INSIGHTS OF CRICUT MAKER: HOW TO DESIGN, CLEAN, MATERIAL THAT CAN BE USED, ETC.

DIY Projects

How to Design

To get started and test the machine, once you have connected the Cricut Maker to your PC or smart device, you will be taken to the ‘You’re only a cutaway’ screen. It will be the start of your first mini project on the Cricut Maker where you will be making a greeting card.

Directions:

  • Click ‘Continue’ and accept the project to make the card.

  • Follow the instructions on the screen and click the ‘Make it’ button.

  • The next screen is the ‘Prepare mat’ screen. Read the instructions and follow them by clicking ‘Continue.’

  • On the panel on the left-hand side of the ‘Prepare mat’ screen, the image of the board has the words ‘Draw’ and ‘Cut.’ It means that the project is going to use both a pen and a blade tool.

  • The next step is to set up the material for the machine to cut. The Maker does not have a dial, so this will be done through the Design Space software. Choose the material that the screen is prompting you to choose—Medium Cardstock – 80 lb.

  • The next step takes you through installing the accessories into the accessory clamp.

Using the Cricut Maker Accessory Clamp A:

The first accessory to install will be the black pen that comes with the Maker. On the pen, there is an arrow. Make sure that the arrow is facing you. Open the gray flap on clamp A. Position the pen into the slot gently pushing it down until the arrow disappears. Once the pen is in position, close the gray clamp flap to secure the accessory in place. When the pen is loaded, press ‘Continue.’

The next step will be to load the cutting mat.

Using Cutting Mats with the Cricut Maker:

Using the white cardstock material, stick it onto the top left-hand corner of the Light Grip cutting mat (follow the onscreen example).

Slide the cutting mat with the cardstock in place through the mat guides and up to the material feeder guide bar. The mat should be positioned just under the feeder rollers.

You will notice that the load/unload button is blinking. It indicates that the machine is ready for you to load the cutting mat with the material. Push the load/unload button to load the cutting mat.

The Maker will load the cutting mat and position it. When it is ready, the screen on your PC will change, prompting you to click go.

When the cutting mat has been loaded, the go button (Cricut C) button will start to flash to indicate that the machine is now ready to start cutting. Press the ‘Go’ button, and the Maker will start to draw the design. It will take a few minutes.

When the drawing process is finished, the Design Space screen will change to ‘Detecting blade.’ If it cannot detect a blade, it will prompt for one to be loaded. Depending on the material that has been selected, the software will prompt the blade that is best suited to the project.

As the Fine Point blade is preloaded with the Maker, it will not prompt for a blade change for this project. The Maker will start to cut out the image.

When the Maker is finished cutting out the design, you will be prompted onscreen to use the load/unload button to unload the cutting mat.

The load/unload button will flash until it has been pressed and the cutting mat has been unloaded from the machine.

The screen will prompt for the pen accessory to be removed from the clamp. Remove the pen by opening the flap on the clamp. Pull out the pen and then close the flap.

Pull the excess card stock off of the cutting mat, leaving behind the cut-out design.

You can use the weeding tool to pull out bits on the card and then pull the card from the cutting mat.

Fold the card in half.

Place the blue insert into the card by inserting each of the corners into the slots on the card as indicated by the on-screen prompt.

Your first Cricut Maker project is done!

Cleaning and Care

The Cricut Cutter machine needs to be kept intact in a variety of ways: the blade must be replaced, the cutting mats must be taken care of, and the machine, in general, must be kept clean.

Cutting Blade

Every single blade you use might get up to fifteen thousand individual cuts before replacement. To prolong this number of individual cuts, place the aluminum foil onto the cutting mat and cut out a few designs. This process keeps the blade extra sharp and lengthens the life of the blade.

This number of cuts can be determined based on the materials that have been cut by the blade. If you are doing many projects in which thick materials need to be cut, the blade will deteriorate quickly; the blade can also deteriorate if you are cutting many materials on high pressure.

An excellent way to know if your blade needs to be replaced is if the quality of your cuts starts to decrease significantly. If this happens, it’s best to replace the cutting blade.

When replacing the blade, it is always best to get blades that are the Cricut brand. Generic blades are often not the best quality and will cause you to replace your cutting blade regularly.

To install the new blade once you’ve ordered the correct one, you need to unplug your Cricut Cutter machine first. Always unplug the machine before installing anything in your Cricut cutter.

Next, you must remove the old, dull cutting blade from your Cricut Cutter machine. The process of how to do this has been mentioned many times in this book.

Once the cutting blade assembly has been separated, it is now time to eject the blade. Find the small silver button above the adjustment knob and press the button down; this will eject the cutting blade.

Be very careful when doing this as the blade is extremely sharp and can easily cut through the skin. Keep all blades away from children and pets.

To put in the new blade, insert the blade on the end of the blade assembly opposite of the blade release button. The blade will then be pulled up into the assembly. Place the assembly back into the machine by reversing the process.

