What is the Cricut Brightpad and Do You REALLY Need It?

If you’re wondering whether or not the Cricut BrightPad is worth the investment, read on as I breakdown the pros and the cons of this Cricut tool and grab the tutorial for this Cricut Pie Charcuterie Board. 

When you think of Cricut you probably think of the Cricut Explore 3 or the Cricut Joy at first thought. But did you know Cricut has an entire line of products that can help you create the perfect project to meet your crafting needs. Today we’re going to talk about one of the hardest parts of a Cricut Project, at least for some – weeding the vinyl.

Now in all actuality it’s really not that hard. The complaints I hear, and have myself, the most are how darn hard it can be sometimes to weed the vinyl. I find myself looking for the brightest window in the house or holding my phone flashlight over the cut lines to make it easier. 

Enter the Cricut BrightPad. This must have for any crafter makes it easier than ever weed your vinyl or trace projects thanks to the illuminated board.

Weeding the vinyl is when the Cricut Machine is done cutting your design and start to peel or remove the parts of the vinyl you don’t need for your craft. This is easy when you make a large design, but smaller , more intricate designs can get tricky. Having enough light is essential. 

This is where the Cricut BrightPad comes in. 

WHAT DOES THE CRICUT BRIGHTPAD DO?

The Cricut BrightPad illuminates your vinyl projects for a much easier crafting experience. It’s great for reducing eye strain when tracing or weeding your projects.

By illuminating the project with the BrightPad’s adjustable brightness settings, it becomes easier to see your vinyl cut lines and makes for accurate and easier weeding of your designs.  

What is the Cricut BrightPad used for? 

Cricut BrightPad is the brilliant crafting companion that illuminates projects for easier crafting and reduced eye strain. Use it for tracing, weeding, quilting, and more. It’s light, thin, and durable for comfort and portability. With its ultralow profile, you can trace sitting at a table or in your favorite chair.

Both are:

• Lightweight, portable & durable
• Have a nonslip base for ease of use on desk or table 
• Excellent companions for all your Cricut Cutting Machines

No, you can’t cut with the Cricut BrightPad but you can use your BrightPad with any of your Cricut machines to help illuminated your creation so you can see the cut lines better.

IS THE CRICUT BRIGHTPAD WORTH IT? 

I’d say a Cricut BrightPad is a MUST for any beginner or experienced crafter. Especially if you’ve ever struggled with seeing the cut lines when trying to see a project.  I’ve had lasik done, and while I can finally see great at a distance, everything up close has become significantly difficult without reading glasses.

The Cricut BrightPad has drastically improved my crafting ability and I actually enjoy weeding and tracing my designs again.

HOW TO MAKE A SUMMER PIE CHARCUTERIE BOARD WITH YOUR CRICUT JOY AND THE CRICUT BRIGHTPAD

I used my handy Cricut Joy and SmartVinyl along with the BrightPad Go to personalize a plain old charcuterie board into this adorable Mini Pie Charcuterie Board.

Now you can fill it with all your favorite pies or even theme it to the holiday. To close out the end of summer and backyard BBQs, I wanted a fun and easy dessert that my guests would love and since I know everyone loves pie, this was it! 

For summer parties like this one, I filled it with Cherry, Blueberry, Apple and Lemon Pies. 

For a Thanksgiving Pie Board, mini pumpkin, pecan and apple pies would be delicious. 

If you want something larger, this Cricut Fall Dessert Charcuterie Board is for you. 

First you’ll want to pick out the perfect charcuterie board. To find the perfect one, decide on how many people you’ll be serving, the occasion, what you want on the board besides pies. 

Since this was a smaller party, I went with a medium sized board since I knew I wanted to keep it simple. Pies, whipped cream and some fresh berries.

 Then I grabbed my handy, dandy Cricut Joy and got busy. 

In Design Space I whipped up a cute little sign that says, “Don’t be shy, enjoy some pie”  with a cute pie graphic to place on top of the board.

While the Cricut Joy was busy cutting, I grabbed my Cricut BrightPad Go to make sure I could easily weed the design.

Once that was done, I applied the design to the board and added my desserts.

I absolutely loved how this came out. And so did my guests. In fact, a friend went home to create one for her parties.  

This would make a fun housewarming or hostess gift too. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MAKE A CRICUT PIE DESSERT BOARD

• Medium / Large size charcuterie board
• Cricut Joy or Cricut Explore 3 
• Cricut BrightPad Go
• Cricut Weeding Tools
• Cricut Scraper 
• Cricut Permanent SmartVinyl in White
• An assortment of mini pies
• Whipped Cream
• Fresh Berries – I used fresh strawberries and blueberries but raspberries and blackberries would be a great choice as well

I hope you enjoyed this fun project and a dedicated look at the Cricut BrightPad Go. If you have any questions, leave ’em below or send me an email. 

If you make a delicious pie board of your very own, share it on Instagram and tag me @anewdawnn, I’d love to see it! 

Happy Crafting! 

Dawn