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.

Low Poly Heart Box

Hi Everyone,

This week I’m working on some Valentine’s Day designs. I’ve been testing a pattern for a heart box on my Silhouette and Cricut machines so I can post here and in my Etsy shop. Here are the project details for making this on a Cricut Maker if you want to try it out for yourself!

Supplies:

(some links below may be affiliate links)

My Heart Box Pattern SVG

Cricut Machine (I will be using my Maker)

Light Grip mat (the blue one)

8.5” x 11” Foil Cardstock (or whatever cardstock you prefer)

Scoring Wheel or Scoring Stylus

Fine Point Blade

Tape runner or glue pen

Upload to SVG into Cricut Design Space and insert it onto a blank canvas.

The top heart is the back of the box, to bottom heart is the front of the box. The back of the box is slightly smaller than the front.

Select the groups that contains the score lines and change them from Basic Cut to Score Lines. Now your score lines should look like dashed lines.

This part is optional, but since I’m using 8.5x11 cardstock I want to make sure my hearts are placed so they cut in the correct area.

Make an 8.5 x 11 rectangle and put it behind the hearts. Make sure the hearts fit within the rectangle. Attach just the hearts together, leave the rectangle on it’s own.

Make the material color for the hearts White so we can see them in the next step.

Press the Make It button, now we should have 2 mats - one with the hearts and one with the rectangle.

Select the mat with the hearts and click the 3 small dots. Select Move Object in the pop up box.

Select the mat with the rectangle in the pop up box and click Confirm. Now your hearts and rectangle will be on the same mat, but you can move them around separately.

Select the rectangle and move it as close to the 1x1 position on the mat. The red border at the bottom will keep you from moving it all the way to the 1x1 position.

Now select the hearts and move them so they are centered left to right on the rectangle and the bottom point of the heart is touching the bottom red border line and the bottom of the rectangle.

Select the rectangle again, click the 3 dots in the corner and select Hide Object from the pop up.

Now we are left with just the hearts on the cutting mat and the rectangle is hidden.

Place your cardstock on your Light Grip mat, the Top left corner of the cardstock should be at the 1 x1 position.

Since I’m using foil cardstock, I decided to use the Foil Posterboard material setting on my machine for this project.

After I select my material it shows me the tools I will need. It calls for the double scoring wheel, but if you prefer to use the single scoring wheel or scoring stylus, click where it says Edit Tools in green.

I’m going to use the single scoring wheel, so I select it and click apply. Now it’s time to load my mat and press go!

After it’s done scoring I need to switch to the fine point blade.

Once the machine is done cutting, before removing the mat, check to see that the blade cut all the way though your material. Mine did, so I can unload the mat. If it didn’t, press the Cricut button again on machine and it will do another round of cutting.

Now it’s time to assemble! It doesn’t matter if you start with the front or back heart. If you forget which piece is which, lay them on top of each other, the back heart piece is slightly smaller than the front heart heart piece.

The areas in red will need tape or glue applied when assembling.

I like to fold all of my score lines before I start taping/ glueing. I’m going to start at the center of the heart, these 2 pieces in the center need to be folded in the opposite direction of all the other lines.

Then I fold all my other lines.

I’m going to use double sided tape to assemble this, but you can also use glue. Again, I’m going to start at the center of the heart. I apply my tape to the flap and line up the edge with my score line.

I do the same thing for the other side. Then the little tab needs to be on the inside of the heart, and taped.

Then I move to the top of the heart, apply tape or glue to the little tab. Line up the score line to the cut edge and secure it.

I work my way all around so all the little tabs are taped/ glued.

Now one side is finished and I repeat the same process for the other heart piece.

Now I put them together, the back nests inside the front. This is a view of the back.

Now you have a cute little heart box! You can even cut some vinyl to add names or cute little messages to the front heart.

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!

Foiling with the Cricut Fine Deboss Tip

Links in the article below may be affiliate links.

Hi Everyone! I’ve been doing some more experimenting with my Fine Deboss Tip for my Cricut Maker. You can even use this tip for foiling!

Please note: The Deboss Tip only works with the Maker machine, it is used with the quick swap housing.

I’m showing this method because I can use the Deboss tip with the Cricut App on my iPad. For some reason the actual Foil Transfer tool is not compatible with the Cricut App.

