edges of your design, and just at the top of the transfer tape, pinch to make a small fold. Repeat at the bottom edge. You don’t want to fold the actual design, just the transfer tape. This will help you to center your design and line it up perfectly every time.

Pro Tip: We like to place the design about 3 inches down from the neckline.

using a squeegee to hold rounded items in place

3 – Cricut hack for keeping rounded blanks in place while applying designs.

You may find that as you try to apply your designs to things like ornaments and tumblers, they try to roll around on you. A roll of masking tape or a squeegee tool underneath the blanks can help keep them in place and allow you to apply your vinyl with ease.

4 – Clean non-porous surfaces with rubbing alcohol.

With glass, ceramic, or other non-porous surfaces, use some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to clean away any dust, oil, and fingerprints before applying your design. It will adhere much better.

Pro Tip: If you find that you are leaving bits of lint behind with the paper towel on the surface you are using, try a coffee filter instead. Thanks to one of our followers for sharing this tip!

5 – Burnish, burnish, burnish!

If there is one thing you can do to make weeding and applying vinyl easier, it’s to burnish it. We like to burnish before we weed to make sure all the pieces of the design are well-adhered to the backing paper. Then, after adding transfer tape burnish again from both the front and the back for that extra bit of security.

applying vinyl to a rounded surface like an ornament

6 – Cricut hack for applying vinyl to rounded surfaces.

Create a few slits all the way around (in the transfer tape, not the design). This will help you apply it and get it to lay flat as it should.

Pro Tip: For ornaments, we really like to use masking paper transfer tape.

Cricut Christmas Ornaments 101

7 – Try using off-brand products instead of Cricut brand.

Yes, Cricut is a great brand and makes some amazing craft supplies, but did you know that you don’t always have to stick to Cricut brand materials to have success with your projects? We love Starcraft vinyl, Siser EasyWeed, and TeckWrap Vinyl as alternatives to Cricut vinyl. These save you money and are fantastic products.

Pro Tip: We love Nicapa cutting mats in place of Cricut ones too!

Cricut Hack for Taping Chipboard On Mat to hold while cutting

8 – What to do when your mat isn’t sticky enough.

If your material doesn’t seem to be sticking as well as it should be, use a brayer to burnish it to the mat. With thicker materials like chipboard, use some masking tape to secure it around the edges.

Cutting Chipboard with Your Cricut Maker

Clean Your Cricut Mat When Its No Longer Sticky.png

9 – Cricut hack to get more life out of your mats: Clean your mat.

Another thing you can do when your mat is dirty or not as sticky as it should be is to clean it. Our favorite way of cleaning mats is to simply wipe them off with a baby wipe. Use a circular motion and light to medium pressure. It might take 2-3 baby wipes to revive your mat.

Pro Tip: Your mat won’t be sticky again until it’s dry.

How to Clean Your Cricut Mats 3 Ways

Find Out The Names Of The Fonts You Used

10 – Figure out which fonts you used in Cricut Design Space.

After creating a project in Design Space, you may want to return to it later to find out which fonts you used. To do so, select the text and go to your Layers Panel. Left click the text in the Layers Panel and look at Image Info. It will be faint, but it will tell you which fonts they are.

We’re halfway through our 20 Cricut hacks. Have you learned something new yet? Stick around. There are more craft tips to come!

11 – Take an image outside of Design Space.

You can’t export your designs from Design Space. This is the best hack we have found for working around that. Begin by removing the grid from your canvas. To do so, click on the 3 lines in the upper left corner. Go to Settings. There, under Canvas, you can choose No Grid. Now you have a plain white background for your design. You can screenshot this clean design and use it in other programs.

Pro Tip: With a Mac, you can press Command Shift 4 and you’ll get a cursor. Use the cursor to select what you want in your screenshot and when you release it, your Mac will automatically take a screenshot of that. On a Windows device, you can use the snipping tool.

12 – Open multiple Cricut Design Space windows.

If you’re working on more than one design at a time, you can open multiple Design Space windows. Go up to File and then New Window. Now you can switch from design to design in each of the windows. If you have two Cricut machines, you could also use this to cut from the two different machines at the same time too.

13 – Cricut hack to make your designs the right size every time: Add a shape in Design Space sized to the dimensions of your blank.

