I just bought a Cricut Expression and I am having a lot of trouble!! I bought cardstock to cut and it won’t cut through it! I have the blade on the highest setting and I have the unit on multi-cut 4 times, and it STILL won’t cut properly. Then, when I take the paper off of the cutting mat, it sticks to the mat so badly that the paper is ruined. Does anyone have this problem or know how to fix it? I am thinking of returning it immediately unless there are some tricks to using it that would help.



I too agree that it sounds like the blade housing is inserted wrong. It should be in the middle notched section so the bottom is almost flush with the machine. Also make sure that you actually have your blade inserted properly in the blade housing unit. I would remove it and and re-insert it just to be sure.
I had the baby bug and now have the expression on both models the mats have sometimes been an issue as to being too sticky. I usually take some heavy cardstock that is just an “extra” and apply it and pull it off a few time to break in the sticky mat. I would also recommend buying a cricut spatula($5) to help lift off the cut pieces.
I LOVE my expression and wouldn’t trade it for any other scrapbooking tool! I hope it gets fixed. If all else fails call provocraft Customer Service they are typically very helpful and they do stand behind their products. Or go to the Cricut site there is a message board there and everyone is always very helpful.
Don’t panic
I think your blade housing is in wrong. Are the “arms” holding the blade housing at its indents near the top of the piece?
The video tutorials on cricut.com are so helpful. In just a few minutes you’ll be ready to go.
The paper should not rip off the mat. Try peeling off each letter before you remove the rest of the sheet.
I have the Original Cricut and cannot scrapbook w/o it. If you don’t need each letter bigger than 5.5 inches each, the smaller Cricut is easier to use and more portable, and way cheaper.
Good luck!