You need to use a pressure sensitive foil. So I tried out the foil that is used with the Cricut Foil Transfer tool and the Silhouette brand pressure sensitive foil.

Here are my results:

Cricut Brand Foil Transfer

I am testing some single line words and a few filled shapes with the Cricut brand foil and the fine deboss tip on 100lb cardstock. I select the 100lb cardstock from my materials, with default pressure.

Fine Deboss tip with Cricut Gold Foil, default pressure.

The foil transferred in a few places, but far from a success.

Fine Deboss Tip, Cricut Gold Foil

Next I tried 100lb cardstock, more pressure.

I snuck a peek after 1 full pass. It did a little better than the default pressure, but still not great.

Fine Deboss tip, more pressure, one full pass.

I didn’t unload my mat so I could try sending it through my machine one more time. Definitely better than the default pressure, but still not great.

Second pass, more pressure

I made one last attempt with the Cricut foil, this time I tried with the medium 80lb cardstock setting. What a disaster! It tore the foil paper on default and light pressure. I didn’t even attempt more pressure.

Medium 80lb cardstock, default pressure. Tearing the foil.

Medium 80lb cardstock, less pressure. Also tore the foil.

So the deboss tip doesn’t really work with the Cricut Foil.

Silhouette Brand Foil Transfer

I’ve seen a few you tube videos of people using the Silhouette foil transfer sheets, it’s intended to be used with the Curio machine, so I hope the foil doesn’t get discontinued like the Curio machine. But I thought I would give it a shot. They’re a little pricier than the Cricut foils and fewer color choices. I mainly use gold, silver and rose gold anyway, so it’s not a huge deal for me. Sometimes they go on sale, so keep an eye out for that.

It’s a lot thicker than the Cricut Foil and you need to remove the back carrier sheet before placing it over whatever you’re foiling.

Remove the backing sheet!!

I started out with the 100lb cardstock default pressure again. When I first remove the film after it’s done, it looks kind of scary, but you can clean up the excess pieces and edges with blue painters tape or Washi tape.

After cleaning it up, the results are pretty good. It’s REALLY shiny compared to the Cricut Foil. The filled circles look spectacular! Pretty smooth and flat. It occasionally misses parts of some of the letters and the edges aren’t super crisp.

Filled Circles before cleaning up the edges

After cleaning up the edges with Washi tape.

I tried the 100lb card stock setting with More pressure, that came out ok, the edges are not as clean as the default pressure.

Silhouette Foil, 100lb cardstock, More Pressure

I also tried the Medium cardstock setting, Default pressure, just to compare the results. The foil did not stick at all!!

80lb cardstock setting, Default pressure

Overall, I think I like the results with the 100lb cardstock, default pressure the best. The lettering is OK, but it would not be suitable for really small text. I don’t think this would be a great option for very detailed, intricate designs either. It worked really well with the filled circles, so this could be a good option for filled shapes or thicker solid stripes.

It’s another foiling technique you can use if you work primarily with the Cricut App, or you don’t want to purchase the Foil Transfer tool or the Foil Quill.

I just got my Silhouette Portrait 3 machine, so I’m excited to try the Silhouette foil with that in the future!

Cricut Design Space vs Silhouette Studio - Curved Text

Hi Everyone! This week I’m going to compare how to curve text in Cricut Design Space versus Silhouette Studio.

Let get started!

Cricut Design Space

Truth be told, I usually don’t make any of my text directly in Design Space, it’s such a headache! Curving text in Cricut Design Space is pretty easy, but VERY primitive and limited. I typically make my text and do any curving or warping effects in Illustrator, then upload my file as an SVG into Design Space.

But I’m going to go ahead and demo making the text only in Design Space so you can see for yourself. First, I’ll start by typing my text. I’m going to do something pretty simple like “Happy Birthday.” The font I’m using is called Alek Bold, it’s one of my system fonts. I refuse to pay for Cricut fonts.

Once I’ve typed my words and selected my font, I will adjust the kerning (Letter Space) so my letters are touching. For some reason by default Design Space really likes to S P R E A D out the letters.

I bring my letters closer together to they’re actually touching like they’re supposed to. But now my space in between Happy and Birthday is gone! Even if I add extra spaces in the text box, nothing!! Super annoying, but moving on.

With my text still selected, I will click on “Curve” in the toolbar across the top. I move the slider to the right to get a nice curve.

