DIY Holiday Decor - Frosty Winter Wreath with the Cricut Maker

3 Shares

I know that today is Halloween. But the weather outside is gloomy, it’s getting cold very quickly, it’s been a crazy month, and I just felt like making a holiday decoration today! I made this cute little winter “Frosty” wreath using my Cricut Maker! This is also my first time using the awesome new knife blade attachment with my maker, and the thick Cricut chipboard! I just have to say… it’s totally awesome! I know it’s not time for Christmas just yet, but this cute wreath is a great DIY holiday decoration that can last through multiple seasons!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all my own. Affiliate links have been used, clicking on these links won’t cost you more but I may receive a commission which helps to keep the Craft Shack going.

I was so excited when I got the knife blade attachment for my Maker! I love that the maker can use more than just a normal blade. For this project, I’m using both the knife blade and the rotary blade (also awesome!). The Maker together with the knife blade can cut thicker materials like this 2mm thick Cricut Chipboard, and thin balsa wood and basswood pieces.

Here’s what I used to make my Frosty Wreath:

Cricut Maker
Cricut Knife Blade and Rotary Blade Accessories
StrongGrip and FabricGrip cutting mats
Cricut Chipboard
Cricut Felt
Vine Wreath
Premium Vinyl – Permanent Silver
Fabric Brayer
Masking Tape
Glue

For this wreath, I used a design I worked up in Cricut Design Space. You can copy my design by clicking here. The size of the design elements is set for an 8″ wreath. You can customize it to enlarge or shrink the elements depending on your wreath size, up to 10.5 inches. Chipboard projects cannot be bigger than 10.5 x 10.5.

There are several tips you should pay close attention to when working with Cricut Chipboard, or other thick knife-cut materials. I’m happy to share them with you here:

Make sure you’ve pushed the star wheels on the machine all the way to the side. The star wheels are the little white wheels in front of the blade that help to pull materials through when cutting. But with the thicker materials, the star blades will just leave track marks on the chipboard or wood. So be sure they aren’t running over your design while cutting!
Let the chipboard acclimate out of the package for 24 hours before using. If it starts to bend or warp place a flat heavy object on top of it.
The knife blade can cut designs bigger than .75″ and smaller than 10.5″. Super intricate images can possibly damage the blade so it’s best to keep knife cuts on the somewhat simple side. You can see that my snowflakes worked out ok. The small snowflake has nice straight edges.
Use a Brayer to smooth the chipboard onto a StrongGrip cutting mat to make sure the chipboard has adhered nicely and then use masking tape or blue painters tape to tape around the edges, securing the chipboard (or wood piece) securely to the mat.

Check your machines cutting progress frequently. The Maker is set to make 20 passes when cutting heavy Chipboard, but in the case of my “Frosty” word art it only took 12, and it only took 8 passes on the big snowflake. Pause the machine frequently and lift the edge of the chipboard to check the progress.

If the design is cut through most of the way, remove it from the mat and use a knife tool to cut through the rest. This will save your StrongGrip cutting mat from extra wear.
Expect some cut lines and wear on your cutting mat. With the amount of pressure the Maker is using and the sharpness of the knife blade it is unavoidable. You can minimize the mat damage by keeping a close eye on your cut. Each design will cut differently depending on the simplicity, or complexity of the cuts and the materials being used.

Before cutting the word “Frosty out, put some Silver Permanent Premium Vinyl on the Heavy Chipboard. It worked out ok to cut the chipboard with the vinyl adhered already, and then you don’t have to worry about lining the vinyl up after the cuts.

Load the chipboard into the machine on the Strong Grip mat, and press Go! Watch the knife blade do all the hard work. I was impressed by the ability to cut the snowflake out of the letter O! Keep a close eye on the cut progress, pause the cut anytime you need to remove a piece of chipboard that has broken loose. I found the most pieces coming loose in the snowflakes. It’s important to remove the loose pieces before they become stuck and damage the blade.

After 12 passes, Frosty was done! I loaded the second piece of chipboard for my large snowflake. That one took even fewer passes because it was a simpler cut. When you remove the chipboard, if there are segments that have not cut all the way through, simply take the knife blade and lightly cut along the lines to free the design.

You can paint the chipboard if you don’t want to vinyl it! Just seal it first with a coat of mod podge and you’re good to go! I painted my large snowflake with a Blue Glitter paint.

To add some dimension to the wreath, I added some felt snowflakes too! To cut the felt snowflakes, I switched to the Rotary Blade that is included with the Maker. Just change the material setting to felt, move the star wheels back into place, and change the tool to the rotary blade and you’re all set! Use the Fabric Grip Cutting Mat and the brayer to adhere the felt before cutting.

I love how intricate the felt snowflakes can be with the rotary blade! There are still some limitations… Any smaller or more intricate than this might have been a challenge… but look how pretty my felt snowflakes are! Scrape them gently off the fabric grip mat to avoid breaking them. They are a little bit delicate.