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Last Updated on February 16, 2024 by Chris Butler
As an avid crafter, I’m sure you’re aware how quickly the cost of crafting tools and supplies add up. Not to mention the space they take up. We’re not going to admit this to our husbands, though, ok?
But I am going to let you know which Cricut crafting supplies you can do without, along with a few that are worth their weight in gold.
Cricut Crafting Tools You Don’t Need
The fact is we are all limited on space, time, and money. And having tools you don’t need will use up all three of those. Here’s the countdown of the top three things that I think are unnecessary.
Number THREE: Cricut Cut Mats
Yes you need a cut mat, even if you own the Maker 3 or the Explore 3. But there are aftermarket brands that work just as well for a fraction of the cost.
My top pick is this 8 pack from Amazon. They work just as well and last the same length, maybe even a little longer, and are about 1/2 the price.
I have the same opinion on most Cricut brand craft blacks, vinyl, paper etc. Cricut is great at making cutting machines. But there are better supplies you can get from other companies.
Number TWO: A Bright Pad
I can see the reasoning for wanting a bright pad. If you’re unsure what I’m talking about you can see one here. Basically, it’s a pad that lights up and gives you light from the back of your projects to make weeding easier.
I don’t personally find it necessary. For one Glitter vinyl is about the only vinyl that can be impossible to weed and two you rub a little baby powder or cornstarch over the vinyl and you’ll be able to see all the lines.
I also admit I have a ton of lights in my craft area for filming and photography and that helps a bunch. So if you love your bright pad, we can still be friends.
But if you don’t own one yet, I’d try crafting without it before you make the investment. You may just find out you’re fine without one.
Number ONE: The Brayer Tool
I really don’t get the hype on this one. I have hands and they are free. And they can smooth down cut materials and get them stuck to the mat …. for free.
If you have a brayer tool do you use it? Do you love it? Does it really make. that big of a difference? You have to let me know, because I’m not seeing it.
Cricut Crafting Tools I Can’t Live Without
There are crafting tools that are absolutely needed. The following FOUR things I use every time I craft and I own multiple because for some reason they keep getting lost 😂
A Good Craft Knife
A good craft knife is a must, especially if Cricut doesn’t always cut through your materials. I also use it to clean up edges, remove vinyl and it even works for weeding when I can’t find one of my weeding tools.
The Extra Large Scraper Tool
I use the extra large scraper tool every time I craft. From cleaning off the cut mat to scraping bits of paper off my desk and transferring vinyl. All the things, I use it all the time.
You can find them on Amazon here – https://amzn.to/3wrkpH2
Weeding Pen
Weeding Pens are the best. I love using them for weeding Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) the most. They make weeding go much faster.
I had this weeding pen custom-made for the Cricut Crafters Club , but you can find some similar ones on Amazon here – https://amzn.to/4bD1yZV
Paper Trimmer
Since I can’t cut straight to save my life my paper trimmer is a must. I love the one from Cricut, I use it all the time to trim both vinyl and paper. It even trims the thick glitter vinyl without an issue.
You can find the trimmer on Amazon here- https://amzn.to/3OO46uq
That is my list of crafting tools I don’t think you should waste your money on along with the ones I can’t live without. Let us know below which tools you can’t live without, and which ones you’ve found a waste of money.
Happy Crafting!
Chris Butler has helped thousands of crafters learn how to use their Cricut machine without feeling overwhelmed. She is a best selling author and an up and coming designer. For fun Chris enjoys designing SVG Files, hanging out with her family (preferably at the lake), traveling, and volunteering at her church. She is a wife and mom of two crazy fun kids.
I am so happy to see. Braver on your list. I don’t see the hype either. I do want a weeding pen though!
The brayer tool is a must for me. I have issues with my hands, and they don’t lay flat.
I’ve been thinking about getting a light bright. I have cataracts and it makes it hard to weed.
I’ve thought about the weeding pen that Jennifer Maker shared in one of her video’s that
has a light attached to it, I just haven’t invested in it yet as its kind of pricy at $20+.
I do need to invest in a good craft knife they help so much.
I use my Cricut paper cutter all the time its a must for me as well.
I also just started using non Cricut mats and found them better and have a longer lasting stick then
even Cricut mats. I also just learned how to clean them and get their sticky back, I love it!
Thanks for the share and information it was interesting for sure.
