The Best Christmas Gifts For Crafters [2021 Edition]

The Maker 3 was one of Cricut’s big releases of 2021 and is arguably the reigning champion of the best vinyl cutter battle.

It’s essentially everything that the original Maker is and better.

It’s compatible with Cricut’s range of Smart Materials which allows it to work up to twice as fast as the original Maker and to perform cuts up to 12 foot long (versus just 24 inches for the Maker). It’s also compatible with 13 different tools so is an incredible versatile machine.

This will definitely be on the wish list of any serious crafters, hobbyists or small craft business owners.

The Cameo 4 was the big machine release of 2019 but we know that it’ll still be top of the wish list for many crafters this year.

It was long awaited for a number of years now and we can confirm that it’s everything it’s been hyped up to be — a huge improvement on its predecessor, the Cameo 3, and a worthy alternative to the popular Cricut Maker machines.

It’s currently available in three colors: white, black and blush pink.

The Explore 3 is Cricut’s latest release in the Explore Air line of vinyl cutters.

Positioned somewhere between the Explore Air 2 and the brand new Maker 3, the Explore 3 is the perfect machine for anyone looking for a mid-market cutter that gets the job done without breaking the bank. It’s still fast, accurate and versatile — exactly what most crafters need in a cutting machine.

The Explore 3 is twice as fast as the Explore Air 2 and can cut up to 12 feet of material in one go — a huge upgrade. It’s also compatible with Smart Materials, just like the Maker 3.

While not as brand sparkling new as the Maker 3, the original Cricut Maker is still at the top of many crafters’ gift lists.

It’s one of the premier cutting machine son the market thanks to its versatility, cutting accuracy and huge sewing pattern library. In fact, many sewists actually tell us that the Maker machines are their favorite products on the market right now — even more so than their best sewing machine!

Another bonus is that Cricut routinely run amazing sales on the Maker so you can often get it for a steal. Make sure you keep an eye on their website or subscribe to our newsletter where we highlight the latest and best deals.

The Portrait 3 was one of the only big releases of 2020 in the craft cutting world.

Smaller and cheaper than the Cameo 4, this is the machine to buy if you mostly work on smaller projects — saying that, its max cutting size is still an impressive 8 inches wide by 60 feet long. Plus it’s able to do two types of matless cutting.

The Cricut Joy is the more established competitor to the Portrait 3 and is probably the favorite machine among card makers nowadays.

Small, lightweight and with matless cutting capabilities, it’s very like the Portrait 3 although cuts a little smaller. It can be used with the fabulous CardMat which makes it so simple and quick to make custom cards.

Sticking with Cricut for a little while, another hot ticket item is the Cricut EasyPress 2 — a revolutionary iron meets heat press machine that promises professional results when using heat transfer vinyl.

It’s also a vital part of the brilliant Infusible Ink system — a heat transfer system by sublimation — that’s steadily grown in popularity since its release earlier this year.

The EasyPress 2 is a huge improvement on the original EasyPress, heating up faster than before and offering more accurate results. It’s also super safe thanks to its intuitive design.

The Sizzix Big Shot is an oldie but a goodie that is truly the perfect gift for someone who’s just getting started in the world of craft cutting, card making or scrapbooking.

This starter kit comes with the machine, an extended platform, 1 Thinlits die set, 1 Bigz die, 1 embossing folder and 12 pieces of 6″ x 6″ cardstock.

Not to mention, it’s significantly cheaper than the electronic cutting machine above!

If you’re interested in the art of 3D printing but aren’t yet ready to commit hundreds of dollars to buying a printer, you can test it out instead by buying a comparatively low-cost 3D pen instead.

It’s, of course, much smaller and has few capabilities than a regular printer, but is cheaper, safer and arguably much more easy to use. Newbies and even kids are likely to get a lot out of this bad boy.

One of the most underrated Cricut tools on the market is the humble BrightPad.

This machine is essentially the only thing you need for weeding vinyl after it’s been cut. It light up behind your cuts and illuminates exactly where you need to use your weeding tool.

We wouldn’t call it an essential exactly, but it’ll definitely go down well with the person in your life who loves vinyl cutting.

We had the Cricut EasyPress 2 up in our big ticket gift section earlier, but here’s an option if you’re looking for something smaller and less expensive.

The EasyPress Mini was released by Cricut this Summer and is exactly what it says on the box — a mini version of the EasyPress.

It’s plate measures just a tiny 3.5″ x 2″ and is ideal for smaller projects. It can work with Infusible Ink as well as your normal HTV projects.

Plus, it’s super cute 😍

Speaking of the EasyPress, a little tote bag to carry it around may well be worth including on your Christmas list — especially if you like to do crafting on the move or while you’re traveling.

Bear in mind that this tote is available in three sizes:

• 6″ x 7″
• 9″ x 9″
• 12″ x 10″

So it can fit whichever version of the EasyPress 2 you’ve got! The original EasyPress will require the 9″ x 9″ version.

This one is for all you scrapbookers out there — the Silhouette Mint is an awesome printer that can turn any text, photo, image or design into a stamp.

We’re yet to have a play around with it but have heard plenty of good things about it from fellow crafters.

Plus, it’s available for an excellent price…

If you’re buying a gift for someone who loves heat pressing, then the Cricut Mug Press will be right up their alley.

This little gadget is the ultimate in mug transfer sublimation and as with all the Cricut products, focuses firmly on professional results, machine safety and ease of use.

It is a specialist machine so will be best suited to a hobbyist, experimental crafter or even someone running a craft business.

We know that the various components of Cricut’s Infusible Ink system are likely to be on many crafters’ Christmas gift lists this year — including ours!

Take a look at the wide range of patterned transfer sheets currently available right now. There’s currently 27 patterns and colors on Amazon right now.

And the good thing is, once you’ve got your Cricut cutter and the EasyPress, these components (as well as the marker pens, blanks and transfer tape) are all available at a very good price — perfect for stocking fillers!

We’re always on the look out for interesting vinyl and cardstock patterns, and we think we’ve hit the big time with these glitter gradient HTV sheets from Tintnut.

Sublime in their colors and designs, these sheets are compatible with all of the most popular vinyl cutters on the market so you’ll be able to get started regardless of what machine you’re using.

Beautiful, right?!

Speaking of cool patterns, we love this 12″ x 12″ marble cardstock from Colorbok.

This pad is really cheap and has a massive 15 different designs included. It’s also multi-colored so there’s plenty of different sheets to choose from depending on your preference and project vision.

We know that we’re not the only crafters that get excited by cardstock…

Another cracking stocking filler for any Cricut user is this beautiful mint-colored tools set.

The set includes the following:

• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Scraper
• Spatula
• Weeder

It’s a relatively low cost set but is sure to prove absolutely essential for the Cricut lover in your life!

We normally stick religiously to the premium vinyl companies like Oracal and Siser Easyweed, but there’s something about this holographic opal craft vinyl that we just know we want on our Christmas list.

It comes in 7 different sheets of 12″ by 12″ and is water resistant, and apparently even durable outdoors.

What can we say — it’s worth a try, right?!