Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A little bit about myself… First of all, I received an early release of the Cricut Explore Air in exchange for an honest, unbiased review of the product. I received my Cricut Explore Air in March, 2015. I also own a Cricut Explore (the model prior to the Explore Air). Last year I wrote an Amazon review which compared the Cricut Explore to the Silhouette Cameo. If you are considering a Cameo, I would invite you to check out my Amazon review under the Cricut Explore page. That review contains a more in-depth comparison/contrast between the two machines. I consider myself to be a person who is not artsy enough to design from beginning to end my own projects, but I can certainly do justice by looking at something that someone else has created and modifying the project to fit my own needs. Many of the files I use with my Cricut come not only from Cricut, but from SVGcuts and Miss Kate Cuttables. I also like to play around with different fonts for my projects. Fonts can be found for free online, but I tend to be more cautious so I purchase my fonts direct from the source (such as Samantha Walker fonts). Ok, onto the review of the Cricut Explore Air. The Cricut Explore Air comes with the Cricut Explore Air, one cutting blade, a power cable, USB cable, a cutting mat, a silver pen, a carry bag, and instructions. It also comes with two pieces of cardstock that can be used on your first project, as well as a piece of vinyl that you can use as you want. In order to use the Cricut Explore Air, you need to utilize the online software designed by Cricut called Design Space. Design Space can be found at Cricut.com. Recently, Cricut re-released their iPad app to allow you to create, cut, and save designs using the iPad app in place of using Design Space on a laptop/computer. The idea of taking my Cricut Explore Air to my cabin for a weekend of scrapbooking and paper crafting really appeals to me. Since my iPad is never far away and more portable than my laptop, I’d rather use it. I decided to take this opportunity to see how good the iPad app really is, so I set up my Cricut Explore Air using only the iPad app. When I first opened the box, I found the instruction sheet written specifically for set up using an iPad. I followed the steps outlined and in less than 10 minutes from the time I broke the seal on the box, I had completed my first project (a basic ‘hello’ card) using the Cricut Explore Air. It was one of the most seamless setups with an electronic device that I have done in a really long time. Before the Cricut Explore Air was released, whenever I wanted to connect via Bluetooth. I used the Cricut Wireless Bluetooth Adapter (sold separately) which plugged into a port located on the Cricut Explore. That process worked great as well, but it definitely is nice to not have to worry about carrying a separate dongle in order to use my machine. If your computer doesn’t have Bluetooth capability, then you can still connect the Cricut Explore Air directly to your computer using the cable that is included with your machine. I made a 3-D anniversary box card for my in-laws and a 3-D box that looks like a 35mm camera for my father-in-law. I wanted the boxes to look really nice, so I used glitter paper, bazzill paper, and medium weight chipboard. Some of the pieces were cut using my Silhouette Cameo and some of the pieces were cut using the Cricut Explore Air. As I was putting together my projects, I noticed that given a choice, I would choose the Cricut Explore Air to cut out my project pieces. I just couldn’t afford the extra time, materials, effort and patience that it took to cut and (most likely) re-cut the pieces with the Silhouette Cameo. I have always struggled to get clean cuts with the Silhouette Cameo, especially with the more intricate patterns that I had thought I should be able to do with an electronic cutter. It may have to do with the way I use the default cut settings on the Silhouette Cameo vs. using the default cut settings on the Cricut Explore Air. All I can say, is that I’ve experimented a great deal with cutting different materials using the various cut settings on both machines and the Cricut Explore Air routinely outperforms the Silhouette Cameo (in my opinion) with less waste and cleaner cuts. By now you’ve realized that I am a die-hard fan of the Cricut Explore Air. I have gone from looking at my electronic cutting machine (the Silhouette Cameo) and wishing I had the patience to use it... to looking at my electronic cutting machine (Cricut Explore Air) and planning ahead in my day so that I can spend a couple hours working on fun projects. As a wife, mother, and college student, I don’t have a lot of free time to indulge in my hobbies. But when I do take the time, I want to make the most of it and I want to feel good about the projects that I make during that time. The Circuit Explore Air allows just that. As with all good things, there are some drawbacks with the Cricut Explore system: a) you must have an internet connection in order to use Design Space; b) you cannot save your projects on your own computer (Cricut chose to utilize cloud storage for savings projects, thereby, allowing portability from computer to computer and/or iPad), and c) Design Space can be appear to be user unfriendly depending on your background and experience. While all of these are valid concerns, for myself, I have decided that I am willing to put up with the drawbacks in order to use a machine that is built in a way that allows me to complete my projects with limited frustration, cost, and time. I will admit it took me a while to become friends with Design Space, but with some perseverance, trial and error, and YouTube, I can now say that I feel confident in my abilities to navigate around Design Space and use my Cricut Explore Air for my crafting needs. Something to remember about the software that comes with the various electronic cutters (regardless of manufacturer). There will ALWAYS be a learning curve associated with the software. To minimize frustration AFTER you’ve spent the money on an electronic cutter, I would recommend that you spend some time and try out the software (if possible) for the electronic cutters that you are seriously considering BEFORE you purchase the machine. As I said, Design Space can be found at the Cricut website and is free to try. Once you create a Cricut account, you can either load into your work space a pre-made project or you can create a new project and browse through their image library. You shouldn’t get charged for any of the images that are brought into your workspace, you should only be charged at the time that you send the image to be printed/cut. If you have questions about Design Space, you can contact the Cricut Customer Service or look on YouTube for help. Just remember to keep an open mind about whatever software you are trying out and focus on creating a project that you will love. The Cricut Explore and Cricut Explore Air have opened up a whole new world for me. Now when my family and I go shopping and we see things like t-shirts with iron-on decals, table decorations, greeting cards, and vinyl decals for walls, computers, cell phones, etc., rather than say, ‘I wish I could make something like that…’, I say ‘Wow! I think I can make that!’ My daughter is planning a wedding for next year and she’s been sending me all sorts of Pinterest and Etsy posts and photos of things she’d like to have for her wedding. It’s nice to know that I will be able to save some money while adding a more personalized touch to wedding invites, decorations, and gifts for the wedding party. In fact, I will be traveling to see my daughter soon, I plan on taking my iPad and sitting down with her to design some projects for the wedding. And then, when I return home, I will be able to cut samples of the design that I can send to her. Yup, portability at its BEST!