Cricut Explore Air 2 - A DIY Cutting Machine for all Crafts, Create Customized Cards, Home Decor & More, Bluetooth Connectivity, Compatible with iOS, Android, Windows & Mac, Mint

To use the Cricut you need to either create or upload designs in their software, Design Space. They have a subscription to Design Space available where they give you access to images and fully designed projects for about $10 a month. Otherwise you can create/buy designs on your own and upload them into Design Space to cut out. For a couple of days the company notified customers that there would be a new policy moving forward where uploads into Design Space would be limited to 20 a month unless a user subscribed. There was customer uproar as these were not the terms we agreed to when we purchased the machines. Cricut has now reversed this policy so I am updating my review. Ive had my machine for a few years now. I think its pretty fun. We used it a lot for our wedding: to address our invitations, make jacket envelopes, seat reserved signs and other decorations. Ive used it to make a small box divided into 12 slots to hold my pens. Right now Im using it to make decorative screens for the bottom of our upstairs window to add just a little privacy. Design Space, the software, bugs out really easy and isnt designed well. Im trained in Illustrator and Affinity Designer so I use those to create my designs. It can take longer to cut something out and then weed it all off the mat than I realize, and Ive had some designs tear due to either a dull knife or being too intricate. Its not perfect but it sparks creativity and is a bit like a grown up toy.

Use for crafting tee shirts etc. received quickly replaced old one only because I wore out previous cricut. Worth the money!

No comment necessary

My Cricut works really well and does exactly what I want. I love the machine itself and am so glad to be able to customize so many things and give customized and unique gifts to my family because of this machine. I left a 1-star review here just a few days ago (you can see why below), but I am updating it based on an update from the Cricut leadership. Its still not 5 stars because I feel they (the company) were dishonest and only returned to the original promises after hearing the uproar from the Cricut community and perhaps over concerns of losing their base and potential legal issues. If they remain true to their word, this is a great product that Ive been very happy with. The software isnt great, but there are great third-party SVG design software programs (including a really great free software program) that make up for this. If youre willing to risk that they dont go back on their word, buy a Cricut. If you have concerns they might, there are some great competitors out there, too. **** Previous review - This WAS a fantastic product. Now, theyve changed the rules on us AFTER so many have bought the product. Its near unusable now without purchasing a subscription. This could be considered fair had they let everyone know at the time of purchase. Now some of us have spent hundreds on a machine and can only have minimal use unless more is spent on a monthly basis. There are other brands that are just as good or better. If a company does this kind of bait and switch, they cant be trusted. I would have bought the competitors brand had I known...

I have the original explorer and still prefer to use it over the air 2. I can calibrate it so many times and still get a crappy print and cut

