Living La Vida Holoka


Couldn’t Love You S’more Valentine’s Day Treat Topper

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Treat classroom friends or loved ones to something sweet when you make this s’mores gift and Couldn’t Love You S’more Valentine’s Day Treat Topper!

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


One of my goals for this year is to make more paper crafts.  Over the holidays, I had cut gift tags and envelopes with my Cricut Explore Air 2 and loved how easy they were to make!  Another one of my goals for the year is to work with features and tools I haven’t worked with before.  So I got myself a Single Scoring Wheel, some pretty cardstock, and made a printable treat topper using the Print Then Cut feature in Design Space.

I have to admit, I had a little trouble with this project at first.  I couldn’t get the image and text to print without going straight into a continuous cutting step that also cut the text and images.  Being relatively new to Cricut and Design Space, I ended up looking up tutorials, but came up short on answers.  Thankfully, I know some amazing Cricut makers who were able to help me out!

The Cricut Flatten Feature

 
When I initially started this project and realized that the text and images were going to be cut, I would stop the machine after the perimeter was cut.  I was kind of tricking it and then moving on to the second cut.  Turns out, I didn’t need to do that at all!

There’s a feature in Design Space that I hadn’t used before this project called “flatten.”  It literally flattens the design into a single image (instead of layers of text and images) and tells the machine not to cut it.  Brilliant! 

That little feature could have saved me a lot of time and frustration had I known what its function was!  But now that I do, I definitely see a lot more printable Cricut projects in my future! 


So let me tell you about these adorable treat toppers!  I love s’mores.  I love them so much that one year, I ditched having a birthday cake for homemade s’mores toasted over a fire in our backyard!  With Valentine’s Day coming up, s’mores have become the inspiration for this easy craft!

All you need to make this sweet treat is some cellophane bags, graham crackers, Hershey bars (I got the XL ones), marshmallows, and my treat topper design in Design Space.  Follow the instructions to create s’mores goodie bags for loved ones or classroom gifts!

Couldn’t Love You S’more Valentine’s Day Treat Topper

 


The first step was to create the treat topper tag.  I did so by opening up a square shape in the shapes option.  Then, I added a score line through the center (also found in shapes).  



Next, I searched for s’mores images.  I wanted a simple s’mores image to use in my treat topper design, so I chose the first one.  Then, I picked out a few hearts to add to the design.  There are a ton to choose from in Design Space’s image library!


I arranged my images on my treat topper template, changed the colors of some of the hearts, and added text.  Then, I decided to make this a layered treat topper, so I duplicated the square, made it red, and added a score line.  


Here’s where I finally figured out how to make a printable image in Design Space! So after your design is created, go to the right sidebar and select all of the text and images, plus the white square (just the white square, not the score line).  Click Flatten.  This will make everything one single image and tell the machine to only cut the square shape. Then, select the flattened square and the score line.  Hit Attach and then Make It! 



Following the instructions on the screen, send the treat topper to the printer (you can print more than one copy).  Choose the correct printer location and turn off the “bleed” option.  You’ll notice a black outline around the image once it’s printed.  That’s okay.  The machine will cut inside of that line to create the treat topper.


Once your design is printed, set it on a Light Grip Mat and load it into the machine.  The screen in Design Space will prompt you to load the Single Scoring Wheel first.  Then, you’ll switch to the Fine Point Blade.  It’s all very easy to do with the Maker’s adaptive tool system! 



Continue with the red cardstock.  Then, you can glue one topper on top of the other, fold, and attach to bags filled with chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers!

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Power on the Cricut Maker and open the Couldn’t Love You S’more Valentine’s Day Treat Topper Design in Design Space.
  2. If necessary, resize the design.  Then, hit “Make It” and follow the instructions to print.
  3. Load white cardstock in the printer (you may need to cut it to fit) and send to printer.  
  4. Once the design is printed, place the cardstock on a Light Grip Mat and load it into the Maker.  
  5. Load the Single Scoring Wheel, as prompted in Design Space, and hit “go.”
  6. Then, switch to the Fine Point Blade to cut the design.
  7. Load the red cardstock into the machine and continue.
  8. Once both toppers are cut, glue the white layer on top of the red layer and fold.
  9. Fill a cellophane bag with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate.
  10. Close the bag and attach the treat topper with a stapler to make an adorable and delicious Valentine’s Day gift! 


