Vinyl Decals for Starbucks Cups

Vinyl Decals for Starbucks Cups

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This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

In this tutorial I am going to share how to make these adorable vinyl decals and wraps for Starbucks cold cups– check out the video below.   

Check out the full how to video!

Looking for the SVG mentioned in the video?

If you are looking for the SVG used in the tutorial– here it is! Agree to the terms and download the zipped file. Before you can upload your file, unzip the file. To unzip the folder, double click the file and the SVG will appear. If you are getting a warning, double check to make sure you are uploading the SVG file and not the zip file. 

NOTE: You may need to resize your image! Ensure the entire image dimensions match the image below! The dimensions should be 11.2306 inches x 10.9111 inches in Design Space before you cut it. I recommend test cutting the file using paper to ensure it fits your cup properly.  

 

Starbucks Template
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering your email you will be subscribed to Karley Hall's email list and can INSTANTLY download this file. Your email will only be subscribed once and you may unsubscribe at any time. Image rights: Under no circumstances are you permitted to resell, give-away, or otherwise distribute any actual files associated with digital designs offered on KarleyHall.com Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe. For questions, email karley@karleyhall.com

If you need help with downloading the SVG, I have a few YouTube videos to help you out. If you are using an iOS device like an iPad or and iPhone, check out this video. Or if you are using a laptop/ computer check out this video. 

Want to learn how to make your own template?

You know that I do not like keeping secrets! If you want to make your own templates, I can show you how. Use this tutorial to learn how to make a wrap to fit the tumbler of your choice!

Have Questions or want to connect!?

Thanks so much for checking out this tutorial!

Happy crafting & stay safe!

Karley

 

Hello

I’m Karley

Welcome to my blog! A place where I can share my love for all things crafting with you! If you are obsessed with your Cricut… I’m sorry to inform you that your obsession will only get worse while you’re here! I will teach you everything you need to know to get up and crafting with your Cricut. I am here to help! To reach me, use any of the social links below! 

Have specific Cricut questions?  Join Our Facebook Group!

Join Now!

How to Make Planner Stickers Using Your Cricut

How to Make Planner Stickers Using Your Cricut

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This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

I have always wanted to be someone who is uses a planner. Layouts filled with color coordinated schedules and stickers make my OCD heart so happy… but for some reason I get overwhelmed with the thought of making a layout and not loving it. So I decided to spend an afternoon designing planner stickers. I am so excited with how they turned out and can’t wait to make more. And since I love you and am so happy you are here, I want to give them to you for free! Here is the free download so you can grab these planner stickers and use them with your cutting machine! 

To download the high-resolution file with a transparent background to upload to design space, agree to the terms and conditions below.

Payment & Reminder Planner Stickers
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering your email you will be subscribed to Karley Hall's email list and can INSTANTLY download this file. Your email will only be subscribed once and you may unsubscribe at any time. Image rights: For personal use only! You can create projects using this image for any individual, organization, or event so long as it is not with the intent of resale or other commercial purposes. Under no circumstances are you permitted to resell, give-away, or otherwise distribute any actual files associated with digital designs offered on KarleyHall.com Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe. For questions, email karley@karleyhall.com

If you want to make your own planner stickers, I have a full video tutorial on how to design print then cut stickers using images on Cricut Design Space!

Here’s what you will need!

A full written tutorial is in the works, but in the meantime check out the full video tutorial below!

 

I know Print then Cut can be a little overwhelming, so if I didn’t cover something in this tutorial or if you have a suggestion for something else, please let me know! 

If you have any questions or want to connect, check out the social media links below! 

Happy Crafting,

Karley

Hello

I’m Karley

Welcome to my blog! A place where I can share my love for all things crafting with you! If you are obsessed with your Cricut… I’m sorry to inform you that your obsession will only get worse while you’re here! I will teach you everything you need to know to get up and crafting with your Cricut. I am here to help! To reach me, use any of the social links below! 

Have specific Cricut questions?  Join Our Facebook Group!

Join Now!

Using Epoxy/ Resin Molds for Beginners

Using Epoxy/ Resin Molds for Beginners

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This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

I know a lot of people are intimidated by resin/ epoxy! I have been using resin to add shine and dimension to my projects for about 5 years. And I will admit, it didn’t scare me… I wasn’t scared of it in the least. Like all things I do, if I mess up a project I would walk away knowing I tried and learned a few things along the way. But with resin, I came across a YouTuber who made me terrified of anything to do with resin. I basically put my resin up on a shelf and didn’t want to touch it ever again because I was afraid it was toxic. Just recently, I reached out to Art Resin and picked their brains on all things resin. I wanted to make sure I did my own due diligence before promoting a craft product. After talking to Art Resin, I realized there are several different types of epoxies and resins. So I am going to cover what I learned and hopefully it will make working with resin a little less scary.