If you aren’t adverse to buying from Temu, they have a lot of tools for the Cricut and other cutting machines. Buying from them is the only way I can get the things I need for using/working with my ScanNCut.
They have mats, most recently they added mats for the ScanNCut. I bought one and it works exactly like the “official” ones.
They have a light up weeding pen for about $8 and light up weeding tools for around $3.
They have various types of vinyl from solid color to patterns, tie-dye, glow in the dark, HTV, puff up, etc.
I have poor eyesight as well, only one hand that works well, and live on my disability check, so I have to keep an eye of what I spend my money on as well.
While I would love to be able to “buy locally” and “buy things made in the US”, since my stroke, my finances do not allow for that anymore. So I have to buy what fits in my budget.
I’m the same way with a brayer. I have a light pad and never use it. I DO use a iight up magnifying glass thing and I have this hands free light around my neck. I don’t have cataracts, but my vision is awful and I can’t see very small things.
I love my Brayer tool. Very helpful tool for the types of things I use it for. Using my hands on print then cut projects not necessarily a good idea. I can’t guarantee that my hands will be spotless or dry. or not sweaty every time I use them for crafting and / or rubbing down materials on my mat. I got my grand daughter a Bright pad when it was on sale a few years ago, she loves it.
I also buy my Mats when they are sold in Bulk on Cricut, and have had them for years. I like the Blue light grip mats for most things I do.
A brayer, for me, is especially helpful. I find it truly helps get the cardstock to stick well. . . Eliminating cutting problems.
I think we all have our favorites, depending on what we create, and I’ve found that researching any new tool before buying helps to save money. My budget is limited so I try to be very careful before buying to see others use the tools and decide if it is really something I need.
I love my brayer. At first, I didn’t use it much, but soon learned that it really does help me to smooth vinyl and to make sure it is really adhered.
I do like my weeding tool with the light. I don’t use it often, but it’s great when needed.
I simply cannot live without my Cricut weeding tweezers. I have tried other brands, but they do not work the same for me. I wish I could order more, but have only found them in weeding sets.
Another tool I’ve come to love and use is my rotary cutter. Sometimes its easier to just place the vinyl on the cutting mat and make the straight cut where needed.
Yes, the Cricut brayer makes a big difference. I have used digital cutting machines for over 15 years, and tried using the brayers I already owned (art brayers – speedball rubber and soft foam, and one that is hard acrylic) and did not see any difference over using my hands. But I got a Cricut one with something else (some bundle or mystery box) and I was amazed by the difference it makes. I agree about the light pad, but my kids gave me a not Cricut brand one for my birthday, so I do use it. I have heard that you can use cinnamon instead of cornstarch/baby powder to make the lines show up on lighter materials. I haven’t tried it yet. I use a dollar tree mechanical pencil with a sharp sewing needle in it instead of lead as a weeding pen.
I use my brayer which I had way before cutters was around, with inks and paints. They make wonderful background papers and such. There has been a few times my vinyl doesn’t stick quite enought and my hands too have issues.
I love my brayer it makes life easier than using my hands.
I agree with you about the light bright, I have never had good results when using it.
I have found that a mechanical pencil with a sewing needle works great for me as a weeding pen. If the tip gets dull it is an easy fix and not expensive.
I have several good craft knives spread around my craft room.
I also love my scrapper tools and I can’t work with out my Cricut paper cutters I have several in the craft room and in my home office.
I prefer the paper crafting with Cricut. I learned fast to use the blue mats and NOT the green. Generic is perfectly fine, I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. They last just as long and I have tried, but can’t get the sticky back for long enough to make it worthwhile. A brayer is a must for me. I don’t want the oils from my hands damaging the paper. And I learned to be very careful with the scraper. I have a habit of scraping the sticky right off of the mats.
