I love adding little touches of Disney magic to my holidays. This project will show you how to use your Cricut to create a Mickey Mouse gift tag. At first I was going to just put everyone’s favorite Disney character on their gift tag, but then I had an idea to make Mickey Mouse reindeer images. They were pretty easy to make in Design Space, and I will take you through the steps in this tutorial.
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Supplies:
You do not have to use exactly the same images that I used. I always encourage people to customize the projects they see and make them their own. But if you do want to use the exact same images I have those listed below.
Cricut Tip!
Did you know that if you have the number ID for an image in Design Space, like I show with the blue arrow in the image above, you can search that number to find the exact image!
Just type that number into the search bar, like I do in the image on the right, and it will find that exact same image in Design Space for you!
Looking at Layers in Cricut Design Space
Once I have the images I need in Design Space I am going to take a look at the layers in each image. I like to remove layers that I know I will not need. This helps my Design Space canvas to be less cluttered.
Let’s start by looking at the Mickey Mouse icon image. If you look at the Layers panel you can see there are a total of four layers. The first two are turned on and the last two layers are turned off.
How did I know that the two white layers were turned off? See the little eyeball icon that I have circled in the image to the right? There is a line going through it, which means that layers is turned off.
In this next image you can see that I have turned all of the layers on. The line is no longer going through the eyeball icon. When we look at the Mickey Mouse image we can now see the two white shadows that are associated with the red and black layers.
Since for this project I only need the full black Mickey Mouse head, I am going to ungroup all of these layers and then delete the two white layers and the red layer.
Now let’s take a look at the layers for the actual gift tag image.
When we look at the layers panel for the gift tag image we see that there are three layers, purple, orange and black. The orange and black both have the line through the eyeball icon, which means that they are turned off. Let’s click on those eyeball icons to remove the lines and turn the orange and black layers on so they are visible.
Now we see the black layer is a shadow or offset layer to the entire gift tag. This is perfect because I wanted to create a two colored layered gift tag so I will want to keep that layer.
Did you notice that we still cannot see the orange layer? That is because it is actually behind the purple layer, and it is the exact same size as the purple layer. I am not sure why Cricut did this, but since I don’t need two layers that are exactly the same size and shape, I am going to click on just the orange layer right from the Layers Panel. You can click right where the blue arrow is pointing in this image. This allows me to select just that one layer and delete it, instead of selecting the whole layers grouping of the image.
The Reindeer Layers
Last but not least, let’s look at the reindeer image for this project. For this project I am only going to need the antlers off of the large reindeer on the left, so I am going to look at the layers to see what I can possibly remove.
For the reindeer, the only portion of them that I really need for this project are the antlers. When I look at the layers for this image I can see that there are three. Then one in the center is the body of the small deer in the middle of this image. I know for sure that I will need that, so I am going to delete it.
If I click on that second layer down from the layers panel, do you see how that whole line on the layers panel is now a darker shade of gray in the image below? That is how I know what I have selected.
Now I can just click on the Delete button in the upper right corner, which I have circled in the image to the right.
Selecting things right from the layers panel is a great way to select just one layer, and not the whole image or entire grouping of layers.
That was a lot of information on layers, but I really wanted to include it in this tutorial since I believe it is really important to learn what all of the different buttons and functions in Design Space can do.
Use Slice to Cut
Now this is where we get to the fun part of this Mickey Mouse gift tag project. I am going to use Slice to remove the antlers from the reindeer image. Do not worry . . . no actual reindeers were harmed in the making of this project.
I am going to select the two remaining layers of the reindeer image and click the Slice button. Slice is located in the lower right corner of the screen. I have it indicated with a blue arrow in the image below.
After I hit Slice I am going to delete the portions of the image that contain the main body of the reindeer which I have circled in blue in the image to the left.
Remember, our goal here is to get the antlers all by themselves.