First let’s cover the different types of resin: tabletop resin and casting resin! Tabletop resin is used to add a protective clear layer over finished art projects and tabletops. Whereas casting resin is used to pour in silicone molds to form resin objects. For this project, technically, I did not use the correct type of resin. It worked, but according to the brand, “Art Resin” is not a casting resin. Art Resin is a resin used for coating projects– it’s similar to tabletop resin. It’s recommended to use over finished art, photos, paper, puzzles, etc., to give your project a nice finished surface. When I asked if I could use it to cast in a silicone mold, they said it would work, but would only recommend it in small, shallow molds. This post gives a great overview of the difference between each resin type. So with that being said, I chose and trust Art Resin because it’s safe, free of VOCs, and there are no fumes. Since it’s not intended for casting, you will only be able to cast small molds or if you want to cast larger projects, you would have to pour in increments and wait for it to cure between layers. I am okay with that since I plan to cast small projects and for me, safety is my number one priority. When you are purchasing resin for casting molds, you will want to look for a “casting resin” as opposed to a tabletop/ coating resin.

As always, I recommend that you do your own due diligence and take whatever safety precautions you feel are necessary. With Art Resin, I work in a well-ventilated space but have not felt the need to wear a respirator. If you are sensitive to smells, you may find wearing a mask or respirator can help. With Art Resin, it is a clean system, meaning there are no solvents or non-reactive diluents—everything in it reacts so nothing is free to become airborne and cause health issues. You can read through all of their FAQs here. 

Okay now that we got the safety and scary stuff out of the way, let’s get started.

Here’s what you will need!

If you want to skip the written tutorial, you can check out the full video tutorial below!

 

Mixing your resin!

Before you follow my video instructions completely, take a look at the instructions that come with your resin. At some point I used a resin that was measured by weight and not volume. I used a kitchen scale to measure my resin from that point forward. DON’T DO THIS! All resin is not created equal and the measuring will be different for each product. So for this step, you should measure based on the instructions that come with your resin, either by volume or weight. Your instructions will also give you the mixing ratio. For Art Resin they recommend measuring by volume and to mix at a 1:1 ratio of hardener to resin.   

Using the ml lines on your measuring cups pour 20 ml of the resin and 20 ml of the hardener for this set of barrette molds. It does not matter which one you pour in first. Slowly stir those together for a few minutes until your mixture comes out nice and streak free.   

 

Once your mixture is clear, it’s time to add our mix ins! 

Mix in all the fun things!

This is the fun part. Using an additional silicone mixing cup, pour a little bit of resin into a new cup and add glitter, foil, alcohol ink, paint…. whatever you want into the cup. And then stir it up until you are happy with the consistency. Before you fill your mold, clean out your molds with some compressed air ensuring they are free of any debris.   

Once your molds are clean, using your popsicle stick, guide your resin into the mold. Make sure they are filled all the way up to the top of the mold. If there is a little spill over, that is all right, we can clean that up with a craft knife after the resin cures.  

Let your molds cure for 24 hours

I let my barrettes sit for 24 hours before I released them from my molds. Using a craft knife, I cleaned up any extra resin from the edges of my barrettes so they were nice and clean.  

Glue clip to barrette 

After your barrette is completely cured, using either hot glue or E6000, secure your resin barrette to the top of your clip.

Enjoy your new barrettes!

These are so addicting to make! I have been playing around with alcohol inks and I cannot wait to show you what I have made! Since the Color Pour Resin Barrette kit only comes with 6 hair clips, I reached out to the company and asked if they planned to sell the barrettes separately. They are looking into it, but currently do not have that as an available option. I have been searching for alligator clips that will work, but if you find some you love, let us know in the comments below! 

Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me! If you end up making these barrettes, please tag me so I can see your wonderful creations. Think of all of the possibilities you have with resin, glitter, and color! Do you have a favorite resin brand? Let me know in the comments below! 

If you have any questions or want to connect, check out the social media links below! 

Happy Crafting,

Karley

Hello

I’m Karley

Welcome to my blog! A place where I can share my love for all things crafting with you! If you are obsessed with your Cricut… I’m sorry to inform you that your obsession will only get worse while you’re here! I will teach you everything you need to know to get up and crafting with your Cricut. I am here to help! To reach me, use any of the social links below! 

