Hidden Unicorn

For the ‘making of’ process video, click HERE or scroll down.

Products Used

Easier Than Where’s Waldo

I recently came across this adorable layered hidden unicorn mandala design on Creative Fabrica. Since it seemed to be an easier search than Waldo, I wanted to make it. It gave me the perfect excuse to use some of the color changing vinyl and sparkly shimmer vinyls I have on hand. It was also with this project that I realized I needed to order more of the black shimmer vinyl as I am running quite low. I guess I do use it quite often.

The original concept picture for the hidden unicorn mandala design was a bit off putting for me. It used very bright blue and pink under layers, which made for a pretty dizzy image that seemed to almost vibrate visually (not in a good way). It made me a bit hesitant to make it, but I figured two colors that were a bit more complimentary with one another would make for a better visual. Hopefully it was a good choice. I think it looks pretty cute in all of its sparkly glory.

Cut Settings

As always, remember that the specified settings are specific to the Cricut Maker. For a reference guide to cut pressures for each Cricut setting, check out this handy chart:

materials-to-cut.pdf Download

Color changing adhesive vinyl: premium vinyl shimmer setting with more pressure
Glossy shimmer purple adhesive vinyl: glitter iron-on setting with more pressure
Shimmer black adhesive vinyl: premium vinyl shimmer setting with more pressure

I may be changing up the setting I use for the shimmer black vinyl soon as I did have to use a craft knife to release some of the pieces here and there while weeding. With a bit deeper of a cut in the future, it’ll probably weed more effortlessly than it did for this project.

I Certainly Didn’t Expect THAT

There were hardly any issues with this project that I had to overcome, which was odd. I’m used to putting in an extra half an hour for problem solving. This time problem solving took only about five minutes total. I mentioned the black vinyl issue already. The other (and “biggest”) issue I had during this project was minor. During the first part of layering, I had difficulty removing the transfer tape from the purple glossy shimmer vinyl once it was in place.

You can see from this still that I am pulling the transfer tape hard. It’s being pulled so hard that it is stretching out in places around the design. Look carefully at the transfer tape at the right side edge of the design’s backing paper. You can see the wrinkling there from being stretched as I pulled it away from the design. I find it pretty impressive actually that it is wrinkly in that spot given how hard I am pulling in that frame.

Working on That Work Flow

At the beginning of the process video, you may catch a glimpse of the cut/not-yet-weeded vinyl pieces in a slim project case with a sticky note labeling the project. I’ve started cutting multiple projects at a time and these slim project cases have been quite handy in keeping each project organized.

The side of my desk is attached with brackets to a kallax unit from IKEA and these slim project boxes stack up beautifully in the cubby. Not only do I have multiple projects cut and ready to film, I have the chance to catch up and possibly get ahead. My biggest goal with the new work flow is to be able to get ahead and be able to take time off once in a while when needed.

My next step to getting ahead and making this work flow work for me will be mass filming. I’d like to film two to three projects in one day. Doing so will let me craft more consistently, offload footage in bigger chunks, and hopefully allow me to draft posts more in advance. The main goal for now is to be able to get at least one week ahead. At the moment I have three other projects waiting to be filmed (one week’s worth of posts). I am super excited about each of them!