Use Slice to Separate
Since the last piece that is left still has the hooves and part of the middle reindeer as part of the image, I am going to need to use Slice again. This time I am going to insert a square from the Shapes button on the left side of the screen, which I indicate with a blue arrow in the image below. Next I click on the little padlock image in the lower left corner of the square. I have it circled with a blue circle in the image below to help you find the padlock.
Once unlocked, I can now stretch the square into a rectangle shape. I will cover everything except for the antlers with that rectangle. In this next image, you can see that the padlock is unlocked, by the blue arrow. The resize button, which is circled in blue, shows arrows in all four directions indicated that you can stretch that image in any direction. Now that the rectangle covers everything except for the antlers, I am going to select both the rectangle and the reindeer image and click on Slice.
The last step is to delete the left over parts that I do not need for this project. That would include everything I have circled in the image to the right.
Setting the Colors
I like to set the colors of my images in Design Space to help me see the overall project come to life. The colors on the screen are just a visual cue, since the Cricut will cut whatever color material you put on the mat. Setting the colors also helps you to see the order that things will cut in.
Right now, my gift tag and the shadow behind it are grouped together. If I click on the tag on the screen it is going to automatically select both layers. I can either ungroup them to select one layer at a time or I can choose the layer right from the Layers Panel. If you look at the image below, you can see that I am selecting just the purple tag layer. I have it pointed out with the blue arrow in the image below. You can see that when the layer is selected, that whole line is a darker shade of gray than the rest of the panel. Always look at the Layers Panel to verify your selections.
Now I can click on the Color button on the top panel of Design Space to choose the color I want for this portion of the gift tag. I have circled the Color button with a blue circle in the image below.
I used these same steps to change the black layer for the shadow of the gift tag to red.
Add the Antlers
Now we are going to add the antlers to the Mickey Mouse head. I resized the antlers and rotated them, since the they were slightly tilted in the original image. To rotate the antlers you can just click on the curved arrow in the upper right corner. I circled it in blue in the image to the right to help you find it.
Resize the antlers as needed to fit on top of the Mickey Mouse head.
I could have just stopped right here, but the more I looked at those antlers I knew I wanted them to be symmetrical. I decided to use Contour to achieve that. So let’s select the antlers, click on the Contour button in the lower right corner of Design Space and I will walk you through the steps.
Using Contour
When you click on Contour a whole new window will open up. This shows each section of the image that you have selected. For this image I want to turn off or hide the antler on the right. I can either click on it in the main window image, or on the side panel. I show both locations of the same section of the image with blue arrows in the picture to the right.
This next image shows how everything will look AFTER you have hidden or turned off the antler on the right. See how the outline of the antler is a lighter color? That is how you know that portion is turned off.
Once we close out the Contour window our image will look like the one on the right. Now we can create a second antler that is exactly like this one.
Duplicate
Now we are going to use Duplicate to make a second copy of this antler. Duplicate is exactly the same as using a copy and paste function, only it is does the whole thing in one step. There are two ways to get to the Duplicate function. You can either right click on the image you want to duplicate to bring up the menu you see in the image below. I have indicated the Duplicate option with the blue arrow. The second way would be to click on the Duplicate button in the upper right corner of the screen, which I have circled in the image below.
Now we have two antlers that look exactly the same. Since I want the one on the right to face the opposite direction, I am going to use the Flip function. Flip will allow you to change the horizontal or vertical positioning of an image. For this one I will use Flip Horizonal, which I have pointed out in blue on the image to the left.
Group
Now that I have the antlers facing the way I want them, I am going to line up their placement on top of the Mickey Mouse head icon. Now, I could stop right here with my design. I could cut the antlers and just glue the bottoms of them to the Mickey head, but I want to provide a more stable base for them. To do this, I am going to select both of the antlers and click Group, which I have indicated with a blue arrow in the image below. This will allow me to work with both of these antlers at the same time. They will now work together as a group.
Next I am going to click on the Grouped antlers and Duplicate them.
Why?
Because I want a second set that I am going to Weld to the Mickey Mouse icon. This will create a solid backing to glue the antlers to for the final project.
Weld
Now I can select both the Mickey icon and one set of antlers, then click on the Weld button. I have Weld indicated with the blue arrow in the image below. Weld will join anything that is touching into one thing.
After I click Weld you can see that the entire Mickey Mouse head and the antlers are one solid shape. After I cut these pieces I will be able to add glue to the back side of the entire antler and glue it to the black piece.
Now, after the brown antlers are in place over the black shape, I am going to select everything and click the Group button. Group will allow me to more easily resize and place all of these layers at one time. Each colored layer will stay separate, but I can resize them together since they are grouped.
To resize this grouped image, click on the double arrow in the lower right corner. I have circled it in blue in the image to the left.
This allows you to make it smaller to fit on top of the tag image.
Mickey Mouse Reindeer Video
I know that was a LOT of information to absorb for how to make a Mickey Mouse Reindeer, so I did do a video on the process just in case that would be easier for you to follow along with.
Adding Written Names
The last part of designing these Mickey Mouse reindeer gift tags is to add the names on to them. For this I want to make sure I use a writing font with my Cricut pens. Once I click on the Text button I can type up the name. Then I will click on Fonts and go over to the far right and use the filter. This allows me to only view and choose from the writing fonts. I show this in the image below with the blue circle and arrow. I also have a more in depth tutorial with a video on the topic HERE.
For this project, I decided to go with the Soiree Lettering – Eleanor Engraved font, which I have shown in the image below.
Align to Center
Instead of just placing the writing on the tag and hoping that it is centered, I am going to use Align. Align is found at the top of your screen, and I have it circled in blue in the image below. When I select the tag and the writing at the same time, I can select Center Horizontally to make sure that the writing is perfectly centered on my tag.
Attach Writing to the Tag
In order for the Cricut to know exactly where we want it to write the name on the tag, even though we have centered it using Align, we have to Attach the writing to the tag. Attach holds the placement and position of things from the design screen to the cutting mat.
When I click on the tag, I can see in the layers panel that both the cream and red layers are selected. Look at the layers panel where the blue arrow is. See how the cream and red layers are both selected together. They are tied to each other. This is because I have those layers grouped together. Since I only want the writing to be on the top layer, I am going to Ungroup them by clicking on the Ungroup button which I have circled in blue in the image below.
From the layers panel, I am going to select the written text. Then I will hold down my shift key on the keyboard to add the cream colored tag to that selection. Next I will click the Attach button in the lower right corner of the screen, indicated by the blue arrow in the image below.
Now my Mickey Mouse Reindeer gift tag design is Complete!
If you want to resize this tag at all, I would recommend selecting the entire thing and then click Group first. That way you can resize everything together at the same time.
Now you can click Make It and let your Cricut cut all of the pieces.
Assemble the Mickey Mouse gift tag
Now that we have all of the pieces cut, we can start to assemble the Mickey Mouse gift tag.
Writing Font
This font, which is called Soiree Lettering – Eleanor Engraved , has single pen stroke lines and combines them with a few double pen strokes. Look at the tops of the letters and you will see the single lines, but the vertical parts of the letter have a double line. I decided to color in those double lines just to add more depth to my project.
Then I used my tape runner to apply tape to the tag shape and attach it to the brownish red shadow cut. Now it is time to build the Mickey Mouse reindeer to decorate the gift tag. This is where I use my Zig glue pen so that I can apply glue to the small parts of the antler and glue it on to the black piece.
After that I can add some adhesive with my tape runner to the back of the Mickey Mouse reindeer to attach that to the gift tag.
I hope that you enjoyed this post, and that you stop back every day from now until Christmas to see what other Disney Christmas crafts I have planned for you! I am doing 25 Days of Disney Christmas Crafts to inspire you to add more Disney to your life while using your Cricut for crafting. If you want to see the whole line up of crafts you can go HERE.
