Free SVGS For Making Valentine Cards
5 Surprising Things I Learned When I Created A Cricut Facebook Group
I'm horrible at answering messages. Really, really horrible. I could apologize, but it would not be genuine. There are only 24 hours in a day, and there are SO very many fun and interesting things, in addition to the necessary things, that sorting through the various platforms to find messages and answer them is just never going to be a priority for me.
But I do love answering cricut questions and teaching people how to use their machines. So about a year ago I got the bright idea to create my own facebook group, where I can more easily answer questions, and compile assorted links and information in what I hoped would be helpful threads. On the whole, it's worked out very well for me. And along the way, I learned some things.. not important things, just interesting things.
1. Designers will offer their designs for free to a select group, as long as those who receive them make items with their designs and share them on a variety of facebook groups. This is how they get around the "self promotion" rule in most facebook groups. Personally, I don't have a problem with this at all. While my list does not allow you to post items or designs for sale, I do encourage you to share items you make. So if the designer gave you the design for free to promote their work, I don't mind if you make the item, share it, and tell where you got the design. But I do prefer you be honest - just say, I received this design for free in exchange for promoting it in facebook groups. As for how to be one of those who receive the free designs - I'm not certain, but I suspect that if you join the designers facebook group, that will be your best opportunity.
2. "Dope Logos" is a common term. Why "dope" logos, I don't know - but at least once a week I have to delete a spammer who goes through all the posts and comments "Do you want a Dope Logo?". Seriously - at least once a week. It's multiple people, and it's not unusual for them to post the comment on 10-30 posts in one night, before I get them blocked and removed. I suspect that although some of these may be legitimate designers, the majority will take your payment and never deliver a design. If you want an svg created, and are willing to pay, I always suggest you ask one of the many designers who provide the free designs I share. Many of them have contact information on their sites for custom work. I recommend supporting the designers who offer us so much for free. :-)
3. Spammers sometimes work in teams. Two or more spammers will join the same group with the specific intent of asking questions that that other can answer with "their favorite" designer, or shop. Super common is for someone to ask "which vinyl should I buy?" and then the co-spammer will immediately answer with a rave review for the brand they are being paid to promote. I always try to ask why someone likes a brand, and ask if they can show you examples of items they made with it.
4. People will promote items they have never used, telling you it's the "best", even though they have never tried it. I've had to block quite a few people over the past year for promoting one particular vinyl company that offers $5 for every referral. Many of these people would admit, when questioned, that they had never used the vinyl, but were promoting it for the $5 incentives. They will tell you how amazing this company is, without ever having ordered a single thing from them! This has become so annoying to me that I personally will never purchase from that company. Which isn't really fair, it's not the companies fault people have misused their promotion. If I see a great deal, or see something people are raving over, I'll share it. But if I haven't used it, I am honest about that - "I've never tried this, but I have heard", for instance.
5. People download legitimate free svgs, then upload them to Etsy and sell them as their own design. This I knew before I created my group - it was one of my very first "shocking" (to me) cricut lessons. I don't mean this happens once in awhile, in rare instances, I mean it's really, really super common. I am very slow to ever recommend someone purchase a design on Etsy, unless it's very unique, or unless I am familiar with the designers work and integrity. In many cases, you can find the design for free elsewhere, legitimately.
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How To Search A Facebook Group
Find my Cricut Facebook Group here:
Step By Step - Making A Card With Print Then Cut Elements
Making A Card With Print Then Cut Elements
My Cricut Craft Space - Projects In Progress
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| Organizing all of my cricut "in progress" projects I know some of you likely only ever work on one project at a time. I admire that. But it's not how I work. :-) Very frequently I will sit here at my desk writing about local history while a variety of Cricut Projects cut. I may design and plan while my husband watches tv in the evenings, and then send them all to cut a day or two later. Sometimes my daughter will "babysit the cricut" for me, feeding in the various materials & colors to cut. Other times, she will help weed projects. I have always had a mess of projects in progress. I've recut pieces that were lost, more times than I care to admit. |
Quick Links:
- My [old] Cricut Craft Space (not yet updated since we've redone the room)
- How I Store My Vinyl Scraps (Also old - Same concept, but I now use two separate scrapbooks, and they are binder style instead of post style)
- Dollar Tree Plastic Folders - thicker, $1 each
- Dollar Tree Plastic Folders - thinner, 3 for $1
- Projects In Progress Printable Planner Sheet
- The font I used to label the folders is the free GT Herina. Be sure to use something other than Design space, such as the free fontlab pad, if you want to see those pretty ligatures appear.
