I may have a thing for carts and those little casters that go on them. I just made 3 carts in a row. The first was a lumber cart for my workshop, which had these whopping 5 inch casters on it. Then I made an ironing station for my quilting mama. The most recent was a cart for my Cricut. And after using those 5 inch babies, I could not believe the size of the tiny box in which my set of 4 casters came. I thought there had to be a mistake! But nope, these little cuties fit in just fine. I had to take a pic against my mouse because it blew my mind.
Anyway, enough about casters… for now. I have always kept my Cricut up on my desk, and not only does it take up space when it’s not being used, but I usually have to clear a big space for it when I’m using it so that mats can roll in from the front and out the back. I knew I needed something better.
And so I built this little thing so that my Cricut could slide under my desk and out of the way when I wasn’t using it, but still provide all the room I needed for those rolling mats.
Along the way, I added vinyl storage, a vinyl roll holder for rolling out and measuring my vinyl and transfer tape, and a tape measure for good measure (ha ha!).
The best part about the plans for this little guy is just how easy it is to make and modify to your own needs. For me, I wasn’t looking for a tall workspace as I have that in my craft cart (be sure to check that out here). I wanted something that both rolled under my desk and would be low enough that as I was working in Design Space on my computer, I could stay seated and access my machine and load/ unload my mats.
But the design of this is so simple that it won’t be hard at all for anyone to modify it to their needs. Further, you can build it without any crazy tools or jigs. Just a drill and basic saw.
You can access the full plan below.
Workspace
I didn’t want this cart to just be a place to plop my machine. I wanted it to provide function and a place to keep all of my Cricut items together. I created a place for vinyl and transfer tape, a cutting and measuring spot, a spool to roll out vinyl, and storage for papers, all on one little rolling cart.
The biggest key to this cart’s function are the drop leaves, which enable it to roll away into a small footprint, but still give the tabletop space when I need it. The leaves pop in to place with almost no effort; just lift the leaf and it snaps locked. Putting them down is almost as easy; just push in the levers underneath the leaf and it folds back down.
These are the brackets I used.
Mobility
These little casters are smooth but also easily lock into place to keep your cart from budging while you’re working. The rubber coating protects my floors. And did I mention how cute they are?
Utility
I really wanted an easy way to roll out vinyl or transfer tape while making it easy to measure and cut. So I added in a paper towel holder and adhesive workbench tape measure. I lined up the tape measure so that when my Cricut Trimmer is flush to the edge of the cart, the cutter is at 0″. This way, I can just pull through the file or tape, measure, cut and go. I love how helpful this has been for me!
Roll Holder
Workbench Tape Measure
Storage
This vinyl holder keeps all of my rolls from unrolling (and therefore crumpling), and makes it easy to see exactly what I have. It attaches easily to the end and accommodates more than I even have at the moment. I also added in this vertical file holder, also done up in the same gold spray paint, to hold my paper.
Favorite Tools
I hope you found this little thing inspiring!
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