Must Have Cricut Accessories

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If you just got a Cricut Machine, or are planning to get one, then you are probably wondering, what are the best Cricut accessories to buy?

Luckily, there aren’t too many supplies that you will need to get started. But as you continue to craft, your supplies will continue to grow as you see just how much you can do with your Cricut.

So, today I’m here to show you the must have Cricut accessories for getting started and other items that you may want to add to your “wish list” for later on.

There are very few supplies you need in the beginning. Your Cricut Machine already comes with a cutting mat, blade and Cricut Design Space.

But if you plan on creating vinyl projects or other fun designs with your Cricut machine, there are some supplies you’ll want to go ahead and get. Just click on the blue links to take you directly to the product.

Must-Have Cricut Accessories

The Best Cricut Tool Set

This Cricut Tool Set is very useful and one of the first Cricut accessories you will want to pick up. The tool set includes a weeder, tweezers, scissors, scraper and spatula.

The weeder is a must if you plan to do any weeding with script font or intricate designs. And you’ll definitely need the scraper whenever you use adhesive vinyl.

You might also want to get one of these XL scrapers. The scraper that comes in the tool set is great for smaller projects, but the XL scraper is so much faster and more effective for larger projects.

Scoring Stylus (The best Cricut accessory if you work with paper)

This Scoring Stylus is so helpful when making cards, boxes or anything else that requires folding. Your Cricut Machine can hold both a blade and scoring stylus at the same time – so you can cut and score at the same time! This makes creating cards, boxes, gift card holders and more a breeze!

Cricut Tip: I’ve got a ton of paper crafts on my blog, and I use the scoring stylus for just about all of them! So, you can see how handy this tool really is.

Cricut Explore Blades

The Cricut Explore comes with this sharp carbide fine-point blade which is great for cutting vinyl, papers and card stock. You can easily replace this as needed.

If you cut a lot of intricate designs, you will need a premium fine-point blade for this.

If you plan to cut thicker materials like thin wood and leather, you will need to get this Deep Cut Blade with the housing. Once you have the housing, you can continue to buy just these blades without the housing for replacements.

There is also this Bonded Fabric Blade which is used for cutting different types of fabrics.

Cricut Maker Blades

While the Cricut Explore is limited with the number of blades that is compatible with it, the Cricut Maker has several additional blades that can be used with it.

Depending on the projects you plan to do, you might also want to grab a few of the extra blades for the Cricut Maker.

• Knife Blade – Create puzzles, models, leather goods, toys, and more
• Scoring Wheel – Creates extra-deep score lines for perfect folds and a flawless finish on both thick and thin materials.
• Rotary Blade – Cuts soft, flexible materials, such as Silk, denim, Cotton, burlap, and canvas
• Debossing Tip – Debossing any design you want, including decorative patterns, monograms, logos, seals, etc.
• Wavy Tool – Quickly creates a fun wavy edge on a variety of popular materials
• Engraving Tip – Engrave unique and permanent designs on a variety of materials
• Perforation Blade – Create perfect tear-offs and easy peel-aways using cardstock, paper and more

Cutting Mats

In most Cricut Explore boxes, you’ll also get either a 12×12 green StandardGrip cutting mat or 12×12 blue LightGrip cutting mat. As far as Cricut accessories goes, cutting mats are a must have! You can’t cut your vinyl without one. (Except you can now with the new Cricut Maker 3 with smart vinyl!)

You can use either of these mats for most cutting projects. But there are times that you may want a different mat. Here is a breakdown for each mat:

• StandardGrip (green) – Use to cut heavy cardstock, iron-on, vinyl, and more
• LightGrip (blue) – Use with standard paper, light cardstock, vellum, and more
• StrongGrip (purple) – Use with specialty cardstock, matboard, and backed fabric
• FabricGrip (pink) – Use to cut most fabrics with Rotary Blade or Bonded-Fabric Blade

If you are cutting larger projects, Cricut also has these 12×24 mats in each grip.

Cricut Tip: Because mats lose their stickiness, I like to recycle my mats to give them a longer life. So instead of purchasing blue mats, I just use my older green mats. And the same with the purple mats. Once they lose some stickiness, they are perfect for using with vinyl, heavy cardstock, etc.

Cricut Pens (The best Cricut accessory for creating hand drawn crafts)

These Cricut pens are an amazing accessory for your Cricut Machine! If you are like me and have messy handwriting, the Cricut pen feature is great for addressing cards and letters.

Pens are really a great way to personalize your projects. Plus, you can get super creative with your designs when you incorporate Cricut pens.

Cricut Tip: I’ve got a full tutorial on using Cricut pens, plus a bunch of project ideas for them as well. So, you can check these out to see if Cricut pens are something you may want to use.

