So You Bought A Cricut – What Supplies Do You REALLY Need? And What Can You Live Without

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Published by Sydney on December 30, 2017 | Updated April 23, 2021 | 25 Comments

Did you get a new Cricut Explore Air or Maker and not sure what supplies you need to get the most out of your machine? This post is for you!

One of the most exciting things about getting a new Cricut is thinking about all the fun things you are going to make and all the supplies and materials you get to buy. But it can be a little overwhelming too. From vinyl to cardstock to iron-on and foil not to mention all the different tools, mats and accessories. You could easily spend as much on supplies as you do for your machine!

Before you go out and buy all the things let me help you with some of the choices. Below you’ll find a list of supplies you can buy for your Cricut. I’ll explain what each of them are and what/who they are good for. Let’s dive in!

PS Looking for the BEST Black Friday Deals on supplies?! Check out this post for a full list of machines and supplies with price comparisons from Cricut, Amazon, Michaels, JOANN Stores and more!

PS If you’re brand new to Cricut and feeling overwhelmed, check out this post for a complete unboxing including how to connect your Cricut to your computer and install Design Space. Also includes a Design Space basics video and super easy first project! Check out the full post and videos here.

When ordering from Cricut.com make sure to use promo code SAVE10 to get 10% off and score FREE shipping on all $50+! That’s on top of any sales and the 10% discount Cricut Access automatically gets.

CUTTING MATERIALS (Vinyl, Cardstock, Iron-On, Etc.)

VINYL – if you’re wanting to make signs, stickers for car windows, coffee mugs and tumblers these are the products you’ll want.

Permanent Vinyl – great for projects you want to last, even through wear and tear
Removable Vinyl – great for projects you don’t want to last forever. Great for rentals and more!
Glitter Vinyl – removable vinyl with sparkle!
Dry Erase Vinyl – perfect for labeling
Chalkboard Vinyl – great for making calendars or also for labeling
Stencil Vinyl – use this if you want to make hand painted signs or screen print shirts
Holographic Vinyl – same as basic vinyl but with different colors depending on the angle you’re looking at
Printable Vinyl – great for making stickers
Patterned Vinyl – From Mickey and Minnie to Star Wars, watercolor and cute hippos, add some fun designs to your projects

If you’re looking to get a variety of items, these Material Bundles are great! They come with a variety of cutting materials, tools and some even come with a Cricut cutie!

ADHESIVE FOIL – similar to vinyl but has a nice shimmer to it. Can be more difficult to weed/apply. If you’re new to working with vinyl use basic vinyl before you try using foil.

TRANSFER TAPE – what you need to get your vinyl from the backing to your project. Use strong grip transfer tape with glitter vinyl.

IRON-ON – This is what you’ll use to apply to shirts, pillows, hats, etc.

Everyday Iron-On – great to use on almost any project! Most versatile and comes in many colors and bundles
Glitter Iron-On – add sparkle to any project. Really easy to weed and apply
Holographic Iron-On – Add dimension to your projects with either opal holographic or holographic sparkle
Foil Iron-On – add shine to your projects.
Patterned Iron-On – From Mickey and Minnie to Star Wars, watercolor and cute hippos, add some fun designs to your projects
SportFlex Iron-On – Stretchy iron-on, great for using on athletic wear
Mesh Iron-On – Make any shirt look like a jersey
Iron-On Designs – pre-made designs you can use alone or customize with any type of iron-on

If you haven’t worked with iron-on vinyl before, or need help with how to cut, weed and apply your project, this post is super helpful and includes a video tutorial.

INFUSIBLE INK – Cricut’s NEWEST product!

Infusible Ink uses heat from an EasyPress or Heat Press to infuse ink into shirts, tote bags and more giving you a professional looking project with forever results! Learn more about how it works here.

CARDSTOCK – great for making cards, gift tags, gift boxes and scrapbooking.

