My husband Sean and I aren’t the cleanliest of people. Some may say it’s because we are both creative types, but really I think it’s just that we put other things like playing video games or spending time with our daughter above cleaning.
So by the time we do clean, it can get overwhelming with how much needs to be done!
To help us out to become a bit more organized and clean, I decide to make ourselves a chore board with a Geeky spin!
I decided to use HTML as my inspiration. When Sean saw it he laughed and thought it was pretty cool! I know this code would never work on a computer, but hopefully it helps to structure our lives a bit better!
To make this Geek Chore Board, I used my Cricut. And today I’m going to show you how the Cricut works so you can make your own Geek Chore Board!
To make this project you’ll need:
- A whiteboard (17″x23″)
- Cricut Adhesive Foil (or vinyl)
- Cricut Machine (I use the Explore Air, the Explore Air 2 is the newest machine)
- Cricut Cutting Mat (12″x24″)
- Cricut Transfer Tape
- Cricut Tool Set
The Cricut works by cutting different materials using a small sharp blade:
The blade is guided along the machine using a small computerized part attached to a rod. The rod also feeds the material (which is attached to a cutting mat) through the machine. You can see in the next image the different parts. The blade is in it’s inserted position ready to cut! Next to it you can see a spot to insert a pen or scoring device.
As the machine cuts, the cutting mat and material is fed through the back of the machine.
You might be wondering how the machine knows the type of material that it’s going to cut, especially when you don’t always want the blade to cut all the way through the material (like for vinyl). There is a dial on the machine with the most popular and commonly used materials that you set to get the right cut. There’s also a “custom” setting which, when chosen, gives you a list of a lot more materials you can cut, such as balsa wood, craft foam, and pleather! This is the setting you’ll choose in order to cut Adhesive Foil like I did.
Now that you know a bit more about how the machine works, let’s get started on the Geek Chore Board.
You’ll start by making your design in the Cricut Design Space. You can create your own design if you’d like to, but you can also find mine here.
Once you’re satisfied with your design, you’ll hit the green “go” button at the top of the page.
Since the design is larger than 12″x24″, the Design Space will rearrange your design to make it fit on the cutting mat, so you’ll have to rearrange them again once it’s cut out.
If you don’t have a 12″x24″ cutting mat, you can use a 12″x12″ mat. If you do that, the Design Space will accommodate by splitting the design elements in half.
Next, you’ll hit the green “go” button on the bottom right corner.
On this screen, you’ll choose which machine you want to connect to. With the Cricut Explore Air that I have, you can connect via Bluetooth or USB. You’ll then set the dial to “custom” which will bring a drop down box up for you to choose your material from. If you’re using regular vinyl though, you can just choose that setting on the dial.
Once you’ve set your material type, put your material on the cutting mat, making sure it’s straight and no bubbles. Next, press the “load” button on the machine. It’s the one with the arrows going both ways. After it’s loaded, wait for the Cricut “C” button to light up, press it, and your design will start cutting!
While your design cuts, you don’t have to touch the machine at all! It just goes on its own until it’s done with the cutting.
When it’s done, the load/unload button will start flashing. Press it and the cutting mat and material will come rolling back out of the machine.
Now that your design is finished cutting, remove the material from the mat.
What I did next was cut out each design element so I could puzzle it back together after removing the negative space of the material, this is called weeding. It can be tough to get the inner parts of the letters so the Cricut Tool Set is really helpful!
After weeding the whole thing you’ll grab your transfer tape and cut out the amount you need. Take off the paper backing and put the design side to the sticky side.
You’ll want to remove the paper backing from the design after this, being careful that the design stays stuck to the transfer tape. A trick I used to help it stay was to bend the paper back, almost “in half” as it helped to release the Adhesive Foil from the paper backing.
Now all that’s left is to place your design on the whiteboard using the transfer tape! The clear transfer tape helps you to be able to place it in the correct position. Once you’ve got it right, peel the transfer tape off and your design should stick to the white board!
Now you have your own Geek Chore Board as well know more about how the Cricut works!
What do you like to make with your Cricut? Or if you don’t have one, what would you make if you had one? Let me know in the comments!
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