You love crafting. You’re one of those people who loves to browse websites looking for cool images, patterns, scrapbooking resources and more. You’ve heard of SVG files – you recently saw a great pumpkin svg – and you’ve been reading that one of the beast ways to make use of great SVG files like these is to use them with a Cricut machine. But just what is that and what can it do?

What is a Cricut Machine?

A Cricut machine is basically just what it sounds like; a cutting machine. But it is more than just a gadget that can cut paper and cardstock. It can also expertly cut faux leather, adhesive foil, balsa wood, lots of different fabrics and more. Making use of SVG files it can cut out a huge range of shapes, text legends, illustrations and more. This makes them hugely popular with not just crafters but also party planners, home decor and DIY enthusiasts and even (older) kids who want to wow with their school projects.

The machine itself closely resembles a printer, and takes up just about the same amount of space in the home. Out of the box it comes with pretty much everything you need, with the exception of the materials and SVG files of course, and can be found at reasonable prices at dozens of online outlets. It’s a machine that comes with a gentle learning curve and many Cricut fans feel that having this little gadget around has revolutionized their lives!

What Can You Do With a Cricut Machine?

There are so many things you can do with a Cricut machine! There’s no way we could list all of the possibilities in a single article, but here are a few popular types of projects to give you an idea of what the machine can do.

• Cut out cute and attractive shapes and letters for scrapbooking – Cricut shapes made using custom SVG files – like that great pumpkin SVG – can help take your scrapbook work to the next level.
• Make custom, handmade cards for any special occasion – Handmade cards have a special meaning and value whenever they are sent, but a Cricut will help you give them an extra ounce of professionalism as well.
• Design a onesie or a t-shirt
• Make a leather bracelet
• Make party decorations
• Create your own stencils for painting
• Make vinyl stickers
• Make attractive labels to help with home organisation
• Decorate a mug, cup, or tumbler
• Etch glass at home
• Cut appliqués or quilt squares

Inspired? Thousands of people are every year and the number of resources that are available to source the materials you’ll need to make the most of your Cricut are increasing every year.

What are SVG Files?

We keep mentioning that SVG files, like the pumpkin SVG, are a crucial component of working with the Cricut for almost any project. But what are they anyway?

SVG is a vector graphic format—based on XML and is used to display a variety of graphics on the Web and other environments. It was once thought of as rather old fashioned when compared to other formats, but because it is so flexible – it can be resized to any dimensions without losing a drop of quality in terms of the image, and it is the perfect format for use with the Cricut.

The Importance of Royalty Free Designs For Professional Crafters

The rise of Etsy has created hundreds of crafting entrepreneurs and many of them make a good income from selling their wares. A Cricut can help you do that too, but if you are going to sell your designs it’s crucial that you make sure that the image and SVG files you use are royalty free.

Making use of that pumpkin SVG without purchasing it with the proper licensing? You could end up banned from Etsy, sued by the original creator and more. Fortunately there are lots of great online outlets that offer SVG design files for Cricut with the proper licensing attached and at very reasonable prices and by making use of them to source your designs you’ll get great quality graphics and stay on the right side of the law!