I received a Cricut Maker as a gift, and I'm not afraid to decorate it!
I recently received a brand new Cricut Maker as a gift from my Dad (not sponsored; I'm just spoiled). A Cricut Maker is a software-driven electronic die cutting machine. It cuts a variety of materials (e.g. paper, fabric, vinyl, leather, etc.) based on designs setup through the Cricut Design Space software program. There are a variety of tools that help with creating a craft project.
Personally, I'm looking forward to cutting and engraving materials. While I could go through some tutorials for using the sample materials that came in the package, I opted to jump directly into decorating my machine instead.
DISCLAIMER: This post is NOT a tutorial. I'm an amateur and had a fair amount of trial-and-error during the process. I listed my mistakes below. You could consider this a 'lessons learned' type of post.
Why Am I Decorating the Machine?
The Cricut Maker machine is clean and elegant looking. Some may see it as a pristine piece of equipment to proudly display in one's home or office. I see it as a blank canvas to 'play' with. I wanted to add my own personal touch to the exterior and interior of my machine so that when I see it on a shelf, or open it up to use it, I'm greeted with my own design.
Brainstorming a Design
I started by taking a photo of my new Cricut Maker on my smart phone. Since I own a Samsung Note 9, I utilized the S-pen to doodle a few ideas for decorating my machine. I knew I wanted to use my personal brand's name, logo, and colors. That made coming up with a few design ideas easy for me.
The Digital Design
Once I decided on a doodle, I went into Adobe Photoshop to create the different parts of the design. I thought the blob shapes would be perfect as a simple cut file. The logo was already good to go, since I created it months ago. I digitally created a rose and some hearts to later turn into stickers.
When I did my initial brainstorm on my phone, I was going to attempt to refine the rose and heart images. However, I liked how my doodle turned out on my phone and decided to keep it simple with recreating the doodles. This didn't take me long at all since I wasn't concerned about perfection.
I opened the Cricut Design Space on my Windows desktop, created a new project file, and uploaded the PNG files I just created in Photoshop. I spent quite a bit of time resizing, slicing, and welding the images. Although I've used Cricut Design Space to do quick image uploads and cuts in the past, I'm not all too familiar with the features available. So, it took some trial-and-error to get things setup the way I wanted.
When it came time to grab vinyl for cutting the blobs, I discovered that I didn't have any more blue adhesive vinyl. I really wanted the blobs to be blue, but the only blue I did have was a metallic party foil. Because I didn't want to go out and buy the 'right' vinyl for this craft project, I opted to use the party foil. BIG MISTAKE. You'll see why I regretted this later.
Cutting and Weeding
The load and cut process was easy. I've done it many times on my older Cricut Explore Air 2. However, I made a mistake when I peeled the larger blob directly off the mat. I considered this a mistake because placing the transfer tape over the blob shape was a bit of a hassle trying to make sure the bits and pieces were straight.
Fortunately, I realized my mistake early enough. I peeled the erroneous foil off the mat, leaving the two remaining blobs of the design. I placed transfer tape over the blobs, flipped the mat upside down, and then rolled the mat to more easily release the blobs with its bits and pieces intact.
A Messy Mistake
Remember when I said using the party foil was a mistake I'd regret? The party foil didn't have an adhesive backing, and I wanted to adhere the blob shapes onto my machine.
I was torn between using my Mod Podge or Loctite Spray Adhesive. I haven't used the spray adhesive before and thought it might be a less messy option. Well, I was wrong. I laid my foil pieces upside down outside in my backyard on a sidewalk. In my mind I pictured spraying a misty substance over the backs of my foil shapes for a light, even coat.
Instead, I ended up shooting a web-like stream onto the backs of my foil shapes. I wasn't sure if something was wrong at first, but I found the word "WEB" on the can, along with an icon that appears to be three streams coming out of the nozzle. So, I continued spraying my pieces, creating a streaming mess.
I also pretended to be Spiderman's accomplice. Many boards and tools' dastardly plans were "foiled" by our fantastic super partnership! I'm also not cleaning them off since my Dad left them out in the yard. They'll just have to stay sticky.
Cleanup Before the Next Step
As you saw in the previous images, there were a lot of sticky residue on my machine. The cleanup took the longest amount of time in this entire craft project. I tried using a plastic scraper, but it took too long. I tried using rubbing alcohol on a cloth, but it didn't do much with the amount of residue on my machine. I ran my fingers along the residue, and then I collected a small ball of sticky stuff.
Finally, the ball of sticky stuff made it much easier and slightly quicker (although not that much) to remove the rest of the residue. I dabbed the ball over the residue, sometimes pulling a decent amount off in seconds. I was worried I'd accidentally pull the residue out from under the foil. However, I think I used so much of the spray adhesive that there was no risk of the foil ever coming off the machine.
Print to Cut Stickers
At last! I moved on to the next step. I uploaded the logo, rose, and heart designs into the Cricut Design Space. I resized and duplicated the images to fill up an entire Cricut sticker sheet I planned to use. I turned on my printer, loaded my sticker sheet properly, and went through the motions to print my designs.
Of course, I mistakenly didn't check the printer settings before printing a full-page sticker sheet. I ended up with unwanted streaks running across the page.
I went through my printer settings before printing another sticker sheet. Everything looked great. Except I once again mistakenly didn't check my ink levels. While the sheet printed the best photo quality, the colors were saturated due to a few low ink levels. I also buy cheap inks, so that may have contributed to the saturated colors as well.
I didn't want to print another sheet, so I decided to use the second sheet to cut the stickers. Fortunately, I didn't make another mistake from this point forward.
The Conclusion
I made several amateur mistakes throughout this project, but overall, I'm happy with the final design. I also had fun, even though I had some minor stresses.
I even like having the metallic party foil add a bit of shine to my machine.
There were many lessons I learned during this craft project:
Brainstorming is helpful in having a clear idea of what you want to do.
Use vinyl with an adhesive backing. It makes Cricut crafting life so much easier!
Go buy a roll of adhesive vinyl to get the color you truly want, you lazy cheapskate!
After cutting foil with no adhesive backing, remove the erroneous, excess foil off the mat first. Place the transfer tape onto the pieces. Flip the mat over, and then roll the mat to easy remove the pieces intact on the transfer tape.
If you are applying adhesive to the back of a foil piece, maybe consider using something other than a spray adhesive.
If you use a spray adhesive, maybe consider using one that sprays a mist opposed to one that streams webs.
Don't waste 3/4 of a can of web-like spray adhesive to pretend you're a superhero's accomplice.
Use tape or other sticky substance to easily remove sticky residue off plastic.
Check the printer settings before starting a print to cut project.
Check the printer's ink levels before starting a print to cut project.
Metallic foil looks shiny, like a treasure from a sunken pirate wreck.
What's Next?
There are a few projects I'd like to try with my new Cricut Maker. I've wanted to make my own jigsaw puzzle for some time now. I also have a few blank metal tags I'd like to engrave.
If you have a Cricut, Silhouette, or other die-cutting machine, what are some projects you've used your machine for? Do you have any project suggestions for me to try as a new Cricut Maker owner? Login and Sign up to chat about the projects you've done.
I'm interested to see what else I can do with my Cricut Maker. If you're also interested, be sure to subscribe below to be notified when I post something new.
Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam