A machine that I am always using in my studio is the Cricut Explore Air 2. It's a fabulous cutting machine that lets you make your own custom stickers and many other products. In this article, I'll be talking you through how to make bespoke stickers using your Cricut Explore Air 2 machine.

Materials & Tools

The first thing you'll need is a Cricut Explore Air 2 machine (of course!)

Next, download the Cricut Design Space software on your computer. It's available on both Apple and Windows computers for free! You can do so here.

You'll also need:

- A Cricut Explore Air 22

- Cricut Design Space

- Sticker paper of your choice

- A printer

- A Grip Mat to keep things steady while you craft

- You can also use weeding tools for removing those delicate bits if needed.

Preparing Your Sticker Design

• Open up your Cricut Design Space software and select "New Project in the upper right-hand corner.
• Select "import" in the lower left corner and then "import image" to import the image you want to make into a sticker. Ensure that your image is transparent so that the cricut knows where to cut.

• Next, I usually select "complex" for the image type to ensure I get the more accurate cut.
• Continue and select "Print then Cut" from the menu and resize your image to the size of your sticker.
• Select your uploaded image from the "Recent Uploads" section and select "Add to Canvas"
• You can then copy and paste your design multiple times (either with CTRL+C/CTRL+V or Edit > Copy/Paste) to fit as many stickers as possible on a sheet of paper. Alternatively, you can arrange your sticker designs on Adobe Illustrator beforehand, save it as a transparent image and import that file into Cricut Design Space.

• Once your stickers are the correct size and in position, select "Make It" in the top right-hand corner
• Check over your design, select "Continue" and send your design to your Printer.

Making & Applying the Stickers

• Your sticker design(s) should print with a black border around them. This black border is what your Cricut machine will use to scan your image.
• Add your printed sheet onto your Cricut Mat face up and ensure it is stuck well to the Mat.
• Turn on and open your Cricut Machine and ensure it is connected to your computer and recognised by the Cricut Design Software.
• Insert your Cricut Mat and select the button with two arrows to feed the mat into the machine.
• Check your Cricut Design Software to ensure it is connected and ready to go.
• Select your chosen cut depth with the dial on your Cricut machine. This will take a bit of practise as it depends on the thickness of your sticker paper. I usually use "Cardstock+" for die cut stickers and "Vinyl" for sticker sheets.

• Once you are happy with your settings, select the Cricut button (the button with a C" to begin cutting.
• Once your Cricut has finished the cut, select the arros buttons again to release the mat.
• Peel off the excess of your sticker sheet! Here is where you may find a weeding tool useful to easily get rid of any excess bits of paper you don't want on your sticler!

Check out my range of stickers here!