Woohoo- let’s make some absolutely glam ornaments! This tutorial will show you step-by-step how to engrave acrylic ornament blanks with your Cricut crafting machine. I’m using a Cricut Maker 3 for this project, and the Cricut Engraving Tool (a Maker only tool), but you can use the Cricut Explore and Explore 3 as well. For these machines, you will need to purchase an off-market brand of engraving tool. I like to use Amy Chomas’ tools. You can find the link below!
How to Engrave Mirror Ornaments with Cricut
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my small business.
Tools and Materials
- Cricut Maker or Maker 3 and the Engraving Tip + QuickSwap Housing
- Purple StrongGrip Mat
- Blue Painters Tape
- Mirror Acrylic 3” Ornaments in Silver or Gold (these are the ones I used)
- OR you can get these, that are thinner and less likely to be scratched by the tool as you engrave.
- 20 gauge aluminum wire (optional)
- Wire cutter and Flat Nose Pliers (optional)
- Optional: Cricut Explore or Explore 3 with and Chomas engraving tool.
Instructions for How to Engrave Mirror Ornaments with Cricut
Step One: Download the Designs
You can find the download link to these filled engraving designs in my Free Library! For more designs visit my Well Crafted Studio Shop!
Step Two: Open a New Canvas in CDS
In Cricut Design Space, sign in with your Cricut ID and open a New Project from the Home page. This creates a new canvas workspace for you to design in.
Step Three: Upload the Engraving Designs
Click the Upload icon in the lower-left corner of the left-side toolbar of your canvas. This starts the Upload process. Click Upload Image, then Browse and grab your design from your files.
Click to Select and then Add Images (lower right corner of Uploaded Images Gallery).
Step Four: Create a 3” Circle
Add a Circle to your canvas using the Shapes tool in the left-side toolbar.
Size to 3” x 3” with the Size tool that’s found in the top toolbar (or whatever the size is of the blanks you are using).
Tip- Make sure that the little constraints Lock is in the locked position.
Step Five: Change Operation to Pen
Choose Pen in the Operations (drop-down) menu with the circle selected. This makes it easier to see as we size the design.
Step Six: Size the Design to Fit the Circle
Change the design size to less than 3” so it fits into your circle. Remember, the circle represents the mirror ornament blank, with a small hole in the top center. So keep that in mind as you size and position your design.
Step Seven: Duplicate the Design + Change the Operation to Engrave
Once the design is the size you want, Duplicate it (top of the toolbar). Then, with the design still selected, go to the Operations toolbar and change the Operation to Engrave.
Step Eight: Align and Attach Template
Select the original design and the circle shape, and click Align>Center in the top toolbar. You might need to tweak the positioning a bit (to make it look right to the eye). And again, remember to leave room for the hole in the center top of the ornament. Attach the circle and design.
Step Nine: Change Operation and Color of Template
With both the circle and design still selected, change the Operation to Pen, and change the template’s Color to red. This makes it easy to see.
Step Ten: Save and Make it!
Next, just hit the Save in the top toolbar and save the canvas as a new project. Then hit the green Make it Button in the top right of your screen. This will take you to the Mat Prep Preview page.
Step Eleven: Mirror And Align on Mat Preview Page
Toggle on the Mirror option on the left side of the screen to flip the design.
Then click and drag your template and align it to the gridlines at the 4” and 5”. Then, move the engraving design so that it overlaps the template image.
Step Twelve: Prep Mat
On your purple StrongGrip Cutting Mat, place the mirror ornament shiny side (front) down at the 4” x 5” gridlines with the hole centered at the top. Press firmly, and then use the blue painter’s tape to firmly tape the ornament into position on the mat.
Note: Some people have had some issues with the engraving tool scraping the surface of their ornament. And the ornaments I use are just at the edge of being too tall. BUT, that being said, I rarely had issue, and if you take the precautions above it should work out well for you! If you’d prefer, there are ornaments that are much thinner, but personally I like these thicker one’s much better.
Step Thirteen: Hide Template
Back on the Mat Preview Page, click the template and then the three dots that appear. Choose the Hide Template option. Click the Continue button.
Step Fourteen: Select Material Setting
When asked, choose Acrylic 2mm (thick) as the material setting.
Tip- This will only appear as an option if you have Maker or Maker 3 selected.
Step Fifteen: Load Mat
Place your mat under the guides on your machine and then Press the Load/Unload button on your machine to Load your mat. Make sure your Engraving Tool is loaded in Clamp B.
Step Sixteen: Engrave and Unload Mat
Next, press the blinking Go button on your machine. Let it engrave, and when the machine is done engraving, Unload your mat. Remove the tape and use it to clean up the debris. Remove the ornament and flip it over to peel off the transparent covering.
Step Seventeen: Add Hanger
Cut the 20 gauge wire to about 6” in length with a wire cutter. Then, feed the ends of the wire through the hole. Then, bend the ends up and around the loop. Use flat nose pliers to firmly wrap the wire around the loop and give it a nice finish.
Love How to Engrave Mirror Ornaments? Share it!
If you found this post helpful, feel free to share it with others!
Thanks for Reading,
Thanks Jen! I picked up acrylic gift tags at 70% off after Christmas and then followed your tutorial to create my first acrylic engravings! They turned out perfect! I used gold rub and buff to highlight the engraving. Thanks again!