Last week we ripped apart our laundry room to solve a plumbing issue, and in the process, redid my entire craft area. As I organize my new space, I asked how you all store your transfer tape - those pieces we use over and over again. I am currently using a clipboard for mine, but someone recommended these plastic folders from the Dollar Tree. And that solved an entirely different problem for me!
For the last two years, I've had a basket where I tossed pretty much everything. Projects in progress, stuff that needed weeded, vinyl scraps, transfer tape, even an assortment of tools. Impractical, and a mess, I was constantly frustrated by it and could never find what I was looking for.
I'm still using a basket. It's just organized with these plastic folders now! Three of the thicker folders, $1 each, 13 inches wide by 9x5 tall, are labeled WEED, APPLY, SORT. Two packs of thinner folders, sold 3 for $1 at the Dollar Tree, are labeled "Projects". The projects folder have all the items for a project such as the Amazon ornaments, where there are print then cut stickers, boxes cut and ready to be folded, and vinyl to be applied to the outside. My "APPLY" folder is more for single cut projects. Say a name for on a cup, or a decal to iron onto a tote bag. If a project has a lot of colors and pieces, I put it in it's own PROJECTS folder instead. A lot of paper projects, especially the 3d paper projects, go straight to a PROJECTS folder, for instance. One project per a folder.
I found this old office armoire, which looks like it may have come out of a hotel room, at our local thrift store. There's a counter to the right where I work most of the time, but this closes up and hides all of my cricut supplies, most of the time. The top shelf holds my rolls vinyl and the two binders of vinyl scraps & 12x12 scraps.
Each of these folders has a piece of cardstock inside. That's mainly to help the folder stand up a bit better - they are pretty flimsy. But they also work as dividers. I put htv on one side of the cardstock divider, and "regular" vinyl on the other.
My "SORT" folder is for vinyl scraps - this is where I toss them until I pull the binders down and sort the scraps into the pages where they belong. Originally I had one 12x12 scrapbook for my scraps, but when that got ruined in the above mentioned plumbing issue [frozen pipes - flooded the room] that necessitated the remodeling of this room, I replaced it with two binder style 12x12 scrapbooks [These are made by Stampin Up] that I had found in my attic. I now have one binder for htv, and one for regular vinyl - each color is in it's own page protector.
Inside of the "APPLY" folder, behind the cardstock divider, is a pack of "Index Dividers" - also from the Dollar Tree. These are typically used in binders. I am using them to hold htv projects. because they are plastic, I can stick the weeded htv right to the divider.
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In my Planner, I keep a "Projects At A Glance" Planner Sheet.
You can download it to use yourself, for FREE, here:
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Where To Find Free SVGS
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| Where To Find Free SVGS |
I say it often - paying for Cricut Access is renting cut files. You cannot download them to your device, and as soon as you stop paying your rental fee, you lose access to all of those images, unless you purchase them. For some, this works great. It's like netflix for svgs. For me, I'd rather purchase one or two designs, than rent thousands I will never use.
And there is SO much available for free. You can spend hours each week just downloading free svgs, without ever paying a dime. Legitimate, real, layered cut files - not clipart you have to remove the background and clean up to use. Although you can certainly create cut files from clipart too. There are so many options. As with most of my posts here, I'll start with the "Quick Links" version - for those of you who want to get straight to it. Below those links is a longer, more detailed, explanation of where to find the lists, how to search, how to use my facebook group (I use topics and units there - so it's a little different than what most of you may be used to).
Quick Links:
- Free SVGS By Theme
- List of Sites With Free SVGS
- Sites With Daily Free SVGS
- Facebook Group Where I build the "Free by Theme" posts
- My facebook page Each Day I share a "Daily List Of Free Fonts & Free Svgs"
- How To Clean Up Simple Clipart to use as a cut file
- Sites and Software for converting an image into an svg
- Tips For Using Inkscape to Create SVGS
- TIP - SVG Files look like HTML files
- TIP - How To View Thumbnails Of SVG Files
- How To Quickly Sort SVG Bundles
- How to Use Free SVGS In Design Space
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First, How To Use Free SVGS In Design Space
Here is a step by step:
If you upload the SVG and you have the option to "clean it up", or the option to save as either a print then cut or a cut image - you probably uploaded the wrong file. SVGS look like html files.
