Cricut 101: Do I Need Cartridges + an ASL Jewlery Holder

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It used to be that in order to use a Cricut you had to buy cartridges with different fonts and designs on them. Often when people are thinking about getting a Cricut they worry about needing to buy lots of cartridges in addition to the machine. Or maybe they had an older version of a Cricut and a bunch of cartridges and they are worried about all of that money going to waste. So what's the deal with the Cricut Explore and Cartridges?


First of all, you don't need them. All of your designing is now done in Design Space. You can get lots of images and fonts by signing up for Cricut Access as well as some that are available for free without singing up. You can also use the fonts that you have downloaded on your computer and upload your own images to use. There is no reason at all to buy cartridges.

But, what if you had an older Cricut and have a bunch of cartridges left from that? Are they completely useless now? Nope, there is a little spot on your machine where you can insert the cartridge and it will link the cartridge up with your account and you will be able to access those images and/or fonts in design space.

What if there was a cartridge that you really liked and would like to have, is there a way to access those without buying a cartridge? If you click on insert images in design space you will find at the top of the screen is says Images, Catergories, and Cartridges. If you click on cartridges it will bring up a list of cartridges, some free, some included with Cricut Access, some available for purchase. It is all digital so you no longer need to by the physical cartridge. You can click on filter in the top right corner to see which are avalable in which way.

The great thing about them being availabe digitally is that you no longer need to buy the full cartridge if you don't need it all. If there is only one image you want you can buy it separately so it would be less expensive. No need to buy a $20 cartridge if you only need one, you can just pay $2 for the one you need.



I was looking through the cartridges and found one that has the alphabet in American Sign Language. It was available through Cricut Access, which I have, so I didn't need to pay anything extra to use it. I decided it would be really fun to make something for my daughter who is deaf with her name spelled out in ASL. I ended up deciding to make a little necklace holder. I thought it turned out really cute, perfect for my little goose. If you don't want to use ASL you could obviously make it with any text or font you want, this one just happened to have special meaning to my little girl. I made one for her little sister that just had her name in a fancy font.

How to Make a Jewlery Holder (with Name in ASL)

You will need:

• small wooden plaque (about 5x7) similar to these 
• acrylic craft paint
• paintbrush
• vinyl in desired colors (I used white and purple glitter)
• Cricut Explore
• mat
• transfer tape
• 3 cup hooks (I used 1 1/4")

Instructions:

The first thing you will need to do is prepare your board. Paint it the color you want and then set it aside to dry. 

Next, create your design in Design Space. I used the images from the American Sign Language cartridge to spell my daughter's names. I then ungrouped the letters and attatched like colors. After that I grouped them together again so that I could size everything correctly. Once everything was the right size I cut the names out and weeded them. 

I screwed the hooks into the board before I added the vinyl so that I could position it correctly. I screwed them in close to the bottom, one in the center, one one each side of that slightly closer to the edge than the center. 

Use transfer tape to add the name to the board. This particular design was a 2 layer design so I first put down the white shapes, topped with the purple glitter detail. 

I used Command strips to hang the board on the wall but you could attach a ribbon to the back or use a picture hanger. The hooks are perfect for hanging necklaces and/or bracelets.