My letters get spread out on the curve so I need to adjust my kerning (letter spacing) again. Still no space between Happy & Birthday :(

I also wish I could move my letters along the curve so my H and Y at the ends are level with each other.

You can play around with the slider to get convex or concave curves or you do a complete circle (the letter spacing looks even more ridiculous). And that’s about all you can do with curved text in Design Space. So far, I’m still very underwhelmed with the feature and will continue creating my type in Illustrator or Silhouette Studio.

Silhouette Studio

I’m going to try Happy Birthday in the same font in Silhouette Studio. I don’t have to adjust the kerning in Silhouette Studio yet, it uses the default for the font, yay!!

Silhouette Studio has a really cool feature called Text to Path that I’m going to use to curve my type.

First I’m going to draw a circle.

Then I’m going to Double Click on my text so a little 4-pointed arrow shows up.

I’m going to click on the 4 -pointed arrow and drag my text over the outline of the circle. My text will snap to the circle starts following the curve!!

I can click and drag my text to slide my letters along the circle so I can get the placement I want.

Now I’m going to adjust my kerning (character spacing) a little bit, but I still have have the space between Happy & Birthday and my letters are touching!

I can also use the little slider to make my text move above the baseline of my shape. Again, I may need to do a little adjusting to the kerning.

Or I can move my text to the bottom of the circle.

And again, use the little vertical slider to move it further out from the circle.

The Text to path also works on a regular path. I can draw a wavy line and the text will follow the line!

Once again, Silhouette Studio is so much more powerful than Cricut Design Space!

How to Clean Your Cricut Mat, the Easy Way

Hi Everyone! This week I’m going to share my favorite method for cleaning my Cricut mats.

If you’ve been doing quite a bit of cutting, especially with cardboard or mat board , your mat can start to get little pieces of material stuck to it. This happens to my purple (Strong Grip) mat that I use when cutting mat board. If your mat is too dirty, then your materials won’t stick as well and your material can shift while the machine is cutting.

Little bits of mat board stuck to my cutting mat.

The good news is, you don’t need to throw your mat away and buy a new one! I like to clean my mats quickly and easily with alcohol free baby wipes. It’s by far the fastest and easiest method I have found. Also, once your mat is dry, it’s still sticky!

Depending on how dirty your mat is, you probably only need 1 baby wipe per mat. If mine’s super dirty, sometimes 2 wipes.

I like to scrunch up my wipe and go over my mat in a CIRCULAR motion. If I’m starting to get a pile of little material bits as I’m cleaning I try to push them to the edges of my mat so I can wipe them off into the trash.

Scrunch up the baby wipe, go over your mat in circular motion.

Clean, but still damp mat. Allow to air dry for 1-2 hours

After my mat is completely wiped, I let is air dry for an hour or two and it’s done! If you’re not going to use your mat right away, be sure to put the clear plastic cover back on the mat to keep it clean for your next use.

That’s it! Super simple. No need to scrape off your mat and re-sticky it like other people suggest.

Cricut Design Space vs Silhouette Studio - Filled Letters

The offset feature in Cricut Design Space finally offers a way to fill in letters directly in Design Space. Although, this is far from my favorite method for filling in letters, it’s another useful technique to have in your arsenal.

Cricut Design Space - Filled Letters using Offset method

This took a bit of trial and error to get an end result I was satisfied with, nothing is ever as simple as it seems with Cricut Design Space, LOL!

I typed the word “love” first. I’m using one of my system fonts - Very Berry. Of course the letter spacing (kerning) is absurd, so I have to adjust that first.

Then in order to get the offset to behave how I want, I need to “flatten” my text layer so it becomes a “Print then Cut” layer.

Then, with my flattened layer selected, I click on the offset button in the top tool bar. I type in -0.014 inches, that’s basically equivalent to a 1pt offset in Illustrator, which is how close I like to keep my lines if I’m going for a solid filled text. Note: You have to type -0.014 in the box, it’s such a small measurement you cannot use the slider.

Next, so I can actually see my offset lines, I change my offset layer to a “Draw” operation and change the line color to something bright and contrasting against the flattened black layer.

I select the offset layer I just created and then click the offset button again. It’s already set to the -0.014 inches, so I click apply. I change my line color again so I can see it against the flattened black layer.