These turned out so cute that my sister-in-law asked me to make some for my niece’s class!  Of course, Aunt Jess was happy to make them for her! I hope her classroom friends enjoy their sweet Valentine’s Day treat! 

Did you make these treat toppers for Valentine’s Day?  Let me see ’em!  Make sure to tag me @lavidaholoka with the hashtag #livinglavidadiy!

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Layered Engraved Leather Heart Necklace

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Create a cute Layered Engraved Leather Heart Necklace to give to a friend on Galentine’s Day or wear on Valentine’s Day with this step-by-step Cricut Maker tutorial!

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


The world of DIY and crafts never ceases to amaze me.  There are so many tools and resources available at our fingertips these days.  Inspiration is literally everywhere!  And being a part of the Cricut community, I learn something new every time I turn on one of my machines.  Getting the Cricut Maker last year has allowed me to branch out with my crafts and use materials I would have never thought to use in any of my projects before! 

That said, I’ve been making a ton of necklaces for myself over the past month or so.  I love creating jewelry that’s totally unique to me.  I’ve even made a couple necklaces for my friends!  With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought it would fun to make a necklace that would not only make a great gift for a friend, but would add a simple Valentine’s Day touch to any outfit! 



I’ve cut wood, felt, paper, and of course, vinyl with my Cricut Maker.  But I really wanted to try cutting leather.  So I got Cricut’s Genuine Leather for Small Projects in Cranberry and Camel and decided to create a layered heart pendant. I went one bigger and grabbed an engraving tip to create a pattern on the leather!

How to Make a Layered Engraved Leather Heart Necklace


I started by choosing a heart from the shapes option.  You could also choose a heart from an image search, but I wanted something super simple.


Then, I went into images and searched for patterns. I chose an animal print pattern and created an overlay for my heart, making sure that the “engrave” linetype was selected.


I duplicated my heart shape. Then, using the slice tool, I placed the pattern over one of the hearts and sliced the pattern into a heart shape.



Once the pattern was cut, I went back and made the original heart red. To make a hole to hang the pendant, I selected a circle from the shapes option and used the slice tool again to create the hole.


Once the engraved heart design was created, I repeated the steps (minus the engraved pattern) to create a solid heart for layering.


Continuing to the cut screen, I set my material and loaded my engrave tip. I placed a sheet of leather on a strong grip mat and taped the edges. Then, I loaded my mat into the machine and hit “go.”


Once the engraving step was done, I loaded my deep-point blade and continued to cut my heart shapes. From there, I was able to put my necklace together with jump rings, a clasp, and chain.

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Open the Layered Engraved Heart Necklace Project in Design Space.  Resize the heart shapes to your liking.
  2. Place one sheet of cranberry leather on a strong grip mat and place one sheet of camel leather on a strong grip mat.  Secure each side of the leather with masking tape.
  3. Load the engraving tip and set the cranberry leather in the machine.  Then, continue to the engraving step.
  4. Once the engraving is finished, remove the engraving tip from the machine and load the deep-point blade.  Continue to cut.
  5. Unload the cranberry leather and set the camel leather in the machine.  Continue to cut.
  6. Remove the heart shapes from the mat and save the rest of the leather for future projects.
  7. Place the red heart on top of the camel heart.  With jewelry pliers, open the large jump ring and slip the heart shapes onto the ring.  Close the jump ring with the pliers.
  8. Measure the silver chain to your desired length.  Then, add a jump ring to each end.
  9. Add the clasp to one of the jump rings and close both rings.  
  10. Give the necklace as a Galentine’s Day gift or wear it to add simple Valentine’s Day style to any outfit! 


