#yow's embroidery

[selenevassos]

i made an eraserhead baby plushie...

[citynewsglobe]

[ad_1] Oktoberfest is a time of celebration, neighborhood, and custom. Central to the festive expertise is the apparel, with Lederhosen and Dirndls taking heart stage. Nonetheless, for girls preferring the consolation and elegance of Lederhosen, discovering inexpensive choices could be difficult. Discovering high quality Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes on a finances requires a little bit of analysis and savvy buying. Top-of-the-line methods to begin is by taking a look at respected shops like eLederhosen, which provides a variety of choices at numerous value factors for Womens lederhosen Costume. On this weblog submit, we are going to discover the world of Womens Lederhosen Costumes, highlighting budget-friendly choices that don’t compromise on high quality or fashion. With insights from eLederhosen, a famend retailer providing a variety of Lederhosen and equipment for males, ladies, and youngsters, you’ll be geared up to search out the right outfit to your Oktoberfest celebration. The Attraction of Womens Lederhosen Costumes Lederhosen, historically related to males, have develop into more and more standard amongst ladies. These costumes supply a singular mix of consolation, sturdiness, and elegance, making them a incredible alternative for Oktoberfest. Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes are designed to be flattering and useful, permitting ladies to take part in festivities with ease and confidence. The attraction lies of their versatility – they are often dressed up or down, and accessorized to swimsuit preferences. In relation to budget-friendly choices, it’s important to know what makes a very good Lederhosen costume. Key parts embrace the standard of the leather-based or different supplies, the match, and the normal particulars equivalent to embroidery and buttons. By specializing in these features, yow will discover inexpensive Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes that look nice and final for years. What do German women put on throughout Oktoberfest? Throughout Oktoberfest, German women historically put on Dirndls, that are traditional Bavarian attire consisting of a fitted bodice, a shirt, a full skirt, and an apron. The Dirndl is a staple of Oktoberfest apparel and is available in numerous colours and patterns, permitting for private expression whereas sustaining a connection to Bavarian tradition. The shirt, sometimes white, can function puffed sleeves, lace, and embroidery, including a contact of magnificence to the ensemble. The bodice is commonly intricately designed with lacing, buttons, or embroidery, and it serves to boost the silhouette. The skirt, which could be knee-length or longer, supplies a female and modest look, whereas the apron is tied in a particular method to point the wearer’s relationship standing: a knot on the fitting signifies that she is taken, on the left means she is single, and on the again suggests she is widowed or a waitress. Discovering High quality on a Finances eLederhosen is understood for its dedication to high quality and authenticity, making it a dependable alternative for these in search of inexpensive but trendy Lederhosen. When buying on a finances, think about supplies that mimic conventional leather-based however are extra inexpensive. Artificial leather-based or high-quality material blends can present the feel and appear of actual leather-based with out the excessive price ticket. Moreover, take note of gross sales and reductions, particularly round Oktoberfest, as many retailers supply promotions that may show you how to snag an ideal deal. One other tip is to search for primary designs that may be customized with equipment. Easy Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes could be remodeled with the addition of conventional blouses, hats, socks, and footwear, permitting you to create a singular look with out spending a fortune. Fashion Ideas for Inexpensive Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes Creating a classy Oktoberfest outfit with inexpensive Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes is all about creativity and a spotlight to element.

