Tutorial

12 Cricut Maker Projects + How to Replace a Cricut Maker Rotary Blade

39 · Jan 26, 2018 · Leave a Comment

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Cricut Maker! I’m especially loving creating more with fabric these days. I’m always looking for more Cricut Maker project inspiration & ideas on how to take care of my machine. For example every Cricut Maker user, there comes a time when you will need to change out your rotary blade. This is something that is relatively new to the Cricut world and is super easy to do following the proper instructions. If you are new to creating with Cricut, the Cricut Maker Rotary Blade is the magical blade that cuts fabric when using the Cricut Maker machine! With its gliding, rolling action, it cuts virtually any fabric quickly and accurately – without backing material. It’s pretty fabulous! After you’ve cut to your heart’s content, you will eventually have to change out your blade, here’s a tutorial for how to replace a Cricut Rotary Blade. And, if you’re not sure if a Cricut or a Silhouette is right for you then make sure to read that article first. Ok so, down for the tutorial.

Below is a quick Pinable graphic that you can save so that you can reference it later on how to change your Cricut rotary blade. You can even print a PDF version of it HERE if you’d like.

How to Change a Cricut Rotary Blade

Before you begin, you need to make sure you remember you are working with a VERY SHARP blade and to be safe while working with it at all times.

Carefully remove rotary blade from your Cricut Maker.
Slip protective cover, from the Rotary Blade Kit over the blade with the large opening over the housing screw. View graphic to view safety warning.
Make sure you feel the protective cover click into place.
Use provided screw driver to remove the screw from the housing. View graphic for step-by-step photo instructions. Keep in mind, the blade is meant to stay within the protective cover. This is a great feature created by Cricut to protect their Cricut family of users. I think it’s genius!
Remove the new blade, already in a new protective cover, from the package.
Place over your housing like before.
Using the provided screw driver, replace the screw making sure not to over tighten.
Carefully remove protective covering and replace rotary blade in your machine.
Just to be safe, I place my old blade, still in the protective cover, back into the packaging before I toss it in the trash.

That’s it, you’re ready to rock’n roll again. Looking for some inspiration on what to make with this fabulous new cutting tool? Here are some that might get your creative juices flowing…

Cricut Maker Fabric Project Inspiration

Zipper Pouch + created by ME, WhipperBerry

Scalloped Leather Clutch + See Kate Sew

Knot Headband + Coral & Co

Baby Quilt + See Lindsay

Love Lives Here BannerLove Lives Here Banner + Hello Creative Family

How to Sew Fabric Baskets + PolkaDot Chair

Fabric Alphabet + Amber Simmons

Mermaid Book + Sweet Red Poppy

Tooth Fairy Monster + The Idea Room

Fabric Banner + PolkaDot Chair

The Essentials Wallet + Hello Creative Family

SaveSave

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Fox Storage Chest • DecoArt IKEA Moppe Challenge

18 · Jan 2, 2018 · 4 Comments

You guys, I’m so excited for today’s post! If you’ve been following along on my Instagram Stories, you’ll know that I’m in the process of making over my little guys room. I’m getting so close to being finished and I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on. Today, I’m sharing one of the fun elements that we will be putting in his room to dress it up. It’s a cute Fox Storage Chest for all of his little trinkets and toys. You know all of the little bits and pieces that little boys tend to collect. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, DecoArt gave all of their bloggers a challenge for January. The challenge was to make over a mini storage chest from IKEA. The IKEA Moppe to be exact. It turned out so cute and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

+ This post brought to you by DecoArt +

The Challenge

DecoArt sent out a challenge a little while back to transform this simple wood storage chest from IKEA any way that we would like. It may sound crazy but, I struggled coming up with a concept for the design. There were so many directions I could go; farmhouse, industrial, buffalo check, stripes… So many different ways I could take the design. This little chest sat in my craft room for weeks and I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do. For some reason, the word challenge puts so much pressure on me and I freeze. Finally, I decided that before I could decide on a design, I needed to figure out what I wanted to do with the storage chest when I was finished. I am in the process of making over my little boys room and I decided this would be the perfect place for him to store his little things.

With that MAJOR decision made, I placed the storage chest on the table and looked at it for awhile. Again, paralyzed by all of the different directions I could go. Finally, you’re going to think I’m crazy, I was looking at the piece and all of a sudden, I saw a face looking back at me. A cute little fox face and that’s when I knew what I needed to do.

