DIY Birthday Banner with Cricut

Create a custom DIY Birthday Banner using chipboard and paper with the Cricut Maker. This birthday banner is durable enough that it can be used again and again.

This post contains affiliate links which mean I make a little something when you purchase through the link with no extra cost to you.

I tend to wait until the last minute to do things, and my Cricut Maker helps me get things done when I need them.  One of the main reasons I love my Cricut Maker, is that I can whip up any project really easily.  There are so many ways to use the Maker, like making these DIY Birthday Party decorations. I wanted to make a Birthday Banner that would be durable enough to last for many uses.

Did you know that the Cricut Maker can cut things like basswood and chipboard?  I knew I wanted to use of these materials to make a durable DIY Birthday Banner.  I decided to go with chipboard.  Cricut has their own brand of chipboard so it’s easy to find and is cut to perfectly fit the Maker.  Chipboard has to be cut with the knife blade which is why the Maker is the machine needed to make this chipboard birthday banner.

To make the DIY Birthday Banner and Cake Topper you will need:

Cricut Maker

Knife Blade

Cricut Chipboard

Cricut Cardstock

Cricut Deluxe Patterened Paper

Birthday Banner Cut File

Candles Cut File

How to cut Chipboard with Cricut Maker

Do not be intimidated to cut chipboard with your Cricut Maker.  I was really aprehensive to cut basswood and chipboard with my Maker.  But I just gave it and try and figured out what works and what doesn’t. There are a couple things to keep in mind however, when cutting chipboard.  Don’t have designs that are too thin.  If the design or words are too thin, the chipboard will not cut well.  It also takes longer to cut chipboard.  The knife blade has to make 20 passes in order to cut all the way through the chipboard.  So be prepared to wait a bit for your cuts to finish.

To get started on the chipboard banner open the Birthday Banner for chipboard file and it will open up in Cricut Design Space.  You can click customize or make it.  If you want to change the size, click customize, but otherwise, click make it.  It will open up on the cutting mat page showing you how the cuts will look on the mat.  The Cricut chipboard comes in 11 inch x 11 inch size.  Click continue and select your Maker and the material as heavy chipboard.

Make sure to read the instructions on the screen before starting your cut.  Make sure to move all the white star wheels all the way over to the right hand side.  Remove the fine point blade and inser the knife blade into clamp B.  Put your chipboard down on a strong grip mat and use masking tape to help hold it into place.  (I didn’t have masking tape, but my blue painters tape worked just great.)  Load the mat into the machine and click the flashing green Go button on the machine to start cutting.

When it’s done cutting, before you unload the mat from the machine, check to see if the cuts went all the way through.  If they didn’t press the Go button once more.  But if everything is cut, unload the mat and remove the chipboard from the strong grip mat.

Can you see how thick that chipboard is?  It’s amazing that the Cricut Maker could cut this.

DIY Birthday Banner

Although chipboard is sturdy, it’s not super cute and I don’t love the color.  I decided to cover the chipboard with some pretty papers and cardstock.  Upload the Birthday Banner for colored paper and click make it.  It will put all 6 colors of papers on their respective layers.  Click continue and select the Maker and material would be cardstock.  Change out the knife blade for the regular (fine point) blade.  Cut each of the layers of papers.  Use adhesive to attach the papers to the chipboard.

To make the Hooray Cake Topper and the candles, follow the same steps taken for the DIY Birthday Banner.

Use hot glue to add toothpicks to the backs of the cake topper and candles so they will stay in the cake.

Although cutting the chipboard did take time, the Cricut Maker really helped make these DIY Birthday Party decorations a cinch to put together.  Plus you can create party decorations to match any theme or color scheme.

Do you create your own decorations for life celebrations?  Maybe now is the time to start! 😉

Happy Crafting!

Liz

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