Creating a Single Line SVG File in the Adobe Illustrator App Using Vectorize

Hi Everyone!

This week I wanted to share another method you can use to create your single line SVG file in the Illustrator App using the Vectorize tool.

One great thing about the Illustrator App is they continue to improve it. I’m not sure when they came out with the vectorize tool, but I stumbled upon it when I was tracing my sketch manually with the pencil tool.

Initially, I tried it out with my rough sketch, and the results weren’t great.

I went back into Procreate and I traced over my rough sketch with Studio Pen brush at 5% for a more refined drawing. The thinner you draw your lines here in Procreate, the better single line file you will get in Illustrator.

I saved my file as a PNG. At this point, it looks like it would make a good draw file in Cricut Design Space, but that is definitely not the case, you will get the dreaded double lines.

So we will need to do some additional steps in Illustrator to get a proper Draw file. I’m going to import my PNG file into the Illustrator app.

With my image selected, in the tool bar on the right side, I’m going to click on Object and in the dialog box I will select Vectorize.

This works a lot like Image Trace in the desktop version of Illustrator. I’m going to make sure I have my color mode set to Black and White and my Output set to Strokes. You can play around with the sliders a little bit to help refine your drawing.

Once you get it to where you like it, you can click Expand Vectorization and now you will have a drawing composed of single line strokes.

One last thing I’m going to do is make all of my strokes 1pt in width.

Now I can go through and refine my drawing even more with the direct selection tool and add any parts that may be missing with the pen or pencil tool. Once I’m satisfied with the way it is, I can save this as an SVG and import it into the Cricut Design Space App.

Creating Your Own Single Line SVG File - Part Three

Hi Everyone!

This week I’m going to test the single line SVG file that I created in the Illustrator app last week. I’m going to do this all on my iPad, so I’m going to test it with the Cricut app.

First, I’m going to open the Cricut app and start a new project. Then, down at the bottom of the screen, I’m going to select UPLOAD and BROWSE FILES.

In last week’s tutorial, I saved my design on my iPad as an SVG file. Now. I need to locate that file on my iPad. I saved mine in my Illustrator folder.

Inside the Illustrator folder I select my Capricorn file.

Cricut Design Space will show a preview of the file. It will default to a CUT image. I can’t change it to a DRAW file until it’s uploaded into Design Space. So now, I can name my file and click save in the upper right corner.

After I click save, Design Space will bring up all my uploaded images. I select my Capricorn file and click INSERT down in the bottom right corner.

Now, my file is on my canvas. I’m going to scale it down a little bit, so it fits on the piece of cardstock I will be using to do my test drawing. I’m also going to change this to a DRAW file. Down in the bottom tool bar, select EDIT, then where it says BASIC CUT on the bottom left, select that and change it to DRAW/ Pen.

Here I can change the pen type and color. I’m using my Fine Point Black pen. I’m going to change the color just for visibility purposes in Design Space. My machine cannot determine the actual pen color I’m using, so I can select whatever color I want.

Even though all of my lines are already grouped together, I still need to ATTACH them. Otherwise Design Space will spread them out all weird on the mat when I select Make It. Down in the bottom tool bar I select ACTIONS then I select ATTACH. Now I’m ready to SAVE my file and then select Make It.

I’m going to position my design relative to where I have my piece of cardstock on my actual mat.

Click NEXT and then select my Maker machine.

I’m using a scarp piece of cardstock, so I select Heavy Cardstock as my material. and I load my Black fine point pen and my mat into my machine, and Press GO!!

After my machine is done drawing, I check my design to see if skipped any of my lines. If any parts of your design are missing, try re-uploading your SVG file into Design Space.

It looks like all of my lines are there, now I’m going to try out my design with my WRMK foil quill. I can use my Foil Quill with my iPad because my machine treats it like a pen. I cannot use my Cricut Foil Transfer tool with my iPad, I don’t know why Cricut hasn’t figured that one out yet.

But here it is with silver foil on black cardstock! Now that I’ve tested my file and it works, I can use it for whatever projects I want.

