When the wind changes and Fall rolls in to Southeast Louisiana, something comes over me. Not only do I want to eat everything pumpkin and scent my home with Fall spices, but I want to be crafty. The cooler weather awakens my brain (which is typically left dominant and loves everything math and science) and creativity flows. The only problem is that I have grand ideas but no skills to execute. Until now….
I recently received a Cricut Explore to test and it has quickly become my magic wand of crafting. I finally have a way to get those ideas out of my brain and into my home. So, I wanted to share with you a few things I made with Halloween just around the corner.
But first, and introduction to the Cricut Explore:
Cricut is an electronic cutting machine that lets you choose an image or online template (Make It Now Project) to click and cut in minutes. With 50,000+ images to choose from and/or customize the possibilities are endless. Cut on vinyl, iron-on, paper, fabric, paper decor, signage, wall decals, lampshades and more – you dream up the surface and design.
After opening the box, I couldn’t wait to set up my new toy and honestly it took all of maybe 5 minutes. Simply plug it in to the USB of your computer and follow the easy install directions. My daughters wanted to make pumpkins for our front porch, so I searched the images for pumpkin faces and we got to work picking our favorite. After a lengthy discussion, we decided on a black cat.
The image was only 99 cents to purchase and I placed it on my online canvas. A bought some black waterproof vinyl since the pumpkins would be in the elements and placed it (still attached to it’s backing) on the provided green sticky Cricut mat. Next, load the mat into the Cricut and press the arrow. Select the material you will be cutting (in this case it was vinyl) and finally, press the flashing Cricut icon and watch your machine cut your masterpiece before your eyes.
Using the tool that looks suspiciously like a dental instrument, remove your decal from it’s backing and place on the surface you wish to decorate. Because my pumpkin was not flat, I found it a bit tough to place the large cat decal onto a round surface but after searching for video tutorials, I found that using transfer tape may solve the issue next time.
Warning: this process is addictive. I may have immediately run to our local craft store and bought several items to decorate including the adorable purple mason jar craft seen above which is perfect to serve Witches Brew this Halloween.
I absolutely love the Cricut Explore. It was so easy to use and the results look completely professional. I cannot wait to make my daughters’ teacher gifts during the holiday season. Cricut crafts for everyone! Follow me on Pinterest and check out my Cricut Inspiration Board to get some more ideas on what you can accomplish.
Follow Experimental Mommy/Bridgette Duplantis’s board Learning to Cricut on Pinterest.