How I Got Started Crafting

A year ago I would have told you I wasn’t crafty at all. I’ve always done drawing and panting, but I stopped short at making anything. I have emotional scars from attempting to make raffia scarecrows in Girl Scouts that have not faded over time.

Glue gun burns and items so ugly only a mother could love them (and I was not their mother) were basically the beginning and end of my crafting. So, when I was no longer required to do them for school or groups I was a part of I never made another craft.

I was homeschooled, and often surrounded by other teenagers who could sew beautiful things, craft whatever they could envision and bake circles around me. It just wasn’t my thing. And that’s something I’ve worn almost like a badge ever since them. When I would do blog interviews people would say: is there anything you can’t do.

CRAFTS. That was always my answer. I didn’t think I had a knack for it, a talent for it, a head for it…whatever the excuse, I had it.

Until I signed up to participate in an author event that required 100 promotional items. I was tired of ordering the usual promo. I’m a control freak, and I love personalization.

I started doing research and I discovered the existence of the Cricut. These have been around forever in one form or another, but being the staunch NONcrafter that I was (and of a noncraftng people) *I* had never seen them before.

I went to the Cricut website and watched a video about the Cricut Maker. And I HAD TO HAVE IT. If I could use it to make my own promotional items, surely it would be more cost effective than ordering them? (Spoiler alert: not so much. there are people who craft more efficiently when it comes to $$, I know, but that’s not why I do it. More on that later!)

What is a Cricut? If you didn’t watch the video, I’ll give a brief and very non-technical explanation here. Basically: it’s a machine that cuts things.

More in depth? The Cricut machines of yore used cartridges, but the new Cricut machines use a web based interfaced called Design Space. There you can use some of their images (some are free, some require Cricut Access or Cricut Access + purchase) or you can use your own, to create a design that can be cut out of…glitter paper, leather, adhesive vinyl, iron on vinyl, fabric, paper, balsa wood…etc etc. It sounds simple, but there are so many things you can do with it.

The Design Space is easy to use, and you can really be as drag and drop or as custom as you like with it. You can easily import SVG files you buy on Etsy or if you’re really artistic, you can make your own with Illustrator or Affinity Design.

That’s one thing I love about it. It’s easy for me to find really cute pre-designed projects when I’m in a hurry, or I can use elements that are in Design Space and do some light customization. Or if I’m feeling extra I can design from the ground up in Illustrator and import the file.

Here’s an example of how my tote bag design looks in design space:

From there you choose your materials. For my tote bags, I use Cricut Iron on vinyl. I’ve used floral, rose gold, etc etc. The material you use can create a totally different look. Here’s one of the first totes I made with this design:

So you can see how it goes from idea on the screen to physical object. For me, it’s the precision of the Cricut that thrills me. It’s neat, it’s clean, and every other time I’ve crafted in my life…that has not been the case.

Anyway, after I saw the video of the Cricut Maker online, I immediately went to Michael’s and got one. Which is insane for a person who has never crafted, has no idea if they can or if they’ll even use it. Luckily, I did.

I started thinking about the possibilities of what I could do for my author event. Coasters, I decided. 100 coasters. I found these blank coasters and ordered them, and bought several rolls of gold vinyl, iron-on and adhesive. Then I designed the image, using a combo of Cricut design space and an image that I traced.

This was not the brightest of beginner projects. But you may have figured out by now that I don’t go halfway. It took…roughly forever and I didn’t manage to make quite 100. The letters were small, weeding out the excess vinyl took forever (Iron on worked better than adhesive) but I liked the result. I also learned some lessons as I cursed the endeavor, so there’s that.

But it did produce precise, wonderful results that I would have told you I was absolutely incapable of producing. I was…in awe of my own ability to make something. For the first time in my life.

But most of all it catapulted me into an obsession. I started trying to think of all the different things I could make, how I could use the different features in design space to customize the images in Cricut Access. This is going to sound over the top, but I would have told you I wasn’t the kind of person who could figure out how to construct a paper box, or figure out the logistics involved in designing a keychain or a pair of earrings, but having the materials and feeling suddenly empowered by making a few successful products totally broke that barrier for me. Now I’m the person annoyingly walking through every gift shop going: I could make that.

So after the coasters, I used the image I’d made and did tote bags with iron on. Using the Cricut Iron On Vinyl on heavy canvas material produces some of the most amazing results, and I love it.