FAUX LEATHER – great for making jewelry, key chains, hair bows and baby moccasins.

GENUINE LEATHER – great for making accessories, home decor and more!

FELT – great for making finger puppets, ornaments, dress up masks and headbands.

WINDOW CLING – great for temporary projects for windows, fridge and other appliances.

FABRIC – ONLY FOR CRICUT MAKER – fabric bundles perfect for any sewing project.

ACCESSORIES (Mats, Tools, Pens, Etc.)

MATS – come in 12×12 and 12×24. It’s good to have at least one of each size. Decide which mats you need based on what kind of materials you’re going to cut most of the time.

LightGrip (Blue) – for paper and cardstock projects
StandardGrip (Green) – for vinyl and iron on
StrongGrip (Purple) – for posterboard, thick cardstock and other thicker materials
FabricGrip (Pink) – for fabric

PENS – great for making cards and gift tags.

TOOLS – While these aren’t necessary they make working with materials SO much easier

Spatula – helps get materials off the mat
Scraper – helps apply transfer tape to vinyl
Scissors
Weeder – makes removing excess vinyl SO much easier ***If you only get one tool this is the one to get. This bundle has many type of weeding tools and is super helpful too***
Essential Tool Kit – 7 piece kit that has includes everything mentioned above as well as a paper cutter and scoring stylus. Great for use with any Cricut machine.
Brayer – Use to make sure your fabric is laying smooth and flat on your cutting mat

PRECISION HAND TOOLS – Tools to help with projects AFTER you have cut and weeded your projects.

TrueControl Knife – easily cut even thick, thin, brittle or delicate materials quickly and easily
Acrylic Ruler – use to measure and cut straight lines on fabric and more. Great for cutting larger pieces of fabric down to size for mats.
Cutting Ruler – large 18″ ruler great for getting straight lines with cuts and placing designs on your blanks.
Self Healing Mat – double-sided, perfect for any sewing, iron-on, vinyl or paper project.

MAKER SPECIFIC TOOLS AND BLADES

Knife Blade – Use for cutting thicker materials including basswood, chipboard, balsawood, leather and more

Rotary Blade – Use for cutting fabric (included when you buy a Maker)

Scoring Wheel – Use to make crisp, clean score lines

Perforation Blade – Makes perfect perforation lines.

Wavy Blade – Add a fun twist to your cuts with the Wavy Blade.

Debossing Tip – Deboss paper, cardstock, leather and more with this tip!

Engraving Tip – The one we’ve been waiting for! Engrave everything from acrylic, aluminum, posterboard and more!

EXTRAS (BrightPad, EasyPress, Totes)

EASYPRESS and EASYPRESS 2 – this is a portable, easy to use heat press. If you’re planning on using a lot of iron-on this is great to have. You can read more about it here. If you want to learn about the differences between the EasyPress and EasyPress 2, check out this post.

EASYPRESS MAT – Use with your EasyPress to get best results when applying iron-on. Keeps heat in your material so your iron-on lasts a lifetime.

BRIGHTPAD – this tool makes weeding SO much easier. If you work in low light areas or plan on using a lot of glitter this is a must have. Honestly I use this almost every time I use vinyl or glitter iron on. You can read more about it here.

STORAGE TOTES – great for keeping your machine and supplies organized and safe. You can read why I love them here.

Rolling Storage Tote – hold your cutting materials, tools. laptop, BrightPad, EasyPress, Cuttlebug and more!
Machine Tote – holds your machine and cords
EasyPress Totes – holds your EasyPress machine and extra materials and accessories.

If you want to shop on Amazon, check out my favorites in my Amazon Cricut Shop! When ordering fromCricut.com make sure to use promo code TFSPRING to get 10% off and score FREE shipping on all $50+! That’s on top of any sales and the 10% discount Cricut Access automatically gets.

If you’d like to check out more ways you can use your Cricut check out these posts! Need help with your Cricut? Join our Cricut Support Facebook Group!