There are a ton of patterns to choose from in Design Space to engrave into your leather necklace. If real leather isn’t your thing, Cricut also offers faux leather you could use for this project instead.  Since it’s textured, I’m not sure how it would work with the engraving step, but it would still make a cute, layered heart necklace! 

Want to share your necklace creation with me?  Make sure to tag me @lavidaholoka with the hashtag #livinglavidadiy!

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Wooden Fox Ornaments with the Cricut Maker

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Use the Cricut Maker to create adorable wooden fox ornaments made with basswood and vinyl that will give your Christmas tree a cozy, woodland vibe!

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

 


If you follow me on social media, then you know that I’m pretty obsessed with foxes! Ever since those fluffy tailed creatures wandered into our backyard a few summers ago, they’ve become one of my favorite animals!  So this year, I decided to make a fox themed Christmas tree.  Actually, I’m calling it our “foxy farmhouse” Christmas tree.  It has a whole lot of farmhouse charm and quite a few fox inhabitants! 

Every year, I try to add a handmade ornament or two to our Christmas tree.  This year, I’ve added a couple wood slice ornaments that I painted and personalized.  But I also just added these wooden fox ornaments to our tree!  They’re made with basswood that I cut with my Cricut Maker (yes, it cuts wood!) and decorated with patterned vinyl.


How to Make Wooden Fox Ornaments with the Cricut Maker

 
I chose a couple fox images from Design Space to use – one was a solid silhouette and the other has a scroll design cut into it.  The solid fox shape became my wooden cutout and the scroll design was my vinyl overlay (I learned fast that the less detail, the better when it comes to cutting basswood).

I had never cut wood before with my Maker, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I loaded the knife blade and went through the steps to calibrate it.  The blade made several cuts in a piece of printer paper to make sure you get the best cut in your material.



Once my knife blade was calibrated, I placed the basswood on my Strong Grip Mat and secured it with masking tape.  I set my material in the Cricut Maker, hit the go button, and sat back and waited.

The Cricut Maker makes multiple passes to cut through wood, so the finished project takes a little longer to make.  But it’s worth it! 


The basswood is really thin, so you want to be very careful when removing your design.  I ended up cutting three more foxes so I could double the wood on each ornament.  They ended up being a little sturdier that way.  All I did was glue them together with some hot glue and added a loop of twine in between for hanging.

Then, I cut two solid fox silhouettes and two scroll design foxes out of vinyl.  I used transfer tape to add the vinyl to both sides of the ornaments.  Then, they were ready to hang on the tree!

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Open Design Space and select the fox images.   Resize the solid silhouette and continue to cut.
  2. Place the basswood on the Strong Grip Mat and secure each side with masking tape.
  3. Make sure the knife blade is in place and calibrate, if necessary.
  4. Set the material, choosing the Basswood 1/16″ option.  Then, continue to cut
  5. Repeat the process three more times until you have four wooden foxes.
  6. Once all the wooden foxes are cut, use a glue gun to glue two wooden foxes together, adding a twine loop in the middle for hanging.
  7. Then, switch the blade back to the Premium Fine-Point Blade.
  8. Back in Design Space, resize the scroll design fox to the same size as the silhouette solid.
  9. Cut four more foxes out of vinyl.  Remove the unwanted vinyl from the design.
  10. Then, use transfer tape to add the vinyl to the ornaments and hang! 



These ornaments made a great addition to our fox themed tree! They took a little time to make, but it’s worth it to have homemade ornaments I can enjoy year after year!

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Oh My Gourd Fall Tote Bag

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Make this adorable, farmhouse style Oh My Gourd Fall Tote Bag using trendy buffalo check Infusible Ink and the Cricut EasyPress 2!

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

 


I’ve been dying to make a tote bag project since my birthday back in July! I had received a gift card for the craft store and spent it on Infusible Ink, blanks, and other Cricut products. The first time I used Infusible Ink, it didn’t work out very well. My design totally shifted during pressing, not all of the ink had transferred, and it just didn’t look right.

Since getting my 12″x10″ EasyPress2, I decided to give Infusible Ink another try and made myself a cute tote bag for fall. It was a lot easier this time around and my finished project came out way better!

Cricut EasyPress 2

 
Think of the EasyPress as a big iron that allows you to design a variety of heat transfer projects using a variety of heat transfer materials. I have the EasyPress in two sizes – 9″x9″ and 12″x10″ (and will be getting the mini soon!).

I have been using the 12″x10″ EasyPress for most of my projects. Ironing vinyl onto things like shirts and bags is a breeze with this size since it covers the entire area of the design. That way, there’s no need to move the EasyPress around. Your design will be adhered to the fabric in one shot!

The other thing I like about my EasyPress is that the temperature is completely adjustable and goes up to 400 degrees. Plus, you can set a timer, which comes in really handy when working with different fabrics and iron-on materials. The EasyPress is really easy to use and comes with a heat safe base to set it on. It also has an auto-shutoff feature for when its not in use.

Oh My Gourd Fall Tote Bag

 
Now that I’ve introduced you to another one of my favorite Cricut machines, let’s make a really cute tote bag with it! For this project, I’m not only using my EasyPress2. I’m also using Infusible Ink.

If you’re not familiar with Infusible Ink, it’s completely different than iron-on vinyl. Infusible Ink allows designs to transfer directly into the fabric. So there’s no peeling, fading, or cracking over time. It also comes in a wide variety of patterns and colors, so the design possibilities are endless!  But unlike vinyl, you have to be pretty precise and patient about it or your design won’t come out the way it should.


I’m hanging onto what’s left of fall, so I wanted to make a cute fall/pumpkin design. I opened up Design Space and searched for a pumpkin image. It was important that it had two colors so I could use black Infusible Ink for the stem and buffalo check for the pumpkin.

Then, I added “Oh my gourd,” and “I love fall” to the design, curving it around the pumpkin. Two small dots finished off my design. Then, it was ready to cut!


When I got to the cut screen, I made sure that my mats were sorted by color and that the images were mirrored. Just like using iron-on vinyl, you want to make sure that the designs are mirrored when cutting on Infusible Ink.


I set my Cricut Maker® to the Infusible Ink material setting and cut my design.


Once my design was cut, I used the “cracking method” to remove my design from the backing. You basically want to gently bend the cut design and remove the excess material. Then, I used heat resistant tape to keep my cut design secure and in place (VERY IMPORTANT WHEN USING INFUSIBLE INK).

Once my design was ready, I heated my EasyPress, set the timer, and pressed the design onto my tote bag.

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Open the “Oh My Gourd” design in Design Space.
  2. Resize the image, if necessary. Then, place the black and buffalo check Infusible Ink on two cutting mats. Make sure the pattern-side is facing up.
  3. Set the Maker to the Infusible Ink material setting and cut each mat.
  4. Carefully use the cracking method to remove excess material from the design.
  5. Cut around the design and tape into place on the tote bag with heat resistant tape.
  6. Cover the design with the included butcher paper. Place cardstock or a piece of cardboard in the tote bag so the design doesn’t transfer through to the back.
  7. Then, set the EasyPress to 385 degrees and press with even and firm pressure, not moving, for 40 seconds.
  8. Carefully lift the EasyPress off of the design and remove the tape.
  9. Allow the design to cool before using the tote bag.

A few notes about Infusible Ink

 

    • This is the second project I’ve made with Infusible Ink. The first was a hot mess because the ink didn’t completely transfer and the EasyPress had shifted. The lettering was messy and missing in places.
    • This time around, my project came out a lot better thanks to the heat resistant tape! It’s highly recommended! There was still an area of fading on the pumpkin, but it’s nothing I can’t live with.
    • Make sure that you place the EasyPress directly down onto the design. This is why I recommend using the 12″x10″ EasyPress for Infusible Ink projects, so it covers the entire area.
    • Also, make sure you only use Infusible Ink compatible bases with these projects.
    • If Infusible Ink intimidates you, you can still make this tote bag using Black Everyday Iron-On and the Rustic Lodge Lumberjack sampler.

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