Creating Your Own Single Line SVG Files - Part Two

Hi Everyone!

This week is part two of how to create your own single line SVG files. I’m going to share with you how I take my sketch from Procreate and use the Adobe Illustrator app on my iPad Pro to create the SVG file.

Last week exported my file from Procreate as a JPEG. I’m going to bring that file into the Illustrator app by selecting the picture icon in the tool bar on the left and finding that file on my iPad.

You can adjust the size of the image, I typically keep my pretty large at this point. I’m going to add a new layer above my sketch layer, then I’m going to lock my sketch layer.

I typically start with a basic out line of my image and then fill in all the little details on a separate layer. You need to use either the pencil tool or the pen tool to create a single line SVG. This is so your image is made up of individual paths and not filled shapes. I’m going to use the pencil tool since it feels most natural when I’m tracing my image using my Apple Pencil.

I’m going to start tracing the outline of the horns with my pencil. If you need to stop and lift up your pencil, you can continue that same line again by selecting the path and start drawing at one of the end points.

Now, you can choose the draw the rest of the outline or start refining each section as you go along. I’m going to refine each section as I go along. Using the Direct selection tool, I can delete anchor points, change curved points to sharp angles and vice versa.

After the outline is complete, I will create a new layer for the details.

I do the details by sections in the drawing. As you can see, I simplified the scales on the fish tale from my original drawing. Now is great time to make any adjustments to your drawing. Once I finish the details, I make each section a subgroup in my layer.

Now it’s time to export this file as SVG. Click on the box with the arrow in the upper right tool bar across the top in the app. Select “Publish and export.”

On the left side of the screen, select “Export as.”

In the drop down next to Format, select SVG and click the blue Export button.

I’m going to select “Save to Files.”

Then I select the “Illustrator” folder. Next week I will show you how to test this file using the Cricut App on my iPad.

Creating Your Own Single Line SVG Files - Part One

Hi Everyone!

One of my goals this year is to create more SVG files to add here and my Etsy shop. There are a lot of SVG cut files available out there, but not as many single line or draw files. I thought I would share my process for how I create my single line SVG files.

I start off by trying to come up with an idea for a collection of files, this year I want to do all of the zodiac symbols. Since we’re still in January, I’m going to start off with Capricorn, which is often depicted as a sea goat.

I love using Pinterest to gather inspiration and I created a board where I’m collecting images of all the different zodiac symbols. I’ll keep adding to this board as I work my way through all the zodiac signs.

After I’ve gathered a few images I go through them and I start to pick out what parts I like from each image.

I really like how the fish tails loop around on these.

I think I want a profile view for the head.

Next, I’m going to start creating a rough sketch on my iPad Pro in one of my favorite apps, Procreate. If you don’t have an iPad, you can also do your sketch the good old fashioned way with pencil and paper.

I would like for these to fit on a round shape like a key ring or coaster, so I’m going to start out. with a circle shape and keep my design within that shape.

I like to sketch with the Peppermint Pencil, it’s one of the brushes that comes with Procreate. It’s almost like sketching with a real pencil!

Another great thing about Procreate is you can have your reference image in a separate little window inside Procreate.

Or you can do a split screen with Procreate and Pinterest.

I’m going to work with my reference image in a window in Procreate. So I take some screenshots of my Pinterest images that I will be referencing.

After I work out my sketch, I can either take a screenshot, save it as a JPEG or PNG file to bring into the Illustrator app.

If you made your sketch on regular paper, you will need to scan you image so you can bring it into Illustrator or another vector program of your choice.

Next week I will share with you how I turn my sketch into vector line art in the Illustrator App on my iPad.

Cutting Full Sticker Sheets with Your Cricut - Part 2 - Test Printing

Hi Everyone!

This week is another important step when creating full sticker sheets to cut on your Cricut Machine.

I always print a few test sheets on plain paper before I cut the actual sticker paper. Once you learn all the little nuances of your machine, you will probably be able to skip this step. But when you are just beginning to using this method, it’s best to practice, practice, practice before jumping into using your expensive sticker paper.

