DIY Cricut Graduation Gifts with the Joy

It’s graduation season, which means graduation gift season! Searching for the perfect and unique gift can be hard, but hey, that’s why we’re makers, right? Thanks to the Cricut Joy and Smart Materials, I’m sharing not one, or two, or even three, but FOUR DIY graduation gifts you can make with the Cricut Joy (thanks to Cricut for sponsoring this post) that will be perfect for any special grad!

Graduation themed Cricut projects are in high demand this time of year, which is why I wanted to share several different ideas with you. At the beginning of this school year I shared back to school projects to make with the Cricut Joy, so it’s perfect timing to round out the year with DIY graduation gifts!

If you haven’t heard of Smart Materials, they are one of the big reasons I love the Cricut Joy so much. They can be cut without a mat – I repeat, WITHOUT A MAT (I know!), which saves those extra few minutes when you’re on a creating spree. I’ll never miss using a mat!

If you’re new to both the Joy and Smart Materials, you can find a bundle with both here that will help get you started and save you on materials.

And Smart Materials aren’t limited to just the basics like permanent vinyl – as you’ll learn more about below, in today’s projects I use not only vinyl for a happy graduation themed water bottle…

But also Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock for a fun DIY graduation themed candy bar…

Smart Label Writable Vinyl to help create a personalized lip balm label (you will be shocked at how tiny and precise the Joy can write!)…

And of course, one of my favorite Cricut materials, Smart Iron-on so you can create a cute DIY graduation themed tote bag with your Cricut Joy! Throw in a cute DIY scrunchie and you’ll have a gift any grad will love.

So grab your Cricut Joy, your smart device (I love that the Joy connects exclusively through bluetooth, making it perfect to plop down anywhere with) and get ready for these easy and fun 4 DIY graduation gifts to make with the Cricut Joy!

Need more personalized DIY gift ideas? I’ve got you covered here!

You can take the projects and create them in no time at all with the detailed tutorials below, or use the projects as a base to make them even more personalized for your favorite grads. And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram when you share what you make!

If you want to make just one of the four projects, you can easily just scroll through the project in the Cricut app to cut the materials you’ll need for each individual project.

How to Make a DIY Graduation Water Bottle with Cricut

Supplies:
Cricut Joy
Smart Vinyl – Permanent
Transfer Tape
Cricut tools – scissors, scraper, weeder
Water bottle
Cricut Joy Graduation Gift Set Project

In Cricut app, locate project and click “Make It,” then “Without Mat” since we’ll be using Smart Materials which don’t require a mat (if you want to make adjustments to the design, such as updating the year, click “Customize” instead). Scroll to mat with water bottle design and click “Continue,” and you’ll then be prompted to connect the Cricut app to the Joy via bluetooth.

Choose “Smart Vinyl – Permanent” and load the fine-point blade and vinyl into the Joy. Then tap “Go”!

When the Joy is finished cutting, unload the vinyl and carefully weed the negative vinyl from the backing.

Cut a piece of transfer tape slightly larger than the vinyl design. Starting from one edge, slowly peel back the transfer tape paper and use the scraper to smoothly adhere the transfer tape to the vinyl.

Remove the transfer tape/vinyl from the backing, ensuring all the vinyl pieces are staying in place (if they’re not, lay the transfer tape back down and use the scraper again in that area).

Starting from the center, lay the design on the water bottle as desired, using the scraper to carefully press outward from the center, adhering the vinyl to the water bottle. Tip: I like to clean the water bottle’s exterior with alcohol before applying the vinyl.

Slowly peel the transfer tape from the water bottle, keeping it as flat against the water bottle as possible (in contrast to peeling it outward from the water bottle). Replace transfer tape and use scraper again as needed to ensure proper adhesion of the vinyl design.

Great job, you’re finished the DIY Cricut graduation themed water bottle!

What a fun Cricut graduation project, let’s move on to the next DIY graduation gift!

How to Make a DIY Graduation Candy Bar Wrapper with Cricut

Supplies:
Cricut Joy
Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock (Pastels) – 2 colors
Fine Point Pen – 0.4mm
Cricut Rotary Cutter / Self-healing mat
Hershey’s Candy Bar – 1.55oz
Cricut Joy Graduation Gift Set Project

In Cricut app, locate project and click “Make It,” then “Without Mat” since we’ll be using Smart Materials which don’t require a mat (if you want to make adjustments to the design such as updating the year, click “Customize” instead). Scroll to mat with candy bar wrapper design and click “Continue,” and you’ll then be prompted to connect the Cricut app to the Joy via bluetooth.

Choose “Smart Paper, Sticker Cardstock” and load the fine-point pen and sticker cardstock into the Joy. Then tap “Go”!

When the Joy is finished drawing, unload the pen and load the fine-point blade, then click “Go”.

When the Joy is finished cutting, unload the cardstock from the machine.

From co-ordinating sticker cardstock, use rotary cutter and mat to cut 5.5″ long x width of the cardstock (5.5″).

Wrap largest piece of sticker cardstock around candy bar, beginning with center back. It’s easiest to roll the candy bar on top of the cardstock rather than moving the cardstock around the candy bar.

Peel the drawn/cut cardstock from the backing and place on top of candy bar, centered.

Ready for another fun Cricut graduation project using Smart Materials?

How to Make a DIY Graduation Lip Balm Label with Cricut

Supplies:
Cricut Joy
Smart Label Writable Vinyl
Extra Fine Point Pen – 0.3mm
Lip Balm – I use EOS that comes in pretty colors
Cricut Joy Graduation Gift Set Project
Rubbing alcohol

In Cricut app, locate project and click “Make It,” then “Without Mat” since we’ll be using Smart Materials which don’t require a mat (if you want to make adjustments to the design, such as updating the year, click “Customize” instead – if you are using a different lip balm brand/size, you might need to adjust the size of the label so be sure to measure it before you make your label). Scroll to mat with lip balm label design and click “Continue,” and you’ll then be prompted to connect the Cricut app to the Joy via bluetooth.

Choose “Smart Label Writable Vinyl” and load the fine-point pen and writable vinyl into the Joy. Then tap “Go”!

When the Joy is finished drawing, unload the pen and load the fine-point blade, then click “Go”.

When the Joy is finished cutting, unload the vinyl from the machine.

Clean the lip balm exterior with alcohol and allow to dry. Carefully peel the label from the backing and, starting with end with no drawing on it, wrap the label around the lip balm, ending with the ends overlapped slightly.

And that’s it!

Now that you’ve learned how to use Smart Materials with the Cricut Joy, let’s make one more Cricut graduation project, perfect for tucking the other gifts inside of!

How to Make a DIY Graduation Tote Bag with Cricut

Supplies:
Cricut Joy
Smart Iron-on – 4 co-ordinating colors – I used Bright Teal (sunglasses), Pink Rose (text), Natalie Malan Sunset Blossom (for the 20/21), and Gold (stars)
EasyPress 2
Tote Bag Blank – I used the M size
Cricut tools – scissors, scraper, weeder
Cricut Joy Graduation Gift Set Project

In Cricut app, locate project and click “Make It,” then “Without Mat” since we’ll be using Smart Materials which don’t require a mat (if you want to make adjustments to the design – for example, to update the numbers in later years, click “Customize” instead). Scroll to first mat with designs for tote bag and click “Continue.” You’ll then be prompted to connect the Cricut app to the Joy via bluetooth.

There will be 4 different colors of Iron-on to cut – if you don’t adjust the project, the mats will be 3,4,5, and 7 in the app). Click on the icon with the number in the top left corner and select “Mirror (for iron-on)” as Iron-on always needs to be mirrored.

Choose “Smart Iron-On” and load the fine-point blade and Smart Iron-on into the Joy. Then tap “Go”!

When the Joy is finished cutting, unload the Iron-on from the machine, scroll to (or back to, in my case, as I started with mat 7) the next mat on your device.

Repeat the steps above to cut the remaining three Iron-0n designs (don’t forget to select “mirror” for each, with the exception of the sunglasses as they are a symmetrical design).

Use weeder to remove negative Iron-on from each design that will make up this DIY graduation themed Cricut tote bag.

Note: The stars are attached to each other in a way that will make it easier to add them to the design in small groups rather than being placed individually, but this will waste more Iron-on than if they’re not attached to each other. If you’d prefer to save the Iron-on, you can always unattach them before cutting!

Otherwise, trim the backing between the stars exactly as pictured below (it also helps to look at the finished tote bag photos to check the placement).

Lay out the words and sunglasses on the bag to determine ideal placement. This will be the first layer of Iron-on, and the other pieces will be added as a second layer. Trim closer around areas where the plastic backing may overlap the other Iron-on pieces.

Use Cricut’s EasyPress 2 Heat Guide to determine settings and timing for fusing the Smart Iron-on to the tote bag. Pre-heat the EasyPress 2 and pre-heat the tote bag for 5 seconds.

Place first layer of Iron-on back onto bag and fuse as directed. Allow bag and Iron-on to cool completely, then carefully peel away plastic.

Add 20/21 and star iron on pieces (reminder that it will be easiest to determine star placement if you have a reference photo handy of the finished bag). To protect any previously fused areas that are now exposed, use plastic scraps to cover, and fuse with EasyPress 2.