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Creating Pioneer Woman Inspired Stickers

Creating Pioneer Woman Inspired Stickers

My parents recently moved and a new home comes with new decor and themes. Just ask my wonderful mom who changed up her entire style while she unpacked! My mom is a lady who LOVES to theme out rooms and for her new house, her new kitchen, she went all out in the popular Pioneer Woman. If you don’t know what that is, it’s bright, colorful, floral patterns that scream cute little modern country kitchen. My mom is a massive fan of weekend yard sales so that combined with actual shopping, she has managed to form the ultimate pioneer woman kitchen.  From the bread box to the toaster, everything fits the theme. Everything that is, but one item – The KitchenAid stand mixer!

Now, normally my mom is an impatient woman so buying a new mixer was a real possibility until she saw the price. However, my dad loves her to pieces so anything that makes her happy is bound to happen. In order to help save my dad’s wallet and my mom from ditched a perfectly good mixer for a bright and shiny new model, I went searching through my purchase history on DB to find the perfect stickers to upgrade her mixer from boring standard white to Pioneer Woman Inspired!


If videos are more your speed, be sure to check out the Youtube Channel. 


 If you want to follow along using exactly what I have, you can grab the Fiesta set clip art designs to below using this afl link here  



Materials Needed:

  1. Above Clipart Design
  2. Cricut Machine (or equivalent) 
  3. Glossy Vinyl Paper

Step 1 - Open Canva

I am telling you if you have not gone to Canva and poked around, you literally are doing yourself a disservice! Stop now and go look. If you didn’t see my last Canva tutorial, you need to check it out because we are using the sticker setup technique in this tutorial. 

 

Step 2 - Set up document

If you are new to creating stickers with Cricut print and cut, Cricut limits us on the size that we have available. Their Print and Cut settings will only allow us to create projects within a 9.25 x 6.75 scale (or 6.75 by 9.25) You do you boo! Set up your width and height using either one and tap “create a new design”.  Be sure you are using in for inches and not the default pixels (or px) 

Step 3 - Change your Canvas color

By default, canva creates a white background. We want to change our background color so that we can pull the color easier once we upload these sheets into Cricut Design Space. You can do that by tapping that colorful box towards the top left. I chose a light grey color to make things easier.

Step 4 - Upload your images

Now that our Canvas is created, you will want to import your clip art files. Make sure to unzip your design to get full access to the files and since we are working on cutting down the time it takes to create projects, DRAG everything from that folder directly on the canvas. I mean you can use the uploads button on the left of the screen, but I love dragging things in.   

Step 5 - Add them to your canvas

Once you have your designs uploaded, you will see them pop up in the panel on the left side and / or on your canvas. If you don’t see them on your canvas, click them from the left and they will populate. Start moving your pieces one by one so we can adjust the empty space around the designs. You can adjust that by selecting the sticker design and dragging the “hotdog” handles around the design itself.  The circles will change the OVERALL size of your design. 

 

Be careful not to get the designs too close as we will be adding an offset inside of Cricut Design Space, so make sure you have enough room to account for that. 

Step 6 - Download

Once your setup is roughly how you want it, we want to download the sheet by selecting the download in the top right corner. Select “PNG”.

Step 7 - Upload

Now that our design is downloaded, it’s time to upload the sheet into Cricut Design space. Select “complex” and hit continue.

Step 8 - Erase the Background

The next screen in the Cricut process should ask you about erasing. In order to do this, we want to make sure to ONLY select the canvas background color from earlier. Doing so will remove it, allowing us to save clean-cut stickers. 🙂  Click continue and USE THOSE TAGS! 

 

I can not stress this enough. As tempting as it is to just hit continue, because “I’ll find it later” DON’T! You will not find it later and you will hate life. LOL. Use those tags. This is not optional. Okay, it is, but seriously, learn from my mistake! The image name is useless. The tags are where it’s at. Use those tags so when you need to search for this later, it will be easier to find it. 

Step 9 - Create an offset

Now that we have our design inside of Cricut Design Space, we can move onto creating an offset using Cricuts feature – “offset”. I do want to note that I created a dark background so that you can see what I am doing. You DO NOT need to do that. I just wanted to make it clear what is going on behind the design. Now that we have this ready, we want to select the floral design layer and the offset button should become an option. 

By default, Cricut populates an offset. As you can see, it is far too big for our stickers. You can change this by dragging the button towards the center line. I picked an offset of .1 as a good base for my stickers based on the area  I had to work with. You may want to go with a different size depending on how you worked out your stickers. 

The offset has now been created (black background behind the design). 

With the offset ultimately set up to become out outline for our stickers, I am going to change the background from black to white by selecting the layer and hitting that box next to the “operation” to change the color. As you can see, the stickers have created holes where the clipart has spaces in between. We don’t want those cut out, so we are going to fill them. To do this, we are going to change the operation of our offset layer from print then cut to a cut basic. By doing this, we have unlocked the “countour” feature in Design Space. 

