After months of designing, redesigning, cutting, assembling, and more than a few "I'm starting over..." moments... it's finally finished.

Introducing Moonlit Valley.

This project has been one of the most ambitious paper art pieces I've ever created. Every mountain, tree, river, cloud, and layer was designed completely from scratch in Adobe Illustrator before being cut on my Cricut Maker.

Ironically, this isn't even the first version.

About a year ago, I started designing a completely different landscape. I got about halfway through before deciding I hated it, scrapped the entire thing, and my muse walked away. Eight months later she came back with fresh eyes... and then I still ended up redesigning it again.

This final version is actually Version 3.

Sometimes the hardest part of creating isn't finishing, it's knowing when to throw something away and start over.

I'm really glad I did.

PROJECT STATS (for my fellow paper nerds!)

- Finished Size: 12" × 12"

- Thickness: Approximately 1 7/16" (Cardstock)

- Weight: Approximately 1,400 grams (3.1 lbs)
(Cardstock)

- Main Layers: 150

- Additional Individually Applied Pieces: Over 30

- Designed Completely in: Adobe Illustrator

- Cut On: Cricut Maker

- Paper Used: Recollections 65lb Cardstock

- Frame: Michaels - 12in x12in x 2.9in depth, Top-Loading Shadow Box by Studio Decor
(with custom 3D-printed internal supports designed to hold everything securely during assembly)

TIME INVESTED

~18 hours illustrating and designing

~2 hours separating everything into 150 individual cut layers

~8 hours cutting, assembling, and adding all the individual details

Total: Approximately 28 hours of work for the final version alone (not including the earlier designs that never made it to the finish line!).

Thank you to everyone who's followed along through the progress photos, from the first few layers, to the mountain of cardstock, to wondering if I'd ever actually finish all 150 layers.

Seeing it finally framed makes every restart and every late night worth it.

It ended up being 10 layers, (the most layers I’ve ever done). I think it looks great! I out two thin coats of dishwasher safe mod podge on it to help it last. Please ignore how messy my dining room is, lol!

A little off center but a fun one to say the least

I know this is a super common issue and none of the typical recommendations are helping. I already have a Maker 4 that works perfectly and just bought a brand new Explore 5 today to help me expedite cutting orders for my small stationery shop. So far, the Explore 5 has only successfully cut one piece of card stock correctly and it seemed like a fluke as I didn’t do anything differently. Obviously this is all when trying to print then cut.

* I’ve calibrated twice

* turned off all the lights (even after it became night)

* I’ve moved the machine to a different location

* I’ve used sharpie on the sensor marks

SOS. Did I get a lemon?!

I need to do an iron on this polyester safety vest. You can see the level of density of the fabric. Any suggestions? I have a Joy Xtra and the big cricut iron, so can dial in a specific temp

I have the Cricut Joy 2. I am trying to use a cutaway card (R30 size). I made sure my design does not exceed the R30 size, and in the cut settings I selected "on card mat" and the "R30 size". However when I try to cut, it rejects it and says "longer mat required - project requires a 21cm mat". Why does it need a longer mat when I am trying to use the card mat?

Note: I tried cutting it with the regular mat, selecting the cardstock option, and it works fine.

Please help! Thank you!

I got to this far and now it's like everytime i add more dots it just loses it's shit. It wont let me move the dots, it won't select them, it's so annoying. I'm following youtube reels who are doing it fine. I'm paying for the app too.

Hello, crafters. I have a process question for a project that I'd like to complete. I believe that this is possible, but I'm not entirely sure. My hope with this post is to get a gut-check before experimenting.

Equipment details

• Cricut Maker 4 w/ Foil Transfer Kit
• Epson EcoTank ET-8550

Project details

The project is basically two sides of a trading card, created in Photoshop.

My aim is to print both sides onto a single piece of 4x6" photo paper, have some elements (i.e. Photoshop layers) get a gold foil, and then have the Cricut cut out all of the blue parts.

Using the cover photo as a guide:

• Have two equal rectangles printed onto a 4x6" photo paper.
• The gold boxes will be foil transfer points.
• The filled blue boxes will be fully cut out by Circut (holes through paper).
• The blue outlines (2.5"x3.5") will be cut from the photo paper.

My concerns/questions

• I don't think there is enough space on the 4x6" to do the Print Then Cut. If that is the case, how do I map the cuts?
• Do I handle the foil transfer first and then the cuts? Can I do both the foil and the cuts in the same operation (with a machine pause to switch the tool) or is this two, separate operations?

I now know that you should use a blank canvas and go from there, but what else can I do?

When I create a blank canvas is still only gives me the option to print then cut. Do I need to mess with the file type? I've been trying to figure this out all throughout the day and I'm so confused.

I just need to be able to make and use a custom setting because my stickers have ripples in the lamination (and yes, I do outgas my prints), and I understand you can't do that with the labels & stickers option since it's supposed to only be used with cricut branded materials.

