Monday, August 27, 2018

DIY Stick Horse with Cricut

OMG todays project is maybe one of my favorites ever. Ever since the launch of the Cricut Maker last summer I have had so many ideas floating around in my head that I wanted to make a reality. One of them was my Personalized Finger Puppets and I just LOVE the way they turned out. It's no secret that I'm a die hard Cricut fan. (See all the proof here), with the Maker and it's adaptive tool system, the possibilities of creativity really are endless! The performance and versatility really are unmatched.

Growing up my brother and I had our own stick horses. We loved chasing each other around on them and, on occasion used them as weapons haha. Well my best friends daughter has been loving horses lately (thanks to the Spirit Riding Free on Netflix) and I had the idea to attempt to create a stick horse of my own for her and I LOVE the way they turned out!
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!

Supplies

Post Contains Affiliate Links

If you buy the cool stuff I recommend, you still pay the same price, but I get a small commission. Everybody wins!
Cricut Maker
Cricut Cutting Mats (You'll want a standard grip as well as a fabric mat)
Cricut EasyPress (Or Iron)
Cricut EasyPress Mat
Cricut Iron On (I used black, black glitter, white and white glitter)
Cricut Designer Fabric (I used Sweet Prairie)
Wooden Dowel (I used 1/2 inch)
E600 Glue (not pictured)
Sewing Clips (not pictured)
Batting (not pictured)
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
I started by designing the file in Cricut Design Space. Did you know the Design Space software is available for iOS, Android, Windows, AND Mac?! You really can use it anywhere! Especially with the machines bluetooth wireless technology! The original Design Space image is actually a unicorn (one of the "Three Unicorns" from the Unicorn Squad cartridge)  but I really wanted to do a traditional stick horse so I modified it to be a horse, you could totally leave it a unicorn for a more magical look though! Here is what it looked like before:
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
And with a few little modifications, voila, it's a cute horse!
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
The project is good to go if you want to make your own, all you have to do is click "Make It"! It's always easiest to change the colors to the materials you'll be using on the canvas screen to make loading the mats easy. 

Once you're in the mat preview screen, take a look at all of your mats. Don't forget to mirror any mats that will be any form of Iron On. Because for this project you will be cutting two of everything, facing two different ways, you technically don't have to mirror, but it's a good habit to get into. You can see from this picture where you can select the mirror option (the green toggle switch). 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
This is also where I usually play around with the mats to minimize my iron on waste by moving all of my cuts appropriately on the mats, that is totally optional though, just me and my OCD haha. Also, be sure in between mats to double check your settings and be sure that you have selected the right material for each mat, especially if you are using glitter and lite iron on, and be sure to use Fast Mode where you can for up to 2x faster cutting and writing!

With all Iron On, you're going to want to put it face down on your cutting mat so your machine can do what is called a "kiss cut" where it cuts the vinyl but leaves the carrier sheet in tact. 

Technically with your fabric you also want to put it face down on your fabric grip cutting mat but again since there will be two cut out, I placed it face up and was fine. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Watching the rotary blade work never gets old. And those cuts... perfection! The rotary blade makes cutting virtually any fabric without backing possible like it never was before!
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Once all of your mats are cut, weed all of your iron on and start separating the front pieces from the back.
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
 Then, using your EasyPress (or iron) begin to apply your iron on. Because they are always updating it, be sure to reference the EasyPress recommended settings before getting started. You'll want to put the glitter iron on down first because it requires the most amount of heat. I did the mane and bridle in glitter, so those went on first. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
And then I applied the standard iron on, the eyes, nose and ears. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Repeat on the other side. A couple of tips while working with your iron on:
-Be careful that your carrier sheets don't end up under any of your vinyl
- Always be sure to cover all iron on either with a carrier sheet or protective barrier of some kind so that it doesn't come in contact with the heat source. 

Then it's time to sew! Using sewing clips (or pins), clip your two pieces together and sew! Be sure to leave a small opening at the bottom to add batting and the dowel. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Once you are finished sewing, begin stuffing your horse with batting, be sure to get it all the little corners too. I used a small wooden dowel to help, but your fingers work just fine also. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Keep adding batting until you are happy with it. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Then place your dowel inside, it may take a little wiggling but you'll want to me sure it goes all the way through, to give the head stability. Once you've got it through, seal the opening using E6000 glue. Once you are finished, add sewing clips and let it dry. 
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Let the glue dry for several hours.
Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
Removing the clips may be a little difficult depending on how much glue you used but you should be able to get them off with a little muscle. 

And that's it! The Maker really does all the hard work for you, all you need are the materials and some basic sewing skills and you can make a DIY Stick Horse of your own!

To make your own DIY Stick Horse click HERE

Create your own DIY Stick Horse with Cricut!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.


Wednesday, August 15, 2018

DIY Stamps with Cricut

 Yay! It's time for another installment of the "Create with Cricut Challenge"! If you didn't get a chance to see my previous projects for the challenge you can find my felt project here, my cereal box project here, my burlap project here,  my tissue paper project here, my paint chip project here,  my leather project here and my wrapping paper project here!

If you're new around here and unfamiliar with the challenge, each month there is a new mystery material and using my Cricut, I make something using it! Isn't that fun?? This month, the material is craft foam! I'll be honest, I haven't used craft foam probably in the last two decades so it's one of the few materials I didn't already have in my stash. So I went to my local craft store to pick some up and when I did, I came up with the idea of creating some custom stamps!
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!

Supplies

<Post Contains Affiliate Links>
Which means, if you buy any of the cool stuff I recommend, you still pay the same price, but I get a small commission. Everybody wins! 
Craft Paint (optional) (I used Martha Stewart in: Pea Shoot, Wild Salmon & Date Night Pink)
Wooden items (can be found at any craft store)

In the wood section I was able to find several great stamp worthy shapes. (It's super important to make sure they lay flat so that they stamp properly.) I picked up a circle, a rectangle and an oval. I was also able to find what I think were meant to cap off dowels that I decided to use as the stamp handle. With the Maker you can also cut basswood and balsa wood to create your own totally custom wooden pieces but I decided to go the easy route for this one. 

As always I started by setting my canvas, meaning a recreated the object I was designing for so that I could visually see how it would look. You can see below the tan pieces are my wooden pieces. This makes it so much easier for sizing. 
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
Once you're happy with your designs, you can click "make it". Choose your machine and search for "craft foam". 
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
Through some trial and error I found that the knife blade works WAY better than the deep cut blade, so I recommend clicking "edit tools" and changing to the knife blade for this project. 
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
Once "edit tools" is chosen you can easily select the knife blade. 
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
Put your craft foam on a strong grip mat and don't forget to move the star wheels all the way to the right so they don't leave any marks on your craft foam. **If you are doing any text, be sure to mirror your image. It shouldn't matter too much as you should be able to flip it over even if you forget, but worth noting.**

Once your craft foam is cut, add some spray adhesive to the backside and stick it to your wooden piece. Once it's on you can add your handle using some E6000. I painted the handles to give them a pop of color but that step is totally optional. 

And just like that, you've got your own custom stamps!
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
 Doing this project I realized I could really use a new collection of stamp pads and now that I know I can make my own stamps, I think it's time to invest in some!
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
 If you create your own stamps I'd love to see them!
Did you know you can create your own CUSTOM stamps with Cricut?!
Be sure to come back next month when the material will be wood! I'm so excited about it!




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