Step 10 : Contouring

Select our white sticker offset, and in the bottom right corner of your screen, you will see “contour” Select that, and a popup window will appear allowing you to select certain aspects of the design and hide them. (See below). 

We are going to select the inner pieces because we want the machine to cut the outline only.  Apply these settings and we can exit out of this screen and the white offset will change.

Step 11 : Flatten

We are finally ready to move on but first we need to flatten our sticker design. That will convert our cut offset back to a print and cut. Select both layers, right click, and select flatten. 

Step 12: Print Settings

When we select “make it” in the top right corner, we are throw into the screen below. Send this set up to the printer, but first, you want to make sure you are printing in the best quality. When you hit “Send to printer” a diaolog box will appear. Make sure you use your correct printer and tap the radio button that says “use system dialog”. This will give you access to your printer settings. 

The printer settings that I need using the vinyl paper I have request Premium Glossy. Make sure you are selecting the appropiate paper settings. Your printer may ask you to confirm. 

Step 13: Cut Settings

I wanted these stickers to pull out easily. I selected poster board, but you don’t have to. The thicker the material you say you have, the deeper the blade will cut. 

 

Once you hit okay and print, the sticker sheet will come out with the black outline. Because this vinyl sticker paper is glossy, I needed to take a wax melt (a candle will do just fine as well) and rub the wax on the black outline so that the Cricut Machine will read the black border design. 

 

Once they are cut out, you are left with super cute – very much so – Pioneer woman inspired stickers! I can’t wait to give these to my mom at our dinner on Sunday. What do you guys think? What are other items you would  “Pioneer Woman”?

- xo Ashley

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial.  I hope you found some value in it. Don’t forget to pin this post so that your crafty friends can find us also. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Check out my social links to the right.

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CategoriesCrafting Tutorials by

Cricut Sticker Hack

Tutorials: Create Sticker Sheet in Canva

I have been DREADING uploading my sticker bundles in Cricut Design Space. The process takes forever, I want to make sure sure I use the tags, and honestly, if I can’t do something in 1 minute, I tend to skip it entirely. I have far too much on my plate – running two businesses, freelance, trying to build my social media platforms, and being a mom – spending 20 minutes to upload bundles is just not realistic. HOWEVER, the besties in the group need sticker tutorials and I have spent far too much on stickers to NOT be printing them out. [For real, those dollar deals are addicting.] 

 

I am always looking for a shortcut to skip steps. Call it what you want, we all want a shortcut that actually works!

 

I took to my favorite online program – Canva – with a theory and it paid off. What I am about to show you will blow your mind. Sticker makers rejoice as I am about to share with you the best Cricut Sticker Hack  (Seriously, have you checked it out yet?)

 

 If you want to follow along using exactly what I have, you can grab the super cute sticker designs to the right using this afl link here 

A Hack?

Okay, well maybe we aren’t hacking the system and breaking into the Matrix, but when I tell you it changed the game for me, it literally changed the game. I will be using this technique to put out sticker sets from now until the end of time. All you need is your sticker bundle and Canva. 

Step 1 - Open Canva

Yep – here we are again, back in Canva. If you didn’t see my last Canva tutorial, you need to check it out, but if you are new here, Canva is an online design platform that is available for FREE. There is an app. It’s is a MUST have for small businesses, but I won’t get into too many details here.

Step 2 - Set up document

If you are new to creating stickers with Cricut print and cut, Cricut limits us on the size that we have available. Their Print and Cut settings will only allow us to create projects within a 9.25 x 6.75 scale (or 6.75 by 9.25) You do you boo! Set up your width and height using either one and tap “create a new design”.  Be sure you are using in for inches and not the default pixels (or px) 

Step 3 - Change your Canvas color

Since a lot of our sticker designs will have a white outline so that our Cricut machines know where to cut, we want to change the background of our canvas. This will allow us to see our design edges AND once we save it out, it will allow us to take out the background easily in Cricut Design Space. You can do that by tapping that colorful box towards the top left. I chose a darker grey color to make things easier.

Step 4 - Upload your images

Now that our Canvas is created, you will want to import your clip art files. Make sure to unzip your design to get full access to the files and since we are working on cutting down the time it takes to create projects, DRAG everything from that folder directly on the canvas. I mean you can use the uploads button on the left of the screen, but I love dragging things in.   

Step 5 - Add them to your canvas

Once you have your designs uploaded, you will see them pop up in the panel on the left side and on your canva pretty crazy looking (see below). Start moving your pieces one by one so we can adjust the empty space around the designs. You can adjust that by selecting the sticker design and dragging the “hotdog” handles around the design itself. 