I started experimenting with leather, which I’ve had mixed luck with. Stiffer leather works best, but you can buy scrap at your local craft store, and while what you get is a crapshoot, for the $7 or so it costs it’s also not so emotionally painful when it gets mangled. The leather inspired me to experiment with making keychains and bracelets, so I had to get the tools to bend metal, and to put snaps in.

What started out as ideas for promotion quickly because…gifts, decor and school projects for my kids. And the best and most unexpected side effect? I love it.

I’m a creative person, and always have been. For years, if you asked me what I did for creativity I’d say writing. But I’ve been writing professionally for nine years, and so much of that is now tied up in a business element. It’s still creative, but it’s how I earn a living. I have to please my publisher, please my readers and work to deadline.

Crafting, for me, is creativity for the sake of it. And I love it. I find helps with anxiety for me, in a really serious way. And, unexpected bonus…it also helps with my writing. Letting my brain focus on other forms of creativity actually knocks ideas loose for books all the time.

The Cricut is so easy to use, even I can do it. And if I can, you can. And if not the Cricut, maybe another form of creativity you didn’t THINK you could do. The benefits of it have been amazing for me. True to form, I’m obsessed now, and the owner of more vinyl and paper than any one person should be.

My favorite projects are consistently iron on projects, and paper projects, whether they be cards, invitations, or art for my house. The results are awesome and fun, and less experimental than some of the other things I’ve made, so usually drama free.

I also ended up getting into laser cutting and got a Glowforge laser so I could work with thicker materials like wood and acrylic, but that’s another post.

I know I sound weirdly enthusiastic about this. But it’s because I am. Learning to do something I didn’t think I could do has made me reexamine a lot of things in my life.

I think it’s easy (at least it has been for me) to say: Well I’m not good at that. So and So is just GOOD at it.

And when you look at things that way it discounts the fact that when people are good at something it’s probably because they worked at it. Yes, some people have natural aptitudes for sports, art, crafts, building, design, etc. But they also work at what they do.

I know this when it comes to writing. And yet somehow I didn’t think it applied to other things. But I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks to my Cricut Maker. 🙂

I’ll close out with a few FAQs:

1. What is Cricut Access and do I need it?

Cricut Access is the subscription service to all of Cricut’s images and project files. I bought a year subscription with my machine (a little over $100 for the year) so that I could really play around with the Cricut Maker and get a sense for my usage. For me, it’s 100% worth it. I now have some design experience with Illustrator, but when it comes to making a quick project, I love having access to all the templates and images on there. I don’t always want to build my own image from the ground up, or scour the internet for what I’m after. Most fonts and images are free with your subscription, but there are licensed images like Disney (all those great family Disney T-shirts you see people wandering around in at Disney’s land and world? CRICUT made!) that you can get for 50% off. I was perfectly happy to pay $1.50 for a really great Tangled image.

2. Are there cheaper materials than the Cricut leathers, iron ons and vinyls? 

Yes absolutely. And you can use them! There are a lot of great pinterest posts on finding scrap vinyl. But I have to admit…I tend to just get Cricut products. They’re the right size, they work well, and I’ve basically given up trying to lie to myself that what I make is economical. It CAN be when you find clearance items (Like mugs or pillows), but for the most part I’m in it for the joy of making and the kick I get out of having personalized items.

The couple of things I DO get that aren’t Cricut are paper and leather. Michael’s usually has leather scrap bags for cheap. But half of it may not be usable in your Cricut, which is the chance you take.

I also buy the big super pads of paper that all the craft stores have. Each pad has tons of colors and patterns, and they’re ideal for decorations, invitations and wall art. Regular priced they’re around $20 but you can almost ALWAYS find the ones going out of season on clearance for $5 or $6. I have a cabinet full of them.

3. But do you use it often enough to justify the purchase?

As I panic made my son a Grinch T-Shirt for Grinch day at school at 10 PM the night before, I asked myself what I did without it. I mean, that’s dramatic, but I actually do use it all the time for random little things. I keep a stockpile of clearance t-shirts, mugs, and other things I buy mostly at Target, plus vinyl and paper from Michael’s and if one of my kids needs something for a school project, a part invitation, a themed day at school…I can almost always get something together very last minute. So I have nice projects that I plan…and a whole lot of: WAIT I CAN MAKE THAT!