Cricut sell an 'Essential Starter Kit' which comprises of spatula tool, tool kit, trimmer, pack of 2 replacement blades, pack of 2 replacement 6 x 12 cutting mats, Cricut paper, Cricut card stock.
I myself found that this pack was incredibly excellent value for money and especially functional. If you own a Cricut yourself or if you are looking for a Cricut present then you would be hard pressed to find anything better than this. It's so handy to have everything you are going to want in one kit, blades and cutting mats along with the tools and spatula are as the name suggests 'essential'. I would advise buying this pack along with your latest Cricut Machine buy so that you have everything there prepared for when you have to replace something. If you are a savvy consumer you might want to obtain it now and store it as a Christmas gift for someone who uses Cricut.
What are the tools used for?
The tools are crucial for getting the most out of your cutting mats and Cricut machine and making things easier for you.
Here is a break down of the tools included and what they are used for;
Cricut Spatula Tool: This is a spatula tool for lifting your cuts off the cutting mat. If you have tried to do this by hand then you will know that it is quite tricky to get the cut outs off the adesive cutting mat. With the spatula tool you are able to lift your card easily without messing it up, and keeping it impeccably flat, producing ideal results every time.
Scoop Tool: Again this is a tool for enabling you to lift your shapes off the cutting mat. This tool works a great deal like a spoon and enables to lift up the corners of your shapes in order to lift them off the mat without harming them.
Knife tool: This is a knife like tool used for sliding under the corners of your cuts and lifting away from the cutting mat.
Hook Tool: This tool has a metal hook on the end and is used for taking off small circles of paper and cleaning little holes.
Scraper: This tool is used for scraping and cleaning your cutting mat and can be used between each cutting session to guarantee brilliant results with no bumps or creases and save damaging your cutting mats.
Bone Folder: This handy instrument scores paper, creases paper and marks paper.
Scissors: Precision scissors for use when cutting your paper or card stock.
Clear Ruler: For measuring paper or card stock.
All of the Cricut official tools come in the Cricut green color and possess soft rubber handles for comfort, grip and ease of use.
The 'Cricut Essentials' kit also includes a handy carry case for all of the tools, to store the whole lot together and in order.
You can get the Cricut Essentials pack for either the Cricut or Cricut Expression machine. The variance is that the cutting mats for the Cricut Expression are slightly bigger at 12 x 12. So make sure you have chosen the right essentials pack when you buy.
You can also get an 'Expression bundle essentials kit' on eBay which comprises of all of the items in the 'Essentials' package plus the 'Cricut Super Slab'.
The 'Super slab' includes 72 sheets of printed paper and 12 sheets of double-sided card stock, 6 sheets of 12" x 12" cardstock Die Cuts and 6 sheets of 12" x 12" cardstock stickers including 6 colours of alphabet letters. Enough to get you started and carrying out loads of projects.
