How To Cut Chipboard With The Cricut Maker

July 25, 2019 by Paula W

In today’s tutorial, we’re going to teach you exactly How To Cut Chipboard With The Cricut Maker. We are going to use our knife blade today and have a lot of fun getting crafty with the Cricut heavy chipboard. This is something Cricut has developed to work exclusively in the Maker. They’ve made it 11 by 11, making it perfect to use with the Cricut Maker.

If you haven’t tried using the knife blade yet, you’re in for some amazing crafting! It opens up the possibilities to so many different die-cutting projects that you can make with your Cricut machine. You’ll be able to cut many more materials than ever before. Chipboard, basswood, balsa wood, leather and other thicker materials are all available to you. Just think of the craft projects you could make!

How To Cut Chipboard With The Cricut Maker

Before we get started with the chipboard, let’s talk about this amazing knife blade. Now, the knife blade does not come when you buy the Cricut Maker. It is an add-on tool that you can buy in the Cricut website or on any craft store.

Check out this adorable little cake stand that we made out of the Cricut Heavy Chipboard. This is a Make It Now project from Cricut and as you can see it’s so adorable. It’s the perfect project to make with the use of your Cricut knife blade and your Cricut Maker.

Today we’re going to share our favorite tips and tricks for working with heavy-duty chipboard from Cricut. Let’s start by gathering up our supplies.

Supplies needed:

The Cricut knife blade – we’re going to put that into Clamp B
masking tape
a strong grip mat
chipboard of your choice. (Personally, I prefer using chipboard over wood just because in our research and testing, you get a much more consistent cut using the heavy-duty chipboard and it doesn’t take as long!)

Preparing your Chipboard

It’s really easy to prepare your chipboard. All you want to do is grab a sheet of chipboard and position it down onto your Cricut mat. I like to put it over in the left hand corner so you have a very large surface area to work with.

And then, we take the masking tape and go around all four edges of the chipboard. This is going to help position it and hold it down onto the mat.

Then the next thing is that you just want to take the knife blade and insert it into Clamp B. Simply place the part that’s not with the plastic into the clamp – press it in and close the clamp. It’s so easy to insert any of the tools into the adaptive tool system!

Working in Design Space

Now we’re in Design Space. Go over to “Upload”. We’re going to scroll through our own library because we’re using a file from our brand-new collection that is made especially for the adaptive tool system. We have a whole collection of cut files that we created to design and use for all of the different adaptive tools!

If you’re a Makers Gonna Learn member, you must check out this collection! Head on over there now and download this file so you can make these coasters along with us!

And if you’re not a member, what are you waiting for? Members receive access to our cut files as well as special member pricing on our online Summits, a private members only Facebook group, exclusive project tutorials, printable guidebook, and more. The perks for our yearly members are EVEN better! Find out more about our Makers Gonna Learn memberships here.

This is our hexagon coaster cut file. We are going to cut this at 5.6 by 10 inches and then click “Make it”. Then press continue.

Now we need to connect our machine so we’re going to connect via Bluetooth. Once we have connected to our machine, we can set our material. Click browse all material and just type in heavy and you will find heavy chipboard. This is heavy chipboard 2.0 mm so be sure to select that and press done.

It will ask if you want to calibrate your knife blade. I like to do this when I first receive a new blade so since we’ve already done that, we’re going to say no. It will then remind you to make sure material is no wider than 11 inches and is secured to a strong grip mat using masking tape on all four sides. You also need to move the star wheels all the way to the right.

So once you’re good to go, you can load the mat and if you haven’t done so already, load the knife blade in the clamp. Take note that you are going to have a longer cut time, so you need to be sure to keep your computer on throughout the whole cutting period. Be sure to turn sleep mode off so nothing interferes with your project! Once you’re good to go press that flashing Cricut button.

After only 13 out of 20 passes, it was already popping up off the mat so our cutting is complete! We can pop the pieces out now. I like to take the masking tape off to make it a little bit easier to remove all the pieces.

