5 Things I Love About My Cricut Explore Air 2

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

My Cricut Explore Air 2 is my favorite crafting machine! Read on for 5 Things I Love about My Cricut Explore Air 2. This post contains affiliate links which, when purchased through, add no cost to the consumer, but help support this site with a small commission. This helps to bring more Cricut tutorials. 

Has a Cricut machine been on your wish list for a long time? Are you uncertain of which machine to get? Do all the options overwhelm you? Then you are in the right place! I’m a long-time Cricut crafter. I started out on the original Cricut Expression machine many years ago. It was my favorite crafting machine for a long time, but upgrading to the Cricut Explore Air 2 was one of the most helpful moves that I ever made. Not only did my productivity increase, but my project creativity did, too. I love my Cricut Explore Air 2 machine for a variety of reasons, but here are the top 5 reasons why I love my Cricut Explore Air 2 (and why I think you will, too).

#1 The Cricut Explore Air 2 cuts through a wide variety of materials. From different variations of card stock to vinyl to fabric, the Cricut Explore Air 2 opens a world of crafting possibility. When working on photo props for a photo booth for a recent party, I knew that cutting thick sparkle paper card stock would not be a problem with my Cricut Explore Air 2. The Fine-Point Blade cut through all my specialty card stick options with ease.

#2 The Cricut Explore Air 2 has a double tool housing allows for cutting and utilizing another tool with ease. Projects with the Scoring Tool or writing element are quicker and flow more smoothly by allowing me to place the needed tool in the housing beside the blade housing. As a crafter who does not like lots of interruptions and pauses in creating my projects, this is a feature that I truly appreciate.

#3 The Cricut Explore Air 2 has Fast Mode. While I enjoy a lazy craft day, my best crafting seems to be done in a time crunch. The Cricut Explore Air 2, the first Cricut machine to allow a Fast Mode, comes in handy during my last minute crafts. The Fast Mode allows for up to twice as fast cutting and writing (as compared to previous models) on popular cutting materials like card stock, iron-on, and vinyl. This feature is awesome for bulk cutting projects! It even worked on my sparkle card stock photo props.

#4 The Cricut Explore Air 2 is portable.  Crafting by myself is fun, but crafting in a group is an automatic party! I like that the Cricut Explore Air 2 is lightweight enough to take to a crafting group, a friend’s house, or a crafting class. Trust me – when your friends discover that you have a Cricut Explore Air 2, you’ll be the life of every girl’s night. While the Cricut Explore Air 2 is still compatible with Cricut cartridges, it also utilizes Cricut Design Space. Cricut Design Space enhances the portability of the Cricut machine. There’s no need to carry cartridges when on-the-go. Take the machine and a laptop (or iPad or iPhone), and craft anywhere and everywhere.

When taking my laptop and Cricut Explore Air 2 on-the-go, I keep them safe with the Cricut Machine Tote. 

#5 The Smart Set Dial on the Cricut Explore Air 2 is convenient for quickly choosing popular materials. I often craft with card stock or vinyl, both of which are options on the Smart Set Dial. If creating with a specialty material, such as the sparkle paper or shimmer paper card stock for this photo prop project, I choose “Custom” and then set the precise material within Cricut Design Space.

DIY Party Photo Props are one of my favorite things to make for party decor. They are easy to make, require a short supply list, add an element of fun, and help create memories. As mentioned above, I used my Cricut Explore Air 2 to create these photo props. Get the full supply list and my Design Space project file below.

Supplies:

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Cricut LightGrip Cutting Mat
• Cricut Gold Pen
• Crafting dowel rods
• Hot glue gun and hot glue
• Cricut Sparkle paper
• Cricut Shimmer paper
• Regular card stock

Open Cricut Design Space. Use my ready to go Design Space file by clicking here. The images are already sized to work for a photo booth.

Send the images to the Cricut machine, cutting them on the different varieties of card stock and on the LightGrip Cutting Mat. Be sure to change the material type when switching between the different types of card stock.

Once all of the images have been cut, attach each one to a dowel rod with the hot glue gun. Layer and glue the “Photo Op” sign before attaching to the dowel rod.

The Cricut Explore Air 2 is a excellent investment. See more tips and projects using the Cricut Explore Air 2 on my Cricut Project Page.