May 10., 2018   /   Uncategorized

Importing and Using a Popup Card in Cricut Design Space

Importing and Using a Popup Card in Cricut Design Space can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you learn how to prepare your popup card design to score and cut properly on your Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker using Cricut Design Space.

Cricut Design Space provides options for using two different tools with your Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker. A popup card is best created using ascoring or embossing tool in addition to the cutting blade. You need to let your software know which lines should be scored, and which ones should be cut. In addition, you need to attach all score lines to the design pieces which are being scored.

Popup Happy Birthday Card

Import Your Popup Card Design Into Cricut Design Space

First, you need to import the SVG file for the design you will be cutting in Cricut Design Space. To do that, open Cricut Design Space, and click on New on the left toolbar. Then click on the  Upload icon at the bottom of  this same left toolbar.

Design Space Left Toolbar

Click on the Upload image button on the screen that opens.

Upload Images

Next, click on the Browse button to search for the file you wish to use.

Click on the Browse button to search for the design you wish to use.

Once you have found the SVG file on your computer that you wish to use,  select it, and the design pieces will open in Cricut Design Space to the following screen.

Check the file name, and add some tags.

The name of the image that you selected should appear in the Image Name field on the right side of the screen. You should add some tags that you can use in the future.  When you wish to  find this design in the future, you can search for it using a tag you created for it.  I added the tags Happy, Birthday, Popup, and Card. After entering this information, click on Save in the lower right corner of the screen.

Your Recently uploaded designs will open on the screen. Click on the Happy Birthday Popup Card image. A green box will appear around the thumbnail image. Click on Insert image in the lower right corner of the screen to add this design to your main screen in Cricut Design Studio.

Recently Uploaded Image screen opens.

The grouped design pieces appear on your main screen. Congratulations! You have successfully imported a design into Cricut Design Space!

Design pieces appear on your main screen in Cricut Design Space

Using your Popup Card Design in Cricut Design Space

There is some preparation of your design pieces that must be done in Cricut Design Space before you can score and cut them. The design pieces are all grouped together, so you need to ungroup them. To do this, Right click on your mouse, and select Ungroup. This will allow you to unstack all of the parts of the design.

Ungroup the imported shapes.

Edit Your Popup Card Design In Cricut Design Space

It will help to be able to see all of the design pieces separately.  While they are stacked they are harder to see. Drag your cursor around all of the green pieces and move them off to the right of the screen. Click on the tiny minus in the lower left corner of the screen to zoom out a bit.

Attach Score Lines to the Pieces to which they Belong

Move also, the lavender, green, and yellow pieces off to the side. There is a score line in the middle of the darker purple piece. Drag your mouse around the purple piece to select it and the score line. Right click and select Attach, to connect the score line to this piece.

On the Layers panel on the right side of the screen, find the score line above the thumbnail image of the purple piece. Since the score line does not have a color fill, this line is represented by the circle with a red slash through it.

Card Backing with attached score line.

Click on the scissors icon next to the red slash. Open the Line Attributes window at the top of the screen. Next, click on the Score icon on the tool bar to change this line to Score instead of Cut.

Layer Attributes Panel

The icon on the Layers panel on the right side of the screen will now display the Score icon. This indicates that the line on the purple card backing will score.

The attached line on the card back is now designated to be a Score line.

Right click on the white portion of the design, and select Move To Back.

Right click and select Move to Back

Attach Score lines to the Card.

Zoom in using the Plus icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Drag the group of score lines over the white card design. Line up the top score line with the two vertical lines under the word “Happy” at the top of the white card layer.

Perfectly center the candle s between the two horizontal score lines under the word “Happy”. The score line should rest exactly at the top of the two vertical lines to the right and left of the candle. This should place all of the score lines precisely at the tops and bases of the pillars as shown below.

Line up the top score line with the cutting lines under the word Happy.

Attach the score and cut lines to the Card

Click away from the card, then click and drag your mouse around the entire white card and score lines to select them. Right click and select Attach. On the top of the Layers Panel on the right side of the screen, you should see a thumbnail of the white card. Above that is a circle with a red slash through it.

Change lines to score lines.

Click on the scissors icon, and select the Score icon from the Layer Attributes Panel. These lines will be scored rather than cut. Congratulations! You have now attached all of the score lines to their corresponding designs, and you have changed the line attributes of the lines to be scored. Now the Explore or Maker will use the scoring tool on those lines instead of the blade tool.

Hide Any Layers you do Not want to USE

This particular popup card includes many extra number layers, giving you many choices for customizing the final version of the card. You may select the numbers that you wish to use at the top of the cake, then hide all of the layers containing numbers that you do NOT want to use. To hide layers, click on the Eye icon on each of the layers you do not want to use this time.

The only green shapes showing on your screen after hiding unwanted layers should be the ones you DO want to use. This card is for someone who is celebrating their 101st birthday! Won’t she be surprised when she receives it? I move the 101st to the position at the top of the cake, in front of the candle.

Make It!

Now, when you click on the Make It button at the right top of the screen you will be taken to the Prepare screen with Six different colored mats. The first and last mats indicate that there are cutting lines and scoring lines on each of those. The other four mats have only cut lines on them.

Six mats ready to go.

Check the Mat Layouts

Note: If you see a black mat containing only black lines, then the lines have not been properly attached to their corresponding pieces. Cancel the cut in that case, and on the main screen. Then select the white card piece with it score lines and Attach. Then select the purple piece with its score line, and Attach. Now when you go to Make, you should no longer see a black mat.

Follow the prompts on the screen, and you are ready for using your Popup Card Design in Cricut Design Space.

Import Popup Card Designs into Cricut Design Space

To Import and Use Popup Card Designs in Cricut Design Space, you need to properly position and attach score lines to the card. Popup cards will not pop up effectively if the score lines are not positioned very carefully. When you follow these instructions, your popup cards will cut and score beautifully. See this video covering Importing and Using a Popup Card Design in Cricut Design Space on YouTube.

Would you like to have the FREE cutting file for this Happy Birthday Popup Card?
You can get it and some of my other FREE SVG projects in my FREE Resource Library.

>> HOW TO ENTER THE FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY <<

This resource library is open to everyone for free. All you need is the password to get in, which you can get by filling out the form below.

If you already have your password, enter the resource library here.