Make Your Own Pop-Up Card

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Pop-up cards are a simple way to turn a simple card into something more fun for the recipient.  Let me show you how I figured out to make a pop-up card that I an insert any image into.

First I started by looking at a pop-up card that is already designed and available in Cricut Design Space.  This helps me to kind of figure out how the card works and see if I can make on on my  own.

Here is what the basic card shape looks like.  The dotted lines are score lines and the solid lines are cut lines.  I have not been able to figure out how to cut the card in the specific shape of the image that will pop-up from the card, but I did figure out that if I do a basic rectangle I can then attach a shape to the front of that and it works pretty good.

Let me show you how I did it.

I inserted a square from the shapes button and unlocked it so I could make it into a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangle.  Then inserted a score line from the shapes button and rotated it 90 degrees and made it 5 1/2" long.  I then selected both the rectangle and the score line and used the Align button to center the score line on the rectangle.  Then I selected Attach to attach the score line to the rectangle.  This will be the base of your card.

Now let's make the part with the support for the pop-up in it.  I made another rectangle that was 5 1/4" x 8 1/4" so that is was just slightly smaller than the base piece.  The reason you will need two pieces is that you want the base piece to cover up the opening in the pop-up piece.

This image already shows you the pop-up cuts already attached to the white piece, but now I will show you how I created those score and cut lines and got them all to come together.  I am going to insert 6 score lines from the shape button, and then change two of the from score to cut, and then arrange them around a square and group them together.  I think the best way to show this is going to be with a video, so here it is.

                                   

Once you cut the card and fold it, you will see there is a little ledge that sticks out.

The front of that ledge is what you will attach the image that will pop up to.

If you want to use the card sections that I already designed, you can access this file by clicking HERE.  It was all created with basic shapes.

So once the card was all put together, this is how it looked

I used a little puppy from the Cricut Create A Critter cartridge.

If I wanted to adjust the dimensions of the cuts on the pop up, then I could do that to work with other images.

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Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook // YouTube  //  Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie

Father's Day Card and Shirt

Don't wait until the last minute to make something for Dad for Father's Day.  It is only a few weeks away.  I want to show you a shirt and card I made using a fun tool font I found.

I found this adorable font at Caty Catherine called Tool Letters.  Click HERE to go to the site and purchase it for yourself. There is also another one called Fishing Lure Letters that you can get HERE.  If you have never purchased a SVG file, once you download it, just right click on the downloaded folder and unzip the folder and you will see sub-folders saved in different formats.  Make sure to upload the svg file formats to Design Space.

Once you upload the to Design Space you are ready to start creating your project.  I started off with just the word DAD, but then I tried a few other variations.

Then I decided to add the children's names underneath.  I felt like it needed something between the names, so I added a nut.

The nuts were pretty easy to make.  I did them using basic shapes.  Let me show you how I did it.

I inserted a hexagon and a circle from the shapes button in Cricut Design Space

Then I selected both of them and used the align tool to move them so that they were perfectly centered over each other.

Then, while I still had the hexagon and the circle selected I hit the slice button to remove the circle from the center of the hexagon, which made it look like this . . . 

Then I decided to make a matching card.  Here is what it looked like in Design Space

And here is the actual card.  For the word DAD I used black vinyl since I did not want to have to move and line up all of those little pieces.  Since it was vinyl I was able to use transfer paper to move the image onto the card.

I hope this project inspired you to make something amazing for the man in your life.  If you need the font file, make sure to head over to Caty's site by clicking HERE.  

Also, like her on Facebook and tell her Shawn sent you!  

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Thanks!
Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook // YouTube  //  Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie

Planet Flame Heat Press Review

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Tonight I did my first ever glitter iron on vinyl project to test out my new Planet Flame Heat Press, using the Cricut brand glitter iron on vinyl.

I cut the glitter vinyl on my Cricut and then pressed it on to a small bag.

HERE is a link to the product on Amazon for you.

I wanted to give this heat press a TRUE TEST, so I used the Cricut brand glitter iron on vinyl since I have heard others saying that it is sometimes harder to get the glitter iron on to stick.  

Here is the video of my very first press! We edited it so you don't have to watch me just standing in front of the press for 30 seconds at a time so if you are thinking "wow, she pressed that really quick" just know it was edited down for your viewing pleasure.

                               
I did repeat the entire recommended pressing process a couple of times from what Cricut for their glitter vinyl, and I think that because I was so excited to do this review and the video I did not think the fact that the zipper on the bag should probably have been to the outside, so that it was not getting in the way of the pressing process at all.  Like I said, this was my FIRST PRESS.  Learning curve.

I have to say, I was really impressed!  The glitter vinyl stuck really well.  It was a nice even press, with no little gaps or sections that felt like they were going to lift off.

