How Twirly Makes Kisscut-diecut Stickers w/ the Cricut

Hello everyone! It's been about 6 months since I wrote up my first blog post talking about my process on how I make my prints and stickers at home, and since then I've slightly changed how I cut my stickers. So in this post, I'll be going over my updated process!

I won't be going in depth on materials here because nothing has really changed, but ONE thing did change. I upgraded my old Cricut Explore Air to the Cricut Explore Air 2 (in cherry blossom pink!) The reason why I upgraded was because my old one that I got 4 years ago (2016) started having connectivity issues through both the cable and Bluetooth. So every time I would cut a sheet, it would disconnect and I would have to restart the whole cutting process again which is a pain.  Especially with my updated new cutting process which I'll get into shortly. 

The upgrade is nice and all, but it still does the same thing as my old Cricut. So if my old one still worked and connected properly, I'd still be using it. I think the port for the cable was faulty so I tried getting a Bluetooth adapter and cutting through that. That also didn't work very well, so my decision on getting a newer updated model came with the spring sale that Cricut had and I was able to get my new one with a discount!

That is all that has changed regarding materials. If you're interested in the materials I use and also process for my prints and stickers, please check out my past blog post here: CLICK ME :)

Now let's get into my updated cutting process!

Firstly I'd like to preface the steps with some thoughts of mine. I call this my KISSCUT-DIECUT stickers because it's like a hybrid of both cuts in one sticker, and it's also straight to the point lol. I was never too much of a sticker-sheet fan since it took some time to align things nicely AND it took up soo much space on my sticker paper. I think I would get a good 2 sticker-sheets out of a letter sized (8.5x11 inches) sheet of sticker paper. Don't get me wrong, sticker-sheets are really nice and it keeps all your designs together — especially if you have A LOT of small stickers like for planners or something. Then you wouldn't have a bunch of little sticker flakes all around you.

But for my personal preference and, I guess sticker style, it was better for me to cut them out all individually and it also maximizes the space on my sticker paper. Meaning that I could fit and cut more of the same design on the same sized sheet of sticker paper.

In this updated process I will also be using my strawberry painting as an example for visual aid!
​I'll be starting off this process for AFTER you have your sticker drawn, illustrated or designed and saved as a .png file. This is my process, but it'll be written out with a more tutorial feel to it!

Let's start.

• For the KISSCUT-DIECUT stickers that I make are 2 different files that are saved onto my computer and Cricut design space.
• In the image below, I have my original illustration of the strawberry that I want to turn into a sticker. I give it a white border (or you can use any color border you'd like) which will be my KISSCUT outline.
  • If you were to make DIECUT stickers only, then it would just be a DIECUT outline instead and you'll only have that file you can work with.
• But if you are wanting to make the KISSCUT-DIECUT version that I make, I make another outline that will be labelled as the DIECUT outline. Which is in the third image to the far right. Make sure it's a good width away from the KISSCUT line so that the cuts are not too close together.
• I make the outlines around my illustration with the "Figure" tool in Clip Studio Paint EX with the "Continuous curve" tool in the sub tool tab. Alternatively, you can also just use the pen tool and draw it yourself but I find the tool more useful and consistent all around.

• This is how the files look like in my folder after saving the sticker files! The DIECUT cutline color doesn't matter, I just use a random color that'll help me see and differentiate the files.

• Now I upload those two .png strawberry sticker files to my Cricut design space! I upload the strawberry sticker as a "Print Then Cut" image and the other file (with the green outline, the DIECUT line) as a "Cut image". As you can see, the color of the outline doesn't matter, it'll just be a silhouette for the machine to cut. What's important is that it's larger than the KISSCUT image, which you've done in your art program prior to uploading.

• After loading your files into the canvas, this is how I set up my files/layers in the design space canvas. If you're having trouble reading the text on the images, I'll write type it down here as well!
• (Top Image) In the first image: Align your 2 files, with the strawberry (print then cut layer) on top and the cut image on the bottom.
• (Middle Image) Moving to the second image: Select both those files, then copy and paste them 3-4 times. How many times is up to you and your Cricut settings. 
• (Middle Image) After copying and pasting, delete all the extra Print Then Cut layers leaving only ONE print then cut layer on TOP of all the CUT IMAGE layers.
• (Bottom Image) After those are deleted, ATTACH the left over layers to keep them in place. You can do this by selecting the layers -> right clicking -> attach. The Attach button should also be on the bottom right.
• After you have that initial sticker grouped up (attached) you can copy and paste that into your canvas to fill up your page and make multiples.

• And that is how my KISSCUT-DIECUT files/layers are organized! After printing, you set it up on your Cricut cutting mat and put that matte tape on the sensor lines (if using glossy sticker paper) so that your machine can read the lines. 
• My knob on the Cricut is set to vinyl, so the Print Then Cut image is cut but does NOT cut through the paper.
• The amount of CUT IMAGE layers (in this case 4) will make your machine cut THROUGH the paper even when the knob is set to vinyl, making it a DIECUT sticker!
  
  • BUT now cutting time is longer since it'll have to cut in place more than once. 4 is the sweet spot for my machine to get through the paper but also in a more timely matter. It was recommended to do 5 to make sure it gets through but I found that 4 works as well and makes the cutting time a little shorter.
  • Earlier I mentioned how my old Cricut machine had connection issues and to add on to this extended amount of cutting time made it worse. Depending on how many stickers you're cutting on a sheet (let's say 10-20 small 1-inch stickers) and having it DISCONNECT after cutting 8 stickers really sucks. I'd have to start ALL OVER re-scanning the sensor lines and cutting the same 8 stickers AGAIN going through all the cuts for each sticker then I had to make sure it cut the rest of the sheet. But it'd just disconnect again never finishing the sheet. T___T But my new and updated machine has been working very well and no connection problems anymore! (':

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And that is all for my updated sticker cutting process! I hope it was easy to understand and that it was helpful to anyone who checks this post out. ;w; <3 Also if you're interested in more info regarding Prints and Stickers, please check out my past blog post here: CLICK ME :)

​Here are some stickers that I've made using this process, you can see there's a small border around them which makes it easy to peel! (: Also if you can, please check out my online shop here where you can also grab these stickers for yourself!! SHOP: twirlyful.com