Begin with a well-fitted pair of Lederhosen. Even on a finances, make sure the match is flattering and comfy. Search for adjustable straps and laces, which may help obtain the right match. Subsequent, select a shirt that enhances your Lederhosen. Conventional white blouses are a protected wager and could be discovered at affordable costs. Search for blouses with puffed sleeves, lace particulars, or embroidery so as to add a contact of magnificence to your outfit. If you happen to favor a extra trendy look, go for blouses in several colours or patterns. Equipment play an important function in elevating your costume. eLederhosen provides quite a lot of equipment, together with hats, scarves, socks, and jewellery, which might add a standard contact to your outfit with out breaking the financial institution. A felt hat with a feather, knee-high socks, and an ornamental belt can remodel a easy Lederhosen costume right into a festive ensemble. Purchasing at eLederhosen for Inexpensive Choices eLederhosen is a one-stop-shop for all of your Lederhosen wants, providing a variety of choices for males, ladies, and youngsters. Recognized for his or her high-quality merchandise and dedication to buyer satisfaction, eLederhosen makes it simple to search out inexpensive Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes that don’t compromise on fashion or authenticity. The shop provides quite a lot of Lederhosen kinds, from conventional designs to extra modern choices. With an intensive collection of sizes and matches, you’re certain to search out one thing that fits your physique kind and private fashion. Moreover, eLederhosen supplies detailed product descriptions and measurement guides that can assist you make an knowledgeable buy. One of many standout options of eLederhosen is their vary of equipment. From hats and belts to socks and footwear, the shop provides every thing it's essential full your Oktoberfest outfit. By buying equipment individually, you possibly can combine and match totally different items to create a singular look that matches your finances. eLederhosen additionally ceaselessly provides gross sales and reductions, particularly round main occasions like Oktoberfest. Signing up for his or her publication or following them on social media can hold you knowledgeable about upcoming promotions, serving to you lower your expenses in your buy. Womens Lederhosen Costumes For Oktoberfest  For individuals who are environmentally acutely aware, discovering inexpensive and sustainable Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes is a precedence. eLederhosen acknowledges the significance of sustainability and provides choices comprised of eco-friendly supplies and moral manufacturing practices. When purchasing for sustainable Lederhosen, search for gadgets comprised of natural or recycled supplies. Artificial leathers that mimic the feel and appear of conventional leather-based generally is a extra sustainable alternative, as they typically require fewer assets to supply. Moreover, think about supporting manufacturers that prioritize honest labor practices and environmentally pleasant manufacturing processes. eLederhosen is dedicated to providing merchandise that aren't solely trendy and inexpensive but in addition environmentally accountable. By selecting sustainable choices, you possibly can take pleasure in your Oktoberfest celebrations whereas minimizing your impression on the planet. Embracing the Spirit of Oktoberfest Finally, Oktoberfest is about celebrating Bavarian tradition and traditions with family and friends. Your outfit performs a major function within the festivities, and with inexpensive Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes, you possibly can totally embrace the spirit of Oktoberfest with out breaking the financial institution. Inexpensive doesn’t imply compromising on fashion or high quality. By buying good, selecting versatile items, and taking good care of your costume, you possibly can create a shocking Oktoberfest outfit that you simply’ll be proud to put on yr after yr.

With the intensive choice and experience of eLederhosen, discovering the right costume has by no means been simpler. In conclusion, Girls’s Lederhosen Costumes supply a singular and classy different to the normal Dirndl, offering consolation and flexibility for Oktoberfest celebrations. By specializing in budget-friendly choices, you possibly can benefit from the festivities in fashion with out overspending. eLederhosen’s dedication to high quality, affordability, and sustainability makes it the perfect vacation spot for all of your Lederhosen wants. So gear up, embrace the Bavarian spirit, and make this Oktoberfest one to recollect along with your inexpensive and classy Girls’s Lederhosen Costume.   [ad_2] Supply hyperlink

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Bridal Salwar Kameez: It's Not as Difficult as You Think

The only real precise Generation device for Weighty and handmade embroidery kaftans collations in your Unique marriage ceremony working day activities

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We're possessing India mainly generally based mostly Kaftans producing plant and escalating with the swiftest volume as of late even though the financial slowdown ensuing from corona. We consistently welcome the unique craftsmanship and vogue designers to utilised our Method to point their abilities and can make it probable for The layout and style organization business.

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[kicksaddictny]

Nike KD12 Aunt Pearl

According to NIKE

Kevin Durant shared a special bond with his late Aunt Pearl, who passed away from lung cancer in 2000. Beginning with the KD4 in 2012, Durant remembered Pearl’s influence in his life by teaming up with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to create a pink colorway in Aunt Pearl’s name; it's now an annual tradition in the line. The shoes are further immortalized by pulling details from earlier KD Aunt Pearl colorways and incorporating them into the next iteration. Here are the inspirations behind the details of the KD12 Aunt Pearl:

The pearl graphic on the collar foam is drawn from the KD4

The sock liner graphic is from the KD5

The rose heel graphic is from the KD6

The strap is from the KD7

The heel embroidery is from the KD9

The material on the tongue, collar and Nike Swoosh is from the KD10

The outsole marbling is from the KD11

The KD12 Aunt Pearl releases globally December 26 on nike.com and at select retailers.

[selenevassos]

GUYSSSS someone sent me a pic of jeremy strong with a kendall plush they gave him i cant believe this

[selenevassos]

i made a spot plushie.....

[babybluebutterflyy]

Replica Gucci Men'S Belt Bags

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[selenevassos]

finally unleashing these... tell your saw friends!

[nearthecityofchorrol-blog]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer��, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[my-scorched-earths-insides]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[whathungerpangs]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[tarsoakedgossamer]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[yourmadqueen]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[ultrashipshapesunk-blog]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[7niichan-stuff-blog]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

The post Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek appeared first on Laptop Computer Info.