As you can see, the masking tape doesn’t interfere with cutting the project at all. Once you remove it, it’s like it was never even there in the first place!

Now you can paint this and create a really awesome coaster! My tip here is to use a sealer before you try painting. I like to use a spray sealer with this type of project. If you don’t seal before painting, the chipboard will just absorb and soak up your paint. It will take you coats and coats of paint!

Are you ready to start cutting chipboard with your Cricut maker and knife blade? I absolutely love the results of this and I think you are going to as well. What chipboard craft project will you make first?

If you’d like to get more information on getting access to our hundreds of different digital cut files as well as fonts and video training teaching you how to master your die-cutting machine be sure to check out our membership site Makers Gonna Learn. Happy crafting!

How To Make Waterslide Decals

July 17, 2019 by Paula W

Waterslide decals are getting more and more popular. This is a great craft technique to use on glasses, mugs, tumblers, and more. We love the look of them! So today, we’re going to tackle the basics of How To Make Waterslide Decals.

We’re always getting questions about waterslide decals. There are so many different ways you can make them and it can get confusing. We’ll show you the technique we prefer to use, taking you through it step by step, and sharing some great craft tips so you can then make your own waterslide decal projects.

How To Make Waterslide Decals

You can easily make your own colorful waterslide decals at home, using your Cricut machine to cut them out. Make a fantastic craft project for yourself or to give as a gift.

Materials:

Spin It waterslide decal paper
some water
Minwax fast-drying polyurethane spray sealer
bowl/plate where you can put your water and decal to let it soak
mug/tumblers
Makers Gonna Learn flower cut file
Cricut cutting machine

Instructions:

We’re creating a Print then Cut project for this waterslide decal. Before we go to Cricut Design Space, it’s important to note that you need to print your design on the shiny side of your Spin It waterslide paper.

Choose your Print then Cut file and download it. Then, upload into Design Space. Put your waterslide decal paper into your printer and in Design Space, select your print and cut file.

First, you want to size it to fit your surface. Measure your project so you know how much space you have to work with. For our project today, we’re making it 3.1 by 2 inches. Once you’re happy with it, you can hit “Make it”.

size your print then cut image to fit well on the mug

Since we’re doing a waterslide, it’s a little bit different than normal print then cut projects. Normally, we leave bleed on but for waterslide, we need to turn it off.

print your print then cut project without bleed on

Now we can click “Print”, and it will connect to your printer. Once done, you will see that it’s beautifully printed on the shiny side just like we wanted.

minwax polyurethane spray in clear satin

Next, we need to put some pieces of cardstock or something similar to protect our table because we’re going to spray this with our polyurethane spray sealer, Remember to work in a well-ventilated area. Apply a light coat and let that dry for 30 minutes.

Printed print then cut image with black registration marks around it

Ideally, we’re going to give this three to four coats in total. So, once this dries, go back in for another coat and give at least 30 minutes in between each coat until completed.

Once this has dried, we’re going to click continue and select medium cardstock. We’ll add a little bit more pressure and once you have your material selected, we’re going to place our printed image on the top left corner of our cutting mat and load it into our printer.

I move the stars over a little bit because I don’t want anything to happen with our printed image. Just scoot them over so they don’t get in the way of where the design is and press the flashing Cricut button.

Our machine has finished cutting and we’re going to peel up the excess from one of the corners. To remove the design from the mat, a little tip is to turn the whole mat over and peel it up that way. This does a much better job and prevents damaging the intricate pieces.

We’re now going to get a little bit of water. It says in the directions to place it in water for 30 to 60 seconds. Grab your plate, add room temperature water, and place your design in it.

add water to a plate and place the waterslide decal in it

It’s normal for it to curl up so if this happens, you’ll need to use your fingers to open it up. Make sure that all the pieces are in the water and laying flat. While waiting, we’ll go ahead and get some alcohol and wipe off our mug.