Have specific Cricut questions?  Join Our Facebook Group!

Join Now!

How to Make Finger Puppets Using Your Cricut Maker Machine

How to Make Finger Puppets Using Your Cricut Maker Machine

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This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

I am so excited about this project! There is something nostalgic about finger puppets. I think back to my childhood and the imagination I had. I could be in an empty room and in seconds transport to a magical kingdom or futuristic planet. It didn’t take much for my mind to wander endlessly, but when I had props and toys to help tell my stories, I could share my creativity with my family in the form of puppet shows, dances, or even songs. Think of all the stories you can tell with these little finger puppets! They are easy to make but are a little time-consuming!

Here’s what you will need!

If you want to skip the written tutorial, you can check out the full video tutorial below!

 

Download the free file!

To get started, download this free file! You can use this file with any cutting machine, but I recommend using the Cricut Maker! Simply agree to the “Terms & Conditions” and subscribe to my email list to download! Your support means the world to me!

Finger Puppets for Cricut Makers
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering your email you will be subscribed to Karley Hall's email list and can INSTANTLY download this file. Your email will only be subscribed once and you may unsubscribe at any time. Image rights: For personal use only! You can create projects using this image for any individual, organization, or event so long as it is not with the intent of resale or other commercial purposes. Under no circumstances are you permitted to resell, give-away, or otherwise distribute any actual files associated with digital designs offered on KarleyHall.com Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe. For questions, email karley@karleyhall.com

If you need help downloading and uploading the file to Cricut’s Design space check out this video if you are using a laptop/ computer and this video if you are on an iOS device.

 

Once you have your image uploaded, you have the option to “ungroup” your image and select the animals you’d like to cut! You can also make your finger puppets larger or smaller if you’d like. Once you’re ready, click “Make It!”

Set your material to felt!

In Design Space, Cricut separates all of the layers by color and arranges them on your cutting mats. This is one of my favorite features about Cricut– they do all of the hard work for us! Ensure the mats all look correctly and continue on to setting your materials.

Since you are cutting two materials for this project, I’d recommend that you cut all of your felt layers first. Then at the end, cut your iron-on/ heat transfer vinyl layer.  

Click “browse all materials” and then choose Felt!

Cricut will recommend the fine point blade, but I recommend the Rotary Blade. Click on the “Edit Tools” option and choose Rotary Blade. 

Load your felt onto a Fabric Grip Mat

In Design Space, Cricut separates all of the layers by color and arranges them on your cutting mats. This is one of my favorite features about Cricut– they do all of the hard work for us! Ensure the mats all look correctly and continue on to setting your materials.

Since you are cutting two materials for this project, I’d recommend that you cut all of your felt layers first. Then at the end, cut your iron-on/ heat transfer vinyl layer.  

Cut your heat transfer vinyl

After you have cut all of your felt pieces, it’s time to cut your black heat transfer vinyl. Before you cut it, make sure to change the material from Design Space.  

Here are the things to remember at this step! Switch your blade from the rotary blade to the fine point blade! Then set your material to the type of heat transfer vinyl you are using. I used Siser EasyWeed and it cut perfectly using the Everyday Iron-on setting. Don’t forget to turn on your “mirror” setting for your HTV! Then load your HTV onto a StandardGrip Mat shiny side down. If any of that is confusing, click on the photo above, and it’ll take you to that exact part in my YouTube tutorial. Weed your HTV using your favorite weeding tool. 

Glue your felt pieces together

Even if you are stitching your finger puppets, I recommend gluing your pieces together first. The order of operations doesn’t really matter here! If you want to iron-on your HTV first and then glue, you can totally do that! I was overwhelmed with all of my felt pieces so I decided I would glue all of my felt pieces together first and then iron-on the black HTV pieces. 

I started by gluing around the edge of the heads and adhered that to one of the finger puppet bodies.

Next, I glued around the edges of the next finger puppet body and left the bottom open. I sandwiched both bodies together and pinched them along the edges to makes sure the fibers fused together. For animals with felt embellishments on their faces, I would recommend gluing those next. For the chicken and the pig, leave the chicken head comb and pig ears off! I glued those after I did all of my stitching!    

Iron-on your HTV details

Using a heat press, EasyPress, or iron, adhere your HTV details to your finger puppet. I used Siser EasyWeed HTV and only had to press my design on for 7 seconds before it was good to go!

