**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

If you’ve got a Cricut, make sure you check out Cricut Access™!   Cricut‘s new Access™ subscription helps your readers get the most out of their Cricut® machine.  With Cricut Access™, you’ll get instant access to over 30,000 non-licensed* images, fonts, and projects for endless possibilities!  Spring is just around the corner, and you can get inspired with cute projects for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, create Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards and crafts, or plan ahead for graduations, summer, and more!

Here are some of the benefits:

• The best value on images
• Instant unlimited access to over 30,000 images, 1,000 projects, and 370 fonts
• 10% off purchases on Cricut.com and Design Space®
• Multilayered images, single-cut images, fonts, 3D projects, and much more!
• Easy, one-time payment

Choose from a monthly option for just $9.99 a month (you can cancel at any time) or take advantage of the yearly plan and it’s like you’re paying just $7.99 per month!  Cricut Access™ members get exclusive benefits, including 10% off all orders onCricut.com and in Cricut Design Space™! This new subscription service will also allow them to be the first to access new images, projects, and exclusive designs.* Look for the Access™ icon to find projects and images included in Cricut Access™.  Start your subscription here–> Cricut Access registration

Check out the available content here–> Cricut Access 

*The 10% off discount is only applicable on Cricut.com (USA and CAN only) and in Cricut Design Space™. The 10% off cannot be used to purchase or renew Cricut Access™, to purchase Cricut Circle™, or on iOS in-app purchases. This change does not require any action from current subscribers. Terms and Conditions apply.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. 

Now that you’re more familiar with Cricut Explore One™, Cricut Explore Air™ and Cricut Design Space™, it’s time to chat about some of the really neat things you can create when you put it all together.   As you’re getting familiar with your Cricut machine, make sure you take advantage of the FREE Make it Now™ projects and images that you get with Cricut Design Space™.

Check out this adorable 3D Hot Air Balloons Mobile. It’s a fun, easy starter project and makes for the perfect baby shower or toddler’s birthday gift (and can you believe it’s made with felt?). What’s a gift without a card? Cricut has an incredible selection of card examples made with Cricut Explore machines. There’s even a whole selection dedicated to everything baby, which is where I came across this cute baby shower card.

Birthday
What better way to tell someone how special they are than with a hand/Cricut-made card and gift? This super fun shaker card is perfect for a 21+ birthday. And even if you purchase a gift, you can always use yourCricut Explore machine to personalize it. For example, if you bought a friend a purse or a wallet, you could use your machine to monogram it with their initials. Or if you bought them a plain shirt or sweater, you could customize it with a fun image or statement.

I love this sparkly pineapple t-shirt. All you need is a blank shirt, a roll of Cricut Iron-on, and images from theCricut® Summer Love image set.

Pool Party
Soak up the summer fun with a pool party! You can use your Cricut Explore to create everything from invitations to decorations. Here are some really creative ideas for how to add some special splash to a pool party.

Engagement/Wedding
Make your own beautiful table decorations, banners, party favor boxes, cards, and more for the happy couple in just a few minutes! You’ll find some really impressive ideas in Cricut’s Design Space, such as this lovely Mr. & Mrs. card.

There are an unbelievable number of project examples in the Design Space, which are categorized by type (e.g. baby, holidays, home décor, school, food, etc.) and by level (easy, moderate, and advanced). You can also find a ton of great ideas for projects on Cricut‘s Blog and Pinterest page.

The summer season is a perfect time to get your very own Cricut machine and familiarize yourself with Design Space and all the incredible projects you can create. Try out a few projects each month and you’ll be amazed at how easy it is. By the time the holiday season rolls around, you’ll be a Cricut pro and will wow your friends and family with your stunning crafting skills!

Happy crafting!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. 

If you read last week’s post, you now know why Cricut’s Explore One™ and Explore Air™ machines are so incredible – and a must-have for any crafter.   What bridges the gap between the creative ideas in your head and the Cricut machine is the CricutDesign Space™.   It’s is software for PC, Mac®, iPhone® and iPad® that you get for FREE with your Cricut machine of choice.  Instead of trying to figure out how to make your project, Design Space gives you the ability to focus on what you want to make. Your Cricut machine takes it from there and brings it to life.