Off brand mats have been my friend for years. One of the things I used to do was get the 24″ ones and cut them in half until the off-brand ones became more available. My favorites are the ones I get for cheap. I tried the restick thing and all were disappointing. I do find uses for my old mats rather than tossing them. One use is cutting them in circles to fit in my ATG to place on top of the tape so it doesn’t get all tangled in there. I’ve used them as “washers” in other crafts and DIY projects. My husband uses them for something out in the workshop, not sure what but he will ask if I have some once in a while. I love my brayers – not for the purpose you called out, though. I’m with you on using my hands to press material to the cutting mat. I couldn’t live without my craft knife!! I absolutely adore my old-style Cricut spatula. You remember the ones that were really thin and flexible and actually looked like a miniature spatula. If I ever see one for sale again I am all over it. The new ones – meh. I use a curvy dental tool for weeding. (From Harbor Freight Tools) It serves me well enough. I’ve been considering a light pad. Now I’m reconsidering my considering…
I Love my Brayer and I use it all the time. As far as the weeding pen, I hate mine, just can’t seem to weed correctly with it. I am sure if I practiced using it I would get it, but I love my Siser weeding tool the best. I purchased a light pad years ago from Amazon, non brand name and I rarely use it. You are correct that this is a waste of money, it doesn’t really help. I have a few craft knifes but don’t use them much either. ha ha. And the paper trimmer is a must but I have had difficulty with the Cricut brand causing rough edges. Thanks for letting us know what you think. I will probably get those mats next time I need some.
I use my brayer all the time — but I’m elderly (74) and I don’t get good even pressure across the whole mat, so it’s really helpful for me. I’ll be getting a weeding pen – that’s genius! I agree that the bright pad is one of those iffy items, and I haven’t done any glitter vinyl yet so I may change my mind, but in the old days before we had hand crank embossers or Gemini II’s to mechanize embossing, we used an embossing tool, the stencil and a light box — same principle as a bright pad or box — to see where to emboss on dark cardstock. I never invested in one then (I just tried to choose backgrounds in lighter hues that I could more easily see through!
Loved your run-down, we all have our favorites and then those we can easily live without, right!!
I also feel the light pad isn’t all cracked up to what it is suppose to do! I too have a hard time seeing to weed, I have invested in glasses that have interchangeable lens for how close up you need to be, it also has a light on it and that helps as well! Sometimes, cheater glasses work just as good and much more reasonable than a light pad!
The brayer I use when my mats are losing their stick, haven’t taken the time to figure out how to get their sticky back. So I will check out amazon for cheaper mats when I need them, I generally stock up when they are on sale! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my weeding pen, thinking of investing in the lighted one since I’m not a huge fan of the light pad! I also have a sharp pointed fiskers scissor that I absolutely have to have!
I absolutely love my brayer and use it everytime I’m cutting cardstock. I wouldn’t be without one! I heard some people use a rolling pin for the same purpose.
Great list, Chris! I have to say I don’t like the Cricut paper trimmer. The one I use is the Cutterpillar brand. Hands down my favorite. I didn’t like the Cricut Bright Pad, a waste of money. I’d like to add a couple of things I bought & wish I hadn’t: Cricut Vinyl Holder. Due to lack of space, I have to put my machine on the floor every time I use it. Some of the adaptive tools were a waste of money too. Only use the scoring wheel on a regular basis. Happy crafting!
I wanted a light box / bright pad but didn’t want to spend the money. I found something at Dollar tree in their more expensive section. It is a bit bigger than a piece of note paper and is super bright. Uses a USB charger. Is it great? No. Nut it was $5 and it has held up well enough for me. The charging port is a bit sketchy, but if you are careful, it works well. I’ve had mine almost a year now. Can’t complain for $5.
I also use my brayer a lot. I not only use it to secure the paper to the mat, but I use it after I have glued things down, typically on a card, to make sure things stick well. I use my craft knife a lot as well. I ended up with a Cricut brand craft knife, because all the others I tried the blades worked loose, or I couldn’t get them in straight. I really appreciate getting information from Cricut crafters like you about the supplies they recommend, since many have been at it longer than I have, and have a lot more experience. I am also thinking about getting a weeding pen, since several crafters that I follow have recommended them. Thanks!
If you trust TEMU, I haven’t had any problems with them and l love the prices on there crafting supplies. I have 2 of the weeding pens and one that they call a cutting pen(the cutting pen just has a Cricut fine point blade makes so easy to clean up cuts) all only about$1 each. I had a cheap light pad for sketching and tracing. When I first started I used it constantly, as I have gotten more into crafting. I use programs on the computer and iPad to do most of my designs. I have a brayer that came with a mystery box when I was beginning I subscribed to access and got special deals. Now I am trying to use it all up. I do like the brayer because you can get more use out of a mat with them they press the material down into the mat so they stay put and don’t slip.. But swear by blue painters tape just to make sure the material can’t move.