This will allow you to size your design to fit the blank perfectly and to visualize the finished project better. Add a shape to represent your blank and size it according to the measurements you took. Go to Operation and choose Guide. This will allow you to use the shape as a guide for your design but your Cricut won’t cut it out.

Cricut hack using color sync in design space

14 – Use color sync to change the number of colors in your design.

In our example, we used a design with 4 colors in it and wanted to change it to a 2-color design. To do that, click on Color Sync right under the Make It button. From there, you can drag and drop one of the colors to a different color in the panel to change it to that color. Repeat as many times as needed for your design.

Cricut hack for moving design components so they share the same mat

15 – Cut 2 different colors of vinyl on one mat.

After pressing Make It, you’ll see that your design has been placed on different mats according to color. To cut them all on one mat, choose one of the mats and click on the 3 dots in the upper left corner. Choose Move Object. Then select the mat you want to move it to. Press Confirm. Drag that part of the design to another part of the mat. Now you know where to place the different colors of vinyl on the mat (use the grid for guidance) so you can cut them both out on the same mat.

16 – Turn any file into a sticker.

If you’re beginning with a cut file, to turn it into a printable design, select all layers and choose Flatten at the bottom of the Layers Panel. To make it even more “sticker-like”, add an Offset to it. You can change the color of the offset as desired. Select both the flattened layer and the offset layer and Flatten.

17 – Cricut hack for the best Print then Cut projects: Get the best print image quality.

Once you send your image to the printer, you need to select Use System Dialog. Press Print. Your System Dialog will often appear behind Design Space so you will need to move it out of the way so you can see the dialog. There you will change the quality to Best.

Pro Tip: If you have a printer with a rear tray, we advise choosing to have your material feed from that tray for smoother results and less chances of paper jams.

Cricut hack using sketch fonts to have filled in letters

18 – Use sketch fonts for filled in fonts when drawing.

When you use sketch fonts with your pens, you won’t end up with letters that are simply outlines and not filled in.

19 – Make a test cut.

When you have a specialty material and you’ve never cut it before, we recommend making a test cut. Our favorite is a star shape, about 2 inches in size. If you can get a star to cut and weed well, you should be good to go. This way you can try it out without wasting the whole sheet of material.

Cricut hack using the taco method for applying vinyl

20 – Cricut hack for smooth vinyl application: Use the taco method.

If you are trying to apply your design but are nervous about laying it down well, use the taco method. Gently fold your design (don’t make a crease!) so that it resembles a taco. Lay it down on the blank with the center section first and then slowly move from the center out, allowing the material to lay down without any wrinkles or bubbles.

These 20 Cricut hacks will take your crafting skills to the next level in no time. Which one is your favorite? Share it with us on social media using hashtag #MakersGonnaLearn.

5 Keys to Master Cricut

January 2, 2023 by Cyn Gagen Leave a Comment

Do you know what we hear again and again from people who buy Cricut machines? So many of them purchase the machine and then are scared to take it out of the box! We get it. It can be really intimidating to learn how to use a new machine. So, if you’re one of those people whose Cricut is still in the box, these 5 Keys to Master Cricut are for you.

We want to show you that you CAN be a successful Cricut crafter and what’s more, you can have fun with it too! Cricut machines are so versatile and you can make so many craft projects with them. You made an investment in a machine and we want to help you get the most out of it.

5 Keys to Master Cricut

1 – Simplify

Pick one project that you would like to create. You want to choose something that inspires you so much that you are motivated to get that Cricut out of the box and start crafting. Go ahead – pick out your project. We’ll wait.

Okay, now that you have found your project (we’re so excited for you!), put on blinders. We don’t want you to get overwhelmed by the many options out there. For now, just focus on this one single project.

2 – Master

The machines are actually really simple to use. People look at the machine and get bogged down in thinking that they need to master it and that it’s going to be so complicated. We want you to take a step back and work on mastering the software first.

We encourage people to join our membership even before their new Cricut has arrived. This is because we have the support built into our community that will allow you to start learning and mastering Cricut Design Space (the software) right away.

3 – Refine

You may see us as we go through the steps in creating a Cricut project and think that it just all looks so easy and seamless. Then, you try it for yourself, and encounter problems along the way. Where did you go wrong? Well, you didn’t. You just need more practice!