I keep repeating the same offset until I get my letters filled as much as I can.

Once it’s all filled in with the offset lines, I select my original Flattened layer and “Unflatten” it. Then I “weld” the letters together.

Note: You CANNOT weld the letters together at the very beginning, the inner loops of the letters will not be offset properly.

I also tried the process with an SVG file that I imported from Illustrator. I prefer creating my words in Illustrator first, it’s much easier to adjust the kerning and use any special glyphs.

I upload my SVG as usual and change my Linetype from “Basic Cut” a “Draw” linetype.

Then I applied the -0.014 inch offset to the offset over and over again until my word was filled as much as possible.

After I show you the Silhouette Studio method we will test all the different fills on my Cricut Maker Machine.

Silhouette Studio - Filled Letters

Silhouette Studio has an awesome Line Effects tool that you can use to fill words.

I open my same SVG file that I created in Illustrator and click on the Line Effects tool on the right tool bar.

I’m going to copy and paste my word so I can use one to draw an outline completely around the word, I think that gives it a cleaner look.

There are a few different line types you can use for fills. The first one I’m going to pick is the just the straight lines. It’s simple and it’s one of my favorites.

It starts off looking horizontal and pretty spaced out.

I type my 0.014 inches in the spacing box and -45 degrees in the angle to get the close diagonal lines I’m going for.

I use the Align tool in the toolbar across the top to line up my fill lines with the outline.

Next, I duplicate both layers and then I pick the crosshatch fill. I’m going to keep my spacing at 0.014 inches and a -45 degree angle.

I duplicate my words again and I pick the concentric circles, this gives the same look as the offset in Cricut Design Space. I keep my spacing at 0.014 inches.

The last one I’m going to try is the spiral. It already has an outline so I can delete one of my layers. I keep my spacing at 0.014 inches and my angle at -45 degrees.

Since I have the Business editon of Silhouette Studio, I can save my file as an SVG so I can import it into Cricut Design Space.

I’m open my SVG in Cricut Design Space. I need to change the linetype to “Draw.” For some reason my SVG is twice the size it was in Silhouette Studio, so I’m going to scale it back down to size.

Here’s a comparison of the offset from Design Space and the Concentric circle fill in Silhouette Studio.

Time to test the different fills! I’m going to use my We R Memory Keepers foil quill, medium tip on cardstock with my Cricut Maker.

Here are the different results, my favorite is still the diagonal line fill at 45 degrees. The crosshatch and spirals both have some interesting textures. The offset is still not my favorite, the lines start to create weird little areas at some of the intersections.

Which fill style is your favorite?

Cricut Design Space vs Silhouette Studio - Offset Feature

Cricut users have been asking for an offset feature for years and Cricut finally announced offset is available in Design Space.

Here’s a quick little comparison of the offset feature in Cricut Design Space vs in Silhouette Design Studio.

Offset in Cricut Design Space

For the offset feature in Cricut Design Space I’m using the most current version to date 6.6.112. According to the Offset pop up window this feature is still in Beta.

Some things to take note of for using offset in Design Space:

• You MUST be in the NEW Canvas Style, it is not available in the Classic Canvas setting. So that’s a bummer when you have to switch your project to Classic Canvas when the New Canvas is being glitchy (which seems to happen pretty frequently in past versions of Design Space, we’ll see how the newest update has improved).

• It is currently only available in the Desktop version of Design Space. That’s a real bummer for the sticker makers who want to do everything on their iPad or Android Tablet.

To start, I uploaded a PNG file of a watercolor design I made using Procreate. One of the things I love about watercolor are the rough little edges. But I don’t necessarily want the rough edges on my cut line. Let’s see how the Cricut offset feature does with those rough edges.

The default offset appears to be 0.25 inches. There are some obvious little bumps and some weird little jagged spots. I don’t see any kind of smoothing option, maybe something they could consider adding in the future.

Next I’m going to try to make the offset a little narrower, I’m going to use 0.125 inches (That’s 1/8 of an inch). I’m going to use the slider to adjust the measurement. There’s still quite a bit of bumpiness and some more jagged areas on the offset line.

I can use the Contour function to get rid of the cut inside the “L” loop. In order to be able to use the Contour function I have to change my offset from “Print & Cut” to “Basic Cut.”

