Sunday 5 July 2015

You Fog My Spectacles - Cricut® Explore Air (and a review)

Hello! Happy Sunday!

I mentioned in a previous post that I had made a set of note cards for the Zumbathon raffle. I did ten cards for the set each with a different design. I made another set of the same designs, the first one I'd like to share with you is 'You fog my spectacles'.



I used the Facial Wear (#M365CF) from the Brooklyn Iron-on cartridge and the font is Simply Sweet.

All the cards in the set are A7 size with matching coloured envelopes.

What you need...

Digital die image: Facial Wear (M365CF) - Brooklyn cartridge  - Cricut®
Font: Simply Sweet cartridge - Cricut®
Card blank: Midnight Blush Capsule Collection A7 Cards and Envelopes (20 pack) - Papermania
Cricut® Vinyl - Linen


What you do...

Select the images and add to the Design Space. 
Re-size to suit.
Add the text and re-size.
Cut out in Linen vinyl.
Apply the spectacles and sentiment to the front of the blank.

Ta dah! Quick and easy! Use the Cricut® Transfer Tape for easy placement of the images.

Okay, so I said I would give an honest review of the new Cricut® Explore Air. So how does it differ from the original Explore?

The Explore Air still has all the great features of the original but with a few small changes, one being that it comes in a gorgeous pale blue and white colour, whereas the original was in the traditional Cricut® green and white,

The other is that it now has inbuilt Bluetooth so can use it wireless from your laptop, pc or iPad. There is also an app available for the iPad. You can upload your own images. Everything is stored on the Cricut cloud so you will never lose an image or project! 

With the wireless you can sit in the comfort of you armchair an create you design. Providing you have your materials set up, you can cut from a distance! Great if you don't have a lot of craft space.

I found the machine to be a lot quieter when cutting. The machine beeps as each cut is made and was quite loud on the original machine.

There are still over 50,000+ images for you to download and purchase and of course you can still purchase full cartridges if you wish.

There is also the Smart Set Dial which enables you to quickly and easily choose your cutting material.

There are lots of materials and accessories that can be purchased separately such as Vinyl, Iron-on, Stencil Vinyl, Window Cling, pens and tools.

From opening the box you can be making your first project in minutes it is so easy to set up.

Many images can be printed, this can include your own too. Special printer sticker paper is available so you can print your own stickers.

Are there any cons to the Explore Air?

Honestly, I would say no. The only thing that I find is, if you have an Android tablet you can't use the app as it is only available for the iPad at the moment. It would have been good if an Android app was devised at the same time.

My laptop (runs on steam power) is about 5 years old now and doesn't have the capacity for Bluetooth, so I can't use it wireless. Even though I'm lucky to have a large craft room with two big desks, space is always a premium. Shame my laptop doesn't have the Bluetooth, this would have been good as I could have it on the other desk behind me, freeing up space on my main desk.

I'm not a fan of anything 'i' or Apple related and refuse to get an iPad. So I will just have to wait until an app for the Android is available before I splash out on a tablet.

Here is a list of the features and what you get in the box...

Features
  • Embedded Bluetooth for wireless cutting
  • Dual carriage for and writing or cutting and scoring in one step
  • Upload you own images for free (.svg, .jpg, .png, .gif, .dxf)
  • Cut materials from vellum to leather
  • Smart Set dial for easy material settings
  • Free Cricut Design Space™ online software and iPad app
  • Cut Smart precision cutting
  • Works with Cricut® cartridges
  • Cuts printable images
  • Integrated storage compartments
In the box
  • Storage bag
  • USB and power cords
  • Premium blade
  • 12" x 12" standard grip cutting mat
  • Accessory adaptor
  • Metallic silver pen
  • Card stock sample
  • Iron-on sample
  • More than 100 free images
  • Getting started guide
As soon as I get an updated laptop or a tablet, I will let you know what I think of the wireless function.

If you are seriously considering splashing out on a Cricut® Explore Air then I would highly recommend it. It is so simple to use and the images available are gorgeous. The problem is which one to choose. I can spend hours looking through and still not decide on which one to use!

Well that's me for the moment. Thanks for popping in and I'll be back soon! xx

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2 comments:

McCrafty's Cards said...

Hi Colette this really made me smile, I love it!!
Kevin xx

Cornelia (fun stamping) said...

Fabulous - great CAS card!