The alcohol ensures that we have a clean surface to apply the decal to and will give us the best possible adherence.

clean the mug well with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel

Now we can gently lift it out of the water. Be sure to dip your fingers in the water and use them to dampen the mug. You want to make it really slippery so your waterslide decal will stay on there. Now you can apply your design to the mug slowly and carefully.

carefully pull away the backing on the decal

Use one hand to help hold the design in place while you gently move the backing away.

You may see that it start to wrinkle up a bit but don’t worry because you can fix it really easily. Use your fingers to carefully move any of the little pieces into place as needed.

dab away the water from the waterslide decal and mug

Once you get it exactly where you want it, take a paper towel and dab the excess moisture away. Wipe all around and make sure you get the whole mug completely dry.

Once it’s thoroughly dry, you can coat it with epoxy or another coat of spray sealer. That’s it! It turned out beautifully, didn’t it?

More fun Cricut mug and tumbler projects:

How To Work with Digital Cut Files on Your iPad or iPhone

July 4, 2019 by Paula W

We get asked all the time how to work with die-cutting cut files on an iPhone and iPad. So, in today’s tutorial, we’re going to show you How To Work with Digital Cut Files on Your iPad or iPhone. We’re going to use an app called iZip, and this is the only additional tool that you will need aside from the Cricut Design Space app on your device and Safari.

There are some other apps you might want to use with your Cricut. Check them out here: Must Have Apps for Your Cricut

First things first, you want to open the app store and search for iZip. Now, you’re going to find quite a few different apps but you should choose the iZip- Zip Unzip Unrar Tool.

Next, go to the Makers Gonna Learn site and access your cut files. Be sure to log in because you will be unable to download any cut files otherwise. Choose a cut file you want to download. You can download these in two different ways. You can click the button with the little cloud icon from either the category or individual cut file page or you can click “Download now” on the individual cut file page.

You can also favorite any of the cut files by pressing the little heart. It will then organize it under your “Favorites” in the upper right of your screen. We’re going to click the download button on the cut file we have chosen. It’s offering to open this in AnyFont but we’re going to select “more” and click where it says copy to iZip.

There are ads on here because it is a free app, so feel free to purchase the paid version if you do not like the ads. Now it’s going to ask if you want to unzip all files. Click OK. You’ll be able to see the SVG version and the PNG version. At this point, that’s all you need to do with iZip.

Now, open Cricut Design Space and select “New project”. Click the bottom left-hand corner button that says “Upload”.

Then, it’s going to ask you to choose from 4 different options. You need to choose “Browse files”.

You’re going to see your iCloud drive, “on my iPad”, “recently deleted”, etc. Make sure to select “On my iPad”. You’ll see iZip and you need to click it.

Search for the cut file you’ve downloaded and select the SVG version of it. You can name it whatever you would like. Now it’s been added to our “recently uploaded files”, so you can select that and insert it. There you go! Now you’re able to use all of your cut files on your iPad with no additional laptops, desktops or any software necessary other than that free iZip app.

I hope you guys loved learning how to work with and import those images directly onto your iPhone and iPad from our website. You can follow the same process for any other SVG sites on the web as it’s pretty standard across the board. If you’re not yet a member of Makers Gonna Learn be sure to check out our memberships. Happy crafting!

Dollar Tree Craft Hacks You Probably Didn’t Know

May 7, 2019 by Paula W

Hey everyone! Today on the blog, I am so excited because we’re talking about Dollar Tree Craft Hacks You Probably Didn’t Know. I love this series! We’ve tackled this in so many different ways and you guys seem to enjoy it a lot. We are super excited to share with you some crafty related items we could find at Dollar Tree that you guys are going to love using in your crafting. Who doesn’t appreciate a dollar item and the money you can save?

1. Original Super Glue Foam Mounting Tape

Imagine those paper projects where you’re needing to get those foam dimensions. Well, these are perfect because they’re pre-cut and you get that 3D effect for all of your layering projects with paper. It’s permanent and photo safe so that’s super fun. It’s a hundred percent acid-free and you can find this at the Dollar Tree which is really cool! We absolutely love this foam mounting tape so definitely try this out.

