Chinoiserie Cricut Cards

I’ve had this recent obsession with vintage patterns lately and in particular Chinoiserie.

I designed this card to satisfy this obsession but I have a feeling I’m not done.

I love the whimsical nature of Chinoiserie, the juxtaposition of hand illustrations and watercolors on a flat background. As I was making this design, I realized it’s versatility. Pretty much any color combination works.

I didn’t have time to paint my own illustrations (maybe this will be the next project) so I just used some public domain vintage illustrations from waaay back like the 1700s. I removed the background from the illustration and created a transparent PNG for the illustration layer.

These cards work best when done in 3 layers; a base card with the background color, a print and cut illustration layer, and then a frame on top.

I have to warn you, this is an advanced project. I messed up with my first try. If you look closely, the layers are not perfectly aligned and the bird’s beak is ripped. I had to go pick up my kids and just didn’t get around to making it again.

I posted this anyway because I want all my readers to not feel like they need to make everything perfectly the first time around.

As always, the templates for this project are available for free in my resource library.

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Materials for Chinoiserie Cricut Card

Cardstock – I used 3 types of cardstock, a color one for the base, a white cardstock for the printing and a metallic gold finish cardstock for the top frame. Here are some of my favorite brands for the cardstock I used in this project.

  • Assorted Starter Pack – Basic assorted colors, great starter pack, perfect weight for most papercraft projects
  • Cricut Joy Insert Card Packs – You don’t have to use these with the Cricut Joy, they are nice material kids for cardmaking.
  • Cardstock Warehouse Brand on Amazon – I love the quality of all the matte-colored cardstock with Cardstock Warehouse. It is my go-to brand for individual matte colors that I might need
  • Poptone Assorted Variety Pack – This is the perfect peppy assortment of colors of heavy cardstock. It’s a heavy cardstock assortment with colors I actually use frequently for cardmaking.
  • Seasonal Assorted Variety Pack – This is a slight variation on the Poptone assortment and has a quite few neutrals that complement almost any accent color.
  • Stardream Metallics Line – For paper crafts, the Stardream line is the go-to for a metallic shimmer finish. It is the perfect sheen to make any project pop. The core is also colored is which hard to find for metallic paper.

Glue – I used a variety of different glues that minimize paper warping:

Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.

Tips for Making this Vintage Cricut Card

The trickiest part of this whole project was gluing together all the layers. But in getting the glue on but also in aligning it on top of each other.

First, be sure to print the illustration layer on white cardstock. Otherwise, it will be too flimsy and harder to align.

This layer is a print and cut image within Cricut Design Space. I have already removed the background on this PNG so there is no need to “select and erase” within Cricut Design Space. Just save it as a “complex” Print and Cut image.

Once this transparent PNG is uploaded, be sure to resize it to 5″x7″ for optimal results. Anything smaller makes it card to cut.

I would use a fresh Light Grip mat or a less sticky Standard Grip mat.

I would glue the illustration layer on to the base first. Use either spray or dots adhesive on the backside.

Align the corners and then the sides first. Then press the illustration part down after the frame is aligned.

If there are parts that are still sticking up, use a toothpick or the back of tweezers to dab glue to the underside piece by piece.

The love a little metallic accent with vintage to add a modern touch so I made my frame in gold. Many colors work and when in doubt, just use the same color as the base.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

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