Use the Print then Cut feature of your Cricut Explore or Maker to create this adorable “you’re a gem” DIY sticker valentines! They are a great non-food valentine—and who doesn’t love getting stickers? Includes free download!

You’re a Gem: DIY Sticker Valentines with Your Cricut

Are you following along with my weekly Instagram Challenge? Next week’s prompt is “Valentine’s Day” and I wanted to try something I’ve never done before—I designed the challenge to get people thinking outside their Cricut box—I might as well try and stretch my skills as well!

(Is your Cricut still IN the box? I have a FREE online Cricut course to help you get your machine out of the box all the way to making your first project!)

I had an idea to create sticker valentines using Cricut’s printable vinyl and Print then Cut feature. Problem was—I couldn’t figure out how to do it. I wanted it to cut all the way through the valentines around the edge to create the card shape and just kiss-cut the stickers themselves.I tried several different ideas, but to no avail. Thankfully, I’ve got smart friends! Thanks to Cheryl from That’s What Che Said and Jess from Everyday Party Magazine, I was able to create the effect I was going for—a printed valentine with cut lines around the gems to turn them into stickers!

These DIY printable sticker valentines are a great non-food valentine that’s great if there are allergies in your child’s classroom. They’re fun, modern, and not overly romantic—and what kid doesn’t want giant diamond stickers?

Here’s how to do it.

DIY Sticker Valentines Supplies

• Cricut Explore or Maker
• Home printer
• Cricut Printable Vinyl
• Free download (click below)

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DIY Sticker Valentines Directions

Start by downloading the file by clicking on the download image above. Once you’ve received your zip file through email, you’ll see that there are two JPGs in the file.

Open Cricut Design Space and create a new document. Click “Upload” in the Design Panel on the left. Navigate to the first JPG and bring it into Design Space. Select your image type as “Complex.”

In the Select & Erase screen, do not do anything—just click continue.

In the Name & Tag Image screen, choose Print then Cut image and click Save.

Now upload the second JPG of the gems. Choose a Complex image.

On the Select & Erase screen, click on the white background to delete the background. Then click Continue.

In the Name & Tag Image screen, choose Print then Cut image and click Save. Then insert both your images onto your Canvas.

When you insert your images, you’ll notice that the gems are behind the card. Click on the card and use the Arrange dropdown to Move it Backward to move it behind the gems.

Then layer the gems on top of the card. You can use the Align tools in the Edit Toolbar at the top to center them.

Then select both the gems and the card and click Attach in the lower right, below the Layers Panel.

Click “Duplicate” at the top of the Layers Panel on the right to create four total valentines. These have been sized to fit Cricut’s Print then Cut area perfectly.

Then hit Make It! The next few steps feel a bit redundant, but they are designed to allow you to fully cut through the edges of each valentine, and then just kiss-cut the gems—creating printable stickers!

In the Prepare screen, just click continue.

In the Make screen, you’ll be prompted to print your valentines. I like using printable vinyl over the printable sticker paper—it just plays more nicely with my printer.

Once your valentines are printed, hit Cancel—yes, go back to the Canvas. From here, use the “eye” in the Layers Panel on the right to hid all of the gem layers. Place your printed vinyl sheet on a Cricut cutting mat, aligning it with the top left corner.

Then click Make It again. In the Prepare screen, just click continue.

In the Make screen, it will prompt you to print your project, but since we’ve already printed, just click the “I’ve Already Printed” link on the left.

Then set your material to Cardstock. Insert your mat with the printable vinyl into you Cricut. The machine will cut all the way through the printable vinyl around the edges of your valentines.

Once that is done, click Finish to be taken back to the Canvas. Unhide all of the gems once again.

Then click Make It for a third time (I swear, this goes faster than the screenshots might suggest!). Click Continue on the Prepare screen. In the Make screen, click “I’ve Already Printed” once again, and set your material to Printable Vinyl (if you are using a Cricut Explore, turn the dial to custom). Then for both the Explore or the Maker, search for “printable vinyl” as your material.

Then insert your mat once again. Your machine will kiss cut both the gems and the edges of your valentine—but since it’s already cut all the way through, the kiss-cut won’t do anything. Remove your mat from your Cricut, and then carefully remove your valentines from the mat!

So fun, right? I was super stoked to find a way to make this particular project work! I hope you love these DIY sticker valentines—you, my friend, are a gem!