I can be a super messy crafter, but I actually have found that having a more organized craft room has really helped me stay sane and craft more. Everything has its place and although I do make changes to my organizational systems a bit here and there, I’ve found a bunch of ideas that work really well for me. I chose poplar for the shelving pieces because I really love the grain in poplar. It’s a bit more expensive, but I didn’t need much of it, so it wasn’t a big deal. For the legs, I just used regular pine since I knew I’d be painting them.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, this is the printer I got. I did a lot of research on the perfect printer for my needs. Something that I could do regular office stuff on, but something that I could also use for printing for crafting needs. Specifically, print-then-cut vinyl designs. This printer is very compact and works really well as a desktop printer. Plus it was really affordable. Here’s what I used for my project!

Compatible with your home inkjet printer to print then cut full-color designs up to 61 cm x 71 cm (24 in x 28 in) I’ll start with the red layer, add and align the squares over top. Before I slice I will duplicate the squares so I can use them for the next piece and so on.

Once you start getting the hang of it you can slice first, then delete the extra bits all at once. It’s completely up to you.Here’s what the pre-sliced stand template looks like on the Design Space canvas. I zoomed out a bit to see the whole design. Using a craft knife, cut out the outer shape of the stand, and the inner flap shape, making sure NOT to cut where your score lines will be.

With the template still in position, fold the inner flap down on the horizontal score line and trace the inside of the shape on the plastic. To reinforce our big cut out characters we’ll use these big plastic sheets. You could use foam core sheets instead, but it won’t cut as neatly or look as polished when you’re done. More on that a little later..Now I’ll place the rest of my squares based on the placement of the first. The next square will go above the last. I’ll eyeball it on the canvas and then adjust the numbers in the X and Y fields at the top…rounding to the closest inch or half-inch. and so on and so forth, until all of my squares are covering the penguin. A bit of his head at the top left is uncovered, but that's ok. It is smaller than my square so I'll just leave that as the last piece after slicing everything else. A: Each day in December leading to Christmas, I present you with a brand new “gift”— a project to craft, make, or do. You can make these projects on a Cricut cutting machine or by hand if you don’t have one. Most of our Merry Maker Mingle projects will come with a fun video with yours truly, a step-by-step printable photo tutorial, and a free pattern/SVG cut file. Sign up to get daily updates and prizes! Get my free SVG files to create DIY Cut Out Characters I’m also going to be mindful of where I place the squares so that my slice lines are least visible AND don’t create any oddly-sized bits. Positioning them under shapes from the other layers helps. A: You can use the steps from my tutorial to trace your DIY cut out characters on to cardboard, too! Max Material Load is subject to roll length and Design Space® software limitations. For more information about your warranty, visit cricut.com/warranty