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Seven Months ago in August, 2017, I was sitting in my kitchen having a cup of tea and surfing the web. An add popped up for a new electronic cutting machine: The Cricut Maker - The Ultimate Smart Cutting Machine. I watched the video and read the features and was totally intrigued by the Rotary Cutting Blade. That was it! I had to get one...right then and there! Now, seven months later I can tell you that the Maker has lived up to its claims.
The Cricut Maker Cuts Hundreds of Materials
The Cricut Maker is the newest addition in the Cricut lineup of electronic cutting machines. It is the ultimate cutting machine as it not only cuts paper, but it will cut hundreds of other products as well from paper to vinyl to fabric to balsa wood to plastic and leather. The list of materials it will cut is exhaustive.
The Cricut Maker Has a Unique Adaptive Tool System
The Maker offers standard cutting blades that are typically found on other machines such as a fine point blade. But, the maker does not stop there. It has an Adaptive Tool System which controls the direction of the blade and the cutting pressure based on the material you are cutting. So, why would you care to know this? Because the Adaptive Tool System is what allows Cricut to offer us the Rotary Blade. With this bade (which I consider to be genius on the part of Cricut) you no longer need to bond your fabric before cutting on the Maker. And, the ability to change the blades direction and to adjust the amount of pressure needed to cut material allowed me to recently cut a tiny 0.125" diameter hole on a piece of dense cork fabric. Check out the pic. THAT is AMAZING!!
The Cricut Maker Will Grow With You
The Adaptive Tool System allows Cricut to develop new blades for us to use in the future such as the Knife Blade which will cut out materials such as chipboard and balsa wood up to 2.4mm thick. I am anxiously awaiting the release of this blade to use in my mixed media projects. We have the ability to upgrade our Makers as Cricut adds new tools in the future.
The Cricut Maker is Smart
Once I enter my material settings in Cricut Design Space, The Maker knows exactly which blade to use and how much pressure is needed. There are no dials to set. It prompts me to install the proper tools for the cut. And if I put in the wrong blade there are no worries as The Maker always checks to ensure I have the correct blade installed before making the cut.
The Cricut Maker has an Improved Print then Cut Function
Now, with a more powerful sensor, The Maker is able to perform the Print Then Cut function on colored papers. I tested this feature out with the Printed Envelope file in Cricut Access where I used kraft cardstock and my laser printer to create foiled envelopes.
The Cricut Maker is Attractive and Well Built
While unboxing the Maker, I was impressed with the care they took packaging the machine and the materials that went into producing this machine. It has a very sleek design with a lot of storage. When the top is closed, there are no buttons on top giving it a sleek profile that looks great in my craft room.
The Cricut Maker Offers a Variety of Writing Tools
Circuit offers a variety of writing tools which allows us to print a sentiment on a greeting card or to mark our fabric for sewing with their Washable Marker. Having the Washable Marker is a great asset for your sewing projects as it can mark your sewing lines and other markings you need for placement as you sew.
The Cricut Maker Offers Bluetooth or USB Connectivity
In addition to my amazement at the Rotary Cutting Blade, the Maker has the ability to connect wirelessly to your computer via Bluetooth.
I did not realize this feature until after I got the Maker home and I was delighted to see that there is a slot to hold my iPad Pro and a docking station to charge it! The Maker works without cartridges, so no need to figure out where to store them all. Instead you load designs directly onto your computer and then send them to the Maker for printing and cutting via Bluetooth (or USB if you prefer). I love wireless connections!
The Cricut Maker is Compatible with Cricut Design Space & Cricut Access
Both Cricut Design Space and Cricut Access work hand-in-hand. Design Space is free to use, while there are different subscription levels for Cricut Access. And both these platforms can be used on different devices including desktop, laptops and mobile devices. I can start working on a project on my iMac and switch to my iPad later on. They are also compatible with both Mac and PC users. If you want to design your own project, you can do it in Design Space. If you prefer to create a Ready-to-Make Project you can search Cricut Access for hundreds of designs from paper crafting to sewing and load them directly into Design Space. You also have the ability to load files such as: .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .svg and .dxf into Design Space that you can convert to cut and use in your projects.
The Cricut Maker Adapts to My Creative Mood
I have been crafting for decades and have developed many different interests over the years. Sometimes all I want to do is sew and other times I just want to make some cards. The Maker fits into so many of my interests that whatever my creative mood is, the Maker helps me get it done. Here are just a few of the projects I have created with my Maker.
Final Thoughts
I have been thoroughly enjoying the Cricut Maker. It cuts and marks precisely every time. In all my experience in the crafting world, I could never cut this precisely, accurately or consistently. And as I get older, I appreciate having The Maker do the cutting for me as my hands do not cooperate like they used to. Overall, this is a wonderful machine that I expect to be using for many years!
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