Simple Halloween Porch with the Cricut Maker

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

It’s October! Eek! Time to bust out those handmade Halloween costumes & DIY Halloween crafts. Am I right? :) Annnnnnnd there is no better tool to make all your handmade Halloween dreams come true than the Cricut Maker. I am excited to share how I used my Cricut Maker to decorate our Simple Halloween Porch. I’m sharing the tutorials & cut files, so your can make these easy projects, too! Let’s get started! :)

I first introduced you to the Cricut Maker here. The Cricut Maker is a crafting tool like no other. The ease of use & range of materials it can cut through is ah-mazing. With the Cricut Maker you can cut through iron-on, permanent vinyl, leather, fusible fabric, chipboard and even wood! It gives you the freedom to make almost any DIY project you can think up, and it is so easy to use. Everyone can get amazing & professional results every single time! The big three that make the Cricut Maker different from any other machine are the knife blade, scoring wheel & rotary blade.

Today I’m going to share two projects that can only be made with the Cricut Maker using the scoring wheel & knife blades plus a few more projects that show a few of the different materials you can cut out with your Maker. In a few weeks, I’ll be sharing a new tutorial using the rotary blade. So stay tuned for that! I’m excited to share how the Cricut Maker can make all your crafting dreams come true. :) Let me show you how I used the Maker to decorate our Simple Halloween Porch. :)

When I first got the knife blade, I knew for sure my first project would involve wood. :) Let me show you how I made this simple wooden Eek! for our front porch.

For this project you will need a few things:

Cricut Maker
Cricut Knife Blade
Cricut StrongGrip Cutting Mat
tape
balsa wood
orange paint
foam paint brush
hot glue & glue gun
wooden dowels
this Design Space file

I know many of you have been waiting anxiously for the knife blade to be released! I know I have! :) It’s an amazing little tool, and only works with the Cricut Maker! I was super excited to get my hands on one. Eek! Now I’ll be able to cut more & make all the things. Yay! This blade can cut through thicker & denser materials such as: 

          • Balsa wood, up to 3/32”
          • Basswood, up to 1/16"
          • Tooling leather, up to 7 oz
          • Garment leather, up to 5oz
          • Cricut Chipboard, 2mm
          • Matboard, 2-ply or 4-ply
          • Craft foam, up to 3mm

Like I said, the first thing I wanted to try out with this knife blade was wood! I picked up a pack of balsa wood at the craft store to use for this project.

One of the many things I love about the Cricut Maker is the ease of changing out the blades. You just open the little door, set your blade in place & then close the door. Easy peasy!

There are a few things you’ll need to remember when cutting the thicker material using the knife blade. One is that you’ll need to slide the little white rings all the way to either side of the metal bar. This gives enough room for your material to slide underneath the bar.

You’ll also need to use the StrongGrip cutting mat. You’ll need to tape down the wood on all 4 sides with tape before you begin cutting. This holds it in place.

Since this design was super simple, it didn’t take too long to cut out. For a more intricate or larger design it will take a while to cut out. So, don’t be surprised. The knife blade has to take several passes before it cuts the material through completely. Just a note the knife blade is not recommended for cutting images or details smaller than ¾”. The knife blade cut so well on my letters. I can’t wait to try out other wood projects.

Next, I painted my letters with orange craft paint. Then I let them dry.

Then I hot glued a wooden dowel on the back.

Then I stuck them in the middle of our mums. So cute!

You might of notice the cute little bat on my Eek! sign. Well, he wasn’t alone! haha! I cut out more than 30 of these little guys. For this batty project, I also used another Cricut Maker exclusive, the all new Cricut scoring wheel! Let me introduce you! :)

With the scoring wheel you will be able to make flawlessly finished tags, cards, gift boxes & so much more. You’ll get nice, crisp creases in just one pass. This scoring wheel has up to ten times more pressure than the old scoring stylus. The patented wheel design takes on thin, thick, and even coated paper materials with ease.

Let me show you how I used the scoring wheel to makes these spooky bats! ha!

You will need:

Cricut Maker
Cricut Scoring Wheel
Cricut StandardGrip Cutting Mat     
this Design Space file
Cricut Kraft Board, black

First, I open up this bat image in Cricut Design Space.

Once I sized them they way I wanted, I clicked shapes & then clicked on score line. I added 4 of these.