For more information on what each of the files are that typically come in a download:
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Where To Find
The FREE SVGS
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Across the top of every page on this blog is a "header" with a list of options. If you click on "Free SVGS" a menu will drop down with some quick links, such as the list of sites with free svgs, the Free SVGS by theme index, etc.
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This Weeks List Of On Sale For Free
A good place to start is with my list, updated weekly, of "On Sale For Free" Svgs. These are typically svgs and fonts you would normally have to pay for, but that are offered "on sale for free" for a limited time, to introduce you to the site and the designers work. There are SO many freebies added each week. Most of the svgs and fonts on this list will come with a commercial use license, so you can use them on items you make to sell. I typically update the list on Thursdays, and I post on my facebook page when it is updated.
In addition, I keep a list of sites that frequently offer a new "Daily Free" svg, and sites that have a "freebie friday", new free svg each week.
Daily Free SVG:
Freebie Friday Sites:
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Free SVGS By Theme
I'm a compulsive list maker. On this site, and in my facebook group, I'veattempted to put my obsession to good use. :-) If you go to the Index of free theme svgs, there you will find categories such as Gnomes, Disney, Birthday, Paper Flowers, Earrings... and so many more. Click on each category to be taken to a page where I list the free svgs and where to download them. Typically the pages are in the format of Commercial Use svgs first, followed by Personal Use Svgs, followed by Projects, all in that theme.
If there is a theme you are looking for that is not in the index, be sure to check out my facebook group. That's where I "build" these themed posts, and there's a ton there that has not yet made it to the blog. In that group, I create a post, and then I add links as I come across them, in the comments.
Find the Group:
Cricut Tips, Tricks, Tutorials & More -
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Then there's the Site list.
Here I alphabetically list all of the sites I am aware of that offer free svgs. I try to add notes for each - labeling which is commercial use, which have mostly paper crafting designs, which require you to sign up to receive their emails in order to download, etc. The list is constantly growing, and I am constantly adding information. At last count, I believe there were more than 100 sites listed. I highlight my favorites at the top.
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Finding SVGS In My Facebook Group
I post a lot on both my facebook page, and also in my facebook group. In the group, everyone can ask questions, share projects, request me to watch for certain themed svgs, etc. In the midst of all of that, the Free SVG posts can sometimes get lost - but you can find them under "Topics".
On the page for the group, you will see options such as discussion, media, etc. Click on Topics.
When you click on any of the topics shown, it will take you to the posts that I have tagged with that topic.
There's also a Getting Started Unit in the group:
Clicking on each post in the "unit" will walk you through the basics of how this facebook group works, and where to find things.
You can also use the search box inside of a facebook group, to search for posts such as "making tumblers", or "free Dr Seuss Svgs".
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In addition to the facebook group, I have a facebook page.
The page is public - anyone can see that without joining. Every mornings I post a daily list of free fonts and free svgs here.
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How To Create Your Own
Cut Files
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Sometimes all of those options are still not enough, and you will want to create your own svg.
If the svg will be 100% text - just use Fontlab Pad. Type your text, save as an svg.
Quick and easy!
Simple clipart images are easy to "clean up" using the eraser and wand when uploading to Design Space. Here's a step by step:
Here's a comparison of some of the sites and software that will convert an image into an svg for you
Inkscape is the most popular free program for creating svgs from scratch.
But I, personally, do not find it simple to use. Here are some tips that may help -
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Tips For Sorting & Organizing
All Of Those Free SVGS
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How To View Thumbnails Of SVG Files
How To Quickly Sort SVG Bundles
And more tips for organizing your files:
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For an Index Of All Of My Cricut Related Posts:
Printable Cheat Sheet - Design Space Basics
A quick look at how to switch from cut, to draw, to print then cut, and when to attach, when to weld, and when to flatten.
Find it in the facebook album here:
https://www.facebook.com/fieldsofheathercrafts/photos/a.742157633388904/742170410054293
Here's a more detailed look at what is in the printable:
For a more detailed look at how to switch the linetype from cut, to draw, to print then cut:
For a more detailed look at When To Weld, Attach, & Flatten
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An Index Of Cheat Sheets
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