So, You Got a New Cricut Explore!

Did you get a new Cricut Explore for the holidays?

Hey! Good for you!  I’m wicked excited for you!

If you are new to the whole Cricut thing, welcome to what may be one of the most awesome adventures of your crafting life! I’m being totally serious!  That gorgeous new machine will probably change your life and help you create your personal world.  Yeah…it’s that awesome!

If you are NOT new to the Cricut world, you will still want to read this blog post.  That’s because the Cricut Explore family of machines is a “game changer”!  I, too, was not new to Cricut when I got my Explore and it scared the daylights out of me.  If you are like I was, there is a little bit (okay, a lot!) of fear at that new machine, but it’s okay.  I’m going to help you face the fear and get going on your new machine with this series of web posts.

First things first.  If you got a new Explore recently and you haven’t taken it out of the box yet, let’s get that baby open!  I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met that let their new machine sit in the corner, because they were afraid.  To quote one of my all time favorite movies: “Nobody puts Baby in the Corner!” (Do you know the movie this quotation is from?  Answer below!)

Okay…I hear your little inner voice talking and now I’m talking back.  Yes, it is a very powerful machine!  Yes, it can do a LOT of cool things, BUT you can’t use it unless you take it OUT OF THE BOX!

Seriously…take it out of the box then keep reading for the 1-2-3 setup guide I’m about to lay on you:

FIRST:  Get it out of the box! 

I know we covered this already, but sometimes people need a little extra prodding.  Consider this your “little extra prodding”, k?  After all, it’s just a machine!  It’s not like it’s going to bite you!  Clear off a space (a desk or table will do nicely) with some good lighting and a few electrical plugs, preferably next to your computer.  Go ahead. I’ll wait.

SECOND:  See what you got and plug it in.

Back so soon?  Awesome!  If you took this first step, you probably see all this stuff in front of you:   whatsinthebox

Once you’ve unpacked your new Explore, you need to set it up.

By the way, ALL of these instructions are in your box, but they are also on the Cricut.com website, too.  Here’s a link to the official Cricut Explore manual: Official Explore Manual

Here’s a link that walks you through energizing your new Explore:  plugging-it-in

There!  Was that SO difficult?!?  I didn’t think so.

THIRD: Create your Cricut ID and download Design Space

Your third step today is creating a Cricut ID and downloading Design Space, the free software that you will use to design projects.  To download the software and create your unique Cricut ID, follow If you’re saying to yourself–“Self? I thought my Explore was wireless?”–it is, but you start off using the USB cable.  So connect that USB cable to your computer and head on over to the Cricut.com website to create your ID, which will be where all your images, projects and account information is stored for access basically anywhere and from any device, too.   (Note: there are some Explore machines like the original Explore, which is green, and the Explore One that do not have Bluetooth/wireless features installed, so if you have one of those machines you will be using the USB cable attached to your computer to use your machine.)

Set up your Cricut account on the website by choosing “Sign In” and then “Create a Cricut ID”.  If you already have an account, sign in using your established Cricut ID and any of your linked cartridges will be automatically transferred over to Design Space! (Cool, right?)

And finally, download the free Design Space software, being sure to match your download selection with your personal configuration: