Be honest.

How many times have you walked the aisles of {fill-in-the-blank-craft-store} and been confused/intimidated/generally befuddled by a given craft tool? It looks cool but what the heck are you supposed to do with it, right?!

Friends, I’m so excited to introduce a new series of posts focused on demystifying all those weird tools that you are too afraid to buy…let alone use. First up in the scary tool parade is the CRICUT CUTTLEBUG. So without any further babbling…let’s get started on how to use a Cricut Cuttlebug

…that’s probably what you’re thinking, right? 

The Cricut Cuttlebug is a manual (read: no plugs, no internet, no electricity…just good ‘ol fashioned elbow grease) die cutting machine that allows you to cut precise shapes from a variety of materials like paper, cardstock, felt, chipboard, fabric and leather…yeah, you heard me…leather.

When you buy a Cuttlebug, it will come with the machine along with a series of plates that you roll through the machine. You will choose your plates based on the type of die and material you are using. Make sense?

A die is a metal shape with a raised edge that cuts through paper/fabric/felt etc. when pressure is placed onto it. The Cuttlebug is basically a machine that makes it really easy to put lots of pressure on dies so that they cut through whatever material you want.

Dies come in a ton of shapes and thicknesses. Flat, thin, steel dies like THIS or THIS are great for paper and cardstock. If you want to cut thicker materials, your best bet are the Sizzix Bigz Dies which are much thicker and go through chipboard, leather and felt like butter!

The Cuttlebug will take you far.  Just imagine being able to cut out precise shapes without fussing with scissors. Even something as simple as creating a bunch of a paper hearts gets a lot easier when you don’t have to do it with scissors. These days, my biggest reason for using the Cuttlebug is when I want to cut a lot of small shapes from special materials like leather. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about…

I was able to craft up a bunch of leather flowers using the Cuttlebug and each one is perfect! No scissors required and you won’t believe what I made with these (stay tuned!)

The Cuttlebug was the very first craft tool I purchased…and…well…clearly, it got me hooked! If you are a crafty person you will find lots of ways to use this machine. It rings in at $75 which is no small price tag, so you’ve got to think about how you might use it. Another caveat – you’ll need dies. On average, dies cost $3 to $25 – and they come in every shape imaginable. Keep that in mind since you’ll want to have a selection of dies on hand to use with your machine. I’d recommend starting with some basic shapes like hearts and stars.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog post where I’ll show you what we created with this pretty leather flowers!

And before you go – WHAT TOOL WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE FEATURED IN THIS SERIES OF “SCARY” CRAFTING SUPPLIES?