Best Cricut Machine

Best Cricut Machine

If you have been here on Sew What Alicia before then you probably know that I have pretty much any machine that has the name Cricut on it. I love all my Cricut goodies and gadgets. You can see all of my Cricut posts HERE. I have the Cricut Maker and I ADORE it. I have the EasyPress and EasyPress2 (in several sizes) and they are the BEST. But the title of best Cricut machine has been taken over by my new Cobalt Cricut Explore Air 2. I’ll be honest, 60% of the reason it is my new favorite is because of the color. This is my FAVORITE color!! Seriously everything in the “blue picture” was within arms reach of me in my craft room. I would blue, and specifically cobalt blue, all the things if I could. For real, I am currently trying to convince my husband to let me get our kitchen cabinets painted cobalt blue along with our front door. So let’s talk more about why I love the machine, besides the color. Why is this the best cricut machine, I’ll tell ya.

This post was sponsored by JOANN and Cricut. I received the machine at no cost. All opinions and ideas are my own.

If you don’t need convincing you can find this cobalt machine HERE. It is only available and JOANN so don’t miss it! It makes the perfect holiday gift for someone who has everything. Seriously even if they already have this machine they need it in blue, why, because RAINBOW that is why!

Which cutting machine is best?

There are lots of answers to this question. I love this Cricut Explore Air 2 for vinyl and paper. It is SO easy to use. The dial to switch materials is super user friendly, like easier than changing the material in design space for the Maker.

The cut is smooth and the machine is nice and quiet. It can cut over 100 different materials including bonded fabric. This machine is perfect if you make lots of fabric appliqués. You can cut the bonded fabric and press it right onto your project. This is a life changer if you have been cutting your appliqués out by hand!

Which is the best Cricut machine for vinyl?

This machine cuts vinyl so amazingly well. If you are making t-shirts or stencils or decals this machine is going to be your new best friend. It couldn’t be easier to hit cut and watch the machine make perfect cuts in no time at all! The machine is so much faster than previous Explore machines.

The design software gives you a percentage so you can easily keep track of how much longer your project is going to take. If you are using your machine to create items to sell you can also easily make tens or hundreds of copies with just the click of the mouse. Then it will keep track of how many mats it has cut and cut the perfect amount each time. All you have to do is load the machine, hit cut, wait, and repeat.

Which is the best Cricut machine for paper?

You know why I love this machine for cutting paper. All the extras. You can load a pen and the blade and draw and cut your Christmas cards in a matter of minutes. Plus use the pen to beautiful address and add a beautiful signature to your cards.

Easy Paper Flower Sign:

Supplies:

Cricut Explore Air 2, Cobalt

Cricut Light Grip Mat

Scoring Tool

Wood Sign

Blue and White Paint

Blue Card Stock

Instructions:

Paint your wooden sign. I used white paint on the inside and a cobalt blue paint around the edge. Then I mixed a bit of blue with white to add some depth on the inside of the sign (this step is optional depending on your personal preference.)

Next cut a flower out of card stock. I used THIS flower. It is already in design space so all you have to do is hit make. Then just cut the mats for the pointed flower, you will need to have your score tool loaded to easily add the scores to fold the flowers. Use your spatula tool to pull the flowers off without ripping or bending them.

Fold the flowers along the folds to add dimension.

Use an embroidery needle and floss to attach jingle bells to the three smallest flower pieces. Use hot glue to place the largest flower down first. Add the flowers going from largest to smallest.