Day 38
August 31: New Bugs
Last night I fussy-cut my new bug stickers — I love them, but trimming out all those little legs can be a bitch. Good news: I'm uploading a silhouette version for anyone with a Cricut, so you can skip that particular kind of suffering.

I also love making little spaces for journaling within the book itself. This little glassine bag has been needing a card to hold stray thoughts for a while now, and I finally had just the ephemera for it — something that's been languishing in my stash for far too long. Thirty-eight days into this challenge, and I'm finally getting the courage to actually use my precious ephemera instead of hoarding it "for the right project."

To see the live chat in real time watch this video on YouTube here.

Download and print

This file will work with a Cricut.This one works because the moths are silouhetted on a transparent back ground. 

Print & Cut Your Moth Sticker Sheet on a Cricut
  1. Upload the PNG. In Cricut Design Space, click Upload → Upload Image, and select your moth sheet PNG.
  2. Insert to canvas. Click Insert Image to place it on your mat.
  3. Confirm Print Then Cut is active. With the image selected, look for the printer icon in the Layers panel — that means Cricut will print the image, then cut around it using the registration marks.
  4. Set your cut line margin. Click on the image, then open the Contour tool in the top toolbar (this controls the offset/margin for your cut line). Alternatively, some versions show this as an Offset option in the side panel. Enter a small value — around 0.05" to 0.1" — to push the cut line out slightly from the artwork, giving you that thin white sticker border instead of a cut line that hugs the design too tightly.
  5. Click Make It. Select "Print then Cut" when prompted.
  6. Print the sheet. Print onto your sticker paper — make sure your printer settings are set to Actual Size / 100%, not "fit to page," or the registration marks will be off.
  7. Load and cut. Place the printed sheet on your mat, load into the Cricut, and select your material (sticker paper, or the closest vinyl/matte setting if not listed). The machine reads the registration marks and cuts along your set margin automatically.
  8. Peel and weed. Peel up the excess paper around each cut line, and you've got your finished stickers.


If you are fussy cutting your stickers do this:
  1. Right-click  (or control click for mac, press and hold on mobile) on the image and choose "Save Image As" (or "Download Image").
  2. Save it to a folder you'll remember — like "Day 1 Journal Files."
  3. Open the saved JPEG and print at 100% / actual size (not "fit to page") so nothing gets cropped or stretched.
  4. Print on whatever paper you're testing today — plain, cardstock, watercolor, whatever's on hand.

Tip: if the image opens directly instead of downloading, just right-click anywhere on it for the save option.

Things I used Some of these are an affiliate link some are not. 

I like this vinyl sticker paper
I am using this Cricut Machine
And this eco tank printer
I used this matte medium
This little glue spreader thing
This deli paper for the translucent gelli print
This little adhesive dispenser

Next Lesson