Learn how to use the Cricut Knife Blade to make these Wooden Heart Initials!
Before we start, this tutorial is only applicable to the Cricut Maker!
When Cricut rolled out the Maker with the adaptive tool system, we all knew it would be huge. You can use the rotary blade, scoring wheel or knife blade with this machine. Personally, I wanted the ability to use more complex and sturdy materials without having to bust out power tools which is why the knife blade was so appealing to me.
There are two great benefits of the Cricut Knife Blade. It allows you to easily and precisely cut through denser materials such as balsa wood, leather, matboard, and Cricut Chipboard. You can create leather jewelry and cuffs, make letters for a banner or create a fun wood project. It works great for projects with extra dimension like puzzles, dinosaur skeletons, models, leather goods, dioramas, and wood decor and really allows you to take your crafting to the next level.
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Make Wooden Initial Heart using your Cricut Knife Blade
Cricut Maker
Knife Blade
Balsa wood
Strong grip mat
Masking tape
Corrugated metal square (I found mine at Wal-mart in the craft section.)
E6000 glue
Begin by calibrating your knife blade to work with your Maker. This is done in the main menu in Design Space. Click three lines in the upper left hand window which will display a drop box. Choose calibration and follow the instructions.
Next you will need to prep your material for cutting. Since we are using denser materials and the machine is cutting with more force, the material may shift during the cut. Place the material on the strong grip mat and then secure the edges with masking tape.
For this design, I chose a basic heart shape and sized it to 9 inches wide. Then I added the text for our initials. Size the text to fit within your heart. Now select all and attach the image. This way the text stays in the middle of heart and becomes a part of the design.
Tip: When using the knife blade be sure your width is greater than 3/4 inch and any line should be greater than a pencil width. This is NOT your fine cut blade.
Once you have the design as you want it, send to cut. This will take longer than your usual cut. Be sure you turn off the sleep mode on your computer so the cut does not get interrupted. Unfortunately, due to the longer cut times, you will not be able to use the application on your phone or tablet for these projects.
One of my favorite features is that when the cut finishes, it will ask you to check and see if it has passed completely through the material. If you need more cuts, you can have it make another pass.
Carefully remove the heart from the mat. I sand down the edges to avoid any splinters.
To attach to the corrugated metal, use E6000 glue. Allow 24 hours to glue to cure. I usually place something heavy on top so it doesn’t move. I hung this in my bedroom. (It photographed better on the door though.)
This Wooden Heart Initials Wall Decor can be a great Valentine decoration or anytime of the year if you are into the farmhouse look!