[vampire-ducks-blog]

Tools for ProvoCraft’s Cricut Explore Air – A Better Geek

I’m a reasonably artistic individual. I all the time have been, and my maternal family history consists of lots of creative-minded individuals. One in every of my cousins is a bona fide skilled artist, my mother is musically gifted in addition to an amazing seamstress, my grandmother was an completed seamstress, quilter, and needlepointer…and the listing simply goes on.

I’ve discovered that I’m not notably skilled at creating imagery and designs out of skinny air (or my creativeness), but I actually take pleasure in creating. I first came upon concerning the existence of computerized craft cutters several years in the past and didn’t really know a lot about them – all I learn was that ProvoCraft had this line of Cricut-branded craft cutters that used very costly cartridges, and when a company reverse-engineered the software used to regulate the machine so as to launch a product that allowed using any pictures or fonts you needed, ProvoCraft sued the pants off of them and gained. Thank Invoice Clinton and the DMCA for that one.

In 2015, I happened upon a blog submit speaking about an all-new Cricut machine that was supposed to deal with customers’ number-one grievance: the lack to create your personal designs, separate from expensive cartridges, to be minimize on a Cricut machine. The more research I did, the extra I needed one among these new machines. Lo and behold, Santa purchased me a Cricut Explore Air for Christmas that same yr!

Santa seems an awful lot like my fiance Jay, by the best way. Think about that!

I acquired proper to work as quickly as I opened the field. True to my nature, I had to find methods to make this machine do greater than what your average crafter would do. Sharing is caring, so I decided other individuals is perhaps interested what I’ve discovered by way of my Cricut adventures.

Tools You May (Not) Want

Cricut provides a line of branded tools, in fact. Some of them are pretty good, and some of them are pretty terrible. I subscribed to Cricut’s promotional emails and picked up their primary device package once they have been having a 40% off sale on equipment. For the worth it’s okay, but at full worth it’s not value it.

Right here’s why – and I’ve given you some concepts on options to the Cricut tools.

Micro-tipped scissors

These scissors have a very sharp, very small blade, which does make them helpful for trimming tiny bits of cardstock and material. Nevertheless. a great pair of embroidery scissors can accomplish the same factor, and for trimming paper, nothing beats a very good set of interest knives. I’ve a set that Jay had laying round from working on model practice stuff, and I really like them – the handles are ergonomic and really straightforward to regulate, and the set comes with quite a lot of blades in a secure plastic case. Yow will discover the set I bought on Amazon for a bit underneath $18, however any quality interest knife set can be your greatest good friend.

Spatula

That is considered one of two tools from the package that I exploit recurrently. The spatula has a very thin metallic blade, which makes it indispensable when making an attempt to take away cardstock and paper out of your chopping mats. Cricut makes a set that features just the spatula and scraper (and typically bundles these two tools with the machine relying on what specific product and SKU you’re shopping for), so that’s in all probability a greater guess general than the costlier package I purchased.

Scraper

Like the spatula, the scraper is pretty indispensable. You should use it to knock bits of cardstock off your slicing mat shortly and easily. Cricut also makes an extra giant scraper which is perhaps higher bang for your buck.

That being stated, there are lot of different scraper options you will get for a bit cheaper – a small plastic pan and pot scraper will do the identical because the Cricut scraper.

Weeder

The weeder software is an oversized dental decide – and it turns out that, at the very least with the work I’ve carried out with vinyl, window clings, and cardstock, the Cricut-branded weeder is method, approach too huge. I began using a DenTek-branded dental decide that came with our electrical toothbrush and WaterPik set, and it’s worked a lot better than the Cricut weeder. I’d highly advocate choosing up a dental tartar decide (there are a ton on Amazon) over this Cricut device.

One really useful tip – you should use a weeder and a puddle of glue to piece collectively tiny cardstock bits. Dip the tip of the weeder in the glue to use tiny drops of glue to your items.

Tweezers

These tweezers are so freaking terrible. They’re 100% ineffective. They’re very imprecise, and the squeeze-to-open design is tough to make use of with my (considerably abnormal) tiny palms. I think they’re downright unusable in case you have arthritis or some other nice motor talent or mobility problems. There are a wide variety of precision tweezer choices out there which are a lot better – look in craft and pharmacy departments at your native massive box store. I additionally advocate Harbor Freight, if there’s one in your space – they’re principally the Aldi of hardware stores and sell a whole lot of cheap, private-label stuff, they usually have lots of hobbyist instruments and kit. You can too find options on Amazon.

Scoring Device

The Explore and Explore Air can minimize and score in a single cross (in other phrases, with out having to cease and alter instruments – the Explore One requires switching instruments between slicing and scoring). This is implausible for making envelopes, packing containers, and pop-up playing cards. The scoring device is certainly well worth the cash.