I already set up my artwork in Adobe Illustrator with my offset cutlines. If you need some guidance on creating offsets in Illustrator, you can check out my previous posts here and here.

When I set up my art files in Illustrator I have 2 separate layers. First, the ARTWORK layer that we will use to print our stickers directly from Illustrator. Second, the CUTLINE layer that we will export as an SVG and import into Cricut Design Space.

Very Important: My cut layer contains a bracket in each corner of the 8.5” x 11” artboard. This is going to help us line up the cut lines in Design Space. Make sure you include these brackets when you set up your file!

For my test print, I’m actually going to print the grey cutlines with the artwork so I can really see how far off my machine cuts and make the appropriate adjustments.

I’m using an Epson SureColor P600 printer, but you can use any inkjet printer for this method. I do not recommend using a laser printer for this method. Since laser printers use heat, you will run into shrinkage issues with your paper and your cuts will be off unless you calculate the proper shrinkage. The shrinkage is very minimal, but it is noticeable.

I’m going to print 3 copies of my artwork on plain paper so I have a couple of extra to practice.

Your print dialog box will probably look different , but make sure the image is NOT SCALED when printing.

Check your printouts carefully to make sure they are straight and the artwork is is the same position on all 3 printouts. If the artwork is shifted, at all, in any of the printouts you will need to test and/ or adjust your printer to make sure you are getting the same print placement everytime.

After checking your print outs, carefully place one of the printouts inside the rectangle on the mat that we prepped in last weeks post. Take your time when doing this to make sure your paper is properly aligned within the rectangle.

Now we’re going to open our cut lines only in Design Space. I exported that layer as a separate SVG from Illustrator and imported it into Design Space.

Check that the dimension of the imported artwork are 8.5” x 11” like our file in Illustrator. Those very important brackets that you put in the corners on the artboard in Illustrator help ensure that the dimensions remain 8.5” x 11.

ATTACH all of your elements, and the press MAKE IT.

Those very important corner brackets are also going to help keep your artwork in the proper place in the upper left corner of the mat, but not beyond those red border lines in Design Space.

I select Copy Paper and Default pressure for my material settings.

Now I carefully load my mat into the machine like we practiced last week, and press GO!!

After the machine is done cutting, load your mat and let’s check the results!

So on my first attempt, my paper is placed just a hair too high up on the mat. So for my next try I’m going to try to do a better job aligning the bottom edge of my paper to the bottom line that’s drawn on the mat.

My 2nd attempt is much better! Remember it’s never going to be absolutely perfect, there are so many variables that go into this process and there will always be some level of human error. But it’s up to you how much time and effort you want to spend trying to perfect your cuts. Also, the more you do it, the better you’re going to become.

Since the offset on my actual stickers will be white, I’m ok with my second attempt. I’m really going to focus on lining up my paper along the bottom line on my mat for my future cuts.

If you are doing a colored offset, make sure you add some bleed around the edges so if it cuts slightly off there won’t be any white showing. Also, a wider offset will make a slightly off cut less noticeable.

Next week we’ll print on the actual sticker paper and cut some stickers!

Making Single Line Words to Use with Your Cricut or Silhouette Machine

Hi Everyone! A lot of you who use your Cricut or Silhouette machine to write, foil, engrave, deboss, etc. know the frustration of trying to find single line fonts. While single line fonts do exist if you search for them, they aren’t always free and can add up pretty quickly. Also, it may be struggle to find one that you actually like.

I do not pay for a Cricut Access membership and I am not going to pay $5 for a font I can only use in Cricut Design Space, sorry!!

I do, however, have an Adobe Creative Cloud membership at that includes tons of free fonts to use, plus I have lots of fonts from Design Cuts and Creative Market.

I know I can use my system fonts in Design Space, but if I want to use it as a writing font, it outlines my letters. Not the look I’m going for. Not to mention, the terrible letter spacing that is default for Design Space.

My system font in Design Space - it outlines the letter if I change the lintetype to Draw, and the letter spacing is horrible.