I set to work designing my fox and preparing it to cut on my Cricut Maker. As we have discussed before, I really have zero talent when it comes to freehand painting but, with the help of my Cricut, I can create some great stencils. I may not be able to freehand paint but, I have mad stenciling skills!

Supplies

I realize that this is a rather specific project but really, This stencil and the concept can work on all kinds of furniture or signs. So, don’t get discouraged if you don’t live close to an IKEA. You can find something that this will look super cute on. Here are the basic supplies.

Mini Storage Chest – We used the Moppe from IKEA
Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint – colors; Yesteryear, Heritage & Timeless
foam stencil brush
small foam brush
Cricut machine
download my fox SVG file
vinyl
transfer tape

Instructions

The first thing you’ll want to do is paint your base coat of the Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint in the Yesteryear color. The reason why I selected the Chalky finish is that I prefer the matte look rather than a satin or enamel type paint. Plus, I think it’s a little more forgiving.

Since this piece is raw wood, it really soaked up the paint and it dried super fast (which I LOVE!) This whole project, once I had the design finished, only took about an hour.

The Fox Stencil

While I was waiting for the base coat to dry, I cut the first part of my fox stencil, you can download that HERE.

Because I was using two different colors for the fox, I had to create two different stencils. One for the inner part of the ears and cheeks, the second for the outer ears and face. Below, you will see how to weed the vinyl once you’ve cut the design.

Painting

I really don’t think the order matters but, just in case, I stenciled the inner ears and cheeks first.

Once I weeded the excess vinyl, I covered the design with transfer tape to transfer the image onto the storage chest.

I used my scraper tool to press the vinyl down especially on the ridges of the chest. Then I carefully removed the transfer tape. Take your time here and move slowly if needed.

Using your finger go around the edges of the areas that you will be painting and make sure you have a good seal with the vinyl. With the Timeless color, I used a foam stencil brush to get started. With a light amount of paint on my brush, using a gentle up and down motion, I painted the inner ears and cheeks.

Once you’ve finished painting those sections, carefully remove the vinyl. I typically don’t really wait for the paint to completely dry, you just need to be careful when lifting and removing the vinyl so that you don’t mess up the paint. If you’ve been careful and not used too much paint or pressure, you’ll have a beautiful line.

Now, you’ll need the 2nd section of your stencil weeded like the image below.

Like before, use the transfer tape to place the stencil carefully on the storage chest. You’ll need to line-up the ears and cheeks but, with the Cricut clear transfer tape that’s not hard at all.

Repeat the same painting technique with the Heritage color for the outer ear and face of the fox.

When you’re finished with that, remove the vinyl and let the paint fully dry. That will really only take 10 minutes or so. (That’s another reason why I love the chalky finish paint.)

You’re finished!

How cute is that for a little guys room? You could even add some cute girly eyelashes and it would look super cute in a girls room as well. I just LOVE it!!

Now, Gage will have the perfect spot for his little things. If you had a chance to do the mini storage chest challenge, what would you like to create? How would you like to use it? What DecoArt products would you use?

Disclaimer • I am a DecoArt Blogger and have received product and compensation for my time and efforts. All thoughts, ideas, and opinions are my very own.

Canvas Hygge Sign with Cricut Iron-On Lite • Sign Making 101

21 · Dec 31, 2017 ·

Did you know that you can make beautiful canvas signs with heat transfer vinyl like the Cricut Iron-On Lite? It’s super EASY! Continue reading to learn how, in my Sign Making 101 series. Plus, you can learn all about the magic of the Danish concept of Hygge! Canvas Hygge Sign designed by WhipperBerry and created with Cricut Iron-On lite along with the Cricut Maker & Cricut Easy Press.

+ This post brought to you by the lovely folks at Cricut +

What is Hygge?

You guys… The Holidays are over (well, we still have New Years) and it’s time to hunker down and create a little more Hygge in our homes to help us get through these cold months. Seriously, It’s supposed to be -38˚ F (that includes windchill of course) this weekend here in Lincoln! We need a little extra cozy to help us weather those types of temperatures. We need something to help us enjoy this time of year rather than dreading it.