Step 6 - Arrange Your Canvas

Now that all of our stickers empty spaces are taken care of, we can now fill the board easier. We are using these as packing stickers, so they do not need to be huge. I used a size of about 2 inches on most of the designs. This allows me to create 2 sets of these stickers on one sheet. In order to duplicate your designs, you can either drag in another copy from your Uploads or use the short cuts “Control C” (copy) and “Control V” (paste)

Step 7 - Save It!

Now that all of our designs are laid out, our canvas is a darker color, guess what? We are ready to move into Cricut Design Space. Tap the “Download” in the top right corner of the screen. This will pop up a menu. From here, save it under PNG

Step 8 - Cricut Time

Now we get to upload the PNG from the previous step into Cricut Design Space and save it as a print and cut. If you understand how to do this, you are all set, but if you still want some guidance, check out the rest of this post. When prompted, select “Complex” from the image type menu and hit next. 

Step 9 - Erase the Background

The next screen in the Cricut process should ask you about erasing. In order to do this, we want to make sure to ONLY select the dark background from earlier. Doing so will remove it, allowing us to save clean-cut stickers. 🙂 

Step 10 - USE THOSE TAGS!

I can not stress this enough. As tempting as it is to just hit continue, because “I’ll find it later” DON’T! You will not find it later and you will hate life. LOL. Use those tags. This is not optional. Okay, it is, but seriously, learn from my mistake! The image name is useless. The tags is where it’s at. Use those tags so when you need to search for this later, it will be easier to find it. 

I’m going to end the process here because I am still working on the full sticker set up tutorial. Once you tap “Save” you just put this into your Cricut Design Space and go through the print and cut steps to create stickers. If you needing that tutorial, just keep your eyes peeled in the group. I will be posting it very soon. 

 

I hope that you found this Cricut sticker hack helpful. I know it will forever have a huge impact on how I make my stickers. If you don’t mind, be sure to pin this post so we can help other crafters. 

I’m going to end the process here because I am still working on the full sticker set up tutorial. Once you tap “Save” you just put this into your Cricut Design Space and go through the print and cut steps to create stickers. If you needing that tutorial, just keep your eyes peeled in the group. I will be posting it very soon. 

 

I hope that you found this Cricut sticker hack helpful. I know it will forever have a huge impact on how I make my stickers. If you don’t mind, be sure to pin this post so we can help other crafters.  If you want to check out the video walkthrough, be sure to visit our Youtube Channel here.

Some Fave Packing Stickers:

You can find great packing sticker designs like this from Sanqunetti Designs. This was the first packing sticker set I used after I learned our hack and I am in LOVE with how cute these designs are.  To see a few of my favorite design bundles, check out the links below:

  1. Rose Gold – Sanquenetti Design

  2. Ultimate Sticker Collection

  3.  Best Selling Stickers  

  4. Small Business Sticker Bundle 

CategoriesCrafting Tutorials by

Organizing Your Craft Files

Ready – Set – DOWNLOAD!

Are you ready to Marie Kondo your craft files? Okay, so while I won’t be telling you to hold everything in your hands to see if it sparks joy or not, it is important to keep your digital files organized. Why you might ask? Well, let me set the scene for you. You are finally ready to sit down and craft using that one really cool skull with the flowers that you bought at that last Dollar Event (AFL link). You have your vinyl, your heat press on, and your Cricut Machine ready to roll. You go to upload the design and you search through your downloads folder – nothing. You search in your files – nothing. You search your desktop – nothing. You summon the computer fairy to search through your pc and still nothing. You start questioning yourself, did you download it? Did you delete it? Did you name it wrong? What did the designer name it? How much time have you wasted trying to search for something? By organizing your files, we can prevent the 30 minutes of search panic and get you to crafting even faster!

What is the best way to organize your files though? Year – Month – Category? Do we group by the size, the site, the price? While there are probably HUNDREDS of way to categorize them, I am going to show you the way that I do it which has worked for my craft business (although disclaimer – I still have more than I would like to admit on my desktop and downloads – we are working on that).

Downloading first starts with the actual act of downloading your files. Your PC should prompt you and ask where you want to save your folder, but if it doesn’t you should check under “Downloads”. If you want a spreadsheet to help you keep track of your digital purchases check out this link here.

So first it should be noted that the most popular downloads are

  1. Craft Files (these are you SVG, DXF, PNG, EPS)
  2. Fonts (OTF, TTF)
  3. Mockups
  4. Social Media Templates
  5. Sublimation Designs
  6. Stickers

Knowing this information, it’s only right that we include a folder for each one. Now if you don’t do a lot of social media templates or stickers, feel free to omit those from your folder structure. This is about making a system that will be best for YOU and only you know what that is. These 6 categories might seem specific and rightly so, however, after the 3rd Dollar Event and Freebie Friday, we could end up looking at hundreds of files inside these! Let’s be honest, starting inside of your closet can get a little crazy so we can’t expect our minds to be able to process that vast folder mess. We can go a little more specific with the craft files by creating categories like