With Design Space, you can start designing from scratch on your computer, iPhone® or iPad®, or you can use a pre-designed, Make It Now™ project. These ready-to-make projects are created by professional artists and include everything from home décor to fashion to paper crafting, and even a variety of FREE projects.   If you want to use one of Cricut’s 50K+ images, you can try them out in the Design Space to see which will look best in your project before you commit to purchasing it.

Uploading Images

When you’re ready to start designing, you can either use one of Cricut’s 50K+ images or easily upload your own using the “Upload Images” tool in Design Space. You can upload and cut .svg, .jpg, .png, .bmp, .gif, and .dxf files absolutely FREE. You can even use fonts already installed on your computer.

Cut What You Want® tool

The Design Space’s Cut What You Want® tool makes it easy to convert your design into a cuttable image in just a few clicks!

The Cricut Design Space™ app for iPad® and iPhone® 

Cricut’s easy-to-use app for the iPad® and iPhone® makes it possible for you can design anytime and anywhere inspiration strikes you.

It also allows you to access all the project’s that you’ve personally designed, whether on your iOs device or your PC or Mac, and gives you access to all the Make-it-Now projects.

With this app, you can start a project while at the beach, enhance it at the ice-cream shop, add some embellishments while cozying up on your couch, and then cut it on the Cricut Explore in your craft room. Plus, it’s cloud-based, so your projects are always synced across all your devices.

P.S. Cricut is working on an Android™ app right now, so don’t feel left out if you don’t have an iPad or iPhone.

In a nutshell, Cricut Design Space™ gives you the creative freedom to design just about anything! Make party invitations, decorations, and favors. Create seasonal home décor or personalize wedding gifts. Add embellishments to your favorite photo memories.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! That’s why next week’s post (the last on in this series) will focus on some really fun and interesting projects that people have created using their Cricut machine and the CricutDesign Space.

Stay tuned!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. 

If you’ve been on the fence about getting a Cricut Explore, check out this post to find out how you can use the Cricut for projects such as creating personalized wedding gifts or making your own unique home decor!  After reading this, we’re confident you’ll think the Cricut electronic cutting machines to be the best DIY crafting tool since the sewing machine!

There are two machines that Cricut currently offers on their site:

• Cricut Explore One™
• Cricut Explore Air™

Cricut Explore One™

Cricut Explore One™ is a simple design-and-cut system. It’s versatile, easy to use, cuts very precisely, and is also incredibly affordable. With its irresistibly low price and limitless cutting potential, the Explore One is perfect for a new or beginning crafter. Here are a few notable features of the Explore One:

Materials – All Cricut machines can cut an unbelievable variety of materials, for example:

• Paper
• Vinyl
• Iron-on
• Craft materials
• Upcycled materials
• Fabric
• Plastic
• Thick materials

Precision – Features Cut Smart™ technology, which allows you to cut a wide range of shapes and sizes with exceptional precision, from ¼” tall up to 11½” wide x 23½” tall.

Smart Set® Dial – Each machine features a Smart Set® dial, which sets your settings (e.g. speed, pressure, etc.) for you so you don’t have to keep track of them. You just select the material that you’re using on the Smart Set® dial and the machine’s Cut Smart® technology will deliver a clean, professional cut.

Images and Fonts – You can upload your own images and fonts for free on all three Cricut cutting machines.

Cartridges – Both machines work with any Cricut cartridge and have the capability to hold all of your cartridges “virtually” in the cloud within your Cricut Design Space online software. So once you’ve loaded a cartridge, you’ll have it everywhere you go.

Cricut’s Design Space™ and iPad® app – All Cricut Explore machines work hand-in-hand with Cricut’s Design Space™ (for PC, Mac®, iPad®, and iPhone®) that you get access to for free.

Cricut Explore Air™

The Explore Air is the whole kit ‘n caboodle. It offers all the impressive features mentioned for the Explore One, but two key things set it apart:

1. It has a dual carriage for cutting and writing or cutting and scoring in one step. If you do a lot of paper crafting, this is the machine for you!
2. It has built-in Bluetooth® capability. You just use Cricut’s free iPad app and design anything you want from your iPad, just like you would on your home computer, but with the convenience of being able to take your projects with you anywhere. Then, you can just wirelessly send your project from your iPad to your Explore Air to bring it to life.

Now that you know a lot more about how Cricut Explore® machines work, I’ll focus next week’s post on how you can design here, there and everywhere with Cricut Design Space. You’ll be blown away by how easy it is.

Until then … Happy crafting!