The heat press was easy to use.  The very first time I went to open it, it felt like it was kind of stuck and would not lift, so before we even pre-heated the machine we held down the base with one hand so that we could lift the handle with the other hand, and that got the press to open right up.

I also like that the press is a nice and sturdy, and that it has a large working surface.  I did not need that big of a surface for this project, but it is nice to know that even my largest project will fit on this press.  When the timer goes off on the press, there is a high pitch noise so there is no way you can miss that time is up.

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Thanks!
Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook // YouTube  //  Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie

FaveCrafts is turning 10! Help us celebrate!

I am honored to share this . . . I am helping FaveCrafts.com celebrate their 10th anniversary by being a part of their Gloves and Mitten Charity Drive!

Look . . . that is my logo on the bottom in the center!

FaveCrafts is teaming up with Warm Up America! to provide gloves and mittens to the homeless. From May 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019, we will be collecting gloves and mittens to donate to those in need.  Details on where to send the finished mittens and gloves can be found on FaveCrafts

As a part of this event I was asked to create my own glove or mitten pattern.  I created these fingerless gloves with a fun lacy detail at the wrist.  To see the full pattern head over to FaveCrafts by clicking HERE.  

If you want, you can even add a little ribbon at the wrists, like I did in this photo . . .

Share your projects using #FaveCraftsTurns10 
Together we can warm up America!

Thanks!
Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook //  YouTube  // Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie

Making Product Mock Ups in Cricut Design Space

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I was asked to make a tutorial about how to do a product mock up in Cricut Design Space.  First, a mock up is taking a image of a blank item like a shirt, coffee mug or bag and then placing a design on top of that image to simulate what the finished project will look like.  The bad thing about this is if you don't have a shirt, coffee mug or bag that are the exact same dimensions and materials as what is used in the mock up, then when you send the customer the finished project they might not be happy with the end result.  Personally, I don't use mock ups.  I send people a screen shot of the image I designed and they have to visualize how it will look once it is on the shirt, coffee mug or bag.


To start off with, you should find some nice mock up backgrounds to use.  I found some at The Hungry JPEG  If you look under Graphics and then go to Mock Ups you will see a lot to choose from.


You can buy bundles for just shirts, or collections that would have a variety of items.  They have some great high quality images to choose from.  Once you have a bundle you like, save those images to a folder on your computer.

The first part of this tutorial is going to be a lot like the Print then Cut tutorial, so I am going to have you go to that one by clicking HERE.  Follow that tutorial to upload your Mock Up image, choose complex, save as a Print then Cut image, bring that image into the Design Space canvas and then come back over to this tutorial.

Now that you have your mock up image in Cricut Design Space, let's place an image on top of it.  I did a video where I showed you how to slice Mermaid scales out of a Mickey Mouse icon.  If you missed that video you can click HERE.   So for this mock up let's pretend I was going to iron that Mickey Mouse mermaid image on to a baby onesie.

I have both the mock up of the onesie and the Mickey Mouse mermaid image in Cricut Design Space.  I moved the Mickey Mouse to the middle of the onesie but the image is hidden behind the mock up image so I use the Arrange feature at the top of the screen and select Bring To Font for the Mickey image.

Once the Mickey is arranged to the front, I can resize the Mickey to fill more or less of the onesie.

The last step would be to take a screen shot just inside of the background image of the mock up.  I like to use the snipping tool when I do screen shots.  It allows me to easily pick the area I want to capture.  When I do that for this project, this is how the finished image turns out.

And I can quickly change the image on the shirt to show other images I could use.  Maybe a tie for a gift to the new baby.

Or how about something to show Mom some love like this

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Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook // YouTube  //  Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie

Print and Cut with Cricut Design Space - Donald Duck Puzzle

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Today we are going to talk about the Print and Cut feature in Cricut Design Space.  This feature lets you print an image from your printer and then cut it on your Cricut.  For this project I am going to make a Donald Duck puzzle using a photo I took at one of our trips to Walt Disney World.

Here is what the finished project looks like.  Now let's go through the steps on how to get here.

First, I picked the image I wanted to use and uploaded that into Cricut Design Space and picked the complex image choice because I wanted to be sure that all of the colors and details came through.

When you get to this screen, make sure to click to save the image as a Print Then Cut image

Then you will select that image to add it to your Cricut Design Space Canvas.  You can see that it is in the list of the images I have uploaded in the image below.

Since I knew I wanted to do this as a puzzle, I searched Cricut Design Space and found a great puzzle image to use and inserted that into my canvas.

Next, I resized the group of puzzle pieces to be 5" x 5" and made them all white, since I wanted to place the Donald Duck image on the puzzle pieces and have those be the colors of the shapes, not the green/yellow/blue combo that was originally on the puzzle image.