2. Masking Tape

Pick up your masking tape for all of those knife blade projects you are making with your Cricut. You have to have some masking tape on hand so that you’re able to mask off your projects onto the mat, The Dollar Tree has you covered for the masking tape – isn’t that awesome?

3. Poster Board

The Dollar Tree is an amazing place to stock up on poster board. We use these for so many different things! Imagine spray-painting if you are in an apartment or any city spaces where you don’t have a lot of open places to put empty boxes. Simply grab your poster board and use this for spray-painting outside. Be sure to also grab some extra pieces if you plan on using your finished projects and you need awesome photos on a nice white background to list your items for sell on eBay, Facebook, or anything like that. This is such a great hack, If you have never had to take product photography before, using a white poster board with some natural lighting and a little bit of photo editing can make a big difference. Even with your smartphone you can get awesome project photos to list your projects for sale! The better photos that you have, the better your item will sell on eBay, Facebook or wherever your listing.

4. Hairspray

The reason why we love love love using hairspray from the dollar store is, first of all, it’s affordable but second of all, it seals all of your chalk word projects! So, if you’re like me and you create stencils with your Cricut and you want the chalkboard look, you need some hairspray! As soon as you accidentally rub against the project, the chalk smears. Being able to apply a quick light layer of hairspray is going to give you some durability for that chalk. It’s super awesome and it’s easy to pick up some hairspray at the Dollar Tree for their next chalkboard project.

5. LA’s Totally Awesome Cleaner

I’ve heard about people using this for so many different things and what we love using this for is cleaning our Cricut mats. Be sure to go check out this video to learn exactly how we clean our mats. It’s important that you do it exactly the right way! Cricut does not recommend cleaning your mats but this is just an alternative that we found. Many many many others use the same process especially for the fabric grip mats and using burlap or things like that. I highly recommend picking this up.

6. Rubbing alcohol with a spray bottle

You can get both the rubbing alcohol and the spray bottle at Dollar Tree. This is incredible for everyone that wants to be able to clean their projects before applying vinyl onto it. You can add the alcohol into the spray bottle. A quick squirt on a piece of paper towel and you’re going to have an amazing quick easy way to clean all your projects for the best results with vinyl. This is perfect for surfaces like mugs and ornaments.

7. Hand Sanitizer

Of course, this is great for cleaning your hands, but having a hand sanitizer on hand is an amazing way to be able to clean off all of those fingerprints and dirt really quickly and easily too. It works wonders when you have a hard paint brush or some dried paint on your table. I love using hand sanitizer for the tables and things like that.

8. Cosmetic wedges

This has come one of our favorite and most loyal craft tools for when it comes to painting and wanting to get really awesome results when stenciling. These are for makeup application or makeup removal it says but we use these for crafts and they’re really awesome.

9. Men’s shaving cream

Something you may not be familiar with is some of the projects using shaving cream to create your very own pattern paper. This is something you want to look into for sure. Pick up some shaving cream to create some really awesome effects and colors for your next craft project with it.

10. Baby powder and a little makeup brush

You’re definitely going to need this in your crafting life. I have never really worked with baby powder too much but it smells awesome! It’s perfect for glitter vinyl and especially glitter iron-on weeding. If you don’t have a Bright Pad, brushing baby powder over your project will save you so much time in weeding your projects. It’s a great alternative and really affordable so that you’re able to weed glitter iron-on or vinyl with ease.

11. Chopping mats

If you have the Cricut knife blade that I’m obsessed with and you’re using it to cut out projects, pick up some of the Dollar Tree chopping mats! I love this for not only using the craft knives but also for weeding. If you were worried about damaging your surfaces when you were weeding your project and you are opposed to weeding the project on your mat because you think it would hurt the lifespan of the mat, this is a great workaround for quickly taking it off the mat and protecting your work surface.

Hope you guys enjoyed all of these awesome Dollar Tree Craft Hacks You Probably Didn’t Know. We had so much fun going around Dollar Tree finding some of these, testing them, eliminating a few and sharing some of our favorites with you guys .