  1. Adults (alcohol, recreational, not safe for work *wink* / dirty quotes)
  2. Family
  3. Holidays (because come on, there are so many!)
  4. Home Decor (kitchen, bathroom, doormats, etc)
  5. Occupational Designs
  6. Pets
  7. Quotes
  8. School Designs (pre-k all the way to college)
  9. Sports or Hobbies
  10. Seasonal

From there you can dive even further with specifics like Holiday SVG / Easter, St. Patrick Day, Valentines Day, etc., or Seasonal SVG – spring SVG, summer SVG, winter, fall SVG, and so on and so forth. Again this is a system structure that will best help YOU! Omit what you don’t need or go further. Some categories may overlap like a spring home decor sign. You can choose to copy and paste in both spots or pick the most relevant folder (I would choose spring). Repeat the process for each major category and have fun with it. You can even take it a step further and notate 2021 designs vs 2020 designs if you are good at keeping track of when you make a purchase. You can download the FREE folder system by clicking this link here

We are organized, now what?

File Types

Now that you can kind of get a feel for what we are going for, let’s talk about what files to keep and what you can toss. Most craft files will come with a few files inside of a zip folder. If you don’t know how to unzip the folder, be sure to check out this link here. Inside of those zip files, you will find files with extensions like SVG, PNG, DXF, EPS, PDF to name a few. SVG files stand for Scalable Vector Graphic – meaning that you can increase and decrease the size about 100 times and it will not lose its quality. These file types are used inside Cricut Design Space (and upgraded versions of Silhouette Studio) A PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics and is an image that has a transparent background. You can use these for print and cuts, stickers, and sublimation designs if the quality is high enough. A DXF file is Drawing Exchange Format. Similar to an SVG file, it’s a vector graphic that you can use inside Silhouette Studio. An EPS file is an Encapsulated PostScript – or another vector file. You can use these to open up certain editing properties inside of Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or Inkscape.

So what does all of that mean for you? Well if you are a Cricut crafter, chances are you can delete the DXF file. Cameo users, unless you have the upgraded version of Studio, you can delete the SVG files. If you download a Google Chrome extension, you can preview the images without having to keep the PNG image (unless you want to of course – you can still do amazing things with a PNG file). Unless you are looking to edit a file inside of a robust vector program like Inkscape or Illustrator, you can probably delete the EPS file as well.

When it comes to fonts, more often than not, you will end up with 2 different file type extensions – TTF and OTF. TTF means TruType Font. This is your most basic font options – a real “what you see if what you get” type of font. OTF or OpenType font is the more complex of the two font types. They unlock alternative glyphs, characters, and more. Think about the pretty font that transforms when there are two T’s together. THIS is that OTF at work! So if you are purchasing a pretty font you will want to make sure that you install the OTF file. While you don’t have to keep either format after it’s installed on your computer, having a backup is never a bad idea! If you need to get rid of one though, it would be the TTF.

Mockups are a weakness of mine – I have SO many beautiful photos that I adore! If you are using a program like Canva to create your mockup images (and if you aren’t what are you waiting for?) changes are you can delete the PSD file that may come with your mockup purchase. Unless you are using a stand-alone program like Photoshop or something similar a PSD file is just taking up valuable space on your computer.

*Bonus if you are not a MAC user, you are more than welcome to delete any of the contents inside of the _MACOSX folder systems.

Renaming Files

You can rename any file by right clicking and going towards the bottom of the popup menu under rename. Pick a naming system that will help you – especially if you end up having to search for something. “Cool SVG” will only get you so far with your computer – even with the folder structure. Try going for a name like “SVG – Sir Hops A Lot” or “Sir Hops A Lot – Easter” . When you search for that file, you can type in key terms like “Easter” and your pc will search for that term.

Don’t forget that you can still download the FREE folder system by clicking this link here .

Organizing your digital downloads
CategoriesCrafting Tutorials by

Using The DIY T-Shirt Placement Ruler

Hi besties! By now I am sure that you have spotted the DIY t-shirt placement ruler either on Tik-Tok, Instagram, or Facebook. I wanted to create this post to hopefully answer some questions on how to use the ruler in Cricut Design Space. You can purchase the t-shirt placement ruler SVG using the link here. Follow these few steps and you will have your very own ruler. The best part about this SVG file is that you can use materials that YOU have on hand which makes it convenient and affordable for any budget. Besties have tagged me in videos where they show themselves using poster boards, dollar tree cutting mats, and even cardboard! The possibilities are endless.

Without further delay – Let’s get crafting!

It’s important to note a few things – one being that this is a zip file. You will need to extract the contents of the zip in order to access the SVG, DXF, and EPS files. A have a brief overview here in this post, but a more detailed walkthrough can be found here. It is highly recommended that you open this file within one of the popular cutting software like Cricut Design Space or Silhouette Studio. Once again a brief walk-through is shown here, but a more detailed step by step can be found here for Cricut users and here for Silhouette users. One more thing is this is an already scaled 18-inch ruler. The preview will look weird! That is okay. Once uploaded you will see the FULL design.

Now down to the nitty-gritty!

  1. Purchse the SVG file.
  2. Download the file.
  3. Unzip the file (right-click/extract)
  4. Open extracted folder
  5. Located the SVG File
  6. Upload the SVG file into DS.
  7. Ungroup the SVG file.
  8. Locate the “DRAW” layer and change line type to “draw”
  9. You can delete or hide the “DRAW LAYER” and “CUT LAYER” text to make it a seamless file.
  10. Select draw layer and right-click and attach the design.
  11. Make it 🙂 

A photo screen shot of Changing the Line Type 

image.png

A photo screen shot of Deleting the “DRAW” and “CUT LAYER” text 

image.png

Now when I say you can use ANYTHING To make it work for you, I mean it! Check out some of the photos below of besties who have used the SVG file to create their own t-shirt guides

As you can see this SVG t-shirt guide can be used with wood, poster boards, clear dollar tree mats, paper, and more. I encourage you to explore any material that fits within your budget and your needs.

Have an awesome day besties!

CategoriesCrafting Tutorials, Resources by

What the swatch?! The one thing you need today for your business.

Some of the best things in life are really the simple ones – the smell of fresh laundry, the first leaf falling in autumn, your kids sleeping in on the weekend – some are naturally more reasonable than others. What if I told you that I know something super simple that has been a lifesaver for me in business and it happens to be a book. Okay, not a “book book” but more of a fold-out pamphlet. It’s a color swatch book for not only for my vinyl but also for my shirts.

Even if you don’t plan on selling your products and creating a business (but I mean why wouldn’t you? Get paid to do what you love doing anyway!) you will still benefit from getting these swatch books. I have a vinyl book for Oracal 651 and 631 as well as Siser HTV. These nifty little books come with every vinyl they offer along with a small color swatch, name, and my Siser book even comes with temperature settings. I also contacted my favorite shirt brands (Bella + Canvas, Anvil, and Next Level) directly and requested a copy of their shirt catalogs with a color swatch book as well. Want to know where I get my supplies? Check out this blog post!

Now, why would you need these books? Let me tell you! Set the scene if you will, you are in the middle of creating a project and run out of green vinyl. *gasp* You check your stash and you can’t find any that matches it. You search frantically through your scrap bin – nothing. Now what? Do you remember the name of that vinyl? NOPE! Oracal won’t even give you a hint by putting the name of the color on the back either (seriously, why is this not a thing?) You can use this color swatch book to match EXACTLY what color you used and get that ordered.

If that example wasn’t enough for you, let me paint this scene. Your whole sale shirt provider ran out of Bellas in a size XL and you need TEN more! If you had swatch books, you can compare the Bellas with the Anvil and find that Anvil has a color very close that you can substitute for. (If you are selling these, make sure that you get the okay from your customer of course, but I digress).

Okay, so I have you convienced and now you are asking “Ashley – WHERE do I find these things?” I got you covered! Disclaimer! The links below will navigate you away from the site. Nothing wrong with that, just letting you know!

My Viynl Swatch Library

  1. Oracal 651
  2. Oracal 631
  3. 2020 Siser HTV
  4. The entire Oracal Line Up (I don’t have this, but still pretty cool)

How To Get The Shirt Books

  1. You can download Anvils marketing tools here. If you want a physical book, you request a copy by clicking here.
  2. For Bella and Canvas, visit their site and check out digital copies for all of their catalogs and color swatches. There are several things under the download section that you can grab, I felt like it was best for you to be able to check them all out. If you want the direct link click here.
  3. At Next Level you can get digital copies as well, but if you want to have a physical copy, all you have to do is ask.

What Do I Say?

I really tried to find exactly what I said the first time around, however, I could not find it, so this next bit is a “What would I say today” message. Feel free to copy and paste if needed.

“Hello there! My name is (insert your name here). I own a small business where I sell appareal (insert your business name here). I am writing to you today to see what I would need to do in order to get physical copies of your catalog and your color guides. I am putting together a binder with the designs that I have to offer along with my favorite brand suggustions and I would love to include you in this binder for my customers to review. I noticed that I could download the digital copies, but as I am sure know, there is nothing like seeing the physical real life color of an item. Please let me know at your earliest convience, if needed you can call me or email me at (insert your contact information). Thank you so much and have a wonderful day. “

Just to show you I’m not that crazy, I do really have them lol

Well, that’s all she wrote folks! I hope that you found this helpful. If you did, make sure you share it with your other crafting friends. If you want to hang out with me and other like-minded besties, be sure to join the group. You won’t regret it. We do awesome giveaways and you can stay up to date on new freebies (check out this post for my favorite places)!