Further Tools and Provides

Chopping Mat

Once I first started creating stuff with my Cricut, I used to be working with my interest knives immediately on my desktop. My craft space is about up with an previous IKEA Jerker desk I’ve had since school, and the desktop floor is well-worn, so including little cuts to it didn’t hassle me. I decided to select up a chopping mat anyhow, as a result of it makes for a better work floor. I ended up getting this Alvin mat on Amazon, as a result of I have Amazon Prime and pretty much all the time decide stuff with same-day delivery each time attainable. Any chopping mat will work, but I undoubtedly advocate getting a slicing mat in case you’re going to do plenty of effective, detailed work.

Brayer Roller

A brayer curler is absolutely just a roller. I don’t know why it’s referred to as “brayer”, however that’s what you need to look for. I obtained this Speedball set on Amazon and have been really proud of it. I exploit the arduous rubber and acrylic rollers to flatten out cardstock and clean bubbles in vinyl sheets. These rollers are also nice for applying supplies smoothly onto your slicing mats.

Protip – on the set I purchased, the acrylic roller didn’t transfer in any respect in the handle. I utilized a bit of mineral oil to the pins on the ends of the curler, and that fastened it right up. Don’t use petroleum-based lubricants like WD-40, since those will trigger the acrylic to deteriorate.

Glue and Adhesives

Glue is tremendous necessary for pretty much any cardstock or paper Cricut venture. Thus far, I’ve simply been utilizing Aileen’s Cheesy Glue. As I mentioned earlier on this article, a dental tartar decide works rather well for dabbing on tiny drops of glue for piecing collectively a challenge. It’s not optimum, though – I have to maintain some scrap cardboard available to hold puddles of glue, and the glue starts drying out method too shortly. Not solely that, however Cheesy Glue has an annoying habit of wrinkling each paper and cardstock if even a tiny bit too much is used.

I’m still looking for the most effective adhesive options. I picked up a number of Tombow merchandise from Amazon this week and am going to attempt them out – I’m notably enthusiastic about this ballpoint glue pen! It seems to be like it can work great for placing everlasting glue on tiny strips and bits of cardstock when piecing together a challenge – and it might be no less than slightly less tedious.

Rulers and Straightedges

One other very useful gizmo is a top quality ruler. I’ve tried totally different ones and located that I really like metallic rulers out there pretty much anyplace – so long as you shield them from getting bent! A right-angle ruler or triangle can also be very, very useful for those who’re slicing out smaller items of fabric for slicing out a challenge. I don’t have any recommendations on this one – no matter you favor when it comes to measurement and material will work simply advantageous!

Tiny Trashcan

I’m lifeless critical about this one – you’ll have so many tiny pieces of cardstock, paper, vinyl, and material from working with a craft cutter! I acquired a tiny garbage can from my local Daiso retailer for $1.50 and added some vinyl to it to show it into Jake the Canine from Journey Time. Amazon doesn’t have many choices on this entrance. I found one at The Container Store for $5, but I feel you’ll be able to in all probability find a cheaper one at your local dollar retailer. It sits on my desk, and I exploit it each time I work on a challenge.

Markers and Pens

Writing with the Cricut is pretty candy. In case you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Explore Air, it comes with an adjunct holder that is used for the scoring device in addition to writing utensils. When you’ve got the Cricut Explore One, you want a unique accessory holder. You can even use this adapter within the blade holder on the Explore and Explore Air to do some hackier stuff (extra on that later).

Cricut has designed its holder to work with its personal pens, in fact, however there are different choices out there! I’m not going to go over all the things, as a result of this awesome weblog submit covers pretty much the whole lot you could be questioning about using non-Cricut pens with the Cricut Explore and Explore Air. A couple notes, although…

Pilot Precise V5 Rollerball Pens

Pilot V5 fine-point pens click on into the adapter properly, however it appears that ProvoCraft added something to the firmware to stop the pens from truly touching the paper in the event you attempt to use them. I found a simple workaround – for any shapes or strains you want drawn, set them to score as an alternative in Design Area. This can decrease the accessory adapter simply far enough for the pen to put in writing reliably on your materials.

Crayola High quality-Level Markers

I’ve found that using a dime and a nickle stacked provides the right shim for these markers (and anything that doesn’t snap into place) so that the height is good.

Software program

Okay, so this one is going to be a separate article. Cricut’s web-based Design Area device is pretty terrible. It’s required for sending your tasks to your Explore machine, but you undoubtedly don’t have to use it for creating issues. i exploit Adobe Illustrator CS6, however there are undoubtedly cheaper options out there – and I’m going to research them for you so you don’t should!

More to return…

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