I used the EasyPress Mini on the 2nd level of heat. It worked like a charm! At this point, you could be done! Your finger puppet is all glued and ready to be used. But I wanted to add a little extra interest and decided to add a blanket stitch around the edges. 

Blanket stitch your puppet

If you have not worked with embroidery floss before, click on the image below and it will walk you through the limited knowledge I have on stitching. I apologize that I didn’t stay in the frame while I was stitching… it was a little harder to stitch out in front of me than I imagined. Usually I hold it up to close to my eyes! 

With two strands of 48″ long embroidery floss, blanket stitch around your entire finger puppet. I am no pro when it comes to hand stitching, but I loved how all of these turned out! 

Thanks so much for visiting me in my corner of the internet! If you end up making these finger puppets, please tag me so I can see your wonderful creations. This makes me so excited to break out my felt and work on some other felt projects that you will see on the blog soon! 

If you have any questions or want to connect, check out the social media links below! 

Happy Crafting,

Karley

Hello

I’m Karley

Welcome to my blog! A place where I can share my love for all things crafting with you! If you are obsessed with your Cricut… I’m sorry to inform you that your obsession will only get worse while you’re here! I will teach you everything you need to know to get up and crafting with your Cricut. I am here to help! To reach me, use any of the social links below! 

Have specific Cricut questions?  Join Our Facebook Group!

Join Now!

Cricut Beginner Must-Haves!

Cricut Beginner Must-Haves!

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This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Okay! So you have picked the machine you think is best for you and now you are ready to stock on the essentials! If you haven’t picked your machine yet, check out this post here. 

There are just a few things I recommend and chances are they came in your bundle if you opted to buy a bundle. But if you just purchased the machine, then check out this list so you are ready to go when your machine arrives!

Tools

While your Cricut machine will do the heavy lifting, there are some extra tools that will make your life so much easier. If your budget allows, I recommend this tool kit!  

From left to right, this tool kit includes tweezers, a weeding hook, spatula, trimmer, scraper, scissors, and a scoring stylus.

Tweezers are good to have on hand for several craft scenarios. I use them the most when working with small crafts. They will hold your paper pieces while you are applying glue, or help you position your small cuts precisely with minimal effort.

The weeding hook is used when you are weeding. Weeding is the process of peeling away your unwanted cuts from your image. This technique is used with vinyl, iron- on/ heat transfer vinyl (htv), and a few other materials. Having a sharp hook to grab your materials will make your life so much easier! If you think you will be working with vinyl and heat transfer vinyl (htv) often, there is another tool kit that makes weeding such a breeze! If you can afford both, scoop them up! 

Next is the spatula. You can use this to help remove pieces from your cutting mat. The cutting mat is sticky to hold down your materials. To get the materials off of your mat, this little tool will get underneath them to release them from the adhesive without damaging your project. 

The trimmer. You need it. Enough said. Just trust me haha. This is probably the most underrated tools in my craft arsenal and I use it all of the time!!! The trimmer is a must have to trim down vinyl, iron-on, any material on a roll, scraps, paper… etc. You can cut everything with it. There is also a little arm that swings out from under it which makes measuring super easy! 

The scraper can be used a few different ways. If you plan to craft with adhesive vinyl, you will start learning about transfer tape. This scraper will help you burnish on your transfer tape and apply your designs to your final surfaces. You can also use it to quickly scrape off your machine cutting mat so that it is ready for your next cut. 

Scissors. Who has enough scissors!? No one. You always need more. And these scissors have a guard, so I throw them in my bag and don’t have to worry about them poking through. 

Lastly, the scoring stylus. This will work in both the Explore and Maker machines. The Maker has another scoring tool, called the “scoring wheel” but there are times where I prefer to use my scoring stylus. It’s nice to have on hand. Since the scoring wheel doesn’t fit into the Explore machines, if you want to score, you will need one of these guys. 

If this tool kit seems too aggressive or not in the budget right now, this one is a good alternative!     

Mats

When I got my first cutting machine, I did not understand why you needed a mat and wish someone who have explained it to me. Why can’t I just load in my paper and have it cut? If you understand how a cutting mat works, then that may seem silly to think I was confused. But I was… so to those of you who don’t understand the purpose of a cutting mat, let me break it down for you. A machine cutting mat has a sticky adhesive all over it so that it can hold your material in place while it cuts. Without the mat, materials like paper would cut, and then fall away, and cause the machine to jam up, crumbling the paper. With the mat, you can place materials on it, and all of the pieces you cut will be held in place, and then you can gently remove them from the mat once your machine is done cutting. So now that we understand those basics, there are a few more things. Mats that fit in the Explore and Maker machines come in 4 different strengths and 2 different sizes. 