Cutting Mat

The Cutting mat, in addition to the cutting blade, needs to be taken care of. One cutting mat can have a life of anywhere from twenty-five to forty cuts.

The life of the cutting mat can vary from this amount depending on the pressure and speed at which the cuts have been made and the type of materials that have been cut on the mat.

To prolong the life of your cutting mat, remove any debris from the mat after a cut and always avoid scraping the mat. If you scrape the mat, it can push any debris further into the mat.

After each craft, it is best to run lukewarm water over the mat and dab it dry with a towel afterward. When a material does not adhere to the cutting mat any longer, then it is time to replace the mat.

It is recommended to get many cutting mats and rotate between them to prolong the life of all the cutting mats. It extends the life of the mats because one cutting mat will not be cut on for many projects in a small amount of time.

It is also recommended that you keep all of your cutting mats and all of your cartridges and blades in a very organized manner. Throwing the components off can destroy and deteriorate them, so it is best to keep them in a very orderly fashion.

A benefit of keeping your Cricut Cutter components organized is that you won’t lose or damage the costly items that are necessary for several projects.

Cricut Machine

The final thing to keep clean is the actual Cricut Cutter machine.

The machine needs to be wiped down with a damp cloth. Wipe down the external panels of the machine and with the machine unplugged. Always wipe down the machine with a dry cloth after cleaning the outside of the machine.

Never clean the Cricut Cutter machine with abrasive cleaners such as acetone, benzene, and all other alcohol-based cleaners. Abrasive cleaning tools should never be used on the Cricut Cutter machine, either.

Also, never submerge any component of the machine or the Cricut Cutter machine into the water as it can damage the machine.

Always keep the Cricut Cutter machine away from all foods, liquids, pets, and children. Keep the Cricut Cutter machine in a dry and dust-free environment.

Finally, do not put the Cricut Cutter machine in excessive heat, excessive cold, sunlight, or any area where the plastic or any other components on the Cricut Cutter machine can melt.

Materials

Cricut boasts being compatible with over 100 different materials. This part will lay out all of those materials so you have a reference for any materials you might want to use for your die-cutting projects!

  • Adhesive Cardstock

  • Adhesive Foil

  • Adhesive Vinyl

  • Adhesive Wood

  • Aluminum Foil

  • Aluminum Sheets

  • Balsa Wood

  • Birch Wood

  • Burlap

  • Canvas

  • Cardboard

  • Cardstock

  • Chalkboard Vinyl

  • Chipboard

  • Construction Paper

  • Contact Paper

  • Copy Paper

  • Corkboard

  • Corrugated Paper

  • Cotton Fabric

  • Craft Foam

  • Craft Paper

  • Denim

  • Dry Erase Vinyl

  • Duck Cloth

  • Duct Tape

  • Embossable Foil

  • Faux Leather

  • Faux Suede

  • Felt

  • Flannel

  • Flocked Cardstock

  • Flocked Iron-On

  • Flocked Paper

  • Foil Acetate

  • Foil Embossed Paper

  • Foil Iron-On

  • Foil Poster Board

  • Freezer Paper

  • Glitter Cardstock

  • Glitter Foam

  • Glitter Iron-On

  • Glitter Paper

  • Glitter Vinyl

  • Glossy Iron-On

  • Glossy Vinyl

  • Holographic Iron-On

  • Holographic Vinyl

  • Leather

  • Linen

  • Magnet Sheets

  • Matte Iron-On

  • Matte Vinyl

  • Metallic Leather

  • Metallic Cardstock

  • Metallic Iron-On

  • Metallic Paper

  • Metallic Poster Board

  • Metallic Vellum

  • Metallic Vinyl

  • Neon Iron-On

  • Notebook Paper

  • Oil Cloth

  • Outdoor Vinyl

  • Paint Chips

  • Paper Board

  • Paper Grocery Bags

  • Parchment Paper

  • Peal Cardstock

  • Pearl Paper

  • Permanent Adhesive Vinyl

  • Photo Framing Mat

  • Photographs

  • Plastic Packaging

  • Polyester

  • Post Its

  • Poster Board

  • Printable Fabric

  • Printable Iron-On

  • Printable Magnet Sheets

  • Printable Sticker Paper

  • Printable Vinyl

  • Removable Adhesive Vinyl

  • Rice Paper

  • Scrapbook Paper

  • Shimmer Paper

  • Shrink Plastic

  • Silk

  • Solid Core Cardstock

  • Stencil Material

  • Stencil Vinyl

  • Temporary Tattoo Paper

  • Tissue Paper

  • Transparency Film

  • Vellum

  • Washi Sheets

  • Washi Tape

  • Window Cling

  • Wood Veneer

  • Wool Felt

  • Wrapping Paper

Updated: May 31, 2025 — 6:02 pm