CRICUT CARD CUTTING TUTORIAL

by Rachel Bruner (BoardGameGeek: lovemyfire)

How I cut my print and play cards with the Cricut.

Important Notes:

-This method takes some patience and practice (as most things do). Don't be (too) frustrated if at first you don't have
optimal results. They'll come!

-I suggest testing your cuts on simple prints before you use your nicer printed cards!

- I make my card cuts slightly smaller than the usual poker sized (2.5”x3.5”). It only takes 1 or 2 mm for the file or mat to
be misaligned in the machine, causing the cuts to miss each card’s exact location on the mat when being cut out. It takes
practice to figure out how your machine and mats work together. Too much pressure when loading the mat can cause it
load too far or shift when loading. Personally I find it a lot less stressful to have both extra bleed on the files and cut
smaller cards. This way if when the cuts aren’t perfectly aligned they don’t have any white space and still turn out great.

Preparation for Cards:

-I’ve only used this method with the 8 card layout (4 fronts, 4 backs folded in half). This gives me 4 cards on one sheet to
cut at a time. Here is the template I use in Inkscape (Jake’s videos mentioned below have a similar template that he
shows you how to use): http://lovemyfire.sent.com/BGG/!Blank%208%20Card%20Template.svg
Png file of the same template: http://lovemyfire.sent.com/BGG/!Blank%208%20Card%20Template.png

-I usually print on 32lb linen paper, spray seal with Mod Podge MATTE, let air out for 20+ minutes. I think this step is
important to help protect the cards from sticking to the Cricut mat. However, I haven’t yet tried it without this step.

-Fold page in half, spray glue with Scotch Super 77 (purple and orange can ONLY). Dry for 30+ minutes.

-For video tutorials on how I do the above, see the fabulous videos by fellow PnP'er, Jake Staines: (It's how I learned.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMVRJu5yQ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_8q4V3TAzc

Preparation for the Cricut:

-I have the Cricut Explore not the MAKER- which can cut thicker items, and maybe cuts them better with the new rotary
tool? I don't know as I don't have access to one.

-For these cards I use the regular blade. For thicker material (e.g. magazine board for tokens) I use the deep cut blade.

-Use the LightGrip mat (blue) or a regular mat (green) that has lost a lot of its sticky. If you don't have either, take a
regular mat and place plain cardstock to it and peel it off. Repeat this until your mat isn't super sticky. Use a scraper (or
edge of a rewards card) to scrape away any paper that stays attached to the mat.

-You can find and use my templates which are “shared” Cricut Projects. I have two, one for the full sized 2.5x3.5 cards
and another for my smaller card cuts at 2.35x3.35. However, I highly recommend reading the full tutorial first!!
4 Card Cutouts – Poker Sized = https://design.cricut.com/#/landing/user-project/118536890

4 Card Cutouts – Smaller Poker Sized = https://design.cricut.com/#/landing/user-project/118063895

Setup the Cuts in the Cricut Design Space:

1. Login to the Design Space at: https://design.cricut.com/#/sign-in

2. Start a new project. Unfortunately, the Cricut Design software doesn't cut things in the exact same way as how you
place them on the screen- it moves everything around and cut items in its own weird way. So you'll need to force the
software to cut in the EXACT locations that you want. To do this:

3a. Create a small square, about .1x.1 inches will work.

3b. Select the square and set each of the X and Y Position (top toolbar) to .25 which will place it in the top left corner.
(Note: This is where I've set mine to cut. You can use a different location if needed.)

Note: I use inches in this tutorial. If you don’t use inches you can temporarily change your software to use inches (in the
settings) and then change back to centimeters when you’re done.
4. Make a 3.35x2.35 rectangle and place it in position: X .36 and Y 0.44 IMPORTANT NOTE: This setup is what works
with the 8 card layout template I use in
5. Copy and paste the rectangle three times and place each in the
Inkscape. If you use a different layout the
following positions:
cards may not be in the exact same places
X .36 and Y 3.03 as mine. However, you should be able to
X .36 and Y 5.62 adjust the rectangle cuts to match the
X .36 and Y 8.21 layout of your printed page.

6. Press the “Select All” button in the top toolbar.

7. Click the “Attach” button in the far bottom right corner. The items will be joined together and the “Attach” button will
now say “Detach”.

8. To make changes, such as adjusting the size or position of the rectangles, select "Detach". When done select all and
"Attach" again. Be sure you do this or your cuts will not be in the exact location you selected.
Cut Test Template:

Before cutting your printed cards, you’ll want to create a template to test for alignment. I suggest cardstock.

