How To Use Cricut Explore Air 2 An easy beginners guide

In this article, You will learn How To Use Cricut Explore Air 2 easily. If you’re a beginner or just buying your first Cricut and need some guidance before doing so, this article is for you. How can you use Cricut Explore Air 2 to create designs and text cutouts?

One thing we’ve noted is that this Cricut Explore Air 2 is a little bit different from the old Cricut machine. For that reason, you might want to go through this tutorial if you have the older version and want to learn how to use the Cricut Explore Air 2.

Before we jump into the tutorial, you’ll probably need some guidance on setting up your Cricut Explore Air 2 and the accessories you might need to use it. If you have not yet chosen your preferred machine then check out our review for the best Cricut machines you can buy.

What you need to use with the Cricut Explore Air 2

Talking about the accessories. Below are some of the things to expect when unboxing your Cricut Explore Air 2:

1. Cricut Explore Air 2
2. Instructions manual
3. The power and USB cords
4. Cutting blade (comes pre-installed)
5. Cricut cutting mat
6. Cardstock and Vinyl samples
7. Silver pen and accessory adapter (comes pre-installed like the cutting blade)

Although our kit came with all these accessories, we’ve heard of instances where some accessories aren’t included in the kit. If this happens to you, you can return the kit to the dealers and have a replacement. One thing that can’t go unnoticed is the absence of the Cricut Explore Air 2 because the box itself will be extremely light.

How To Set Up The Cricut Explore Air 2

There are two ways you can connect your Cricut Explore Air 2 to your computer. You can either connect via a USB cable or Bluetooth. Connecting a Cricut Explore Air 2 is the most direct connection ever. Just turn your Cricut Explore Air 2 on and connect it to your computer via the USB cable cord. Alternatively, the Bluetooth connection will sort you out if you’re not a fan of cables. We don’t like cords, so Bluetooth connectivity is super helpful for us.

Connecting a Cricut Explore Air 2 To Mac

• Ensure that your Cricut Explore Air 2 machine is turned on and is 10-15 from your computer.
• Head on to System Preferences if you’re using a Mac and turn Bluetooth on
• Find your Cricut machine on the discovered devices and click “Pair/Connect.”
• When you get a prompt to enter a Pin, type in 0000 and then click pair

Connecting a Cricut Explore Air 2 to Windows

If you’re using a windows computer, follow the steps to connect your Cricut machine to the computer:

• Click the Start icon, then head to settings
• Click devices, then turn the Bluetooth on, or simply click add other devices
• Select the Cricut machine from the discovered devices and wait for the Cricut to pair with your computer
• When you get a prompt to put a pin, dial 0000 and click pair

Setting Up The Cricut Machine

Now you have the connections all set, but you need to set up your Cricut machine before making the first cut you’ve anticipated.

1. On your browser, go to Setup.
2. Follow the instructions to create your ID.
3. Download the Design Space plugin and install it when prompted to
4. Do your first project after receiving a prompt to do a project

How To Use Cricut Explore Air 2 to make Your First Cutouts

Now that your Cricut Explore Air 2 is connected to your computer or phone, you can make your first cut with the Cricut machine. This is the heart of this tutorial, and it doesn’t matter if you’re using a computer or a phone (you can connect your Cricut to your phone via Bluetooth using the exact steps you used to connect to a computer).

For your first project, you will use the materials you received with your machine.

How To Use Cricut Explore 2 (Explained) Step By Step Guide

Now, because you’re just starting, you want to create simple a design as possible because you don’t want to end up demotivated.

Add a mat

Before starting your project, the Cricut Explore Air 2 machine comes with three mats; a green mat, a blue mat, and a purple mat.

The purple mat is for fabric and is the stickiest. So before you add the mat to the machine, ensure that you gently remove the protective layer and keep it in a safe place because you’ll use it later.

Apply Your Material

Ensure you smoothen the material you choose to work with to remove all the bubbles. This step helps to ensure that your design comes out smoother. If the Cricut is blinking, the machine is operational, so you can now load your mat.

Hit The Execution Button

After you’ve hit the button, the machine does its job, and you will start by removing the mat first and then the material.

Weeding

After the Cricut machine is done, the next step you want to do is polish the design by removing the excess material. That is what we call the weeding process.

The Cricut Explore Air two comes with weeding tools. If you don’t get the tools in the kit, then Cricut has them on sale that work with Cricut Explore Air 2 and Cricut maker machine.

The weed-out part might seem complex, especially if you’re dealing with an intricate design. Thankfully, Cricut created a lightbox called Cricut Brightpad that helps you with the weeding process by showing you the exact places you need to weed.

Put Back the Protective Layer on the Mat After Your Done

The mat gets dust when not covered with a protective layer. After you’ve finished using the mat, ensure that you put its protective layer back.

Conclusion

Using a Cricut Explore Air 2 is not hard, and most beginners can make incredible designs with a few trials. The guides we’ve offered above can help you from setting up your Cricut machine to using it. Explore a new world of art with the Cricut Explore Air 2. Thankfully this machine comes with software that makes everything super easy.