LightGrip Mats (light blue) are great for holding delicate materials like copy paper. StandardGrip Mats (green) work well with cardstock, vinyls, heat transfer vinyls… really the bulk of materials. StrongGrip Mats (purple) will hold sturdy materials like leather and chipboard. As a beginner, I recommend having all the different mat strengths on hand because you never know when you may need a stronger mat! Your machine will come with a mat, but you quickly realize, having extras will never hurt! You can order a variety pack of mats here! If you decided the Cricut Maker is the machine for you, your machine will come with a FabricGrip mat (pink), but you may want to consider buying an extra! Having more than one mat will allow you to cut bigger projects faster– you can load your material on a fresh mat while your machine is cutting. This will speed up your crafting a ton! 

Mats also are available in a larger, 12 x 24″, size. You can order those here. 

Extra Blades

I like to be prepared, so if you want to have extra blades on hand, you can buy these blade replacements for both your Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker machines. I love that with Cricut blades, you only have to replace the actual blade and not the entire housing. I use my Cricut A LOT! But I really don’t find myself needing to replace my blade often. It will dull faster if you cut a lot of paper, but since I am cutting mostly vinyl and heat transfer vinyl, I change mine about every 9 months. If you notice your cuts aren’t as clean or the material is dragging, it may be time for a new blade. Having them on hand, makes it an easy problem to fix! 

Materials

In your machine box, you have everything you need to get started! Your next question may be, what materials do I need?! And that largely depends on what you want to make. I am going to put the shopping list for the most common Cricut Craft and links to videos that will help you get started!

Adhesive Vinyl Crafts (like vinyl on a mug):

Here is a how-to tutorial on how to work with adhesive vinyl and a list of materials to get started. If you buy the tool kit above, then you will have all the tools necessary for this project! 

Heat Transfer Vinyl Crafts (applying a design on a shirt):

Here is a how-to tutorial on how to work with heat transfer vinyl and a list of materials to get started. An EasyPress or HeatPress will make this a lot easier, but you can absolutely use an iron to get started! 

Pick one or two crafts you want to try first. You can make so many things with your machine that it may be a little overwhelming. By choosing a craft to start with, you will learn skills that will make your Cricut seem more approachable. It will also keep you from dumping money into one craft that you may not enjoy. So order a roll or two of vinyl or iron-on and try out some different crafts! If you love it, stock up, but if not, you can move on to making cards or paper flowers or a million other things that we will learn about here! 

Computers & Devices

You can use your Cricut machine with several different computers and devices. Check out this helpful article to see your options. I want to note that if you have a Google Chromebook, it may be compatible. On Cricut’s website it currently (5/2020) says it’s not compatible. But if you have access to the Google Play Store on your Chromebook, you will be able to download and use the Android App.

You can download and play around in Design Space even before you buy a machine. It is 100% free to download and use. Check it out here! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!

I’m so glad you are here

This is a fun and exciting new journey you are on. I can remember exactly where I was when I ordered my first cutting machine. It completely changed my entire life. I actually think aside from marrying my husband, Ryan, that it was the most pivotal moment in my life. This machine will bring you so much more than you can imagine! Congratulations on one of the the best investments you can make for yourself!

You are not in this alone and I encourage you to join our crafting community online. To join my free Facebook Group, click here! We are all there to help you!

If you found this post helpful and it led you to click on a link and purchase supplies, I want to say thank you for supporting my business! By clicking on my links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These are called affiliate links and affiliate links show retailers that I sent you to shop and they may reward me with a small commission. You are the reason I can create educational, how-to content for this blog! If you are looking for a coupon code for Cricut’s website, join my Facebook Group to get the most up to date one since it changes each quarter!

I want to get to know you, so check out the links below and say hello! Tell me which machine and supplies you just bought and what you are most excited to make. Thanks again for being here– I can’t wait to get to know you even better!

 

Happy Crafting,

Karley

Hello

I’m Karley

Welcome to my blog! A place where I can share my love for all things crafting with you! If you are obsessed with your Cricut… I’m sorry to inform you that your obsession will only get worse while you’re here! I will teach you everything you need to know to get up and crafting with your Cricut. I am here to help! To reach me, use any of the social links below! 

Have specific Cricut questions?  Join Our Facebook Group!

Join Now!