Ginger Snap Crafts: Why You Should Use Cricut Brand Materials (No Matter What Machine You Own!)

This post is brought to you by Cricut. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links are used. Thank you for supporting Ginger Snap Crafts. :)

Good morning! So good to see you! :) Today I am talking about one of my most favorite things! Annnnd that is Cricut! :) I love my Cricut machines, and I use them almost every day to create things for my home, family, friends and just about everything else in between. I know many of you own your own machines as well whether it be a Cricut, Silhouette, Brother or some other brand. And you know what? Just about all of these machines are compatible with Cricut brand materials. Yep! Just because you own a Silhouette doesn’t mean you can’t use most Cricut materials with your machine. Although, there are a few products that are exclusive to Cricut machines. So you might want to buy that Cricut anyways! ;) Today I am excited to tell you why Cricut brand materials are leaps and bounds ahead of other products you might already be using, and why YOU should be using Cricut brand materials starting today. Let’s get started! :)

I went ahead and made a list of just some of the MUST HAVE Cricut products that I am going to tell you about in this post. When you click on these links below, they will take you to Cricut’s website where you can read more and order some of your very own to try out! :)

Cricut MUST HAVE Materials:

Cricut Holographic Vinyl and Iron-on

Cricut Glow in the Dark Vinyl and Iron-on

Cricut Smart Materials

Cricut Removable Vinyl

Cricut EasyPress Mats

Cricut Strong Grip Transfer Tape

Cricut Transfer Tape

Cricut Essential Tool Kit

Cricut Card Mat (This one makes up to 4 cards at once!)

Cricut Joy Insert Cards

Cricut

Pens

Three things stand out to me that make Cricut brand materials head & shoulders above the rest. In no particular order (because they are all amazing reasons!), reason number one is the addition of Smart Materials to the Cricut line, two is the quality of Cricut Materials and finally, the variety of materials available (it really is an endless list!).

Cricut Smart Materials

Nothing other brands make can compare with Cricut Smart Materials! You do NOT need a mat with these materials! I love, love, love that! Also, these materials are specifically made for your machine. They line up perfectly every time, and they cut beautifully. Smart Materials are made to work with your Cricut Maker 3 and Explore Air 3. They also make Smart Materials designed to work with the smaller Cricut Joy. You can see my very first projects using the Cricut Joy here and the Cricut Maker 3 here both using Smart Material. Just FYI, you could also use these materials in your Silhouette, just saying! I’ve tried it!

You can find Smart Materials in vinyl (both permanent & removable, glossy and matte, shimmer even glitter!), iron-on and sticker cardstock & much more. Smart Materials are made for both the Cricut Maker 3, Cricut Explore 3 and the Cricut Joy. Check out the complete list of materials here.

Smart Materials are specially designed for easier making and continuous or extra-long cuts up to 12 feet long.

I wanted to make just a few simple projects using Smart Materials to show you.

Of course, I love the Smart Vinyl. Vinyl is my favorite. Annnnd I love being able to cut up to 12 feet! You can see my extra large hello sign that I made using my Cricut Maker 3 and Smart Vinyl right here. I made this simple home sweet home sign using Smart Vinyl as well. TIP: Use strong grip transfer tape when working with the Smart Vinyl. Since the backing paper is thicker than regular vinyl, the stronger tape makes it easier to work with. :)

I also thought it would be fun to share a quick tutorial with you to show you how easy the Smart Iron-On is to work with. Using the Smart Iron-On and my Cricut Maker 3, I made a new library bag for all our library books and a cute band tee for my son. I was able to cut both of these projects using the same sheet of Smart Iron-On, and applied them using my Cricut Heat Press.

These iron-on sheets are made just the right size to fit into your machine without using a mat.

All you have to do is send it through your machine, weed and then apply using your Cricut Heat Press. Cricut’s Heat Guide will walk you right through it. Again, you don’t need a Cricut machine to take advantage of both of these amazing products! The Smart Iron-On and Smart Vinyl will fit in your machine, too. You can shop all the Cricut Heat Presses right here.

Quality of Cricut Brand Products

Another reason you should use Cricut brand materials is the quality! Before I used Cricut brand iron-on and the Cricut EasyPress, I used other brands and my old regular iron. Annnnnd it was a pain! Ugh! First, just the application was enough to make me want to pull my hair out! Ha! I could never get the iron-on to stick well, and if I did my designs never made it through the wash. After one wash it would be pulling up. Now that isn’t a problem at all! My designs go on in minutes, and they can go through the wash multiple times and come out looking brand new! Yay! That means I can wash this band tee over & over! Yay! It will probably need it! You moms with tween boys know what I mean! Ha! ;)

Cricut vinyl is also top quality! I have used it for years and years & have never had a problem with its durability or application. For example, here is a picture of our mailbox. I used Cricut permanent vinyl, and almost 4 years later the vinyl looks like it did when I first applied it. You can check out more about my mailbox right here.

Every Cricut material that is sold is carefully designed to work flawlessly with your Cricut machine. There is no second guessing. Cricut materials also go through a rigorous testing process to ensure lasting results. Cricut materials and machines are pre-calibrated for compatibility. They are made to work well together. And it shows! Cricut materials are stress tested for performance and durability. You can trust that they will last. Cricut materials are safe for their intended use and compliant with all applicable regulations for manufacturing operations. You can trust these materials to do the jobs! The materials below not so much!

Variety of Cricut Materials.

Finally, another reason you are going to love Cricut brand materials is the wide selection of materials that are available. From holographic vinyl and iron-on, glow in the dark vinyl and iron-on, glitter vinyl and iron-on, smooth, shiny, removable & permanent vinyl to all the different paper materials, labels, writable labels, patterned paper and patterned iron-on and even patterned vinyl. Cricut has just about everything you could want to create with & more! I’ll share just a few examples!

One of the unique things to Cricut is that you can make your own cards! You do need a Cricut machine to do this. I showed you how to make cards with the Cricut Joy, and now you can even make cards with your Maker or Explore machines. Recently Cricut released a cutting mat that can make up to 4 cards at one time, and it fits both of those machines! You can grab yours here.

Another cool variety of Cricut material is holographic iron-on and vinyl. Check out these fun holographic projects!

I made a cute personalized burp rag for my new granddaughter, Kamri. The holographic iron-on added some nice bling bling! :)

If you’d like to see a holographic vinyl tutorial, then check out this cute kid's art display board that I made several years ago.

I could go on and on on the huge variety and project ideas you can find using Cricut’s amazing line up of materials. Buuuuut I saved this one for last because it is so much fun. Cricut has glow in the dark vinyl & iron-on. Eek! And it is so much fun! It’s also super hard to get a picture of in action, but you’ll have to trust me & forgive this picture below! ha! Buuuut check out these glow in the dark socks that I made using the iron-on.