The Danish have come-up with a great concept to help them through this cold and dark months. It’s the concept of Hygge. Directly translated, the word means “fun.” However, in Denmark it means so much more than that. It’s really more of a feeling. That feeling that you get when you are sitting with those you love in a candlelit room, in front of the fire, eating good food, playing fun games or even just reading good books. It’s a time to snuggle-up together, leaving all of the drama behind, a time to build and strengthen relationships, and find joy in the season of your life. You can’t buy hygge, but you can work to create this feeling in your home.

I’ve fallen in love with the concept along with the word therefore, I had to make a sign to help those around me understand the feeling we are looking for this winter.

Why Use Canvas When Making Signs?

My friends… This type of sign making has become my all time favorite way to create signs for my home. It’s clean, modern and works with all kinds of styles. In addition, it is the EASIEST way to make a nice looking sign EVER!!! With wood signs, it involves messy paint, traditional vinyl (which is not my favorite to weed) and a little more room for error. The canvas sign uses heat transfer vinyl from Cricut called Iron-On Lite. It’s super easy to weed (more on weeding in a bit) and adhere to your canvas surface. Because of the texture of canvas, traditional vinyl does not work… at all. Believe me, I’ve tried it.

Another bonus to creating with canvas rather than wood… It’s much lighter. I created a ton of wood signs a few years ago for a creative market. My husband and I nearly killed ourselves loading the signs into the building because they were so heavy. I truly wish I would have figured this out before hand.

Tips and Tricks for Sign Making with Canvas

After making a few canvas signs with Cricut Iron-On Lite I’ve come up with a list of tips and tricks to help make the process smooth for you.

Take your time – As with pretty much any creative endeavor, rushing has never produced wonderful results. Take your time and you love what you end-up with.
Do not iron directly on protective film – This is the clear plastic that the heat transfer material comes on. Ironing or using the Cricut Easy Press directly on this film will cause scorching of your materials and will create undesirable results. Always use the Cricut Protective Sheet when doing any type of iron-on project.
Cover material with light cloth or Cricut Protective Sheet – Again, you want to protect the surface of your canvas along with the heat transfer vinyl.
Place books under the canvas to create a firm surface – Canvas is traditionally stretched on a frame and if you were to press directly on the canvas, you would stretch the canvas and your sign would turn out really wonky. My trick… Place a book or a few magazines under the canvas to create a firm surface for you to work on.
Apply pressure when ironing – It really helps to put a little pressure on the Cricut Easy Press or your iron to achieve the results that you are looking for.
Remove protective film and replace Cricut Protective Sheet or cloth and press one more time – This will make sure that the HT vinyl has fully adhered to the canvas.
Be patient – You are looking for the Iron-On Lite to melt into the canvas or really whatever material you are using. Take a little time, especially if you are using an iron rather than the Cricut Easy Press. Typical clothes-irons don’t have a consistent heat plate so you are going to have hot spots and cools spots. Therefore, it’s going to take a little extra time to get full adhesion.

Materials

canvas – for this sign I used a 20×24 level 1 canvas from Michaels
Cricut cutting machine – I use the Cricut Maker
12×24 inch Light Cutting Mat
Cricut Iron-On Lite – Black
Cricut Protective Sheet or light cloth
Cricut Easy Press or Iron

Material for frame • Optional

1x2x8 premium wood – 2×24 inch boards, 2×21 inch boards
hot glue gun
hot glue stick
Brad Nailer & nails

Hygge Canvas Sign Design

Of course you’re going to need the design for this Hygge sign. I created the whole thing in Cricut Design Space with Cricut fonts so it’s easy to share with you guys.

Now, I have a Cricut Access account which is super fabulous! It gives me access to many, many different graphics and fonts within Design Space. Here what it has to offer…

• For use with Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker^TMonly
• Unlimited access to over 30,000 images and 1,000 projects
• Includes the 370+ fonts in Cricut Access Fonts
• 10% off purchases on Cricut.com and Design Space^®
• Exclusive images and fonts
• Includes multilayer images, single-layered images, 3D projects, and much more!

That is a great deal, especially if you love to create. Now, not everything is included in Cricut Access. Some images and fonts have a special license, and therefore, they can’t be included. One of the fonts I used for my Hygge canvas sign is a paid font BUT… Once I purchase the font, I will have it forever in my Cricut account.

Instructions

Guys… This is so easy. All you need to do is open Cricut Design Space HERE to open the design. Size the design to the size of your canvas. My canvas is rather large so I broke the design into 2 pieces and turned it sideways so that it would fit nicely on a 12×24 inch cutting mat. As long as the design is sized right, load your Cricut Iron-On Lite into your machine and click the Make It button.

