Dear Steemit Friends,
Today I am unboxing and providing an overview of the Cricut Explore Air 2 that I bought my wife for her DIY home crafting hobbies. You may be asking why I am reviewing this particular device - my answer is simple... It is technology and a gadget and as someone who is interested in technology and gadgets of all kinds, I don't want to alienate a number of readers who may enjoy tech products of this nature. I want to showcase a well rounded view of all kinds of technology and gadgets that the world has to offer.
I am not going to pretend I know anything about sticker making, scrapbooking, planner organizing, and other arts and craft hobbies, but from my understanding and from what my wife has told me, this device is the Bentley and/or Lamborghini of the DIY home crafts world.
This machine does etching, embroidering, embosses, engraves, makes stickers, imprints, and a vast number of other things I can't even name and keep track of and for the price, it rightfully should do a lot more. It retails at around $250 - $400+ depending on the model and color you are looking for. I was lucky to have scored this rare pink (also known as "Rose") model during the week before Christmas for around $219 USD during a half off sale - It was the perfect color for my wife.
When I was first told about this machine and how in-demand it was, I couldn't understand or grasp the reason why these were flying off the shelves. Of course, that was just my point of view. The thing I kept hearing over-and-over again was that one could make their own stickers and planner badges with it - since that is one of the particular hobbies my significant other currently has.
At first glance, my thought was - "that is an awfully big piece of machinery to need in order to print and cut out stickers." I would think something smaller would be more practical, but as I read more into it, the number of things this printer sized machine could do started to seem a little more diverse.
For the record, the company is named Cricut as in "cry and cut," however it is pronounced "cricket" - as in our cute little noise-making insect of the night.
As the unboxing went - It was nicely packaged and contained a lot of freebies. Packaged with the unit itself were the following items:
- Cricut Explore Air 2 Rose machine
- 12x12 Strong Grip mat
- 12x12 Light Grip mat
- Replacement Premium Blade
- 3-month Cricut Access membership
- Cricut Explore Antiquity Pen Set
- Tags, Bags, Boxes & More
- 2 digital cartridge
- Lipstick Lettering Font (digital content)
- Pen Pals Font (digital content)
- USB cord and power cord
- Accessory Adapter
- Getting Started guide
- Various other freebies
The Explore Air 2 Unit is fairly robust and built like similar to many printers. This unit I purchased is Rose colored, however, you can purchase one in a number of different colors - some colors more rare than others. The controls for the device seem fairly easy with a typical power and open button as seen in the video and several different settings depending on the task and project you want to pursue.
What's great about this unit is that it has built-in storage to hold almost all of the accessories you could want for the device. It can be used on various devices running IOS, Android, and Microsoft Operating systems or even as a stand-alone unit.
Below is a picture of the standard packaged items:
And following is a picture of all the bonus items that came with the Rose Bundle:
With this machine, you can design personalized, professional-looking DIY projects effortlessly. You can choose from pre-designed projects that are included with the software and online promotion package, or make your own custom designs using the software that is provided - this may take a little more skill since you will need to come up with graphics, letterings, and logos from scratch. The Cricut Explore Air 2 can cut over 100 materials from paper to leather, and on various other select materials. It has several attachments that can do a number of other things such as stencil, embroider, etch, and engrave - there are dedicated isles in stores such as Michael's and Jo-Ann's for this machine.
Below are just some of the example stickers and designs you have access to care of the cricut software and website found HERE:
As well as a few examples of the projects you can do with the device:
and my favorite example:
Since we just unboxed this unit and my wife has just started to scratch the surface on using it, I can't really give you a complete opinion on its usability and confirm the quality of everything it can do. I'm hoping that through her own Steemit account, she will be able to provide a more thorough review of the unit as she learns and master's using the device. Feedback on it is already pretty good from those who have previously used it, so that already in itself is a good reference point.
This unit has a number of other companion devices which cost equally as much and hopefully once my wife gets the hang of it, we will have more devices to unbox and review for you hobbyists out there. If the machine does half of what it states it does at even near the quality of the examples posted on its website, then I think it is definitely worth the money. Only time will tell. I can see the allure - It's like a 3D printer for DIY crafters
I hope you enjoyed my unboxing and initial impressions of the Cricut Explore Air 2 Rose Bundle. If you have any questions, inputs, or feedback, please feel free to post a comment below. I would also appreciate your Upvote, Follow, and Resteem if you feel this post was informative and will help others.