Cricut Cutie Print Then Cut Desk Calendar

Welcome to our latest project: the Cricut Cutie Print Then Cut Desk Calendar! This fun and functional calendar features adorable Cricut Cutie figures and is easy to create using Cricut Design Space. I’ve set up a ready-to-use design so you can jump straight into crafting without any setup hassle. If you're curious about how these elements come together, follow along as we walk through the steps to create this charming desk calendar from start to finish.

Materials:

• Heavy cardstock in white
• Home printer
• Cricut cutting machine capable of Print Then Cut

This project features Cricut Print Then Cut. Print Then Cut is a feature in Cricut Design Space that allows you to print your designs on your home printer and then precisely cut them out with your Cricut machine. Print Then Cut is perfect for custom stickers, labels, and intricate designs with full-color prints, combining the flexibility of printing with the precision of die-cutting. Here's how it works:

Create your design in Cricut Design Space, and when you're ready, use the Print Then Cut feature to print your design onto a sheet of paper or cardstock using your home printer. The design will include registration marks that the Cricut machine uses to accurately align the cut.

After printing, load the printed sheet onto a Cricut cutting mat and insert it into the machine. The Cricut uses the registration marks to detect the edges of your design and perform precise cuts according to the printed pattern.

Directions:

I’ve prepared a ready-to-use cut design in Cricut Design Space for you, so you can dive right into this project without any setup. This design incorporates several elements available for free with your Cricut Access subscription, including:

• Cat Calendar - January to December
• Assorted Cricut Cutie figures

If you’re interested in understanding how these designs were combined to create this project, you can follow along with the detailed steps I used to achieve this final format.

Create the Cut Design 

1) Remove the Cat from the Cat Calendar using Slice

Use the Slice function in Cricut Design Space to trim the cat from the calendar, leaving behind only the rectangular calendar shapes. Add a rectangle to your canvas, large enough to cover the cat. Positon the rectangle over the cat near the top of the calendar. Select both objects - your rectangle plus the calendar page - and click Slice. Delete the cat parts of the design from the project.

2) Create an Offset of the Cutie Image

Create a solid Cutie background shape using the Offset function in Cricut Design Space. Select the Cutie and click Offset. Change the outside Distance or Corner settings if desired, or accept the default values and Apply.

3) Weld the Cutie Offset to the Calendar

Use the Weld function in Cricut Design Space to combine the Cutie offset shape with the trimmed calendar. Position the Cutie with its offset at the desired location near the top of one calendar page. You can see from the project images that I have staggered the placement of the Cuties left to right as well as top to bottom along the tops of the calendar pages so they are all visible when the pages are stacked.  Select the Cutie offset only (not the Cutie itself) plus the calendar page and click Weld.

4) Flatten the Layers

Select the Cutie and review the layers in the Layer panel. Change the color of any layer if desired.  When you're happy with the colors, select the Cutie and the welded background from the previous step and click Flatten. The Flatten function will merge all the layers into a single layer for Print Then Cut.

5) Repeat for every month

Make the Project

To print each page on heavy cardstock using your home printer, simply follow the instructions provided in Cricut Design Space. These prompts will guide you through the process, ensuring that your design is printed with the correct settings and quality on durable cardstock. Make sure to select the appropriate paper type on your printer to achieve the best results for your project.

Note: If this is your first time using the Print Then Cut feature, your Cricut machine will first guide you through a calibration process. This ensures that your prints and cuts align perfectly. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions provided by the software to complete the calibration successfully. For additional assistance, you can refer to our detailed tutorial on How to Calibrate Your Cricut Machine for Print Then Cut, which offers comprehensive guidance to help you through the process.

Proceed following the on-screen instructions to cut out the calendar page with your Cricut machine. Ensure you carefully align the cardstock on the cutting mat and adjust any settings as needed for precise and clean cuts. This will help you achieve a perfectly cut calendar page ready to assemble.

Assemble the Calendar

Arrange the calendar pages on a small easel, starting with the "December" page at the bottom of the stack.

Continue by layering the remaining months in reverse order, with "January" on top.

We hope this project has inspired you to experiment with your Cricut machine and to keep creating. If you’re eager to learn more about these Design Space tools, be sure to check out our additional tutorials for more in-depth guidance. Happy crafting!

Do More:

Interested in diving deeper into the Design Space features highlighted in this project? Explore these comprehensive tutorials from our Design Team, where you'll find step-by-step instructions and expert tips to help you master each feature.

How to Slice in Cricut Design Space

The Slice tool in Design Space is a versatile feature that allows you to cut one image out of another, creating new shapes from overlapping designs. To use Slice, add two single-layer images to your canvas, position them as desired, and highlight both. Clicking the Slice button will produce new layers - each showing the cut parts of the original images. Remember, Slice only works with two layers at a time, so for multi-layered images, you'll need to ungroup or hide additional layers before using it. 

How to Weld Text and Images in Cricut Design Space

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use the weld feature in Cricut's Design Space, which combines overlapping shapes or text into a single cohesive design by removing intersecting cut lines. For text, you'll first decrease letter spacing, manually adjust the letters to overlap slightly, and then group them before using the weld tool to merge them into one fluid word. For images, overlap the shapes you want to weld, group them, and then apply the weld function to create a unified design. Remember, once welded, you cannot undo the weld after making the project, so it’s helpful to group items first for previewing. 

How to Use Offset in Cricut Design Space

The Offset feature allows users to add decorative shadows or outlines to their designs for added texture and dimension. You can choose to weld offsets together or keep them separate, depending on your project needs. This feature is ideal for creating custom stickers, t-shirt designs, and more. For designs with multiple layers, offsets can be applied to each layer individually or combined.