I have had this machine for almost a year now, and I confidently say, THIS MACHINE SUCKS IT REALLY IS TERRIBLE DO NOT BUY IT I dont understand how they have such a high rating. Since I mostly wanted it for sticker cutting purposes here are the reasons from that perspective why this is an awful machine. First off old problems: 1. The machine never calibrates well. Even if you calibrate it, everything cuts nicely for the first few (like 1) pages only. Progressively, it gets worse and worse and you have to recalibrate it AGAIN and AGAIN wasting paper. Also, if you are cutting stickers, as you go farther down the page, the Cricut cuts it more and more off. 2. The print and cut space is tiny, at only 6.75 inches x 9.25 inches. That means if you want to print stickers you can only fit it within that space, otherwise they wont cut. Thats a pretty big area of wasted real estate, especially since sticker paper can get extremely expensive. 3. In my time of owning this dreadful machine, Cricut has done a software update that completely DESTROYED its print and cut capabilities. The designs would be consistently cut off and you couldnt fix it with calibration. Online Ive seen lots of people who have small businesses depending on these machines get completely blindsided by this update and waste hours trying to get their Cricuts to work. When I emailed the company asking them how to fix this, their response was basically, We know this problem exists. We are trying our best to fix it quickly. NOT ONLY DID THEY NOT OFFER A SOLUTION (ex. downgrading to a previous version of the software) THEY ALSO DID NOT GIVE A TIMEFRAME OF WHEN THE ISSUE WOULD BE FIXED. At the price you are paying for these machines you would expect much more consistent performance capabilities. Even worse, they had zero transparency regarding this issue and basically only confirmed it existed if you contacted them about it. 3. The software - Cricut Design Space - you use to format images for cutting SUCKS. IT IS TERRIBLE. First off, theyll randomly update it and itll just stop working until you find that one stupid setting they changed and revert it back to the original. Furthermore the blade can only cut at one pressure. This means for stickers, if you want to have sticker sheets youd have leap through so many hoops. This is because sticker sheets need two blade pressures - a lighter one for cutting out the stickers that dont go all the way through the paper and a heavier one for cutting out the rectangle that the stickers sit on that goes all the way through the paper. ATROCIOUS. New problem - A BIG ONE: 1. Cricut has announced that they will be limiting the upload frequency to Cricut Design Space to 20 a MONTH in March of 2021. THIS IS APPALLING!! Basically in order to get your Cricut to cut the design you want, you have to upload that design to Cricut Design Space. Fine tuning designs and cutlines take A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR. ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WORKING ON 3D PAPER MODELS. STICKERS TO A DEGREE AS WELL. 20 uploads is nothing. It will get used up instantly. Its funny as Cricut has said before Creative freedom should be free. :)))) Phew~ If youve made it this far, congrats. Honestly Cricut works fine when you get it to work, but when it only works 1% of the time and 99% of the time its mind numbingly, hair tearingly terrible, it’s NOT WORTH IT. This has been the worst purchase of my life. I did not research enough before getting this useless machine. Thanks to this awful experience, I have learned to research a lot more in depth whenever I have to make a bigger purchase. Anyways, I cant wait to sell this horrendous machine and invest in a better cutting machine. Its going to be rough doing that since I predict a lot of people will be looking forward to selling their vile Cricuts. Ive heard Silhouettes address basically every single problem Ive listed here. Before, I kind of shied away from the Silhouette Cameo as it was more expensive. But the frustrating experience Cricut provides proves its not worth it to save a couple bucks for your sanity. In terms of sticker cutting, Ive literally never seen any of the hundreds of artists I follow try to convince their followers to switch to Cricut, or that the Cricut is the superior cutting machine. Its always them trying to convince people that the Silhouette is better. And at this point, as a Cricut owner with firsthand experience of how terrible this machine is, Im inclined to believe.

I can honestly say this is one of the best things I’ve ever purchased. I love the cricut so much and everything it has to offer. You can do so much with just a few add on items that you do have to buy but it is so worth it.

Bought this for my partner as a gift, and have gotten way more than my moneys worth! Definitely would suggest for any crafter.

Se me dañó rápido, no duró un año

This is an extraordinary machine! I had no idea of the hundreds of things you can do with it. I am a mix media artist and love crafting as well, specially with fabric and paper and this machine fits exactly for crafters or hobby. The Cricut works beautifully and the cuts are neat and fabulous. I dont have to buy doilies, envelopes cards, stencils, paper boxes, etc. etc. The possibilities are endless. The instructions are good, but it takes some time to really start with projects. It took me around two days, 3 hours a day, to learn the features and different designs, which is OK because the final product looks so professional that is worth the time to learn. Its amazing in how it can cut tiny details. If you are planning to use the Cricut with different projects and materials, I would recommend to get the three cutting mats. The machine comes already with a 12 x 12 regular mat, but there are some materials like heavy chipboard, felt and thick paper or fabric that will require a stronger blade and strong mat which is light violet in color. The other mat is for thin, fine, or light materials. In addition you can also purchase the 12 x 24 mat as well which is useful for big letters or banners. The only Con I found was the size of the cut and print feature. The machine can only print a cut no larger than 6 x 8 I called the company, and was informed that they are working on this issue, but have no exact date on when the upgrade for 12 x 12 prints will be available. In my case, so far I dont use it that much, but if you are going to cut transfers for t shirts, then I would not recommend it until the upgrade for larger cut and prints is available. The machine is a light and thin beautiful design and color. I had no problem in looking for a space in my crowded tiny craft room. I only had to place it in a book shelve I emptied and fit perfectly together with the tools, (not included) which I dont find that expensive. It comes with lots of images free , However, I would suggest that for only $7.99 a month you can have thousands of images, projects, and fonts. Any month you dont want to use the images, then you dont pay the $7.99 or $9.99, which is worth it. Customer Service is excellent as well as their chatting and lots of videos, projects, and endless ideas. Finally, you will not regret buying it.