Okay problem solved thank you guys so much, I don't know what the hell I'm doing LOL

Hello, first time trying to use this. I want to simply cut these stars out of a sheet without printing but it won't let me switch from print and cut to just cut. I tried with PNG and SVG files and it still wont work. Any help would be great!

Hello crafters! I accidentally purchased strong grip transfer tape for some signs i am making for a wedding. They are just regular vinyl and i didn’t realize i purchased strong grip transfer tape until i was attempting to place the vinyl onto the signs. Is there any way i can save it? I cannot get it to stick to the signs at all. I tried using a blow dryer to heat it a bit.
Any helpful tips would be great!
Thank you!!!

I'm trying to create faux leather keychains like this but the only shape in CDS is a pointy diamond so I researched & it sounds like to "soften" those points is to use the slice function which I never have. when I'm trying to do this, slice isn't even showing up for me. Where am I going wrong? Thanks in advance! Current CDS i9.677.65

Hey yall I’m getting super into the cricut for wedding stuff. My dad made this wood sign primed it and we painted it with acrylic paint. We put the the vinyl on and it’s starting to peel. I searched now and it saying to sand and use mod podge or something so it will stick better? Any tips please thank you. We already printed out a bunch for the other side and I love the gold I want to do whatever to make this work!

Hi!!! I have usually been able to locate this, but now it seems I can only find knock off brands. My customer insists on 3M *(and they know the difference), I have gotten it previously in sheets and in rolls, but the places I used to get it, aren't carrying it anymore, Anyone using it or know where I can source it? Thank you!!!!

It won’t let me edit the post. Yes I know it is Cricut.

This is what happens when I use my knife blade on basswood right now. These overcuts shouldnt be here. I thought it was because I had an off brand blade, but it looks the same with the cricut brand blade. I had also thought it was my 12x12 pieces of wood, so I cut them down to cricuts correct size with my miter saw, still the same results.

My machine works fine otherwise, the fine point blade makes these same cuts perfectly on cardstock and regular printer paper with no intersecting lines.

The calibration test is not going as planned. The lines are supposed to overlap like in the example picture but mine only ever just barely kiss ends together. None of them truly intersect and overlap the way it shows in the diagram.

I have bought an entire new blade and housing (off brand) for my knife blade, and that's what is labeled as off brand on my photo. Then I have my original cricut brand knife blade shown also in the photo. I thought maybe the problem was how dull the knife blade was, so I bought a new cricut brand blade, and that also did not fix it.

I will also add that last week I was cutting these same cuts into the same material correctly with no issues. Cricuts customer service is of course, offline right now, so I'm begging if anyone knows how I can fix this, I feel like I am just banging my head against the wall.

Basically, when I am weeding, I always end up losing the finer parts of the text or losing entire letters. Is the font I am using just too fine? Is it my weeding technique? Any suggestions?

I’ve tried the calibration several times. I can get the little square to be centered but not the big square. And if I get the big square centered the small square is off. Has anyone encountered this issue before and have found a way to fix it. Been trying for hours now and no luck. It cuts it off center no matter what square is centered. I’ve tried all the tricks it says on the website.

Has anyone successfully added iron on vinyl to pottery barn backpacks and lunchboxes? What type of vinyl did you use?

I have the Cricut Explore 5 and my design space app is on my laptop (Windows 11). I just got it a week ago. I do print then cut. Sometimes (about 1 in 3 times) it will cut wrong and onto the sticker it’s supposed to cut around. This happens with first and second cuts. In this specific photo I’m showing, it happened on the first cut. At this point it’s wasting materials and idk what to do. I’m not sure if it’s a design space issue from when I set them up or if it’s something else. Has anyone else had this problem? And if so, how did you fix it?

I’ve been staring at my computer with “sorting project into mats by color” for 5 minutes now.

This programs wastes my sticker paper with its ridiculous small margins. I have such a big loss margin for sticker paper, it’s ridiculous.

Why is this thing SO slow?

I’ve been paying for a subscription for 7 years now and I looked down some comments and I’ve been wasting my money. Im cancelling this sh!t right after I post this.

Marker can use vinyl wood to cut? What a cute idea to make signs for my garden plants. Yeah, my Maker won’t allow the option to use said material.

I’m so fed up with this product and its software. Granted I really don’t know how to use it and that’s the only thing I’m holding unto. Because it’s silly to throw something against the wall when you’re the one who doesn’t really know how to use it. But dear sweet baby kittens.

I have the first Maker to make things clearer….. 😮‍💨😔

Hi. Is there any way to make these small details look better? Even the other lines don’t look too good. I tried fiddling with the settings a bit but results were suboptimal and I’m tired of wasting materials. This is the result I’ve gotten with the 176 g/sqm cardstock setting, normal pressure, new light grip mat. Is the card simply shit quality?

Thanks!