Friday 5 – Favorite Cricut Accessories

Welcome back to the Friday 5! 

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that my absolute favorite crafting tool is my Cricut Explore. I am a huge Cricut fan and the Cricut Explore is their best machine yet. It has so many features that allow you to design and create just about any project you can image. In addition to the machine, Cricut has a wide variety of accessories and materials that you can use to enhance your projects. For today’s Friday 5, I’m sharing 5 of my favorite Cricut accessories.

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1. This set of basic tools is an essential part of your Cricut craft box. I bought my set right after I bought my Cricut Explore and I use the tools for literally every project. Each tool is useful in a different way but my two favorites are the wide scraper tool and the pick. The wide scraper is so useful for getting those tiny cutout scraps off the mat. The pick is my go-to tool every time I cut vinyl – it’s the best weeder tool out there!
   
2. One of my favorite features of the Cricut Explore is its ability to write and draw. This is my favorite pen set because it can be used for so many different projects. Black, gold, and silver are the staple pen colors. I use these all the time when I’m doing calligraphy projects. Teal and coral are perfect for fun colorful projects. You can’t go wrong with this perfect set.
   
3. The deep cut housing and blade are a must-have for doing more advanced projects. Since the Cricut Explore can cut so many different materials, you don’t want to be limited to just the regular blade. The deep cut blade lets you cut things like fabric, felt, and even thin balsa wood.
   
4. The scoring stylus is another tool that I use so often on my Cricut projects. It’s not included in the basic tool set but it’s another essential for your craft box. The stylus actually fits into the pen housing on the Cricut Explore and allows you to create scoring lines on your projects. Scoring lines are basically just fold lines, and I use them all the time when creating 3D boxes. The Cricut Explore will “draw” out the score lines so you know exactly where to fold the paper to create your final design.
   
5. If you are going to be cutting different materials, you have to get the set of 3 cutting mats. This isn’t just a set of 3 mats, it’s a set of 3 mats with different grip types. Blue is light, green is regular, and purple is heavy. Grip type is so important because if the grip type is too strong, you might rip your material. But also, if grip type is too weak, your material might slip around while cutting. I always have at least one of each type of cutting mat on hand so I’m ready for any project I can think of.

I hope you enjoyed my Friday 5 for this week!

Have a great weekend!

PS: Don’t miss my Cricut Explore Essentials Series – Start with Part 1 Here!