Now I’m going to show you, how to use the font that I already have and make it into a single line word that I can upload into Design Space or Studio and use as a draw file.

You will need Adobe Illustrator, either the app or desktop version. I’m going to be using the app on my iPad with the Apple Pencil for this tutorial.

First, I’m going to create a new file in my Illustrator app. Then I’m going to select the text tool.

I’m going to keep it pretty simple and type “thank you.” To change the font, I need to have my words selected and click on the “Properties” button on the right side tool bar. The font I’m using is called Santa Fe Spring (it is not part of the Adobe fonts, but I added it to my Creative cloud so I could use it on my iPad).

I’m typed my words as two separate objects so I can adjust their placements.

Then, with both words selected, I’m going to lower the opacity of this layer to about 20 percent.

I’m going to lock the layer with my words and create new layer above it, this is the layer I will be drawing on.

I select the PENCIL tool from the left side tool bar. I’m using the pencil tool because this is a very loose hand-written type font. If you would like more control, you can also use the pen tool. Just DO NOT use the blob brush, we want single line strokes, no fills.

I set my fill to “nothing” and my stoke to black. You can pick whatever color you like as long as it is visible against the typed words.

I’m going to start tracing over my typed letters with the pencil tool. I sometimes need to stop and pick up my pencil, that’s okay! If you want your line to continue once you start drawing again make sure to start on the square anchor point where you stopped.

If your lines look a little wonky, it’s ok, we’ll go back at the end and refine everything.

Once I get my letters completed, I turn off the layer with the typed text. My letters definitely need some refining!

With the Direct Selection tool I can go in and delete anchor points that I don’t need and adjust my curves with the little handles as needed.

Once I get my letters to my liking, I make each word a Compound Path.

Now it’s time to export! I select the little box with an arrow in the upper right corner and select “Publish and Export.”

I select SVG and click “Export.”

I save it to my Illustrator files on my iPad.

Now I’m going to test my file on my Cricut Maker. I open the Cricut app on my iPad and start a new project. I click the upload icon at the bottom of the screen and select “browse files.”

I select the Illustrator folder and find the file I just created.

I get this error message because I forgot to delete the layer that I actually typed the text on, it’s fine. Just press OK.

Name the image if you want and press save.

Now I select the image that I just uploaded and press Insert.

Now the image is on my canvas, I’m going to select “Edit” in the tool bar along the bottom to change my linetype to “Draw” instead of “Cut.”

I’m going to test it first with a fine point black pen. So that is what I select from the draw menu.

I’m going to scale my letters up a bit and then test on my machine.

Here is my first test with the black fine point pen.

Here is my second test with my metallic gold marker. It looks like my marker is drying out a bit, but it gives kind of a cool brush stroke effect.

I tried out my debossing tip for the first time, I need to play around with the settings to see if I can make it deeper, but it could be a pretty cool effect for a thank you card.

Filled Shapes and Words with the Foil Quill and Cricut Maker

Hi Everyone! This week is a continuation of last week’s post. I’m testing my Happy Birthday filled SVG file and some filled shapes with my We R Memory Keepers Foil Quill.

After last week’s tutorial I still wanted to try my filled SVG design with my We R Memory Keepers Foil Quill. So I gave it a try and the results were pretty nice, but still not as great as I had hoped. I have a love hate relationship with my Foil Quill, sometimes it gets the job done fine, other times I get very uneven results. I wasn’t sure if it was me, the foil quills, my cardstock, or a combination of everthing. My fine point tip has always had some weird corrosion on the metal tip, I have never used it because it scares me. But by the time I had opened and tried out my set I was way past any return policies, so I just kept it and and mainly used the medium and bold tip. The medium tip is my usual go to, but I feel like I was always getting spotty/ uneven results. I don’t know if there’s something wrong with the wiring or what. I would feel the plastic around the metal tip after heating it up for 10 minutes and it felt slightly warm, but not really hot. I had better results with my bold tip, but sometimes I want a finer line.

So long story short, JoAnn’s had the Foil Quill set on sale this weekend for 60% off, so I bought another set just to test it. I think my old set was a dud, the new set gets much hotter, no corrosion on any of the tips and it works SO much better!

