DIY Alphabet, Numbers, and Shapes Reusable Tracing Board: Free SVG Included
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.
When I heard the news that Utah schools would be closed until at least May 1st, my heart sank a little! Don’t get me wrong! My friends are crushing the whole work from home, home-schooling, and surviving a global pandemic thing! Honestly, I don’t know how they are doing it… but my heart sank for the kids! Because honestly, I was the type of kid that LOVED going to school. Type A, over-achiever type. Assignments and good grades made me so excited. So even though I don’t have kids of my own just yet, I wanted to create something that I would have loved as a kid. I know times have changed and you can probably download an app to practice your penmanship… but something about this activity makes me so happy. It’s super easy to create and hopefully will keep your kids busy for a few minutes!
- Cricut Maker OR Cricut Explore Air 2
- StandardGrip Mat (LightGrip works fine too)
- Medium Point Cricut Marker
- Transparency Film
- Dry Erase Markers
In this tutorial, I am going to share how to make this project using your Cricut machine, but at the end, I will also show you some other ways you can create this project without using any cutting machine. If you want to skip the written tutorial, check out the video below.
Looking for the SVG mentioned in the video?
If you are looking for the SVG used in the tutorial– here it is! Simply agree to the “Terms & Conditions” and subscribe to my email list to download! Your support means the world to me!
After you download the SVG, upload it to Cricut’s Design Space. If you need help with that, 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.
Adjust the Layers in Cricut’s Design Space
Once you have successfully uploaded the file into Design Space, we need to adjust the different layers. By default when you bring a file into Design Space, Cricut assumes you want to cut everything, but we know that we want to draw the alphabet and then cut the cardstock. So we need to tell our Cricut to do just that.
Begin by ungrouping the shapes. Select everything and then choose ungroup.
Once everything is ungrouped, choose the alphabet layer. With it selected, choose the “linetype” up at the top and then choose “Draw.” If this sounds like a foreign language, click on the image below and it’ll take you to this part in the full video tutorial.
Duplicate the Background & Attach the Draw Layer
After you have adjusted your linetype, we will need to make a copy of the background. We will draw and cut on the cardstock, but the additional shape will be used to cut our transparency film. Select just the background shape and then choose duplicate. Move that layer off to the side.
Next, we need to attach our draw layer to one of the background layers. Attaching the draw layer to the background basically means that we are paper clipping them together. If we didn’t do this, the drawing layer would end up on a different mat than the cut layer. Attaching them ensures that the draw and cut actions will be performed together. It sounds more confusing than it is. To get a better understanding of the action, you can check out the video!
Click “Make It” and set your material to cardstock!
Load Your Materials, Tools, and Pen in the Machine
Load your pen into the machine ensuring that the arrow is no longer visible.
Using a StandardGrip (green) or LightGrip (blue) mat, load your cardstock onto the mat. Then load that into the machine.
Click the flashing “C” button and your machine will draw and cut your design!
Once your cardstock is done cutting, unload your machine and mat. Navigate back over to Design Space and change your material to “transparency” and then load the film onto your cutting mat and load that into the machine to be cut.
Layer your transparency film over the cardstock and clip it into a 3-ring binder. Now you are set for some tracing practice! If you don’t have a cutting machine, don’t worry, you can use the free files above with just a home printer!
Other ways to use the free files!
Print the PDF version on printer paper and place a transparency film on top of it. Hole punch them both and you are good to go! If you don’t have a transparency film, you can use any clear plastic on top! Some ideas include laminating the sheet, using packing tape on top, clear contact paper, a clear plastic bag… you get the idea!
If you have a transparency film, you can also print directly onto it! I’d recommend mirroring your text so that it prints on the underside of the film. That way when you draw on top it is nice and smooth!
And lastly if you have a Glowforge, you cut and engrave this on 1/8″ Clear Acrylic. I included a Glowforge file in the files above. Make sure that you mirror the image so that the engraving is on the underside of the acrylic. For the settings, I would recommend the Proofgrade Medium Clear Acrylic with an SD Engrave. You can defocus your laser to smooth out the lines if you’d like! For a commercial license to sell the projects you make, check out my Etsy listing. I added felt dividers to protect the acrylic from scratching against the other acrylic pages.
Have Questions or want to connect!?
Thanks so much for checking out this tutorial! If you have other ideas or requests for kids’ crafts, leave them in the comments below! I am happy to create more kids content so that we can get through this time together! My happiest memories as a child are when I was crafting… so maybe one day your littles will look back and remember all the extra crafts they got to do while being quarantined instead of the scary, toilet paper hoarding memories we adults will have!
Happy crafting & stay safe!
Karley