CategoriesCrafting Tutorials, Machine Tutorials by

Installing Fonts on your iPad

So you have been collecting a rather large number of fonts and you are left wondering – “What’s next?”. If you work on an iPad it can be a little crazy to find an easy way to install fonts (TRUST ME I KNOW). So hopefully by the end of this article, you will be pro at installing fonts on your iPad.

If you don’t have any right now but are a sucker for freebies? Then you HAVE to check out Fontbundles.net they have a HUGE selection of freebies that rest forever in the freebie spot as well as a weekly freebie that lasts well 7 days (starting every Wednesday!). Disclaimer! I am an affiliate there. The links shown are affiliate links. What does that mean exactly? Well, when I refer you over there, if you make a purchase they give me a small portion of the sales. It’s not enough to buy a boat, but by golly, I can take an extra trip to the Dollar Tree at the end of the month!

*Some other great articles that you should probably check out if you are in love with freebies best places that you can visit right now and download 100% free fonts with commercial use. These sites offer the BEST quality and are totally trusted. As I mentioned in a previous blog ” Best Places For Free Files “, if you have a FAVORITE font designer, keep in mind that on Fridays, they often have a freebie available for a limited time! I also know an incredible designer that offers “$2 – Tuesday!” Although not free, her fonts are ah-mazing!

Please check each site for their own specific terms and conditions in regards to their files as some may have a limit on the number of products that you can make with each file.

What you need:

  1. iPad
  2. Font (link takes you to Font bundles for free fonts!)
  3. iFont (free app available to download)
  4. Program to use it in (this tutorial will use Procreate)

What you do:

  1. Download your font! Seriously have you checked out the Free font of the week over at FontBundles?
  2. Click on the Download button (down arrow next the URL) to show all of your downloads.
  3. Click on your recent download zip file. It will pop up a folder that contains your zip files.
  4. Tap your ZIP for it to automatically unzip your file.
  5. Open that new folder and tap on the .otf. Your font should shop up with A – Z and the standard “The quick brown fox….” text displayed.
  6. Tap the button in the top corner (looks like a box with an arrow pointing up).
  7. Select “Copy to iFont” and open the app if it didn’t already pop up.
  8. Tap “Install” on the left hand side.
  9. You will now want to open up your iPad settings, go to General, and then select Profile. You should see “downloaded profile” with your font right under it.
  10. Tap the font and then tap install.

A few photos to help you out 🙂

Font Bundles! My guilty pleasure. Find your fave font and donwload it.
Click the download button, and open up the download folder by tapping on the font zip.
Tap the ZIP folder and it will automatically unzip your folder. tap the unzipped folder.
Tap the OTF to pull this screen up. Tap the “upload” in the top right corner. Copy to “iFont”.
This if iFont! Tap “Install”. If anything pop ups, select “allow”, and done. We now move to your settings.
Go to General > Profiles. Tap the “downloaded profile” font and hit install. You can now use the font!

You are now SET! you can play with your new font in any program. If you know an easier way to install fonts, PLEASE tell me! This took a minute to figure out and I would love a short cut.

Installing Fonts on your iPad
CategoriesCrafting Tutorials by

FREE Mock-Ups to download NOW!

Diving into selling crafts, while fun, can cause your bank account to cry! Especially when you are unsure of what will take off in your particular market. Mock-ups are a great way to create a visual of a product that will give your customers a sense of what to expect. Mock-ups give you the freedom to test out products without having to sit on inventory which ultimately costs you money.

If you are just starting out and money is tight, you can use the mockups shown below to help build your arsenal! They come with commercial use meaning that you are allowed to use them in your business to help sell your product. Most mockups allow you to pull in a PNG image and place it over the mockup. At which point you can save it out and use it to showcase what you offer. If you are needing some additional freebies, be sure to also check out this post here that contains tons of sites where you can get FREE SVG files and fonts!

*Disclaimer, some of the following links may be affiliate links. They do not cost you anything extra, they give me a small portion of anything you buy as a thank you. I don’t make enough to drive a Lambo, BUT I can splurge at the dollar tree on an extra craft item.

FREE Stemless Wine Glass Mockup

free mock up stemless wine glasses
Click here to get this Stemless Wine Glass mock up

Burgess Family Craft has a WIDE variety of great mock-ups for all occasions. Their props and backgrounds always set them apart from the rest. I am including a few more of their freebies in this blog, but you can always browse their ENTIRE site by visiting this link here.

FREE Coffee Mug Mockup

free coffee cup mockups
You can grab this mockup by visiting the link here .

Cuddle Bunnie Studio not only handles mockups but be she also created that adorable (and overworked) caffeinated unicorn. She sells that clipart unicorn and moreover on her DB shop. Be sure to visit the link if you want to see more of her work.

FREE Coffee Bean Mockup

FREE coffee cup mockups
Grab this freebie using the link here

Didn’t I tell you that Burgess Family Craft has a lot of mocks! DB has a WIDE variety of them available including the one below in their freebie section, but you can always browse their ENTIRE site by visiting this link here.