The WRMK foil quill is my new favorite for filling in words and shapes! (Sorry Cricut Foil Transfer Tool.)

I tried out my Happy Birthday filled SVG that I made last week. It’s so pretty in person, photos don’t do it justice! Keep in mind that this technique will never be flat that foiling with a laser printer and laminator. But I kind of like the texture the foil quill gives.

Medium Tip, Rose Gold Foil

Medium Tip, Rose Gold Foil

Then I tested all 3 tips that came in my set. Each tip was tested with a 1 inch square and 1 inch star. I wanted to see how the tips did with different spacing between the lines. I tried them with lines spaced 1 point apart, 1.5 points apart and 2 points apart.

I wish Cricut Design Space had an easy way to do fills like the Silhouette software. I had to make all of my fills in Illustrator and import them as SVGs into Design Space.

Fine Tip Foil Quill

The fine tip is not great if you want a more solid fill. It ended up tearing the foil sheet while it was transferring. But it did a gorgeous job with the lines spaced 2 points apart. Something keep in mind if you want an engraved or etched look to your design.

Ripped foil sheet from the Fine Point quill

Fine Tip, Rose Gold Foil

Fine Tip, 2 point space between lines

Medium Tip Foil Quill

The medium tip is probably my favorite for a solid fill. I like the medium tip best with the lines spaced 1 point apart. I personally like the linear texture and it gives my design a little bit more dimension.

Sorry, the foils are really hard to photograph and this photo doesn’t really do it justice. It’s really beautiful in person!

Here it is at a bit of an angle, so pretty!

Stunning on black cardstock too!

Bold Tip Foil Quill

The bold tip gives the smoothest and flatest fill, it would be my second choice for this technique.

Bold Tip, Rose Gold Foil

Bold Tip, Rose Gold Foil

Bold Tip, Gold Foil

Bold Tip, Gold Foil

Making Filled Letter Draw Files for Design Space in Adobe Illustrator

Hi Everyone! This week I’m going to show you how I make filled letters in Adobe Illustrator to use with any of the drawing tools in Design Space (pens, foil transfer tool, foil quill, etc.)

Truth be told, I do about 95 percent of my design work outside of Design Space. I work faster and more precisely in Illustrator, probably because I’ve been using for over 15 years!

You will need:

• Adobe Illustrator (you can sign up for a 30 day free trial if you just want to test it out)

• A font of your choice (you can use any of the free ones that are available with Illustrator or any fonts you have purchased).

• Cricut Design Space

• Cricut Machine (I have a Maker)

• Whatever materials you want to use to test your design

Let’s get started! (Links in the article below may be affiliate links.)

My birthday was a couple of days ago, so I’m going to do a retro script Happy Birthday.

The font i’m using is called Fountain, I purchased it from Design Cuts. One of my favorite sources for fonts!

I type “Happy” as one word and “Birthday” as a separate word. I want my letters to be a little beefier so I added a 2pt stroke around them.

I make sure the ends of my strokes are rounded and my corners are also rounded so I don’t get any weird sharp angles.

Then I expand my letters, so they’re paths and no longer active type. I outline the strokes around the letters.

Then using the path finder tool box I unite Happy into one path, and Birthday into one path.

I add a 1pt stroke around each so they look like they are outlined and I change the fill to No Fill. Then group all the letters (Shift + G).

To make the the fill for the letters I make a 1pt stroke that is 8 inches long (or what ever size you will need to cover all your letters)

Then, holding the Option + Shift button I make a copy of that line and place it right next to the first line. (i’m using red for my fill lines just so they’re easier to see)

The I hold down Command +D to do that same same action over and over again until I have pretty much a square shape made out of a bunch on lines.

I select all of the lines and group them together (Command + G). Then I rotate the group 45 degrees. (You don’t have to rotate the lines, I just like the slanted look with my font)

I’m going to copy and paste my letters and place them on top of the group of lines. I’m going to turn off one of the sets of letters (click the eyeball on the layers panel). I’m going to turn the other set of letters into a compound path and remove the stroke around it.

