Cricut Maker 3
I’ve dabbled in various crafty pursuits over the years – there was the photo scrapbooking (it was the ’80s, need I say more?), some pottery (loved it, but the final pieces exploded in the kiln), attempts at art (disastrously disappointing for everyone), and various other ‘let’s have a go’ attempts with groups of friends (always more artistically skilled than myself).
I’ve tried sewing (apparently even a straight line is outside my limitations), candle making (best left to the experts), mosaic (apparently you can go wrong), knitting (so long as it’s a long, straight scarf I’m fine) and jewellery making. The problem is, it all looks so easy on TikTok and Instagram. It’s not. The most successful of all my pursuits has been furniture upcycling.
Sadly, my expectations always surpass the end result. It’s just as well that much of the fun is in the camaraderie of these experiences, but I’ve always held a nugget of hope that somewhere within lies an undiscovered natural talent for something, anything – artistic. It has yet to reveal itself.
So when I was offered the opportunity to test drive a Cricut Maker 3 machine, I had high hopes but low expectations. Turns out it’s a deeply satisfying process, and once the initial set-up is done, there’s a whole world of creativity waiting to be unleashed. Thanks to the world of downloadable fonts and designs on Cricut Design Space, it’s almost impossible to botch up. At last, my results are professional looking and good enough to actually gift. Just in time for Christmas too.
Cricut Design Space is a virtual magic wand for crafty novices like myself and the key to success. It offers quick links for images and projects, as well as editable images, and the easiest (oh so easy) of projects with all the inspiration, downloads, and instructions you could possibly need.
There’s a veritable rabbit hole of opportunity for personalising pretty much everything in your home, to label making (oh the satisfaction), embossing, and even glass engraving. Oh, and also etching into leather, some metals, and wood – as well as Iron On transfers for clothing, tote bags, etc.
Merry Cricut Christmas – personalised Christmas goodies by Laura Parsons. Photo: Laura Parsons
It’s easy to pass ‘craft machines’ like this off as a novelty, but actually, the technology is pretty darn impressive and with today’s home trends around open shelves all meticulously stacked with labelled glass containers (thank you Khloe Kardashian), the Cricut Maker 3 is a game changer for home organisation.
The Cricut Maker 3 is the brand’s flagship machine, much bigger than the more compact Cricut Joywhich many people adore for making cards and vinyl stickers. While paper, card stock, and vinyl are the obvious contenders, Cricut Maker 3 can also work with fabric, leather, wood, and aluminium sheets. There’s a range of tools available depending on the complexity of your project. Once you immerse yourself in this fascinating new world, you’ll discover a huge community out there – many of them running successful businesses selling their Cricut wares.
While it resembles a printer, it’s a smart cutting machine that does so much more, with toothed wheels for feeding in different materials and being able to handle materials up to 12 feet long. The machine comes with a fine point blade to start cutting, but there are many other tools available and blades can be swapped out depending on whether you want to score or perforate, etc.
The Cricut Maker 3 can on paper, card, and fabric to create a variety of projects
It’s also a heck of a lot of fun. I’ve discovered many of my own long-time friends have been enjoying Cricut life for years – I never knew. One in particular (I won’t name and shame!) scours second-hand stores for mismatched floral dinnerware and repurposes with her own hilarious sense of humour. The contrast of pretty floral plates with non-sweet sayings such as ‘do I look like a (bleeping) people person’ and ‘Fresh out of (bleeps)’ is joyous. Naturally, she delights in presenting these as gifts to unsuspecting victims – pretty plates piled with home backing, and then the kicker underneath.
With the ability to personalise or self-design dinnerware, glasses, and wooden serving trays, as well as 3D home décor, toy models, and vinyl wall accents, Cricut Maker 3 is deserving of its permanent space in your home, as I’m confident in saying that you’ll never run out of innovative new ways to use it. Even if you start with baby steps with Christmas cards, tags, and decorations. Trust me – you won’t stop there.
Find your own Cricut style and enjoy the process
Extras you should know
Cricut is pronounced ‘cricket’. As in ‘Jimminy Cricut’.
Cricut EasyPress 2: If you’re keen to personalise everything from t-shirts and beanies to bags, footwear, and even stuffed toys, the Cricut EasyPress 2 is the ultimate tool for creating professional heat-transfer results. it also helps with proper transfer of iron-on vinyl onto fabric, etc. Both the temperature and the timer are displayed on top so you don’t need to worry about counting out seconds and getting distracted. Pro tip: Pre-press your material with the Cricut EasyPress 2 (just for 10 seconds or so), as this ensures the material is flat and dry before applying your design. Warning: Adding your own designs to clothing and fabric is highly addictive. You can even print a picture of your favourite pet (or child) onto socks.
Bonus tip: Register for Cricut Learn (the Cricut educational platform, with tutorials and handy guides for everything from set-up to using vinyl and iron-on. Plus, there are a host of online sharing and support groups to join, with endless inspiration). The Cricut Access subscription is also worth its weight in gold, with Cricut Design Space giving access to thousands of fonts, images, and projects and allowing you to upload your own.
What we tried: Cricut Maker 3 (available from Harvey Norman) and Cricut EasyPress 2 (a heat press for applying iron-on creations), with fabric mat and rotary blade (for cutting fabric).
Cricut is available from Harvey Norman nationwide. Cricut Maker 3 costs $799.
Images supplied