Cricut Maker 5 <\/p>\n
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Price: \u20ac400<\/p>\n
Website: https:\/\/www.cricut.comOpens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n Where To Buy: Cricut<\/p>\n I am a serial hobby offender. It started off with knitting and crochet, then sewing and embroidery. Clay crafts, latch hook cushions, macram\u00e9 kits – I have an unearned confidence that I can master any task and an unhealthy dependence on the Lidl middle aisle, which feeds the appetite for new materials and kits to try. <\/p>\n Some didn\u2019t take. I made one lot of home-made bath bombs before sneezing into the ingredients. The soap-making kit has also remained unused, despite my best intentions and a social media algorithm that tries to steer me towards beautifully made creations. Some things are worth paying someone else to tackle. <\/p>\n But one thing that has stuck is the Cricut machine. If you aren\u2019t familiar with the brand, Cricut has a range of digital cutting machines that help you create home-made cards or fabric hair accessories. You can slap a logo on a canvas bag (with a heat press) or customise some T-shirts with slogans and graphics. All you need is access to a laptop, tablet or smartphone that can run the Cricut Design Space software, and a bit of imagination. <\/p>\n The gateway drug is the Cricut Joy, the mini-machine that will tackle small projects and is compact enough to tuck away. But before long you progress to the Maker, which will take on all sorts of projects, whether you want to make personalised gift boxes, create your own stickers, personalise your clothing or create signs. <\/p>\n It cuts a wide range of materials, from fabric and paper to vinyl and wood. Add in a few extra tools, and you can engrave metal with it \u2013 once it fits through the machine \u2013 or deboss leather. Before you know it, you are fully kitted out with the complete range of tools, the heat presses for hats and mugs, and Cricut has officially taken over your life. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Cricut Joy 2 review: updated machine is a mini crafting powerhouseOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n The Maker 5 is the latest machine to hit the market. The updated Cricut will cut thicker material than before, which makes it more versatile and less frustrating to use. Despite that, it is more compact than its predecessors, which makes it easier to stash away. Cricut has ditched the lid and the small holder for tools on the left side of the machine to trim down the size, which is no real loss. <\/p>\n The first thing you notice about the Maker 5 is that there is no power button. You plug it in, and it switches on. On one hand, there is one less thing to mess around with; on the other, I now need to unplug the machine every time I use it to turn it off, which is awkward to get to. If you encounter a problem \u2013 a material gets stuck, for example \u2013 and the machine needs to be rebooted, you also have to unplug the power supply to restart it. <\/p>\n Getting started, though, is easy enough. Cricut\u2019s Design Space software guides you through the entire process, registering the machine to your account and performing a test cut before unleashing you on the crafting world. <\/p>\n The first problem you might encounter is the sheer choice of things you can make. Home-made cards, cake toppers, decals for walls and windows, leather keyrings, hair bows \u2013 Cricut has a range of projects ready to make. Some of these are locked away behind Cricut\u2019s Access subscription service, which will cost you an extra \u20ac125 a year but gives you access to images, fonts and thousands of ready-to-make projects, and gets you a discount on Cricut\u2019s store.<\/p>\n