We have been making these projects for a long time and over time, we have refined our techniques and processes. That is what you will do too. If you’re having difficulty with weeding, you need to do more weeding! Watch other people, like the Makers Gonna Learn team, as they weed their craft projects and copy what they do. Then, try again for yourself. It’s as simple as that.

4 – Audit

After you have been through the first three steps, pause and take an audit. Where are you now in your Cricut craft journey? What have you mastered? Where do you still have questions?

Now, dive into your Makers Gonna Learn membership. Dig into the courses, videos, and other training that you have access to as part of your membership and find the answers you need. Plan out what you’re going to focus on next!

Pro Tip: Don’t forget about our private, member-only Facebook group. It is an amazing resource when you have questions or have hit roadblocks and aren’t sure how to proceed.

5 – Learn

Cricut just recently released some pretty big updates to Cricut Design Space. It’s important to remember that your Cricut education isn’t a “one and done” sort of thing. You will need to stay open to continued learning throughout your Cricut craft journey. And don’t forget, that with your Makers Gonna Learn membership, we will be there to help you every step of the way!

NEED TO GET YOUR MACHINE OUT OF THE BOX?

Our 30 Days to Master Your Cricut course takes you right from opening the box and setting up your machine to making your first project and so much in between! You’ll learn everything you need to know to start making Cricut craft projects with confidence. FREE with your Makers Gonna Learn membership!

Huge Cricut Update 2022

November 4, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Folks, we have had a huge Cricut Update and it has made some significant changes to Cricut Design Space. Don’t worry! While it may feel overwhelming at first, we will help you understand these changes and start using them in your crafting.

It will take a bit of practice to get used to these changes but Cricut has added some great new functions in Design Space. In this post and video, we’ll share what those changes are and how to use them.

Huge Cricut Update 2022

With the new update, not only do you have Weld and Slice, but now there are some more functions to allow you to customize your designs even more!

Files used in this tutorial:

Addie Kate font: https://makersgonnalearn.com/fonts/ad…
Rose flower cut file: https://makersgonnalearn.com/cut_file…
Bolt: https://makersgonnalearn.com/cut_file…
Checkered Flag: https://makersgonnalearn.com/cut_file…

How to Update Cricut Design Space:

If you haven’t updated already, you may find that when you open Cricut Design Space, there is an update waiting for you. If you don’t see one, click on the lines to the left of the word Canvas (upper left corner of your DS screen).

Then you can click on Beta and Done. This will switch you over to the latest version of Design Space. Note that your Design Space may restart so be sure that you have saved anything on your canvas before proceeding.

As always, we suggest that as you’re working in Design Space, you check the Layers Panel to see what’s going on with your design.

In the lower right hand corner, at the bottom of the Layers Panel, you’ll find the new Combine menu. This is where Weld is now located, along with some new functions: Unite, Subtract, Intersect, Exclude

UNITE

Unite is similar to Weld except that you can undo it at any time. When you weld elements of your design together, they join together as one layer. With Weld you can only undo the action if it’s the most recent operation and you haven’t saved your design.

Another key difference between Unite and Weld is that with Unite you can only join two layers together. With Weld, you can do as many as you want.

Moving United Parts Of A Design Independently

Unite allows you to unite and undo at any time. In addition, although it will cut as one layer, in Design Space, if you use Unite, you can still work with the parts you united as separate layers. For example, you can still move them, rotate them, resize them, and so on.

To do this, click on the layer of the united design that you want to adjust in the Layer Panel. Once you’ve finished and clicked away, it will go back to a single united design on your canvas.

SUBTRACT

With Subtract, it will slice the top layer out of the bottom layer. It’s similar to the Slice function. However, like with Unite, you can select the layer in the Layers Panel and still adjust the size and positioning of it.

INTERSECT

By using Intersect, Design Space will leave only the parts of the shape that overlap. Once again, you can select and adjust the layers in the Layers Panel.

EXCLUDE

Exclude is basically the opposite of Intersect. If you use Exclude, Design Space will slice out the area where the layers overlap.

As with the other functions, you can still move around and resize the elements in the design even after using Exclude.

MERGE

We aren’t really sure of why exactly we’d want to use Merge at this time, but are predicting that it may be something Cricut added to Design Space because it will be useful in the future. Essentially, you can select layers in the Layers Panel and merge them together. It’s important to know that once you do this, it is permanent and there is no way to “unmerge” them.