Next, I made a 5"x 5" square that I used to trim down the Donald Duck image so that it fit perfectly on the puzzle.  Just insert a square, change the size to 5"x 5" and then place it over the Donald image and select both the square and Donald and hit the slice button.

Next I selected both the Donald image and the puzzle image at the same time (hold down the shift key) and used the Align tool at the top of the screen and picked Center.  This perfectly aligns the two images over each other, centering them.

Before Align . .

After Align . . . you don't see the puzzle now since it is behind Donald.

Now let's Attach the Donald image to the puzzle piece.  Select both the Donald image and the puzzle and the Attach button will turn on in the lower right corner.  I circled it in the next image for you.

Now let's stop and look at the layers panel on the right hand side of the screen.  You can see next to the small preview of the Donald Duck image it says Cut / Print . . . that shows you that the Cricut will do both of those functions for this image.  (Personally I think it should say Print / Cut since that is the order that the steps will happen)  Next to all of the puzzle pieces, it just says Cut so those will not get printed . . . just cut.

So now it is time to make the project.  First step will be sending it to the printer.  My printer is an Epson ET-4550

This is the first screen you will see.  The thick black line around the image are the Registration Marks.  When you put the printed image on your Cricut cutting mat the Cricut will look for these registration marks to know where to cut the image.

Also, at this step you will be able to choose if you want he bleed on or off.  What is bleed?  If you think of coloring with a marker, and if you hold that marker in one place the color kind of bleeds and spreads . . . that is what this bleed is.  It spreads the color from the outside of the image a little bit.  I will show a photo of the bleed in a second.

I decided to put the bleed to on, since I wanted to make sure that the puzzle pieces cut inside the image.

Once that is printed, you will put the paper on your Cricut mat and load it into the machine.

It cut perfectly because of the registration marks.  Can you see the cut of the puzzle pieces in this image?

And in this image, you can really see the bleed.  It cut right through that bleed so that my coloring went all the way to the edge of my puzzle pieces.

I hope that this tutorial taught you something new, and helped you to understand the Print and Cut feature of Cricut Design Space.  I also did a video so that you can see all of the steps come together.

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Thanks!
Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook // YouTube  //  Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie

Writing Font or Cutting Font

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When you are working on a project in Cricut Design Space that uses text, it is really important to think about the final results you want so that you choose the correct type of font for your project.

If you want to use your Cricut pen in your machine to write the words (on to cardstock for example) you would want to be sure to use a writing font with your text.  A writing font is typically thinner and looks like something that could be created with hand printing or hand writing if you had really good penmanship.

If you want your Cricut to cut the shape of a letter, out of cardstock or vinyl for example, you would want to choose a cutting font.

When you put text on to the canvas in Cricut Design Space, if you click on that text it will open up some additional functions you can use in the upper panel.  One of these features is the filter.  You can choose to filter by your fonts, so you will only see fonts you own, multi layered fonts, single layered fonts or writing fonts.  In the image below I have writing fonts selected in the filter so that I am only seeing those fonts to choose from.

If you know that your end project is going to have the Cricut writing with a pen, I would strongly suggest you set this filter so that you are only looking at writing fonts when working your design.  Nothing is more frustrating than finding the perfect font and then discovering it is a cutting font when you want to have the words written with the pen.

You can choose to filter by your fonts, so you will only see fonts you own.  You can also filter to single layer cuts or multi layer cuts.  Both of these are cutting font, but the multi layer fonts will usually include a shadow or offset to go with the basic font so you can add more depth and interest to you design.

The mulit layered font that I selected for this example has a perfect offset around each letter.  This is a great type of font to use with you want to layer two colors over each other for your font.

If you forget if you are using a writing font or a cutting font, you can click on the text and look at the layers panel on the right side of the screen.  If it is a cutting font, it will say Cut in the layers panel.  If it is a writing font, it will say Draw.

After this, you can play with letter spacing and alignment, or even curve the text, using some of the other functions in the top panel, but I think I will go into those in a different post.  Now I am going to include a quick video to show you all of the items we went over in this post.

If you are making a design and the majority of the design is text, start to explore and play around with the large variety of text that is out there.  You can download free fonts from some websites.  I like to use the ones from DaFont.com.  For how to install a font, click HERE.  Make sure to download the font, unzip the folder and install the font on to your computer.  If you don't see it in Design Space, you might have to close out of the program and re-open it.  You can also use a dingbat font as a cutting image like I did for this project HERE.

I hope that this helps you to understand the difference between writing fonts and cutting fonts.

Keep following me and join my Teach Me Cricut Design Space group on Facebook!

Thanks!
Shawn's Teach me Cricut Design Space Group
Crafty Chic's Blog on Facebook // YouTube  //  Instagram  //  Crafting Pixie