Cricut: The Basics

Step One: Design

Program it using the online editing tool for the Cricut: Cricut Design Space. You can log on in using Mr. Dixon's email (sdixon@bownet.org) and the same password we use for all of our databases. Or you can create your own account. You may need to install a plug in to make it work. There are lots of tutorials out there on this. Check out YouTube. There plenty out there, but you might also find it to be pretty user friendly. Remember to save it often, just in case!

Step Two: Material

Once you have it all designed and prepped on the computer, then you need to select the material to fit your purpose. We have four basic material types in the Work Room:

Cardstock: Great for cutting out letters for the presentations, making cards or invitations, using the pen and marker tool, and more.
Iron-on Vinyl: Many color options. Cut it on the matte/non-shiny side. Make sure you flip any images and texts on the computer! These typically iron on nicely and have a great longevity. You can always re-iron the material if it starts to peel off. Place some parchment paper down first.
Permanent Vinyl Stickers: These are bumper stickers. They stay on. They can go through the dishwasher even!
Removable Vinyl Stickers: Good for wall projects and other temporary uses. Peels off very easily, but not likely to fall off over time; you'll need to peel it off. I wouldn't recommend running it through the dishwasher though.

Card Stock Projects

Iron-On Vinyl

Permanent Vinyl

Removable Vinyl

Step Three: Prepping the Cricut

Make sure the Circut is on and connected to the computer (some allow for wifi connectivity, but not at BHS).
Check the dial to make sure the material is set correctly to whatever you are working with: vinyl, iron-on, cardstock, etc.
Place the material on one of the green cutting mats. They're like cutting boards.
Press the cutting mat firmly against the wheel of the machine, then press the button with the double arrow. This will load the cutting mat with your material. It should suck the mat in a bit. It should be blinking when it's ready to load the mat.
Press the blinking Cricut button and shout, "Go Cricut, go!" Okay, that last part is optional.

Step Four: Working with the Material

If you're working with vinyl, you will need to weed the excess. We have some tools to help you with that. If you're working with paper, you'll need some glue sticks to stick it all together. Then, it's clean up time!

There are a couple of pages that go in more depth for different materials.

Ben R "weeding" the vinyl to make Falcon Radio tshirts.

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