Must-Have Cricut Maker Accessories, Tools & Supplies

So, you have probably already bought a Cricut Maker (YAY!) or maybe you are still doing some research (read our Cricut Maker review here).

Whatever your reason is for arriving on this page, I'm glad you are here.

I LOVE LOVE my Cricut Maker and I love whipping up a large variety of projects on it. So I wanted to share a list with you of what I believe to be the must-have Cricut Maker accessories, tools & supplies.

But I don't want you to waste your money, so before you do anything else, have a bit of a think about which type of projects you wish to work with.

That way you will buy the Cricut tools and accessories that suit your interests. I've tried to make it very clear when tools are only required for a very specific type of project – such as working with fabric etc.

* BONUS FOR WHEN YOU SHOP AT CRICUT.COM: Use this code: CRICUTLOVE at checkout to receive 10% off your order of $50+ and receive FREE shipping too!

Before enough with the talking, let's get to it, shall we.

What Comes with the Cricut Maker

So before we talk about the Cricut Maker Must-Haves, let's look first at what you will get in your box:

• Cricut Maker Machine
• Cricut Rotary Blade
• Cricut Fine Point Blade
• Cricut LightGrip Mat
• Cricut FabricGrip Mat
• Black Pen
• Samples – Fabric and Cardstock

Now, let's have a look at which tools I would highly recommend you purchase to be able to enjoy a variety of project crafts.

PS. If you haven't set up your machine yet, we have a fabulous guide on how to set up your Cricut Maker here.

Must-Have Cricut Maker Tools

Below you will find a list of the tools that you should purchase with your Cricut Maker.  I will discuss what each tool will be used for.

Obviously, have a think about which type of crafts you would like to make – so that you can only purchase the tools that will support your crafting type.

1. Cricut Maker Knife Blade

You will receive both the standard and the rotary Cricut cutting blades in your box.

The rotary blade is used to cut fabric and the standard blade is for most ‘normal' materials that most people cut. You can read more about the Cricut Maker Blades here.

Now, if you want to work with REALLY thick material, you will need to purchase the Cricut Knife Blade.

This blade is an extra-deep blade that can slice through dense material that is up to 2.5 mm in thickness.

It is perfect for cutting material such as balsa wood, matboard, and chipboard.

Grab the Knife Blade with housing here.

2. Standard and StrongGrip Cricut Mats

You will receive the LightGrip and the FabricGrip mat in your box (read more about the Cricut mats here).

If you wish to work with the knife blade to cut thicker material, you will need to purchase the StrongGrip Cricut Mat (which has a stronger adhesive to keep the materials in place).

I also highly recommend that you purchase the StandardGrip mat, which you will use to cut standard material such as cardstock, vinyl etc. I can't live without this mat, you will use it for sure!!

3. Scoring Stylus and/or Scoring Wheels

Scoring is brilliant if you love creating things that need to be folded, such as cards, envelopes, boxes and other 3D paper crafts.

The Scoring Stylus is a tool that you use by hand with a ruler to create your own gold lines, and the Scoring Wheels are like ‘blades' that you pop into your machine and the machine creates the lines for you.

These are really handy to have in your stash as well.

Grab the Scoring Stylus from here.

Grab the Scoring Wheels here.

4. Cricut Pens

Cricut pens are used to draw shapes and to embellish projects with beautiful text. You can also create coloring pages with pens as well, or use them to create beautiful cards.

These pens are acid-free, non-toxic, and permanent after 24 hours of drying time.

You will get the black pen with the box, so you might prefer to see if you use it before investing in more pens, but I do find that they are valuable to have in my stash, even though I don't use them for every project.

If you want to work with fabric, I also suggest you grab one of the washable fabric pens as well.

Cricut makes a great range of pens for the Cricut Maker Machines that include:

• Glitter Gel Pens in Opaque, Neon and Rainbow
• Watercolor Marker & Brush (for making watercolor effect designs)
• Metallic Pens
• Extra Fine Ink Pens
• Washable Fabric Pens
• Infusible Ink Pens

You can browse through the range of Cricut Pens here.

5. 12 x 24″ Mat

The standard Cricut mat size is 12 x 12″, but this can be very limited to work with.

I LOVE the longer 12 x 24″ Cricut Mat, so that I can create larger vinyl decals and cut larger sewing panels for my projects.

Grab this beautiful large mat from Amazon here.

Must-Have Cricut Maker Accessories

Now that we have had a look at the best tools to buy for the Cricut Maker machine, let's look at some of the best Cricut Maker accessories.

1. Cricut Trimmer

A Cricut Trimmer is really handy if you are a scrapbooker or cardmaker. You can quickly and professionally trim down your paper or cardstock on this fabulous trimmer.

Grab your Cricut Trimmer here.

2. Cricut Brayer

The Cricut Brayer is essential if you plan are working with fabric. You will need to use a brayer to smooth out your fabric over your Fabric mat. Especially handy for the thin and flimsy materials.

The tweezers are great to help you lift off the fabric from your mat. The pink mat only has a thin layer of adhesive, so you really have to be careful about touching your mat, and please don't scrape it either.

You can grab the Brayer and Tweezer Set here.

3. Cricut Basic Tool Set

The Cricut Basic Tool Set is a must-have. You will definitely use these tools.

The Scraper & Spatula are used to aid you in lifting projects off your Cricut mats, which helps to preserve the adhesive on your mat.  They are definitely a necessity.