Cricut Brayer

This Cricut Brayer is a really handy accessory to keep on hand. This is going to give you a lot more life out of your cutting mats.

You may not need to use this at first with a brand-new mat, but as your mats wear, this will save you from the headache of your paper or vinyl slipping out of place. Just roll this over your paper or vinyl to make sure it’s attached well before cutting.

Cricut Tip: I also use this to get deep folds in my crafts and to smooth down layered cardstock projects!

Baby Wipes

Speaking of getting a lot more life out of your cutting mats… keeping them clean is a must! The best way I have found to clean my mats is with baby wipes. It takes away the residue from your vinyl or paper without taking away the stickiness.

Any brand will do. I keep a container of these at my workstation and they are also great for cleaning up any glue residue and keeping my area tidy. Super convenient!

Cricut Tip: After you clean your mats, they won’t feel sticky while they are still wet/damp. So don’t freak out! Once they dry, they will regain their stickiness.

Lint Roller (Must Have Cricut Accessory if You Have Animals)

Before adhering vinyl to any material, it’s always a good idea to lint roll it first. Typically, there are a lot of fibers or lint on material, even if you can’t see it.

You’ll want to remove those to get the best application possible. If you have animals, a lint roller is an absolute MUST! You can grab this pack of lint rollers here.

Vinyl, Cardstock & Other Materials to Cut

Depending on whether you have the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Maker, you can cut from 100 – 300 different types of materials! Typically, you will probably pick up your materials as you need them.

But it’s a good idea to have cardstock and different types of vinyl on hand so you can craft when the inspiration strikes!

Must Have Cricut Accessories – Vinyl

There are a lot of different types of vinyl, so to fully understand which types of vinyl you need for your project type, make sure to read my post on the different types of vinyl for Cricut. This gives a breakdown of my favorite vinyls, plus budget friendly vinyl as well!

Cricut Tip: You can find this vinyl storage organizer for the wall here. It holds 25 rolls of vinyl and is super easy to hang. It doesn’t take up a lot of room, so if you have a lot of rolls, you can hang 2 side by side.

Must Have Cricut Accessories – Cardstock

When it comes to cardstock, I like to keep a variety of basic colors on hand and then pick up fun prints from my local Hobby Lobby for seasonal or specific occasions.

You can purchase cardstock by the sheet at hobby stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby when creating something very specific that you don’t need a lot of paper for.

This is my favorite variety pack of colors. This is a great weight cardstock and perfect for making boxes, cards, gift card holders, photo booth props, banners and various other paper projects.

I also like to keep this pack of glitter cardstock on hand. Once you start making glitter cardstock projects, you will be hooked! They look incredible and you can use this paper on all the same projects as regular cardstock.

This white glitter cardstock is one of my favorites. You can print on it, but it also is amazing with every type of cardstock project.

This can be hard to find since it is so awesome, so I will list my 2 favorite brands of this in case one is out of stock. You can go with either this diamond print white glitter cardstock or this Printworks white glitter cardstock. If you do find either of these glitter cardstocks in stock, STOCK UP!! I promise, you will LOVE it!

This double-sided gold glitter cardstock is another one of my favorites. I would consider it more of a shimmer since it is a lot smoother than glitter cardstock. But the great thing about this paper is that it is double-sided and super sturdy. So, it’s perfect for making cake toppers with just a single sheet of paper!

Best Sticker Paper to Buy for Your Cricut

I recently added this portion since I receive so many emails asking about the best sticker paper to use. And that really depends on what you are using it for.

Glossy Sticker Paper: A glossy sticker paper is recommended for making stickers for water bottles or any other object that would need a waterproof sticker. I also use this type for laptop stickers. I love this waterproof, glossy printable vinyl. It holds great, is waterproof and won’t leave behind a sticky residue when you take it off.

Matte Sticker Paper: If you prefer a matte vinyl, I recommend this matte self-adhesive printable vinyl. Keep in mind that matte vinyl is not waterproof. However, you can add contact paper on top for extra protection and to make the sticker waterproof if you prefer.

Heat Press

If you plan to make shirts or use iron on vinyl, then you will need a heat press. There are a lot of different options and prices for these. I personally love the EasyPress. It works great and is a budget friendly option.

I have both the Cricut EasyPress 12″ x 10″ size and the Cricut EasyPress Mini. And with these 2 sizes, I am able to press any crafts that I want!

By now, you should know the must have Cricut accessories that you need to get started and what you want to add as you begin crafting. Anytime that you need ideas for crafting, you can always browse through my free SVG library with over 400 free SVG designs and craft ideas!