I’m also going to try an even smaller offset, 1/16 inch. I can use the slider, but it becomes more difficult to get the exact value for 1/16. It ends of being easier to just type it in the box 0.0625.

Again, I change the “Print then Cut” offset to a “Basic cut” so I can use Contour to remove the cut from inside the L loop and E loop.

Save your file and let’s get ready to test our offset cuts!

Don’t forget to flatten your artwork and the offset together!

I’m going to do a test Print then Cut. I’m using plain copy paper for my test so I don’t waste my sticker paper.

The little jagged pieces are definitely there, they don’t look as terrible once I pull the piece off the mat. But I would never sell a sticker with this kind of rough cut edge. Yes, I even used a brand new blade for this cut!

I tried this little guy too. He’s a PNG I imported from procreate. The offset is 1/16 inch. There’s a weird little cut area by his ear. I changed the line to a Basic cut line and there’s no option to use the contour feature, so I can’t even get rid of the line! I didn’t even bother printing and cutting him. I’m better off adding an offset to him via Illustrator like in my previous posts.

The offset probably works great for images with smooth edges and vectors, but that’s not always the kind of artwork I’m using. Nice try Cricut, maybe try adding a smoothing option to the offset dialog box.

Offset in Silhouette Studio

Right out of the gate Silhouette Design Studio blows away Cricut Design Space. Am I being biased? Probably. But in the short time I’ve been using Silhouette Design Studio, it has been soooo much easier for me to achieve the offsets and cut lines that I want. Another Bonus that a lot of the Illustrator keyboard shortcuts also work in Silhouette Studio. Cmd + /- to zoom in and out, Alt + Drag to copy and paste, Spacebar to pan around my canvas. I’m loving Silhouette Studio so far!

I opened the same Love PNG file in Silhouette Studio. It does make my PNG gigantic initially, but it’s not a problem to shrink it down to size.

I tried the same offset measurements that I used in Cricut Design Space. I started out with a 0.25 inch Offset. You will need to select if you want an internal or external offset instead of Cricut’s slider bar. The offset is already so much smoother than the Cricut version, no little jagged bits!

Next I tried the offset at 1/8 inch (0.125). Again, waaaaaay smoother than the Cricut version.

Finally I tried a 1/16th (0.0625) offset. Still much, much better than the Cricut version. I can even refine the edge more by smoothing, adjusting or deleting anchor points on my offset path in the Silhouette software.

If I don’t want to cut the loops inside some of the letters I can easily select them and press “Delete”

I even tested this little guy again, 1000x better than Cricut’s offset.

I can also refine the edges of his offset even more by using the Smooth tool, or deleting anchor points, or adjusting the anchor points.

I don’t have a Silhouette machine yet to test the cut on one of their machines. But I do have the Business Edition upgrade so I can save my file as a PNG and upload it to Cricut Design Space to test the cut.

I have to save this file with the offset as a PNG because an SVG with this type of watercolor artwork does not import correctly into Design Space.

Make sure the Offset stroke lines are set to white or no stroke so they don’t appear in the PNG file.

I select save as PNG to my hard d rive, check the transparent background box and make my DPI 300.

Then I upload my file into Cricut Design Space as a Print then Cut image. I do have to resize again, for some reason PNGs are huge in both Design Space and Studio

Look how much smoother and more refined the offset cuts are! I can’t wait to get my Silhouette machine to test how it cuts!

No little jagged edges!

Sorry for the curling, these a just plain paper that I peeled off my blue mat.

It’s Silhouette Studio for the win! The offset lines in Silhouette Studio already start out much smoother than in Cricut Design Space and I can always smooth them out even more or make adjustments to the offset lines in Silhouette Studio.

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.

Kiss Cut Stickers on My Cricut Maker

Hello again! This week I’m going to to share the materials and settings I use to make my kiss cut stickers with my Cricut Maker.

Note: I’m cutting full 8.5 x11 sheets of sticker paper. I’m NOT using Cricut’s Print then Cut setting.

If you want me to go more in depth into any of the steps, let me know in the comments below!

Let’s get started!

Supplies: (Links below may be affiliate links)

• Color Inkjet or laser printer

• Cricut Maker

• Fine Point Blade

• Light Grip Mat (the blue one)

• Printable Sticker Paper (I’m using this one from Online Labels)

• Artwork for your stickers (I’m using my Valentine’s Day Clip Art)

I resized and laid out some of the elements from my clip art onto an 8.5 x 11 art board in Adobe Illustrator. (I originally drew my clip art in Procreate on my iPad and brought it into Photoshop to clean it up and make individual PNGs.)

I create a new layer below the sticker artwork. Then I used the Blob Brush (Shift + B) In Illustrator to make my cut lines around my stickers. (There are many other ways to do this, you may have a different method that you prefer).

I made my cut lines with a bright blue fill so they’re easier to see, you can make them any color you like.

I used the pen tool (P) to make registration marks in the 4 corners of the art board.

Save the file as and AI (Illustrator) file.

Then delete the actual sticker images so you only have the cut lines and registration marks. Save that as an SVG file (you will be uploading this to Design Space).

Re-open the AI file, and hide the layer with the cut lines and registration marks.

Now lets print our sticker artwork! Make sure your are printing your artwork at 100% scale, DO NOT select fit to page.

My printer takes forever, so while it’s printing I’m going to set up my cut file in Design Space. Upload the SVG the you saved of just the cutlines & registration marks. Select INSERT IMAGE.

Select the top layer so everything in the cut file is selected - cut lines & registration marks. Check the size of your artwork and make sure it’s 8.5 x 11.

Everything is 8.5 x 11 so with all the layers still selected, I’m going to click ATTACH then SAVE then MAKE IT.

I want the top left corner registration mark as far to the left and top of the mat as Design Space will allow me to go.

I’ve already done some alignment tests with my machine. (If you would like to see a post about my alignment process, leave a note in the comments section below). I’m going to place my printed sticker paper on my mat, right up against the white paper border I have in the corner.

The paper border in the corner represents the area of the mat that the machine will not cut, it’s the same as the area in Design Space where I cannot move my artwork beyond.

Then I’m going to press CONTINUE in Design Space.

For my material I’m going to select WASHI SHEET. So far, this is the best setting I have found for this particular paper and making kiss cut stickers.

(I was going to make a post on how to make your own custom material setting in Design Space, but it’s very glitchy. I’ve reported it and I’m waiting to hear back from the Cricut Team)

Load my Fine Point blade, load my mat into my machine and press GO!

Once it’s done cutting, unload your mat and CAREFULLY remove the sticker sheet from the mat.

Now you have a sheet of cute custom stickers!

FREE Template DIY Cricut Tool & Blade Organizer

Hi Everyone! This year one of my goals is to better organize all of my craft and art supplies. I have A LOT! I don’t have a pretty little workspace like you see all over Pinterest. They’re very cute, but just not practical for me. ( I’m guessing these people don’t have cats or dust in their house.)

I’ve been buying a lot of clear acrylic storage bins on Amazon to help organize my stuff. They MUST have a lid to help keep the dust out and they have to fit in one of the cubbies at them end of my work desk.

I found some smaller one’s intended for make up brushes, but I decided to use one for my Cricut tools and blades. Yes, I know Cricut has their own round organizer, I almost bought it. But then I realized, it won’t fit in my storage tote with my machine, it won’t fit in my desk cubbies with my other bins, and I don’t intend to leave it out on my desk. You can also store the blades in the front flap of the machine, but I know myself, and I will forget to take out all the blades/ tools I need for a particular project before I start my machine.

So today I wanted to share how I made my storage solution that works for me. I’m also sharing the template that I made for FREE!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section. I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can!

Supplies: (Links below may be affiliate links)

• Small Acrylic Make Up Brush Organizer Box from Amazon (this is for a set of 2, you can make another one for your friend or use it to organize other stuff)

• My template, you can download the SVG file here for FREE (for personal use only, please do not sell or redistribute my file)

• Cricut Maker

• Strong Grip Mat (the purple one)

• Deep Point Blade (to cut the foam)

• Knife Blade (to cut the chipboard, you should be able to use this for the foam too if you don’t have the deep cut blade)

• 2mm 9”x12” Foam Sheets (at least 2 sheets) I’m using black, but you can use any color.

• 2mm Heavy Chipboard or other stiff material for backing

• masking tape or painter’s tape

• glue

• a paintbrush you don’t care about ruining to apply glue

Optional:

• FREE Blades + Tools SVG file

• Adhesive Foil (I used Gold)

Let’s get started!

Upload the FREE SVG file to Design Space and press SAVE.