The weeder and tweezers are great for your vinyl projects. And we all know what scissors are used for.

You can grab the essentials tool set here.

If you prefer you could purchase the weeder tool set (for vinyl projects) or the paper tool set (for scrapbookers and cardmakers) instead.

4. XL Scraper

I love my XL Cricut Scraper. Whilst you can use it to clean up your mats, I love using mine when I'm applying adhesive vinyl.

It just helps to ensure that the adhesive sticks really well to my product.

Grab your Cricut XL Scraper here.

5. Cricut Sewing Tool Kit

The Cricut Sewing Kit is a great companion tool kit if you plan on cutting fabric with your machine.

It includes 8″ Fabric Shears, Thread Snips, Seam Ripper, A Cricut Maker Pin Cushion, Set of Pins, Measuring Tape and a Leather Thimble.

Grab your Sewing Kit here.

6. EasyPress 2

Planning on working with iron-on transfers or HTV (heat transfer vinyl)? An iron can be very unreliable because you have to guess how hot it is, as well as guess how long you are applying it for.

Take the guesswork out and get an EasyPress 2 instead. You can set the temperature and set the timer electronically. I love my EasyPress.

Grab your EasyPress 2 here.

Not sure which size to get? Here is a helpful post about which Cricut Easypress 3 size to buy.

7. Cricut Brightpad

The Cricut BrightPad is a fabulous tool for those who plan on working with vinyl on a regular basis.

Pop your vinyl on the light surface and it will make your cut lines show up so much clearer, which means that you can weed and remove vinyl pieces so much quicker.

Super handy!

Grab your Cricut BrightPad here.

Must-Have Cricut Supplies for the Maker

Now, you might have just purchased all the Cricut Maker tools and accessories that you will need, but what about the actual supplies that you will need to purchase?

Here is a list of some of my favorite crafting supplies:

1. Adhesive Vinyl

Cricut Premium Adhesive Vinyl is a fabulous product to have on hand. You will use this vinyl for things such as sign-making, decorating glassware, home decor projects and so much more.

If you want to create some cool wall decals that light up at night then make sure to look at Cricut's Glow-In-the-Dark removable vinyl.

The Cricut adhesive vinyl comes in a large variety of colors, as well as specialty types.

I find their vinyl is easy to weed and apply.

Browse through their collection of adhesive vinyl here.

2. Transfer Tape

If you are working with adhesive vinyl, you will also need some special transfer tape for vinyl decals.

Transfer tape is ideal for transferring your adhesive vinyl from the mat to the surface that you wish to apply the vinyl decal to.

Grab some transfer tape here.

3. Heat Transfer Vinyl or Cricut Iron-On

Cricut Iron-On is my favorite product, you can apply this to fabric such as t-shirts, tote bags, aprons, etc. You can also apply it to wood and metal as well.

Cricut also has a great Glow-In-the-Dark Iron On vinyl – perfect for creating great effects when the lights are off!

Again, you can find it in a variety of colors and specialty types. I really love the glitter range, but you can get foil, patterned, holographic, and more.

Browse through the range of Cricut Iron-On Vinyl here.

4. Cricut Infusible Ink Sheets & Markers

Cricut Infusible Ink sheets are great to work with. You can use them with Cricut blanks for Infusible Ink like baby onesies, t-shirts, mugs, coasters and so much more.

The great thing about Infusible Ink Sheets is that you can also use them on any other sublimation blank because the sheets are essentially pre-printed sublimation sheets.

>>> Read our Ultimate Beginners Guide to Cricut Infusible Ink to learn all there is to know about Cricut Infusible Ink!

If you love a great deal like us, you will be pleased to know that you can get this great material in an Infusible Ink Set so that you will have everything you need to get crafting with Infusible Ink.

Cricut also has a great range of Infusible Ink markers.

5. Felt

Felt is ideal for kids' crafts, stuffed animal toys, textured baby decor and more. You can easily cut felt with the rotary blade.

Grab some Cricut Felt here.

6. Chipboard

If you want to try out the Cricut Knife Blade, you might want to grab some Chipboard.

You can use chipboard to create some puzzles, photo frames, or to design some 3D models.

Grab some Cricut Chipboard here.

7. Paper and Cardstocks

Lastly, is the essentials. Grab some Cricut Paper, cardstock and speciality papers here.

Cricut also makes a set of Watercolor cards that you use with the Watercolor Marker & Brush Set.

Cricut Maker Accessories Bundle

And lastly, we also recommend Cricut Maker bundles as they offer such fabulous dollar saving value.

If you haven't purchased your Cricut Maker yet, you can grab a machine and supplies bundle. What is the best Cricut Maker bundle?. Click the link to find out.

If you have already purchased your machine, you might prefer to pick up a Cricut Starter Kit.

This Cricut Maker Accessories Bundle Beginner Kit above contains Cricut Designer Fabric sampler, The Cricut Maker Washable Fabric Pen, Cricut Basic Tools set, Cricut Maker Sewing Kit and the Cricut Felt Sampler.

You can check out this lovely bundle on Amazon here.

There are so many more things you could purchase to compliment your Cricut Maker, but these are the ones that I pick up most often and that I have found to be valuable for my crafting process.

If you have any tools that you love, please leave us a comment below.

Till later,

Sam xxx