Christmas Craft Challenge Week One - Gift Tags

 
Gift Tags - Week One Of the 12 Week Christmas Craft Challenge

For this project, we're going to start with something we can all make ahead easily.  It's a great beginner project, to help you familiarize yourself with your machine and how the software works.  

There's no need to think about what you want to make as gifts yet, no need to buy a bunch of supplies..  all you will need is some card stock, maybe a pen that works in the machine, or maybe a printer.  

TOOLS NEEDED:


Skills Covered In This Lesson:
  • How to download, and use, a free svg
  • Optional - How to use the pens, or draw feature,  in cricut
  • Optional - How to use Print Then Cut [instead of the pens]
  • Cutting Paper with cricut

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MORE GIFT TAG TUTORIALS

These All free from:
https://shrsl.com/4992k
Every project at Dreaming Tree has a full, step by step, video tutorial
Note - this link may show a huge search box at the top of the page - just keep scrolling, you'll see these under the search box.  :-)

Gift Box Tag 
Free svg AND full tutorial, here:
https://www.3dsvg.com/gift-box-hang-tag-free-svg

Option A: Choose Your Own Adventure

1. Where To Find Free Gift Tag SVGS

3. How To Make Tags With Cricut, Step By Step
This is going to vary based on what you decide to do, but the tutorial above will walk you through how to make tags from scratch, using either a printer, OR the pens.    

4. Share your completed project in the comments here:  https://www.facebook.com/fieldsofheathercrafts/posts/678043526466982

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Option B :  Step By Step Work Along With Me

I'm working on a laptop running windows 10.  If you are using a different device or operating system, things may looking slightly different.

 Go to this site.  https://www.whatchaworkinon.com/archives/2982    

Under the tags you will see where to download the svg. This will download as an svg, NOT as a zip file.  No need to unzip this one.  Just download it.
Open Design Space, and  choose upload.  On a computer, this will most likely be on the bottom left.  You can change the name to make it easier to find this svg later, if you wish. 

This particular svg will upload with a bunch of extra text, and an extra image.  This is uncommon, but it does happen.  Here's the quickest way to get rid of it:

This is your Layers Panel, to the right of your design.  See the eyes beside the images?  Click on the ones beside each of the red tags.  This will hide them.

Now all that is left on the canvas is the parts we want to delete.  At the top of the screen, choose "Select all".  The button will change to "Deselect" as shown above, and a box will form around all of the items.  Now click on your delete key on your keyboard or device.  Your canvas should then be blank, with nothing on it, but if you look to the right, there will still be the red tags in your layers panel.

Click on the eye beside each tag, to unhide each of them, and they will re-appear on your canvas,
I know that I want to cut these out of 8.5 x 11 inch card stock, because I have a lot of it to use up.  But not so much of it that I want to waste it, I want my cricut to cut as many tags as it can, from one piece of paper.  The most efficient way to do this is to duplicate the tags.  Select all, then at the top right, duplicate.

Click on Select all, and at the top you can see the measurements for your project.

Two rows will be too large for the paper.  That's ok, I don't need these tags to be any specific size - so in the box beside the H, for height, I typed an 8.  Design Space then resized my entire project to be 8 inches tall.  The tags will cut a little shorter than the original design, but I will get more from my one sheet of paper, and the exact size is not important on my finished project.


Once resized, I had room in my width for an additional set of tags.  I liked the joy ones best, so I selected the Joy tag, duplicated it, and added two more to my project.  Now Select all and Attach.

Attach will tell cricut to cut each item EXACTLY AS IT IS PLACED.   So when this goes to the mat, all of these items will cut from the paper in exactly these positions.  Because I chose select all, then attached, cricut assumes I will cut all of these from one color paper or vinyl - so it will change them all to the same color.  You won't notice it here, because we are only working in one color.  But you can only attach one color at a time.  
Here's the quick tip card, and more information on when to use attach in design space:

Now you have two options.  You can click make it, and be done - or you can have cricut add your To & From lines.  Either way, you should click the save button to save your project now.

TO ADD TEXT THAT WILL WRITE
Make sure you saved your design, then close Design Space.
Go here: https://www.dafont.com/alwayshere.font  Download the Always Here font, and install it on your device.  You will need to unzip the file first, then typically you can just double click on the actual font (not the zip file) to install it.   

Find a detailed Step By Step on Installing Fonts Here:

Again, this may vary by Device.

Why are we downloading this particular font? Because it's free, and works well as a writing font.  It's one I use often.


Not All Fonts Work As Writing Fonts
With Cricut, if you do not use one of their writing fonts, the pen will follow the path of the blade.  This will leave you with outlined, or bubbled text.  You can either purchase fonts from cricut, or find free fonts that "collapse on themselves" and work as writing fonts.  

There are more than 100 FREE fonts that I have personally tested in a variety of pen sizes.  Then I sorted those texts into posts by pen size, linking the fonts for you to download them.  I'm often asked if I can just make it one zip file for you to download - but I cannot ethically do that.  They are not my fonts to distribute.  I can link to them, so you can download them from the authorized sites (almost all of them come from Dafont)


But save that for later.  Right now, we are using just the one font.  :-)

Once your font is installed to your device, open up design space once again.  Open the project we were working on.  Now add a text box.