Your design will load into the Prepare Mat screen.

Now, this is VERY IMPORTANT! On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a button that says MIRROR. Click on that slider button and watch how your design flips and becomes mirrored.

When using Cricut Iron-On Lite, you need to mirror your image because of the way the heat transfer vinyl works. The actual vinyl lays on a clear plastic sheet with the side of the vinyl that is meant to be melted into your surface facing up. Many people get confused as to which side of the material to cut on. You want to make sure the shiny side of the Iron-On Lite is face down on your cutting mat with the matte side of the vinyl facing up.

With your image mirrored and your vinyl correctly placed on your mat, you are ready to cut your design. Click on the Continue button, connect your machine, select your cutting material which is Iron-On, load your mat into the machine. When the Cut button on your machine starts flashing, press it and your design will start cutting.

When your design is finished cutting, remove the mat from the machine, remove the iron-on vinyl and weed your design. What does weeding mean? That is when you use one of the great Weeding Tools that Cricut makes to remove the excess vinyl from your design leaving only the design itself.

Next, you’ll turn on your Cricut Easy Press or your iron and prepare your canvas. When I’m using my Easy Press, I use either a towel or a protective heat mat that I found in the laundry section at Walmart, placing that on a firm surface like a counter top, or table, NOT an ironing board. They aren’t firm enough.

Then, I grab a book or a stack on magazines to place under the canvas, like I talked about before in the tips and tricks section.

Place the design onto my canvas with the protective film facing up. Place the Cricut Protective Sheet on top of your first section…

Then press your design with the Easy Press or your Iron.

I set my temperature on the Easy Press to 350˚ and let it do it’s thing for about 40-50 seconds. You need to be careful not to let it sit for too long, the vinyl will melt in a way that you won’t like.

If you are using an iron, this will take a bit longer, just be patient.

Continue pressing the vinyl until you have covered the entire design. Let cool for a few seconds then, remove the protective film and voilá, you have a beautiful new canvas sign for your home!

If you would like to add the frame, all you need to do is hot glue the frame pieces onto the canvas, one at a time. I place my canvas on top of a stack of three ball jar lids. A stack of three in each corner. That seems to be the perfect placement for adding the frame.

Glue one of the frame sides onto the canvas then firmly attach it with the brad nailer while the glue is still warm. Move onto the next side until you have completed all four sides.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Create Curved Text in Cricut Design Space • Video Tutorial

9 · Nov 30, 2017 · 5 Comments

I have been creating all kinds of goodies for our home in Cricut Design Space and then making them on my Cricut Maker. If you use a Silhouette then I’d recommend checking out my post where I compare Silhouette vs Cricut. One of the biggest questions I receive time and time again is, “how do you create curved text in Cricut Design Space?” It has been a conundrum for many people who like to create fun typography for their Cricut projects. Well, I’m here to the rescue! I’ve created a video tutorial on how to create more stylized text within the Cricut Design Space platform. Come check it out…

+ This post brought to you by Cricut +

For quite some time now, I would design most of my creations in Adobe Illustrator and then import them into Cricut Design Space mainly because I wanted more freedom with my word art. I wanted to create curves, waves, archs & arches. I felt like the Cricut Design Space kind of tied my hands here. Then I did a little playing around and figured out how much freedom we really have when designing with words in Design Space. It may not be as quick as clicking a button, BUT… You can do so much more, you just need to have a little imagination. Here’s the video tutorial that I put together to teach you how.

WhipperBerry Cricut Design School – How to Create Curved Text in Cricut Design Space from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

If you’re looking for more tutorials on how to create with your Cricut machine and within Design Space, visit my other posts that help walk you though creating with Cricut. Like this one on how to import and use your SVG files within Cricut Design Space. If you have questions or would like a video tutorial on how to create with Cricut, leave a comment and I’ll work on putting one together for you!

This is the project that I made with that tutorial. A stylish zipper pouch, a perfect Holiday gift for friends and family.

Tutorial

How to Change a Cricut Rotary Blade

Cricut Maker Fabric Project Inspiration

The Challenge

Supplies

Instructions

The Fox Stencil

Painting

What is Hygge?

Why Use Canvas When Making Signs?

Tips and Tricks for Sign Making with Canvas

Materials

Hygge Canvas Sign Design

Instructions

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