This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.
As you know I love creating things with my Cricut machines, and today I wanted to share with you a roundup of the best Back to School crafts made with Cricut! All of these projects are easy to make, and all are super cute!
Because while this school year may be different from others with all the uncertainty around, I know for sure that staying creating is the best way to deal with anxiety for us moms – and handmade school gear are a sure way to excite any kid for a back to school time ( in class or virtual!)
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
― Maya Angelou
So let’s remember that the more we create the more we’re creative! And to spark your creativity here’s the round up of the cutest Cricut back to school projects !
6. Thoughtful teachers gift tote bag with goodies from Play Party Plan
7. The sweetest tee shirt for your little fifth grader from The Denver Housewife
8. Super fun Harry Potter inspired school gear from Lovely Indeed
9. Sweetest hedgehog school tote bag & pencil case kit from Must Have Mom
10. The cutest back to school t shirts from the Cricut blog
And the cutest school gear by yours truly – you can find the full tutorial here!
I hope these back to school Cricut crafts have inspired you just like me to keep on creating and to stay positive this September! I know for sure I can’t wait to make some more back to school inspired crafts with my Cricut!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.
Here in Quebec all kids going to primary classes are coming back to school in person, and to be honest I’m really excited and hopeful about it! After months of spending time together I can see how much they missed school! On top of it all we are finally moving, and so my girls will be starting this new and special school year in an entirely new school!
And while this school year is very different for a lot of us and while I know that a lot of parents will be homeschooling and distance schooling this year, I also believe that we need to everything possible to excite our kids more than ever about learning this year!
So with all that going on I really wanted to make sure they are excited and all ready for September! And I don’t know about you, but for me it means preparing them emotionally and personalizing their school gear!
And so with the help of my Cricut Explore Air 2 and my Cricut Easy Press I made these DIY personalized back to school gear for my girls and they couldn’t be more excited ! Best part is that I saved lots of money and had so much fun making these!
I started by browsing the Cricut Design Space where I found all of the designs that I used: the cute kawaii faces I used on the pensil cases, the mermaid design, and the unicorn design ( in french since my kids speak french at school) that I used for the water bottle.
I cut my design with my Cricut Explore Air , and I used the Everyday Iron On material in black and pink ( my girls favourite colour! ) and it took me not more than an hour to finish it all! And then I have applied my designs on with Cricut Easy Press ( it’s my favourite part!)
I also decided to personalize the water bottle and the lunch box, and for that I used Premium Vinyl in aqua blue.
If you’ll ask my daughter she’ll tell you she loves her personalized and unique back to school gear! And I’m just so happy she’s excited about going back to school now!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut for Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.
Your most common Cricut questions answered
Ever since I bought my first Cricut machine last year I became pretty much obsessed with it. So much that I made most of my hand made gifts with it for Christmas last year, followed by updating my and my kids wardrobe in the winter months followed by a plan to open an Etsy shop with my hand made creations later this year!
Yes, I’m a Cricut obsessed blogger now, and a proud owner of two beautiful machines- Cricut Air 2 and Cricut Maker. And while there’s still so much I can learn, I have become acquaintance with them pretty fast- and today I want to answer all of your questions!
Let’s start with the most common one:
1.Is a Cricut Maker worth the price?
I bought my first Cricut machine- cricut Air 2- in early December last year as a gift from me to me – and I can honestly tell you that yes it is! Why? Because the possibilities of crafting (or making products for sale) with your Cricut Air 2 ( or Cricut Maker) are ENDLESS. The end result always looks professional. And crafts that used to take me hours, or where way beyond my skill level, now take me fraction the time and I can make all the things I used to buy at Etsy before!
2.What kind of DIY projects can I make?
If you get yourself a Cricut Air 2 you can make beautiful cards and paper goods: from banners, to fancy cake toppers to paper mobiles to cardboard projects to giant paper flowers. You can make all sorts of vinyl projects: like wall decorations, organizing etiquettes, wood signs and decorative pieces. You can put vinyl monograms on glasses and tumblers, or personalize water bottles. You can make iron on projects: t-shirts with quotes, personalized baby onesies, matching mommy and me t-shirts. You can also use it to cut out felt for hair bows or felt flowers for decor projects ( like wreaths, personalized banners or mobiles).
And if you get yourself a Cricut Maker than you can do ALL THAT plus: you can use your machine to cut patterns out of fabric for sewing ( from dolls, to kimonos, to dresses, here the possibilities are endless). You can use your Maker to cut through faux leather and make baby moccasins , leather earrings or hair bows. You can use it to cut through thin wood and make personalized puzzles, 3D sculptures, state wood signs, coasters etc. You can cut through thin metal and make jewelry! Thanks to an engraving tool, you can cut out your own jewelry pieces and monogram them! I will repeat myself, but again, the possibilities are endless!
3.Will it be easy for me to learn the software to make projects?
Yes. It’s very intuitive in my opinion. It took me one afternoon of trial and error and I was able to make my first projects with it. There’s tons of great step by step videos on the Cricut platform too, for anything from the basic vinil project to more complicated crafts, all with step by step explanation. And there’s a ton of youtube videos too!
And, you can have access to the Design Space ( Cricut software) from your laptop, ipad or your phone- so even if you’re on the go and want to make a last minute birthday card, you can access the software from the application on your phone and have a card ready in minutes!
4.What materials can I cut?
As I mentioned before, the list is really long! You can cut through:
paper
thick paper
cardboard
vinyl
iron-on vinyl
felt
And if you get a Cricut Maker you can cut through all that AND:
material
faux leather
thin wood
thin metal
5.Is it easy to use a Cricut?
