Waste Free: How to use Your Cricut Vinyl Negatives

Hate wasting pieces of Cricut vinyl? By combining vinyl cut-outs with a matching stencil design, I found a simple way to use those negative pieces!

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You’ve selected the perfect font.

You’ve designed the cutest and quippiest phrase and can’t wait to plaster it on everything handy.

You cut your vinyl project and are ready to transfer it to its first destination.

But first…weeding.

All those “inside letter pieces” have to go. Wouldn’t it be great though if you could use them instead of just throwing them away?

Well, there is!

A Maker’s Dream

Last summer I purchased a Cricut Maker right after its release and began discovering all the amazing things it can do. It’s been a total game-changer, opening up all kinds of creative projects I can design myself.

There are lots of ways to use a Cricut, but my absolute favorites up to now are stencil and vinyl design.

I love words, and I love stencils, but finding a stencil that already says exactly what I want…that’s hard to do.

But with the Maker I can design any phrase, word, or monogram my heart desires. I can choose from every imaginable font, and embellish my project with an endless supply of accents or graphics.

Maybe I lean a little toward being a unique snob. I just don’t want to be like everybody else. Let’s be uniquely creative, amen?

So when I found the perfect font for my perfect phrase and set out to make a perfect stencil, I ran into a slight problem – those weeded pieces are gone when you use stencil blanks – and we need them.

So how do you stencil an “a” or “e” or “o” (or any of the other pesky letters with centers) without a big blotchy inside filled with paint?

You use vinyl negatives!

Let’s Jump In

Before we get started, I want to show you an amazing thing I learned that changed yet another game – how to use gorgeous script letters to create a cursive font.

Isn’t that cool?

After your design is finished, it’s time to cut a stencil. See all those gaps where we need some more stencil material? We’re going to fix that!

Now let’s work around the problem of those missing sections and create a second project template. We’ll do this by cutting the design a second time using vinyl.

How to Use Cricut Vinyl Negatives

Paint is truly my crafting BFF. It has such power. Take this plain white canvas tote bag for instance:

Here’s how to give it a one-of-a-kind, unique personality with our freshly created stencil and paint:

First, attach the stencil to the front of the bag. Painters tape works great.

Now let’s fix all those positive spaces that really should be negative with pieces from the vinyl cut. Carefully weed them out from the edges instead of poking them through. We don’t want any places that paint can seep through. Plus, you’ll want to take care of these little pieces so you can use them over and over.

Next, press them onto your project in the right places, and you’re ready to stencil. They stick beautifully to canvas, by the way.

If you’re also making a fabric project, be sure you’re using fabric paint so it will last through washings.

I like to use several colors so it isn’t so flat and stark. After the base color, go back over the stencil with 2 or 3 different colors, using a lighter touch this time. Just dot it on in random places.

And when you remove the stencil and vinyl negatives, you have perfectly stenciled letters!

Take care with your vinyl negatives and you can use them over and over in your stencil projects.

But we’re not finished!

You’ve still got the vinyl template too that you can transfer to whatever your heart desires. Attach a section of transfer tape, and add your brilliant phrase to your notebook, craft table, wall, refrigerator, car window, custom project…the options are endless!

And there you have it – How to use your Cricut vinyl negatives instead of throwing them away!

Now to find a way to use those stencil pieces…

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If you enjoyed this post, you may also like: Cricut Maker How To: DIY Stencils {An Easy Decor Project}

 

Live Creatively,