Review: Cricut Maker 3 Cutting and Craft Machine

The Cricut Maker 3 cutting and craft machine is perfect for people who takes their crafting hobby or business seriously.

You can use a Cricut machine to design, create and personalised craft projects and gifts. You can make original decals, decorate t-shirts and tote bags, or make artwork to decorate your home. It’s ideal for making labels to organise your space.

You’ll want to make a few test projects first as you learn how the software and Cricut works.  I’ll admit it’s a little daunting to use at first. So just start with some simple projects and be okay to make some mistakes along the way. It’s a natural step in the learning process.

I personalised a couple of notepads with floral motifs for presents. I made a large foyer sign for our house with black text on white wood. I’m looking forward to trying some plant markers on acrylic, decorating reusable coffee cups, making some Harry Potter inspired tees, and adding some leopard print to a plain clutch.

I was keen to try printable vinyl, holographic vinyl and colour changing vinyl. You might be interested in creating greeting cards, cupcake toppers, party invitations and decorations. There are ample fun Halloween and Christmas ideas on craft blogs.

The two new models, including the Cricut Maker 3 lets you use a range of materials including Cricut Smart Materials® (Smart Vinyl, Smart Iron-on, Smart Paper). You can create cuts of up to 3.6m at once to create large signage. This model is super-fast and smart.

Cricut Explore 3 cuts over 100 materials, including cardstock, vinyl, iron-on, glitter paper and cork. While the Cricut Maker 3 lets you create with more than 300 materials, from the most delicate paper and fabric to tougher materials like leather and balsa wood. This extra precision use the feature called Adaptive Tool System™ — the only system that intelligently controls the direction of your blade and cut pressure to match the material, and supports the widest range of tools for cutting, scoring, writing, and adding decorative effect.

“I’m very proud of what our team has accomplished,” said Ashish Arora, CEO at Cricut. “We wanted to take the experience to a whole new level and make sure our next generation of cutting machines make it easier on everyone to create larger projects, more projects, much faster.”

Both the Cricut Explore 3 and Cricut Maker 3 are compatible with easy-to-use Design Space software. This is available on desktop, iOS and Android. There’s a learning curve with using this software, so allow some time to just sit and try different settings to see what they do, or watch a couple of videos to see how other people approach their projects.

The Cricut Maker 3 is a versatile cutting machine perfect for anyone new to crafting and experienced makers. The precision, functions and fastness blew me away.

Australia:

• Cricut Maker™ 3 is available at RRP $699 AUD from Harvey Norman and Spotlight.
• Explore™ 3 is available at RRP $499 AUD from Harvey Norman and Spotlight.

New Zealand:

• Cricut Maker™ 3 is available at RRP $799 NZD from Spotlight and Warehouse Stationery
• Explore™ 3 is available at RRP $699 NZD from Spotlight and Warehouse Stationery

About Cricut Inc.

Cricut Inc. is a creative technology platform company dedicated to encouraging new ways for people to experience making at home. Cricut’s mission is to unleash the creative potential of its users with innovations that bring ideas to life in the form of professional-looking, personalised handmade projects. Cricut’s industry-leading products include its flagship line of smart cutting machines — the Cricut Maker^™ family, the Cricut Explore^™ family, and Cricut Joy^™ — accompanied by other unique tools like Cricut EasyPress^™, the Infusible Ink™ system, and a diverse collection of materials. In addition to Cricut’s core offerings, the brand also fosters a thriving community of millions of dedicated users worldwide. Learn more at cricut.com and follow along on @Cricut Australia + New Zealand  Facebook and Instagram.