Yes. It took me one video to understand the steps. Basically they all go down to:
Choose a project you want to work on in Design Space ( Cricut software)
Choose your material ( let’s say it’s vinyl)
Put your vinyl on a loading mat
Load the mat into your Cricut
Choose a right cutting setting ( the software will guide you)
Press ON ( machine will start cutting)
Unload the mat ( press a button)
Pull out the cut material from the mat
Transfer it on the project / finish your project
Depending from the material used ( vinil, paper or wood) you’ll use different mat, different cutting tool and different cutting option. But the good news is that the software will guide you through all the steps and after one -two projects you’ll remember which material goes with which cutting tool.
I hope I have answered all your questions today! And if you’ll be looking for me you know where you can find me- by my Cricut in my crafting space, creating and making new things!
Disclosure- this post was written in collaboration with Cricut, however all of the opinions, enthusiasm and thoughts remain entirely my own and are based on my own experience.
Christmas is only a month away and in my books it means that it’s about time to start the preparations! I know there’s still time for the cooking and baking, but when you’re an usually busy adult then during the holiday season ( full of activities, obligations, parties and extra magic- and much more parenting effort then usually!) then you’re basically on the edge of a breakdown! Unless of course your start early, get your gifts ahead of time, wrap them and tag them right away and hide away before the real holiday rush starts!
So this year I decided to make my own printable Christmas gift tags- and some wrapping paper that goes with it, in an effort to :
always be ready to wrap a gift ( just press print and voila)
be more eco friendly ( I already have lots of paper at home, and I don’t need to buy any new wrapping paper or tags!)
I couldn’t be happier with this little printable set I created- it’s cheerful, joyful and perfect to mix an match! I made two shapes of tags for you, 9 different designs of tags, and 4 different wrapping paper sheets!
I printed everything on regular paper, and I just love how it turned out! My girls where helping me cut out the gift tags, we have put on some holiday music and with the snow outside it felt like christmas is only days away!
Clearly I’m obsessed with red, white and blue this season- also, everything hand lettered and cute! I hope you’ll like my little wrapping set as much as me and my girls we love it!
You can get the PDF file HERE – simply download it, print at home, cut out the tags and get wrapping with the wrapping paper sheets!
And make sure to share with me how you wrapped your gifts with my set – just tag me on your Instagram photos ( @joanna.anastasia_ ) I can’t wait to see how you’ll be using them!
One of my biggest life obsessions is collecting all sorts of ceramics – from colorful coffee mugs, to vintage tea cups, cute plates and statement bowls, I really love them all!
One day I’ll finally attend a ceramic class and then I’ll make my own ceramic collection, but for now you can find me in the studio customizing simple white pieces with a pop of colour!
And believe me when I say that painting simple white ceramic pieces is really the easiest DIY that will turn a dollar store cheap find in to one of a kind piece!
Here is what I had – a simple white pot from a second hand store, and two old cups. All white, boring and not very special.
And with the sun out and flowers out my window I feel like updating my life to match the summer weather- and I want to be adding colours everywhere! So it’s only natural that I decided to add some colours to these simple pieces.
And do here I mixed two super easy techniques- spray paint for the cups and painting with sharpies for the pot. Yes you can spray paint ceramic and glass, and yes you can use a sharpie- and it’s all really easy!
Here’s the simple step by step on how to spray paint ceramics:
Using washi tape cover everything that you don’t want to be covered in paint ( I would suggest covering the part that you will be drinking from- touching with your mouth, and where you will be pouring liquids in)
Prepare an empty cardboard box, and place your item inside- now spray paint it with one layer.
Let it dry
Remove the washi tape and enjoy
Wash by hand only
As for painting the ceramic I have actually published a blog post on the technique here! So with this pot I have simply painted my pattern and then followed as usual!
But I did spray paint the pot cover! I feel it really looks as if it was always yellow!
So next time you wander if you should buy new mugs or cups only because you’re tired of your white once, remember that you can always update them like I did!
If you feel like you don’t have time for DIY gifts, but you would love to make something hand-made for a family member that has everything, then I actually have an answer for you: these three super simple last-minute DIY gift ideas that each take less than 5 minutes to make!
Every year I try to make at least one simple DIY gift because we all like to receive mindful gifts right? But since I’m a busy working from home mom, well you won’t see me embedding anytime soon! Instead, I have made a simple coffee mug cozy, an all natural pink grapefruit sugar scrub, and a festive holiday chocolate bark!
First off, the coffee ( or tea) mug cozy: all you need is a pair of scissors, and an old sweater !
Simply cut out the sleeve, pull it on the mug, roll on top and wrap with a pretty festive string.
If you’re feeling extra crafty, you can cut out a ‘pocket” for a tea bag!
My second easy last-minute DIY gift idea is chocolate bark!
I’m, sure you have some leftover chocolate chips in your pantry – why won’t you put them in the good use? I do however suggest you using the best quality chocolate, since this is main ingredient. Melt it in batches, pour on the parchment paper, and top with whatever you have on hands!
Here’s what I’ve used:milk chocolate chips
dark chocolate chips
white chocolate chips
dulce de leche chips
popkorn
sprinkles
crushed candy cane
After pouring the chocolate on the parchment paper I’ve let my kids to take care of the rest – aka sprinkle half of toppings on the chocolate bark and eat half.
Once it’s all set and hardened simply pack it in festive christmas cookie cans and offer as a thoughtful gift!
And the last of my ultimate easy DIY gifts, is sugar scrub. I’ve been making them for year now, and they make for a great gift to any lady in your life!
What you’ll need:
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
an essential oil ( I used grapefruit oil)
couple of drops of beet juice for the pink colour
Mix it all together, and pack up in a metal tin or a mason jar.
And that’s it, your last minte DIY gifts are al done! Now you can sit down with a mug of hot chocolate and rest !