1. Place a piece of cardstock as perfectly aligned to the top and left ruler edge of the Cricut cutting mat.

2. In the Design Space click the green “Make It” button in

the top right corner.

3. The rectangles should look correct on your screen. If

not, you may have forgotten to “Attach” all the cuts.

4. Make sure your machine is on and connected to your

computer/laptop and select the material as “cardstock”
(we will change this when cutting the actual cards). This
may be different on your machine, depending on which
model you have.
5. Click the green “Continue” button at the bottom right. You should see a screen similar to this:

6. Load the mat into the machine. Be sure to align it to the left edge of the guide bar and the top right corner to the
rollers and not to the far right guide bar. Gently hold the mat and don’t PUSH while loading or it may become off center.
If you need to, unload and reload it to make sure it’s as straight as possible; this will help your cuts be better aligned.
7. Start the cut. For my machine I do this by
pressing the blinking “C”.

8. When the cut is done, unload the mat and

gently peel the cardstock off the mat.

Now you have your template. You can keep or toss

the cut out rectangles. (Maybe use them for
prototypes?)
Test Card Cuts:

Before cutting out your nicer printed cards, I highly recommend using some test prints (cheaper material, black and
white prints, etc), or at least make SEVERAL duplicates to test on. It only takes one mistake to ruin your cards, and you’ll
have to reprint and prepare them- I’ve had to do this several times!

1. Place and align the folded edge of your prepared cards as closely to the top and left edge of the mat’s ruler guideline.
The same edges you used when making the template.

2. Place and align the template on the same edges. Check that the four card cuts properly fit the location of each card.
3. If any of the four rectangle cuts are not properly aligned with the location of your cards you will need to edit them.
Select the cut, click “Detach” at the bottom right, make your adjustments, select all, and click “Attach”. Make a new
template and test the alignment.

Set Custom Material:

Once satisfied with the alignment of your cuts and you’re ready to cut out some cards be sure to adjust your settings.
Depending on the thickness of the material you are cutting, you may or may not need to make more than one cut for
each card.

For my method (two layers of 32lb linen paper with spray glue in the middle) I need two cuts (the machine makes the
exact same cuts twice) to cut through all the layers. I set this up as a custom material in the Design Studio as follows.

1. Make sure your machine is on and connected. In the Design Studio click the three horizontal lines at the top left. Then
click “Manage Custom Materials”.

2. In the screen that pops up scroll down to the

bottom and click the “Add New Material”
button.

3. Give your material a name. I use “Linen Paper 32lb – Two Layers”. Click “Save”.
4. You may need to scroll up to find your newly added material. Slide the green dot along the bar to set the “Cut
Pressure” you want to use. I have mine set at 320 but that may be too deep for your machine (each machine may be
different). You don’t want to cut your mat, so you may want to start at 300 or 310 and see if that works for you. I think
mine is a bit too deep. Set the Multi-cut to 2x (the number of times the machine will make the cut). Click “Save”.

5. Scroll down and click “Done”. When you are ready to make your cut you will need to select “Custom” on your
machine if applicable (I use the dial on mine).

6. When set to “Custom” you can select another material on the Cut screen. To the right of “1 Set material” click the
green “Browse All Materials” link.

7. Scroll down to “My Materials”. Be sure to click the star icon to the far right of your newly added material. This will
only show up when your mouse hovers of its name. This will add it to your “Favorites” (allowing you to see and select it
on the previous screen).
8. Click on the name so that a green checkmark shows up at the left, showing that you’ve selected it. Click “Done”.

9. Now you’re ready to load your mat with your test cards and cut them! Be sure to gently load your mat the same as
explained in the template stage. Once loaded, start the cut!

10. If the cuts are not satisfactory, you may need to adjust where the cuts are made. However, even with making
everything as exact as possible, sometimes my cuts are slightly off. I believe this is partly due to how the mat is loaded,
how the page is folded, how the images on the page are originally printed, etc. That’s why having a lot of bleed and
using smaller rectangles helps with this issue.

I often attach two pages per mat by flipping the mat 180 degrees and using the other side. They are only cut one at a
time. The bottom side of my mat is slightly shorter so I adjust the page down by a VERY small amount as shown here.

With some practice you can end up with almost perfectly cut cards!
Additional Notes:

• You could probably setup cuts for more than one page at a time, but trying to get the placement exact would be
tricky which is why I haven’t yet done it. Thus, I personally only cut one page of four cards at a time.
• I usually use narrow washi tape to hold pages to my mat to keep them from shifting when cutting. After ruining a
few pages of cards this extra effort is worth it.
These cards are almost perfectly cut, although sometimes they are slightly off center, but not enough to be too obvious.

And with the corners rounded they are ready to use!