Select the group of letters and the group of lines and type Shift + M to get the Shape Builder tool. That’s how we’re going to trim our lines so they only fill the letters.

“But why aren’t you just making a clip mask?” Design Space doesn’t recognize clip masks and will expand the clip mask once you import the SVG into Design Space.

Holding the Option or Alt key, I’m going to click and drag my mouse along the lined areas I want to remove. My design is going to start looking like the below.

You can turn on the layers with the letters that still have the stroke outline so it’s easier for you to see the areas you need to remove.

Just keep pressing Option or Alt and clicking and dragging along the areas you want to remove. Some sections might take a minute to update.

Eventually your design will look like this:

Save your file as and SVG. Then we’re going to test it in Design Space. When you upload your file it’s going to bring it in as a “Cut Image.” That’s fine, just click “Upload.”

After you’ve inserted your image onto the canvas, we will change the Linetype to a draw style. With the new Design Space update this is called “Operation” instead of Linetype.

I’m going to select Foil > Medium.

I’m going to change my foil color to purple since I will be testing that color. (it’s not necessary to change the foil color)

I’m zoomed in to 200% so you can see all the little lines.

Don’t forget to “Attach” everything, and then press “Make it”

I tested my design on black 100lb cardstock, using “Less Pressure” with the Cricut foil transfer tool.

Here’s what it looked like after I removed the foil.

I’m pretty happy with the foil transfer results. Next I tried my Cricut Silver Glitter Gel pen. It came out pretty nice too.

My least favorite was the Cricut Gold Marker, the tip is too thick for this style and the moisture from the marker makes the cardstock get clumpy.

Overall I’m really happy with the results from the Foil Transfer tool and the Silver Glitter Gel pen. I’ll have to try a few more tests with the Foil Quill and the regular fine point pens.

Creating an Offset for Stickers in Adobe Illustrator - Method 2

Hi Everyone! This week I’m going to show you another way to make an offset for a sticker using Adobe Illustrator. This method uses the Image Trace function.

All you need is your sticker artwork and Adobe Illustrator. Let’s get started!

First I place my artwork onto my canvas. My artwork is a PNG file, so there’s no background.

I’m going to make a copy of my artwork directly on top of the original (Command + C ,Command + F)

Select the top image with the black arrow (V). The Image Trace button should appear in the toolbar across the top of the window. Click the down arrow in the Image Trace box and select Black and White Logo.

After it gives you your preview, select the dialog box to make adjustments.

In the Image Trace dialog box, adjust the Threshold to 254 (you can either move the slider or type in the the box). Click the arrow next to Advanced and make the following adjustments:

• Paths - set to Low

• Corners - set to Less

• Noise - set to 1

• Method - Abutting

• Create - check the Fills box

• Check the Ignore White Box

Then click the EXPAND Button in the tool bar across the top of the window.

In the layers panel I can see I have a Compound Path and some individual paths.

Select all of the Compound Paths and release them.

Then I’m going to select the entire group that was made from Image Trace and in the Pathfinder tool dialog box I’m going to select Unite.

I still have a big area of white that I need to fill in. I’m going to use the Blob Brush (Shift + B) to fill in any stray white areas.

After all the stray white areas are filled in, I’m going to go to OBJECT > Path > Simplify. Then you can adjust the slider to help smooth your path.

After you simplify your path, go to OBJECT > Path > Offset Path. I selected 8pt for my offset, you can adjust yours depending on how wide you want your offset.

Then you can select the original inside path and DELETE it.

In your layers panel, drag the new offset below your artwork. Your artwork should now be showing on top of the offset.

At this point my whisker area looks too pointy for me, I’m going to use the Pencil tool and the Smooth tool to help reshape that area.

Once I get the shape to my liking, I can change the color of my offset to white with a black stroke so I can get an idea of how this is going to look as a sticker.

Now this cute little guy is ready to be a sticker! Check my blog post from last week to see how I save my offsets as SVGs and cut them with my Cricut Maker.

Link to last week’s blog post: