3 DIY Stocking Stuffers to Make with the Cricut Maker

Hi friends! Holiday season is upon us, and today I’m sharing not one, but three DIY holiday gifts that are fun and easy to make with the Cricut Maker! I’m excited to be sharing full tutorials for each of these DIY stocking stuffers with you today, sponsored by Cricut!

I’ve shared a lot of projects recently using the rotary blade and cutting fabric with my Maker, which is one of my favorite uses for it! But would you believe that today’s projects won’t be using it?! Hehe. My rotary blade is taking a break today while I teach you how to cut leather and wood with the knife blade (and of course I’m throwing in some iron-on cut with the fine-point blade as well, cause how can I resist…).

For another fun DIY Christmas Cricut project that definitely won’t fit in a stocking, try our Paper Gingerbread Houses (and free SVG cut files!).

So what are we making today? First, a DIY leather coin pouch that also fits most credit and gift cards (what a fun way to give a gift card!).

Next, our DIY holiday gifts continue with a leather keychain tutorial.

And last, you’ll learn how to cut basswood with your Maker and make monogram wood coasters!

All of these DIY gift ideas would be perfect for teachers, friends, or even yourself!

Ready to get crafting?

DIY Leather Coin Pouch Tutorial with the Cricut Maker

Supplies:
Cricut genuine leather – camel
Cricut iron-on – black
Cricut washable fabric pen
Cricut Maker w/knife blade and fine-point blades
Cricut strong grip mat and standard grip mat
Cricut EasyPress 2 and mat
Heavy duty snap and tools
Leather needle
Upholstery thread
Masking tape
Rotary cutter,mat, and ruler
Leather Coin Pouch project in Design Space

Open project in Design Space and click “Make It.” The first mat will cut and mark the Cricut Genuine Leather, so you’ll need to trim the leather to 11″ wide or less (I cut it in half widthwise) and use masking tape to secure the edges to the strong grip mat (I omitted the tape when my mat was brand new, but had trouble with the leather moving on tries after that so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it!). Be sure the right side of the leather is facing the sticky side of the mat.

Load the knife blade and washable fabric pen into the Maker, and make sure all the star wheels are pushed to the far right. I used a non-washable pen on the pouch pictured, which leaves some of the marks visible on the inside of the pouch, which is why I recommend that you use a washable pen instead. To avoid making spots on the right side of the leather, you can dab at the washable pen marks gently with a soft damp cloth to remove any visible ink once you have the pouch assembled.

Click “Browse All Materials” and select “2-3oz. Garment Leather.” This will have the knife blade set as the default tool, along with the washable fabric pen.

Follow the on screen prompts to load the mat into the Maker and press Go! The Maker will first draw the markings and then cut 4 passes with the knife blade. Before unloading the mat, be sure to peel up one corner of the leather to make sure it’s been cut completely through (mine has cut perfectly every time on the settings mentioned).

Once the mat is unloaded, remove the leather pieces and tape from the mat.

Remove the pen from the Maker and replace the knife blade with a fine-point blade. Place a small piece of iron-on (shiny side down) onto the light grip mat, load into machine, and press Go!

Unload the mat and use a weeder or tweezers to remove the negative vinyl. Set “Hi.” iron-on to the side.

Use your leather tools and snaps to secure snaps on circle marks, following manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure you’re placing the correct female/male snaps on the correct marks!

Fold the leather wrong sides together at the bottom marked line, using clips to secure each side. Using a leather needle (it’s essential to stitch through the thickness of both layers!) and upholstery thread, stitch close to each edge on each side. TIP: Upholstery thread can be finicky, especially in the bobbin, and I find that if I pull gently on both threads as I start stitching, it helps to prevent any bunching/tangling of the threads.

Lastly, place the iron on onto the bottom corner of the leather coin pouch and use your Cricut EasyPress 2 (the smallest size was so handy for this tiny project!) to secure in place. I used 280 degrees, and two rounds of 30 seconds to get a good fuse. I always also like to keep a press cloth handy when using leather to make sure the heat won’t cause any damage (with this camel color it was fine with the heat). Remove the plastic from the iron-on.

Great job! This sweet pouch also fits most credit cards as well, so would be perfect for giving with a gift card for a fun DIY holiday gift!

DIY Leather Keychain with the Cricut Maker

Supplies:
Cricut genuine leather – rose gold
Cricut iron-on – black
Cricut Maker w/knife blade and fine-point blades
Cricut strong grip mat and standard grip mat
Cricut EasyPress 2 and mat
Keychain
Contact cement for leather (different than rubber cement – be sure you’re using contact cement)
Masking tape
Rotary cutter,mat, and ruler
Leather Keychain project in Design Space

Open project in Design Space and click “Make It.” Start with the fine-point blade loaded into the Maker. Place a small piece of iron-on (shiny side down) onto the light grip mat, load into machine, and press Go!

Unload the mat and use a weeder or tweezers to remove the negative vinyl. Set iron-on to the side.

The second mat will cut the Cricut Genuine Leather, so you’ll need to trim the leather to 11″ wide and use masking tape to secure the edges to the strong grip mat. Be sure the right side of the leather is facing the sticky side of the mat.

Load the knife blade into the Maker, and make sure all the star wheels are pushed to the far right.

Click “Browse All Materials” and select “2-3oz. Garment Leather.” This will have the knife blade set as the default tool.

Follow the on screen prompts to load the mat into the Maker and press Go! The Maker will cut 4 passes with the knife blade. Before unloading the mat, peel up one corner of the leather to make sure it’s been cut completely through (mine has cut perfectly every time on the settings mentioned so if you have trouble be sure to consider if your blade might be dull).

Once the mat is unloaded, remove the leather pieces and tape from the mat.

Place the iron on onto one side of the keychain and use your Cricut EasyPress 2 (I loved using the smallest size for this small project!) to secure in place. I used 280 degrees, and two rounds of 30 seconds to get a good fuse. I always also like to keep a press cloth handy when using leather to make sure the heat won’t cause any damage. Remove the plastic from the iron-on.

Follow manufacturers instructions to apply contact cement to the wrong side of the leather (in a well ventilated area!), excluding the area with the straight edges, as these will form our loop. Usually it’s best to let the contact cement dry for a few min, and then you can very carefully (you don’t get a chance to re-place it with contact cement) place the scalloped edges wrong sides together, matching perfectly. Place under books or other heavy objects while it’s drying.

Once the contact cement is completely dry, thread the metal keychain through the loop, and you’re done your DIY leather keychain! This would be such a fun DIY holiday gift for any of your favorite friends!

DIY Monogram Wood Coasters with the Cricut Maker

Supplies:
1/16″ Basswood – try to avoid any pieces with knots
Cricut Maker – with knife blade and strong grip mat
Wood glue
Fabric scrap
Masking tape
Monogram Basswood Coasters project in Design Space

Open Monogram Basswood Coasters project in Design Space and click “Customize.” This will take you to the project screen where you can do edits (which you’ll need to unless you want a “W” monogram!). Double click the “W” and change it to whatever letter you’d like. You can also change the font if desired (some letters will look better than others in a certain font), but keeping it a simple block letter is important to get the best results with the knife blade.

Once you have changed the letter as desired (I’ll keep with the W for this tutorial), make sure it’s centered nicely on the left circle. I like to select both, use the align tool to center vertically and horizontally, and then adjust from there – sometimes the vertical centers need to be adjusted manually to look the best.

Next, select the letter and left circle and click “slice” on the bottom right corner, which will help create the cut out.

Delete the black letter, and then delete the grey letter beneath, revealing the circle with monogram cut out that we want!

Next, click “make it” on the upper right corner to get ready for cutting!

If your letter is not symmetrical, click “mirror.” You can also click on the circle on the right and drag it below the other as I did if your material is not wide enough to leave them side by side.

Click “Browse All Materials” and then select “Basswood – 1/16.”

Be sure the basswood is 11″ or less in width (mine came as an 8″ wide sheet) and trim if needed using an exacto knife. Use an exacto knife to trim to about 9″ in length. Use masking tape to tape all edges to a strong grip mat. The masking tape is essential to keep the wood in place during cutting (not optional!).

Load the knife blade in the machine, and slide all the star wheels to the right so they are out of the way (I left two on the left but luckily they didn’t interfere with the cutting area). Following the on screen prompts, load the mat into the machine and press “C” to start the cutting!

For 1/16″ basswood, the Cricut will do a total of 14 passes. Be patient, and keep an eye on it to ensure small pieces don’t start to raise up or jam the machine. When I made the “A” coaster, the inside triangle did start to raise up before the rest was completely cut, so I paused the machine, removed that piece, and then continued the cut. I wouldn’t recommend walking out of the room during the cutting, but to use the time to work on another project or the next steps! You also might not need to complete all 14 passes – the “A” I cut was completely cut perfectly in 7 passes, but the “W” needed a few more. You can always pull up on a corner or two to check it while the machine is paused.

Once the cut is complete, unload the mat and remove the two circles and extra wood/tape.

Cut a circle about 1/4″ smaller in diameter than the wood circles. If I were making a few coasters and using the same fabric, I would cut it with my Maker and the rotary blade, but for this project and the different fabrics I used for each coaster, it was easier to quickly do it by hand.

Use wood glue to attach the fabric to the solid circle, right side facing up. You might want to test that your fabric color will not be altered by the glue (less is more with the glue to help with this). Use wood glue again to attach the monogram circle to the top of the fabric, matching both circles’ outer edges.

 

The wood tends to bend when wet, so place the coaster under books or other heavy items while drying. Once dry, use a clear spray sealer (I used Rustoleum matte) to seal the wood and fabric. I did four coats – it’s important to protect the wood and fabric from the condensation and other moisture it will have on it while being used.

Great job! Wouldn’t these DIY wood coasters be perfect for a teacher gift? Or even a newlyweds’ first holiday together?

Let me know if you make any of these fun DIY Cricut stocking stuffers with the Cricut Maker for your loved ones, and be sure to tag us on Instagram when you do (@sewmuchado, #sewmuchado)!

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