I went to a product launch. Yep, little ol’ me and the bump went to a big ol’ fancy product launch in Salt Lake City, UT last week! Not gonna lie, it was pretty amazing. The dinner, the peeps, the party, the crafting, and then there was this bad boy…
The Cricut Explore is the latest and greatest in the world of cutting machines. Seriously, the Cricut team has spent the last 18 months creating the very best cutting machine possible and it’s gonna hit the stores for us to buy in mid March!
I had the opportunity to not only be a part of the product launch, but actually work with the Cricut Explore! I’ll share some of my fave features, but first I want to share some crafty cuteness from the event with y’all! Oh and this all happened in less than 36 hours. I left Austin, TX at 8am on Monday and was home by 11pm on Tuesday! to start, this dude was waiting for us at the airport, ha! And the giant Cricut even made a sign that says, “I love blogs!”
Dinner that night started with a game of bingo where folks were winning iPads and tickets to Disney World, y’all! I wasn’t a winner, but I’m a game lovin’ fool! Just like the Cricut Explore, this product launch was a crafty girls dream come true. The DIY plate chargers, the dinner menu with a bingo card on the back, and the cute stamped bingo chip bag, the flowers, oh the flowers, macaroons in sweet little boxes to take back to our rooms, it goes on and on! Then there was even a pie bar for after dinner complete with mini pies in every flavor imaginable!
There was an instaprint machine, that printed out every single picture taken with the hashtag #explorecricut. There was even a lip stick bar, y’all! I got a sample of some fancy red lipstick I’m gonna (try) to rock! Oh and the itinerary we got when we arrived was even adorable. This was party planning genius.
Not only were the party deets beyond incredible, but hanging with bloggers anywhere is always my favorite! I reconnected with some old friends and made lots of new ones! Blog world is a funny place, since we know a lot about each other online, it makes it that much more fun (and kinda scary) to finally meet in person! if you need some new blog inspiration, check out these girls (from left to right, top to bottom): Nancy, me, Katie, me & the bump, Melissa, Heather, Camille, me, me, Barbara, Meredith, Sarah, and Jill!
So, the next day was all about hands on with the new Cricut Explore! They had 3 themed rooms set up with Cricut crafts. New York was all about accessories, beach bums could hang out and make cute totes in California, and Utah was rustic chic (here’s my Utah craft)! We went from room to room in crafty bliss! There were even themed treats in each room. True. The cuteness just didn’t stop. In Utah there was hot chocolate and way to yummy brownie s’more bites, in New York there were caramel apples, and in California you could have a popsicle and a pina colada! Oh and that’s my new friend Lindsay in the bottom right! She rhinestoned her crutches, you can see them leaning up against the table!
So, that my friends was my 36 hour whirlwind of Cricut Explore product launch awesomeness. Here are a few of my favorite features of the new cutting machine:
1. Built in storage caddy for tools!
2. You can upload all of your existing cartridges to your Cricut image library!
3. It’s super quiet! The husband can watch his football game, and the Cricut and you can work your magic in the same room!
4. This is the Smart Set Dial. Just turn the dial to the type of material you are cutting and cut! Easy. There is also a custom option on the dial to cut more materials. I love that you don’t have to worry about complicated pressure and thickness settings anymore!
5. 2 more built in storage caddies! Inside of one cubby is a magnetic strip to store different blades.
6. The Cricut Explore comes with a grey carrying tote. Genius, in my opinion.
7. Check out what this sucker can cut… all of these below + fabric, construction paper, light glitter paper, kraft paper, silk, Cricut magnet, the list goes on and on! Oh and the Explore has the ability to sketch, score, and cut all in one swoop!
A few more deets I learned about: the Cricut Explore will be available first on the Home Shopping Network in mid February and will be in stores in mid March! It will be priced at $299! I’m pretty dang excited because I will be testing this bad boy out in my own home in early February… bring on the baby crafting! Here’s a neat video with the CEO of Cricut talks abotu the design behind the the new Cricut Explore, pretty intersting…
Do you have a Cricut machine? Another kind of cutting machine? What material would you like to see it cut? What project have you been dying to make? I’d love to hear…
Comments & Reviews
So lucky to get to meet you at the Cricut party!! I am loving your blog! I think I was linked to on here a long time ago! May have been my teepee, I can’t remember lol! Either way it made me feel so special!
So sorry we didn’t have a chance to meet, but love this post! You did a great round-up and it looks like you had a fabulous time. Hope to cross paths again soon and looking forward to seeing what awesomeness you create!
xo ~kim and chloe
Awww sad we didin’t connect! How fun to blog as mom and daughter!
It was so fun getting to know you better! You are adorable! I can’t wait to get the machines and really try them out!
LOVED getting to hang out with you too! I laughed when I started reading your post because I’m standing near the Cricut man in your first picture, haha!
Cannot wait to get the new machine in my hands!!
Ha! I just noticed you were in the pic too!
This looks very similar to the Silhouette. I am wondering does it still require a mat? If not (which would be my hope) how long of material can be cut?
Thanks
Yes you can still use a mat! From what I learned, it sounded like the machine comes with a mat, but that you can also cut most materials without a mat. As for how long of material can be cut… I’ll have to get back to you on that!
I asked this on the Cricut FB page but it went unanswered. Do you know once the ipad technology is ready in the 2nd quarter of this year, if the Explore would need a software update to be able to use it with the ipad?
I’m thinking yes, but I will try and get you a for sure answer! Although I do know that updating the software on the new Cricut Explore is super easy and free! The new software rocks!
That would be great, I want one asap, but would wait till the 2nd quarter if needed for the convenience of the ipad app.
Mandi at Vintage Revivals posted about this, too – “all of the machines have a port for a wireless adapter (it will be around $50)” so I think you just need to purchase the adapter when it’s available and use it with the free app. Yippee! Can’t wait! (Here’s a link to her entire post: http://www.vintagerevivals.com/2014/02/meet-the-cricut-explore-10-reasons-i-switched-to-team-cricut.html)
Thank you for blogging about your experience – can’t wait to see all the projects you make with the machine… and can’t wait for my Explore to arrive in a couple weeks!
Thank you for sharing, Mary!!
So happy we got to see each other while being pregnant! What an amazing event–I can’t wait to start crafting with the new machine!
So fun to hang out as pregos 🙂 I have a feeling this little bambino will be wearing Cricut cut onesies A LOT, ha!
I have no cutting machine, so I drool over any projects made with one! I would love to have perfect lettering for any project, I’m awful with that! That event looks like so much fun, and your bump is so darn cute!