Type your text, change the font to Always Here.  Find the box att the top of the screen, towards the left that says Cut, click on it, and then choose "Draw" - 

Design space does not read font kerning.  I'm not going to get into that too much here, but what it boils down to is that system fonts will never be spaced right, and never look right, if you just type them in text boxes in Design Space.  There are work arounds, but today, it will be "close enough" as is.  Still, I used two separate text boxes - one for "To", and one for "From".  Once those were both done, I selected both, and grouped them. Then I duplicated the grouped text, placing it on each tag.


Once the text is all in place, Select All & Attach.

You have to attach the text to the tag, so Cricut knows exactly where to write.  I know I said earlier that you can only attach like colors, but  writing in an exception - because it's a separate line type.  

At the top right, in the layers panel, click on the arrow beside attach.  Everything should disappear, just as shown here.  If there is more than the word "Attach" in your layers panel, select all and attach again.  

Save your project.

Now click make it

This is one of those things I cannot explain, but it's not terribly important. when I click Make it, on the left see where it says 'Material Size"?  I would choose 8.5x11 - because that's what I am working with. Sometimes that will be an option, sometimes it will not.  My project is well below 8x11 - so it SHOULD be an option.  But it was not.  That's ok, I chose 8.5x14.  Close enough. 


Now you need to insert a pen. I used a plain old Bic Roundstick. It pops right in, no adaptor needed, and works great!  The Dollar Tree markers also work great for me.  Here's a list of "alternative", non cricut, pens that I use regularly.  

Notice that I am using a green mat here, not a blue one.  My green mats are well used, if you have a brand new one, it MAY be too sticky for paper.  But most likely, it will be fine. Do not use a purple mat, that will be too sticky and you'll have trouble removing your paper.  


When you are done, to remove your paper, flip the matt upside down, and peel it away from the paper.  This won't be too important for the tags, but it's a good habit to get into - in large designs, it will help keep the paper from curling.

These would be so much prettier with some ribbon or bakers twine tied from the top - but I'd just have to untie it later to attach them to the presents, so I went with practical over photogenic.


And then I stuck them in a ziplock bag.  Because as much as I'd love to have them in a pretty wooden crate with the bakers twine..  I really don't have room to have it sitting around.  I will fill the ziplock bag with tags this week, then put them in the drawer with the wrapping paper.  

Don't Forget to post your completed project here, in the comments!

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The Christmas Craft Challenge Index
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NEXT WEEK - WEEK TWO
 Week Two, Using Regular Vinyl
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For Next Weeks Challenge, you will need some regular vinyl (Not HTV) and something to apply it on.  I'll recommend a glass candle holder from the dollar tree, and we can make a decoration, or a hostess gift.  If you cannot get vinyl in time, pick up a roll of plain colored contact paper at the Dollar Tree too.  It will work great for practicing!
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The Christmas Index
Where To Find: Free Christmas SVGS By Theme (Nativity, Grinch, A Christmas Story, Etc), Where To Find Free Christmas SVGS By Project (Gift Tags, 3D Paper, Earrings, etc) and Where To Find Free Christmas Project Tutorials & Gift Ideas.  Including an entire extra index just for making Christmas Ornaments.  Find it all here:
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/12/free-christmas-themed-svg-files.html

Getting Started With Cricut
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The Christmas Craft Challenge - Index

COMING SOON!
Between Design Space changes, and svgs no longer being free, the 2020 Christmas Challenge just won't work well this year.  So...
I'm revamping the 2020 12 week challenge into a 9 week challenge for 2023.   

It's in progress - I'll post on the facebook page Crafting With Fields Of Heather when it's ready.

Read more »
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Where To Find Free Fireman & Free Fire Prevention Week SVGS

Where To Find Free Firefighter Themed SVGS

 Fire Prevention Week is always the week on which October 9th falls. According to legend, on October 8, 1871, Mrs. O'Leary was in her barn, milking her cow. The cow kicked over a lamp, which started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The fire burned for over 27 hours. When it was over,  more than 300 people were killed, 100,000 people were left homeless, and over 17,000 structures were destroyed.

The Great Chicago fire sparked major efforts in fire prevention.  Forty years later, the Fire Marshall's Association of North America(FMANA) held the first Fire Prevention Day. In 1920 , President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Fire Prevention Week.

Related Links:
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Fireman Themed Free SVGS
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COMMERCIAL USE
Commercial use svgs can be used on projects you plan to sell.  You may not sell the svg, but you can use the svg on an item and sell that item.

https://www.thedesignhippo.com/9-free-firefighter-svg-cut-files-for-cricut-to-make-gifts/


Change the blue to red for firemen - Free SVG

No SVG - Just Inspiration
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Quick Links:

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To See All Of My Latest Free SVG Finds, 
Join Cricut Tips, Tutorials, & Free SVGS
There you will find themed posts with all of the latest links in the comments
And you can share your projects, tutorials, and ask questions there too!