I agree with pretty much all of these. The only issue I have ran into with my scraper however, it has scratched my vinyl when I was securing my vinyl to my mat. I’m pretty sure it’s me though as I’ve never seen anyone say they have done the same anywhere. I have a brayer but find that it collects dust and debris. I can’t be washing it off every-time I have to use it, not convenient.
I do like my brayer. I don’t think you need the Cricut brand. I do allot of paper crafting and even though I push down with my hands I find there are sometimes spots that I don’t smooth down as well. Those are always the places the cut goes wanky. With a brayer I can quickly hit every spot. I don’t have a weeding pen but I discovered a corsage pin works well. It is an embarrassing long time ago when I was weeding some vinyl and the pick thing wasn’t doing it for me. I had a corsage pin laying around and have used one since then.
I have been buying a lot of my tools at the Dollar Tree for a couple of years now. My weeding pen I got at a little craft store here at it only cost me $10. So check around Mrs. Carmen Crosier for a cheaper one. I love my straight cutter but it isn’t a Cricut product either. Thank you for all the info, it is always greatly appreciated. Keep crafting ladies. 💜💛💜
I also like the brayer tool, it is much better getting the material flat on the mat – especially some older mats that are a bit wobbly. But I agree with all the others
I use the brayer for cardstock. I find it helps. As for the pen, I made my own and it works well. However, I have a set of picks someone gave me and they work better than the weeding tool and most times I don’t need the pen. As far as the mats, I would like to try an off brand but haven’t yet. I have cleaned my mats multiple times but can’t seem to get the glitter off. I do not have a bright pad but I do have an off brand. I usually use it for creating new designs, not for weeding.
I have to disagree with you regarding the brayer. I use it all the time. I find it makes things stick better to my mats (especially when they’ve been used a bit and are starting to lose their original tackiness). The craft knife, I agree with. You need a good craft knife, although my ability to use it is questionable at best. I also totally agree about the mats. I haven’t bought Cricut brand mats since I first got my machines. I get mine from Temu and they work great and have actually lasted longer than my Cricut brand. I also agree, somewhat, about the light pad. I bought it because, well because I was new to Cricut and bought all the things…LOL..but it WAS useful in the beginning. Now that I have learned about more things, small led lights I place right over my weeding project and, what I call my googoo glasses with a light on them, I hardly use the light pad any more. Finally, the Cricut paper trimmer…I have one and have to admit, I like my Fiskars more. The blade on the Cricut trimmer seems to wear out much more quickly. The one caveat, however, (& I find most don’t know this) is underneath the trimmer there is what looks like another blade. It is not…it is a scorer!! I only found this out when I was buying replacement blades and it was sold in a 2 pack where one was a cutter and one was a scorer!
Weeding pen a must! Paper trimmer is recent for me and I love it, less waste
The brayer tool was a game changer for me. I was hand pressing vinyl and cardstock onto my mats and unfortunately wasn’t able to get a consistent pressure so didn’t have consistent cuts. I have less trouble with the brayer.
I totally agree on two of the three items to get rid of but… I love my brayers, yes multiple. I have skinny to wide brayers, just to add that extra pressure to make my stuff stick down to items (mat or project). I also have one that is dedicated to use with glue as I find sometimes I need to smooth out layers of paper that have been glued together (party decorations and cake toppers) and the brayer is the only thing that works, push the glue out and make sure its flattened.
I absolutely love my brayer! It really helps me get all the bubbles out and adhere my cardstock or vinyl to my mat. I couldn’t craft without it! I agree with everything else though!
Totally agree with not needing cricut mats or most other branded supplies. Iget my htv and poly shirts to decorate at thrift stores.
Love my brayer! It does a great job at smoothing out bubbles and sticking down materials.
I do love my brayer but I only really use it with cardstock if my mat isn’t really sticky. I also got a light pad but don’t ever use it because I honestly don’t find it helps. lol.
I recently bought a brayer and a brightpad. I told my husband I couldn’t believe I hadn’t bought them both sooner. Lol. I would often get bubbles in my cricut brand vinyl (I agree with your assessment that there are better brands of supplies), and the brayer worked wonders for smoothing it out. Game changer. The brightpad is fantastic for iron on vinyl. If I didn’t use htv, I probably wouldn’t buy one. Or I might buy a cheaper version on Amazon. I love how we all can have different opinions and tools and techniques and all make amazing creations.!
I don’t use a beater, but I do have a pressure tool originally for help with stamping. I used my hands until a friend gave me this as a Christmas gift. I keep it on my desk and use it all the time.