FREE Kitchen Sign Mockup

FREE Mock Ups to download
Another awesome freebie from Burgess Family Craft.

FREE Sign Mockup

FREE sign mock ups to download
Perfect sign file for weddings or love quotes!

Really guys, I can not say enough good things about Burgess. They have offered us so many great freebies. Please take advantage of these offers and be sure to check out their DB shop and look at their amazing bundles!

FREE Shirt Mockup

free shirt mock up
You can download this heather grey t-shirt design by checking out this link here.

FREE Wall Art Mockup

FREE Mock Ups to download
If you are big into printable wall art, you won’t want to miss this freebie!

Keep in mind that many sites and artists offer freebies on Fridays. If you find a mockup creator that you LOVE to try and follow them on Facebook. It not only boosts their confidence but it also gives you behind the scenes are you can be the first to know when they have a deal! With that said, what was your favorite from this list? Leave it in the comments below!

Free mock ups for commercial use

CategoriesCrafting Tutorials by

Easy DIY Teacher Gift

Need a last-minute Holiday Gift for a special teacher? Have I got the easiest DIY project for you!

The school year has been rather crazy and as we near the Christmas holiday, the hours seem to FLY by like no one’s business. I feel like just yesterday I was making a game plan to eat the most food on Thanksgiving (spoiler alert, I executed it flawlessly!) With so many to purchase for kids, partners, parents, siblings, that aunt that you only see on Christmas, we oftentimes forget about those great people who willingly put up with our kids for hours on end – the teachers.

Now it can be hard to find something to gift them, I mean, what do they like? Do they enjoy cookies? Are they on a diet? What about coffee? Do they need wine? Is that inappropriate to send to school? The questions are INTENSE! *Breath* I have come up with the PERFECT gift that is budget-friendly and easy to make. BONUS points, it’s also useful! Are you ready to dive in with this Easy DIY teacher gift? Keep reading!

*This post contains affiliate links. They cost you nothing extra but I get a small portion of the sale. Not enough to make me rich, but I can get an extra foam board from the dollar tree!

What you need to buy:

  1. Dollar vase from Dollar Tree $1.00
  2. Pack of pencils (I got mine from Wal-Mart pack of 72 for $3.97. 

What you need that you probably already have:

  1. Adhesive permanent vinyl
  2. Cotton ball
  3. Alcohol

Bringing the total to just under 5 dollars! I went an extra step and picked up a cute bag for a few dollars to put the vase in as well. 

The first thing you want to do is find a super cute SVG file. Since it’s for a teacher, I chose “I’m sorry, was my teaching interrupting your talking?” and “I teach tiny humans, you can’t scare me!”. You can use whatever you want though. 

Once you decide on the colors you want, you cut out the design and layer any colors needed. 

Now is when it gets fun! Take a cotton ball and some alcohol and rub it over the surface of your vase. This will make sure that you are getting rid of any oils from your hands that might be on the glass. Once you have done that, allow the alcohol to air dry. Take your vinyl decal and place it on the cup. *Pro-tip, if you want to make it straight, fill the cup up with water and use the waterline as a good ruler!

Lastly, you will want to open your box of pencils and fill it up! I was able to fit around 65 in the vase comfortably. Put this present inside a tall gift bag and fill it up with some tissue paper, and you are good to go!

That’s it, guys! How cute is this easy DIY Teacher Gift Keep in mind creative, you don’t HAVE to put pencils in the cups! You can also put pens or dry erase markers, even paintbrushes would be perfect for an art teacher. Thinking outside of the box can yield some awesome results.

Easy DIY Teacher Gift

If you are interested in following me in 2020 and seeing more tutorials, craft files, and freebies, then be sure to check out my Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AMCXStudio/ . Thanks for reading & be sure to post those finished projects! Love seeing what everyone creates. Happy crafting. 

CategoriesCrafting Tutorials, Machine Tutorials by

Uploading Files Into Silhouette Studio

So you read my Design Space post for Cricut users but you have a Silhouette instead of a Cricut and you are not sure exactly what to do? No problem! I teamed up with my bestie who does have a Silhouette and she helped me create this awesome tutorial for you!

Uploading SVGs into your studio program is about as easy as it comes (no seriously! I promise!). In order for you to upload SVG files directly into your software, you must have an upgraded version of Silhouette Studio. You can get the Designer Edition for 49.99. I know they sometimes go on sale, so if you want to wait for those deals, you are more than welcome to! In this tutorial, Silhouette Business Edition is being used. This is the top tier program of all the studio editions. You can find a complete list of the comparison between the different studios on Silhouette’s website with this link.

Although free, Silhouette Basic Studio Edition will not upload an SVG file. However, the program will upload a DXF file and most designers will provide that file along with the SVG when you make your purchase. The upload process for an SVG is the exact same for a DXF.