I placed them on the bats where I wanted them to be & sized them to fit. I selected all, and then clicked attach. Don’t forget to do that! If you don’t it will separate everything out when you go to make it, and the score lines won’t be in the right spot.

Now you are ready to cut out your bats!

I chose to use Cricut Kraft Board for this project because it’s nice & thick. It’s also the same color all the way through. You can cut and score kraft board without worrying about cracks, tears or white score marks. It’s awesome, and comes in a variety of colors.

Once again, it was super easy to switch out the tool in the Maker.

I sent the bats to my Maker to score & cut out. The Design Space software tells you exactly when to put in which tool, the fine tip blade or the scoring wheel. It’s super simple & easy to follow.

Aren’t they cute?

I used a small glue dot on each one to hang these spooky bats around our front door.

Alright, let me show another easy project with my Maker, this cute Happy Halloween wreath. :)

For this project you will need:

Cricut Maker
9 inch wood circle
white & black craft paint
tape
sandpaper
Cricut Premium Vinyl, permanent
Cricut StandardGrip Cutting Mat
Cricut Transfer Tape
this Design Space cut file

I love permanent vinyl! Seriously, so many possibilities to take it outside! Yay! It can definitely weather the storm. haha! You'll also notice how easy it is to weed, & it applies like a dream. It’s made to withstand the good outdoors for at least 3 years! Which makes it the perfect material to use on outdoor projects like this wreath. I also used some of those cute bats in the project, too. haha! ;)

First, I painted my wood circle white. Let it dry. Then I taped it off & painted it black. I removed the tape while it was slightly wet and then let dry. I sanded it down really good with sandpaper after everything was completely dry to give it a distressed look.

Then I applied the vinyl & glued on two bats. All done! Annnnnd so adorable! :)

Alright, one more tutorial to go! ha! Hang with me! These cute pillows are worth it! haha! :)

For this project you’ll need the following:

Cricut Maker
blank pillow covers, orange 
Cricut BrightPad (optional)
Cricut Weeding Tools
Cricut Everyday Iron-on, white & black
this Design Space cut file
Cricut EasyPress 2 

Everyday Iron-on is fantastic! I’ve always been hesitant to use iron-on because I’ve always had the worst luck when I went to wash it. Buuuut now my worries are over. haha! The Everyday Iron-on outlasts 50+ washes! So awesome! You can also use it on wood! You can see how I did that here. The only thing you need to remember is to mirror your image before you cut.

Tip: You can use the Cricut BrightPad to make it easier to weed your image!
You can see how to use the BrightPad here.

Now it’s time to apply the iron-on to the pillow cover. I’m not going to lie. I was so excited to break out the all new EasyPress 2. (Annnnnd I just found out that it is now available for purchase! Eek! Click the links below to buy yours.) I love all the sizes, but the big one (the one I used in this project) is my favorite. They all have adjustable heat up to 400℉. Cricut EasyPress 2 will give you professional iron-on results in 60 seconds or less. It’s pretty amazing. Combining the speed of a heat press & the convenience of an iron, EasyPress 2 gives you fast and easy results that turn out perfectly every time. The EasyPress 2 is lightweight, portable, easy to store & works with other major brands of heat-transfer material. And of course, it’s a perfect complement to all Cricut cutting machines. You can learn more & order one for yourself using the links below. Which size would you want to get??? :)

6” x 7”: Find it here.

9” x 9”: Find it here.

12” x 10”: Find it here.

For this project I set my EasyPress 2 to 315 for 30 seconds. I ended up bumping up the temperature just a little bit before I was finished.

This type of iron-on is a warm peel. Peel your protective sheet off while it’s still warm.

Too cute! Annnnd I love that I can change these out for each holiday.

FYI: The banner above the door is just chipboard pennants I found at the craft store with vinyl dots I cut with my Maker strung on some twine. You can get the polka dot cut file here. :)

Welcome to our spooky (but cute!) front porch. You can see how I made my hexagon jack-o-lanterns here.

Have you started decorating for Halloween yet? How could the Cricut Maker help you with your handmade Halloween ideas? Just think of all the DIY Halloween costumes you could make! Annnnnd the DIY Halloween craft ideas are endless! I love all the possibilities! Let me know what your working on in the comments below. I’d love hear! Pin this post for later! :)

Thank you so much stopping by my blog!
If this is your first time visiting, I’d love to keep in touch.

Yum