by Kimberly J.
I’ve always treasured the homemade things that my mom made throughout my childhood: from my Strawberry Shortcake costume to a bunny rabbit whose dress matched mine… from a hand-drawn board book to my senior prom dress. If it was special to me, it probably came from her heart. While I inherited her love of crafting, I did not inherit her patience or skill with a sewing machine! Even so, crafting and creating is my happy place. I’ve had to find different creative endeavors, and one of my favorite tools for crafting is the Cricut machine.
The Cricut is a computerized machine which cuts a design into a wide variety of materials. It is basically a desktop CNC machine designed to cut thin materials. The Cricut can be used to cut paper to make cards, paper flowers, or gift boxes. It can cut vinyl to make stickers, signs, and stencils. Or it can cut heat transfer vinyl to decorate fabric like bags or shirts. That’s just the tip of the iceberg!
In 2022, the Glenwood Branch + Makerspace added a Cricut machine to its available equipment. Since then, it has been used to create custom sweatshirts, tote bags, candy dishes, coasters, socks, water bottles, cards, jewelry, and more. One customer used it to customize the back of her child’s team jerseys, and each got to pick a fun nickname to use for the season. Another used it to make a sign for the front of their neighborhood little library. I even used the draw and cut feature to cut magnetic sheets and paper, giving some personality to the carts around our branch.
To use the Cricut, customers can bring in any materials that they wish to cut, then use the library’s machine to make it happen. The library has a paid subscription to the Cricut Design Space App. This means using the Makerspace computers to create a project gives customers free access to thousands of graphics, fonts, and designs. To see a demonstration of how to use the Cricut at Glenwood Branch, view the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2cSwSplryE
There are also regular project-based Cricut classes taught at Glenwood Branch + Makerspace for anyone who is a little hesitant to just start using the machine on their own. During class, each student designs on a computer and cuts their project from start to finish. This allows everyone to learn how to use both the software and the machine. To find a list of upcoming Cricut classes, click this link: https://bit.ly/HCLS_Cricut
Of course, at the library you can always find a few books to get you started:
Kimberly J is an Instructor and Research Specialist at the HCLS Glenwood Branch. She enjoys reading, photography, creating, crafting, and baking.
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