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Give Her Coffee & She'll Go Away - Gilmore Girls Coffee Mug

 
A Gilmore Girls Twist On a Starbucks Style Design

 Misc Things You May Wish To Know:

  • For Where To Find The Free SVGS & How To Modify Them, Scroll Down & Look for the large "THE DESIGN" section.
  • This cup is from Amazon.  No special name brand.  I probably spent half a day shopping for the prefect coffee mug, then got fed up and just ordered whatever was on the screen at the time.  That's how I normally shop, anyway.  It worked  out ok this time, I love the cup.  It comes with metal straws too, for cold liquids.
  • Permanent vinyl, no need to seal it.  Frisco Craft brand is my favorite - super cheap, free shipping with Amazon Prime, fantastic to work with!  Limited colors.  For most other colors, I use Orcal.  Here's a list of my favorite vinyl's, best prices I could find, etc.

 I don't drink Starbucks  coffee, but I do love their cups! I made so many mistakes with this project.  But it's purely for me, and I love it - someday I may redo it.  It's my take on a "Starbucks Style" cup. Just a month or so ago I read a comment from a Designer where she said she never seals anything on her coffee cups, if the designs fall of in the dishwasher, she just puts on a new design.  (They hold up really well, no need to seal, just hand wash. Although I've had quite a few go through the dishwasher many times with no problems too.)  That was such a freeing thought to me.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  I can always just redo it later.  I'm not selling - this is just for me.  I'm sitting here drinking out of my coffee mug with the not perfectly lined up circles, and you know what?  I LOVE this thing.  Today. Tomorrow I may redo it when the imperfections drive me nuts.  You just never know with me.

If I was able, I'd gladly make this an svg you could download.  But that has exceeded my attention span.  Again, someday I may come back to that.  For now,  I can, much more quickly, tell you how to do this yourself. 


I apparently can NOT tell you how to perfectly line up two circles, as you can see, I didn't manage to do that. Even though I placed the entire design on contact paper before putting it on the cup. I thought it was lined up on the contact paper. I was wrong. My biggest tip is to NOT try doing 15 things at once. (Yesterday I was writing a post on the history of the local Whiskey Insurrection of 1794, while turning a bushel of tomatoes into sauce, while sorting out soap supplies to make pumpkin soap, while working on no less than 12 - seriously, 12 - cricut projects on my dining room table. Oh, and I was doing laundry. I tend to either do everything at once, or nothing at all - I have no normal, rational, in between mode. Did you know that the Riot Act was a real thing? Like the Miranda Rights speech we know today, it was read to unruly crowds. If they didn't calm down an clear out within an hour, the penalty was death. That's from that Whiskey Insurrection article.)

If you are a Gilmore Girls fan, you know that this refers to the first time Luke & Lorelai met.  She came into Luke's for coffee, he was busy, she was annoying (for good cause - coffee....) She rips out a piece of the newspaper horoscope and writes on it "You will meet an annoying woman today.  Give her coffee and she will go away."  You can see a video clip where Luke pulls out the "horoscope" from his wallet, telling this story, 8 years later, when the two are finally on a date, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt266f7Ijuw

If I were reading this, I would probably be rolling my eyes about now.  " could you just stop rambling and tell me how to make this?"  So I'll make this section really large for those of you who wanted to just skim through and find it:

THE DESIGN

Full disclosure, as if I have not already disclosed enough...
There's supposed to be another piece, which has "Stars Hollow, CT" under the circle on my cup.  It ay appear there in later photos.  Currently, that piece is cut, but missing.  My dining room table looks like a bomb hit it, I have so many projects in progress - so when it shows up, I will add it.  The letters are cut out of the rectangle - the rectangle is larger and will hold up better when this inevitably gets tossed in the dishwasher.  Small letters are always  the first to be lost in the dishwasher.  :-)

Delete all the extras from the starbucks ring - including the white circle.  Then duplicate it, and contour out the stars on the duplicate. 

How to Contour In Design Space: https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-to-use-contour-in-design-space.html

That gives you the plain yellow circle.  Add the Luke's cup in the middle.  Select the circle and the cup, at the top of the screen in design space choose Align/Center.  Then either attach or weld.  Either works for this - attach is easier to undo.

The text in the circle is a PAIN.  Normally I type all of my text in fontlab pad and upload it as an svg, because Design Space doesn't read font kerning, or anything else designers program into fonts, so they are always spaced weird and missing cool things that you'd see in any other program.

BUT you cannot curve text you upload as an svg.  So I typed it in a text box in Design Space, used the curve feature... and it was spaced really, really weird.  So, uncurve, ungroup the text, and place each letter one by one.  

Once the text is on there, slice it from the ring.  We used to have to weld text before slicing but most of the time that's no longer necessary now!  

Change the colors to whatever you want, cut, weed, and then try to do a better job of lining up the circles than I did.  That's it!

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If you like the look of the Starbucks "rings", there are SO many free ones already made!  Wraps for the cups too.  Here's a list: https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2020/08/free-starbucks-inspired-coffee-ring-svgs.html

Looking for more of my Gilmore Girls Projects with cricut?  Find those here: https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/03/gilmore-girls-cricut.html



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