Hello friends! Today I’m going to share a really fun project that I made for my dice-loving son! He is constantly attempting a dice stacking challenge and didn’t have a proper place to keep his dice, so I chose to make him an awesome pouch that he could keep them in and hopefully never lose any. I also wanted to talk to you a little about my new Cricut Maker machine and answer some Cricut Maker FAQ based on my experience with the machine. I have had my Maker for a few months now and have used it for numerous projects so I’m excited to be able to share my experience with you.
This post is sponsored by Cricut.com. All photos, thoughts and opinions are mine. There are also affiliate links in this post, which means if you click one of those links and purchase something I may get a small commission, at no extra cost to you. If you have any questions, please see my Disclosures page.
When you first get your machine, you may find it beneficial to go into Cricut Access and make a Ready-to-Make Project. This will teach you a little about how you can use the machine, what tools you’ll need, and the process of making a project, which will help you when you are ready to create your own designs. The machine comes with this Fine Point Blade, but there are other blades and tools you can purchase that make it possible to do all sorts of projects!
They have the Knife Blade, pictured below, which is great for really thick materials like the leather I’ll be using today, but also chipboard and balsa wood and so many others. This knife blade truly has me impressed! There is also a Deep Point Blade to make deeper cuts, the Rotary Blade which is used for cutting fabric materials, and the scoring and double scoring blade which is used mostly with paper crafting to score lines in your paper making it easy to fold. You can also use pens in the Maker to draw images or words!
Have Questions about the Cricut Maker?
Here are a few Maker FAQ and my personal answers to them according to my experience:
- Will I use the machine enough to justify the price? Yes! Well, it depends on you of course, but the ability to customize so many things and make exactly what you want ensures that you aren’t buying things that you aren’t happy with which in turn saves money. This machine is well built and will last a long time. I have only had it a few months and have already saved a ton of money on custom t-shirts, pillows, birthday invitations, decorations, and gifts. The project options are endless and this machine will definitely pay off! Even more so if you sell the items you make.
- What materials can I cut? Oh my, the material list is long! Personally, in the few months I’ve had this machine I’ve cut paper, cardstock, kraft board, adhesive vinyl, iron-on vinyl, basswood and leather. But for a list of all the materials this machine will cut, visit Cricut Maker – Materials to Cut List. It’s simply too long to list here.
- Will it be easy for me to learn the software? I found it easy to learn. You won’t know how to do everything right away, but the Cricut website has great information on how to use it and there are always bloggers like me sharing tutorials! In each of my custom Cricut posts I walk you through the design process I used so that you can figure out how to use to software not only for ready-to-make projects but also for creating your own custom projects! Here is a link to one said project (more to come!) Modern Flower Pillow Cover
- Can I upload my own images? Yes! I have done this many times! If you have an image that you’d like to import into Design Space, click on “Upload”, browse for your image file, then follow the instructions for turning it into a cut or draw design. The more intricate it is, the more time it will take, but it can be done!
- What makes the Maker different from other Cricut cutting machines? To be honest, looking at it, the Cricut Maker isn’t all that different looking, but it is definitely different functionally! You can cut so many more materials, it has more tools, and I truly think it is worth the upgrade for hard-core crafters, even if you already have another machine! The knife blade attachment opens up a whole new world of cutting thicker and harder materials. The rotary blade cuts fabrics so much better than anything else. The Cricut Maker seems to be more precise, more durable and even more quiet! I really am in love with this machine and all that it can do.
If you want to see all the features for the Maker, click on this link: Cricut Maker Overview.
Ready-To-Make Projects:
Here is the Ready-to-Make project that I opted to make for my first Knife Blade project: the Leather Hair Accessory. As you can see below it worked out perfectly! I used Black Genuine Leather and set the materials setting to “Garment Leather”.
After experimenting with leather in the above project, I knew that I could easily create my own design. I will share with you how I designed my project, however, if you just want to go straight to my project design and make it exactly as I created it, you can follow this link:
Sheri’s DIY Leather Dice Pouch Project in Cricut Design Space
Creating the Dice Pouch Design:
(If you just want to see the process of putting it together, scroll down to the “Cut and Assemble” section.)
In Cricut Design Space simply click on “Shapes” and use the circle to create one large circle and one tiny circle. 
Then move the tiny circle onto the large circle where you would want the holes for your strap. “Duplicate” the tiny circle to create many and place them around the outer edge of the pouch. Select all of the tiny circles and click on “Weld”. This will make them all one layer image.
Now select everything and click “Slice”. Delete the two layers of small circles until you’re only left with this, one large circle with many holes.
It’s that easy, you now have the pouch design finished! Now go into “Images” again and select a round shape to cut out of iron-on vinyl to decorate your leather pouch. My son loves Star Wars and this reminded me of that, so I opted for this “Frame of Mind” shape from their image library. Now make sure that it is a different color than your pouch design, this will differentiate them when you click “Make It”.
Cut and Assemble the Dice Pouch:
Supplies:
- Cricut Maker
- Cricut Strong Grip Mat
- Leather
- Cricut Knife Blade
- Iron-On Foil
- Easypress 2 or iron
- Easypress Mat (optional)
- Rope for drawstring
Alright, click “Make It” then set your Materials on the top. I set mine to 2-3oz. garment leather because this is the leather setting you need to use the knife blade. Follow the instructions to cut out your designs. Remember, you’ll need to change the material settings with each mat cut. The Leather Pouch will need the knife blade but the Iron-On Vinyl will use the fine-point blade. Don’t forget to switch these!
As you cut the leather it will make one cut pass to assess the thickness, then will tell you how many passes it needs to make to cut all the way through the leather. This worked absolutely perfectly for my cut. Be sure that before you release the mat you confirm the leather is completely cut through. If it is not you can cut it again, but if it is then you’re done with that cut!
Now switch the blade, material settings and mat and prepare to cut out the Chrome Iron-On Foil.
Place the Iron-On Foil with the shiny side down on the mat. If your image isn’t symmetrical or has words you’ll need to also mirror the image in the settings.
Double check settings (and that you’ve switched your blade!) and cut out the Iron-On Foil.
Now weed the negative space from your image.
The Cricut Maker really has made the options for projects so vast and easy.
Alright, time to put this all together! Check the EasyPress Interactive Quick Settings Guide if you have an EasyPress or EasyPress 2. This will tell you the temperature to use for the ironing on and how long you’ll need to press it for. Place your Leather Pouch onto your EasyPress Mat (or ironing board), then lay your Iron-On Foil in place in the center and press it down a little so it stays in place.
Set your EasyPress or iron to the right settings.
Cover with an ironing cloth. Press firmly down onto your EasyPress, press the Cricut button, then wait for it to countdown while applying medium pressure to it.
Let it cool completely and remove the plastic liner after it is no longer warm. (Those in the “industry” call this a “cold peel”.)
Finished!
There you have it! An awesome, shiny, DIY Leather Dice Pouch made using the Cricut Maker! What do you think?
I hope you like this project! Let me know in the comments what you think or if you have any other questions about the Cricut Maker or this Leather Dice Pouch!
Happy crafting!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut . The opinions and text are all mine.
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