In my last post I talked about the intro Cricut tutorial.  Today I want to write about what I bought and why.

Since the machine and supplies are fairly expensive, I spent a few months saving up and debating which model to purchase.   For a while I debated getting the Cricut Explore simply because the price is so much lower but doesn’t cut as many different materials. In the end I went with the Cricut Maker, it’s more expensive but I have been sewing more lately and I hate cutting fabric.  The appeal of being able to cut fabric and eventually wood or other materials really takes this to the next level.  So I felt there was a lot of opportunity to branch out in different areas.

There are some things to be aware of first.  Even though you are making it yourself, it still can be pricey.  There are some free graphics from Cricut, but theres a lot you’d have to pay for to use.  You can buy either individual images or use their subscription service which is 9.99 per month.

Then comes the cost of supplies.  Blades, pens, matts, vinyl and any material.  All this can be purchased on their site or at Michaels.  Michaels coupons exclude cricut products but they do occasionally have 40% sales.  I will say at regular price, this is a lot of money so it is really important to know what you need, keep your scraps and really pay attention to sales.

To help with that initial cost of supplies, I bit the bullet and went with the everything materials bundle.  It came with the maker and the following Materials:

• Printable Sticker Paper
• Printable Clear Sticker Paper
• Window Cling, Red
• Iron-On Lite, Cyan
• Iron-On Lite, Gold
• Iron-On Glitter, Black
• Glitter Vinyl, Silver
• Chalkboard Vinyl
• Stencil Vinyl
• Vinyl Sampler, Primary
• Fabric Sampler, Creative Rockstar
• Faux Leather, Pebbled Caramel
• Faux Suede Sampler, Rustic
• Adhesive Foil, Stainless Red OR Stainless Gold
• Adhesive Foil, Metallic Red
• Transfer Tape
• Poster Board, Metallics
• Corrugated Cardboard Sampler, Brights
• Kraft Board, White

With the Cricut website sale and the free shipping code, even with the exchange, I was able to purchase the entire bundle for the same price as buying just the maker at Michaels in Canada.  This is ideal, now I’m stocked up on cricut supplies for a while and can start to test out what it can do.  Circuit materials can be pricey on their own so this was the best way to get the bulk of items at one discounted cost.  If you just want the machine now but later on regret not buying the bundle, they do sell mystery boxes every month on the website which is also a great way to buy cricut supplies in bulk at a reasonable cost.  The mystery boxes are a bit of a gamble because you don’t know what’s in them but usually after they are released someone will post what the contents are and you can decide if it’s right for you.

I will link the maker bundles below, along with a link for the Cricut explore bundles.  Both machines are great it’s more about personal preference.

The Cricut Maker Everything Materials Bundle

The Cricut Explore Everything Materials Bundle