Tip: If you are using Safari, right click on the button below and select “Download linked file” and it will save the SVG file to your Downloads folder. If you are using Chrome, right click on the button below and select “Save Linked file” and choose where you want to save the SVG file.

Select the Image and press INSERT IMAGES.

Change the color of your MATERIAL so you can actually see the cut lines. I’m using pink, but you can use any color other than black.

Select the top most layer and click UNGROUP.

Select the top most group and click ATTACH.

Select the next group and click ATTACH.

Now I’m going to pre-set up my mats. I only have one Strong Grip mat, so I’m going to do it one mat at a time.

Side note: I tried using my regular green mat, it’s a little old, I don’t think it was sticky enough, the foam kept getting pulled up and ripped by the blade, even with the masking tape around the edges. If you have a fresh new green mat, it might be sticky enough.

For the 1st group to cut, duplicate the group with the tool shape cut outs (you will now have 2 of these showing) place the solid rectangle with finger holds below.

For the 2nd group to cut, duplicate the group with the tool shape cut outs, then place the solid rectangle below.

These will be your 2 mats.

Keep the material size at 12x12, so you can move your pieces toward the middle of the mat. I had better success cutting the foam if I placed toward the middle of my mat. Select the 2nd mat and move those pieces toward the middle of the mat also.

Place one of the foam sheets centered on the mat. Make sure the foam is oriented so the cut lines fall within the masking taped edges.

Press CONTINUE in Design Space.

Select EVA foam from your materials (I tried Craft Foam, but my pieces kept tearing).

Load the Deep Cut Blade or the Knife Blade into your machine.

Load the mat into your machine and press GO!

Once the machine is done cutting, check your cut to make sure it went all the way through, if it’s good, unload your mat.

Carefully remove the cut pieces from the mat.

Attach the 2nd piece of foam to the mat, making sure your cut lines fall within the taped edges. Load the mat into the machine and press GO!

Once the machine is done cutting, check your cut to make sure it went all the way through, if it’s good, unload your mat.

Go back to the CANVAS screen and and hide all the layers except for the solid rectangle with finger holds, we’re going to cut just this piece out of 2mm Chipboard or whatever other stiff material you have selected.

Press MAKE IT.

Move the piece slightly away from the edges of the mat. Use masking tape to attach the Chipboard to your mat.

Press CONTINUE.

Select 2mm Chipboard from your materials (or whatever material you are using). Load the Knife Blade into your machine, load the mat and press GO!

After a few passes, press the PAUSE button on your machine to check the progress of your cut. If it’s not cut all the way, press the GO button again and let it do a few more passes.

My machine was finished cutting after the 8th pass! No need for the 24 passes my machine wanted make, it would have cut clear through my mat! I hope Cricut will let us adjust the Knife Blade settings in the future.

When your cut is finished, eject your mat from the machine. Carefully remove the Chipboard from the mat.

Now we’re going to assemble all of our cut pieces. Let’s start from the bottom up.

I’m using the solid rectangular piece of foam for a little padding in the bottom layer. I just laid it in the bottom of the acrylic box, no glue or anything.

For the 2nd layer that hold the blades, I applied glue to the chip board first, spread out the glue into a thin layer with the paintbrush.

Then I placed the solid foam rectangle with the finger holds on top of the glue. While the glue is still wet you can slide the pieces around a little to make sure they are aligned.

The next layer is the foam with the cut outs for the blade housings and quick swap tips, glue the back side of this layer, then apply it to the top of the chipboard with the foam.

Next is the 2nd piece of foam with the cut outs for the blade housings and quick swap tips, glue the back side of this layer, then apply it to the top of the chipboard with the foam. Make sure to line up your edges while the glue is still wet.

Then apply glue to back of the one of the foam pieces with the cut outs for the blade housings, quick swap tips, and extra blades. Attach it to the chip board with the other foam layers, align your edges.

Finally, apply glue to the back of the remaining foam piece. Attach it to the chip board with the other foam layers, align your edges.

The wet glue makes the chipboard and foam warp a little bit. Place your foam and chipboard piece under a heavy book overnight to flatten it out.

Once your foam and chip board piece is flattened out, you can add your tools and blades!

For a finishing touch, you can make a label out of adhesive vinyl. You can download my FREE SVG Blades + Tools or create your own!