4 Steps To Uploading into Silhouette Studio

  1. The first step, of course, would be to open your Silhouette Studio program.
  2. In the upper left corner select FILE > OPEN,  or use the shortcut CTRL+O for PC users.
  3. An explorer window will pop open and you can locate the file on your computer. When you have found your file, select the file and Click OK.
  4. Now you are done! I told you uploading SVGs was simple!
silhouette studio part 2

Now that you know all about uploading files into Silhouette Space, it’s time to get started on your big projects! You need to grab your choice of vinyl and your mats and get crafty! Eek! I am so excited for you. Get ready to experience the magic.

Uploading in Silhouette Studio
CategoriesCrafting Tutorials, Resources by

Trusted Suppliers

When you are starting a business or just doing this as a hobby, getting supplies is one of the beginning steps. However, if you are doing this as a hobby or a quick gift for a friend, getting the most BANG for your buck may not be on the top of your noggin. We all know about the popular craft stores like Micheals and Hobby Lobby, but they are not always wallet-friendly. With the convenience of online shopping combined with the already hectic schedules a lot of us have, we need to have those reliable suppliers that we can just simply place an order with and get our merchandise in the mail. With so many options though, who can you trust? It’s so important to find your trusted suppliers since anyone can make a site.

Once you start searching for things, you will notice that Facebook Adspops up various places and the first thing that runs through your mind “Is too good to be true?” (I see you FB! I am on to you!). Being in numerous groups for Etsy, Crafting, and Cricut I have seen my fair share of “Where can I buy” posts. Glancing over and reading the comments, taking mental notes, I have found that often times there can be bad businesses who over promise and under deliver. However, time and time again I have seen a number of businesses pop up as “So and So is LEGIT!”. So this post is going to show you those businesses – those TRUSTED SUPPLIERS!. Below you will find a compiled list of the “Too Legit To Quit” Businesses that can be trusted with your Crafting Needs.

As I find more great businesses, I will add them to the list. Comment below if you know a business that is amazing and needs to be added!

Vinyl Suppliers:

  • 651 Vinyl – Troy and his team at 651 Vinyl are located in KY and I have been buying from them for some time now. Their customer service is amazing and I love their “pin-pins” for weeding. Sales do not come often, so if you are lucky enough to catch one, go crazy! If you join their FB group, they also do grab boxes that are PACKED with vinyl but those go so quick. You can check out their site at 651vinyl.com (They give you candy in every order! Vinyl, blanks, and sweets like come on now!)
  • Craftables is another great spot. I have purchased a few times from as well. Their site offers FREE craft files that get updated often. You can shop with them at shopcraftables.com
  • Happy Crafters – Although I have not personally shopped with them, they do have some really nice deals and I have some besties who shop with them and they LOVE them. Check them out by visiting https://www.happycrafters.com/
  • JPI Blanks – They have a lot of sales but shipping can be slow during those sales so keep that in mind. Other than that, the family-owned business is really sweet. https://jpiblanks.com/
  • Heat Transfer Warehouse – Another great company who is located just north of me in FL. Their prices are good and they offer a large variety of materials and blanks. You can see more about their operation by check out the link here https://www.heattransferwarehouse.com/
  • Heat Transfer Source – A have a bestie who LOVES this place and I trust her with my crafting life! Since she says they should be add to our “Trusted Suppliers” lists, I have no choice but to believe her. They offer everything from vinyl to blanks to faux leather and more! If you join their FB group, you can enter to win a number of giveaways it’s insane! Visit their shop by clicking here https://www.heattransfersource.com/
  • CSDS Vinyl – I have purchased from them a few times for their amazing printed vinyl. Their products are of high quality and they have been quick to answer my questions when I had some. https://csdsvinyl.com/
  • Zindee Studios – Another site that offers some really incredible printed vinyl. Their acrylic blanks are absolutely adorable and make perfect keychains. You can see more of their merchandise by checking out the link here. https://zindee.com/

Bulk Blank Suppliers

  • www.JiffyShirts.com (My personal favorite bulk t-shirt buyer). There are so many greats styles. I personally use Bella + Canvas and Anvil for adults, but I have heard great things about Next Level as well. Don’t let the name “Jiffy Shirts” fool you though, they offer so much more than shirts! Everything from hoodies to bags to pants and hats – they are ah-mazing!
  • Oriental Trader – If you are shopping for bulk items for parties and quick DIY projects, you can score some seriously awesome items at the Trader. https://www.orientaltrading.com/
  • 24 HR Wrist Band – They offer A LOT of items and I mean A LOT! Although I have not personally purchased with them, I have seen people RAVE about their cozy prices so if you are headed to an event and want an easy DIY giveaway item that serves a purpose, it’s worth checking out. https://24hourwristbands.com/

Now that you know my top trusted suppliers, make sure you are getting the right vinyl by checking out this post where I go into detail about the different types of vinyl you can use.