Whether you’re creating planner stickers, party favors, labels, or custom designs for your water bottle or laptop, Cricut makes sticker-making beginner-friendly and fun. With Cricut Design Space and the easy Stickers guided workflow, you can design, print, and cut polished DIY stickers right from home.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to make stickers with Cricut with a step-by-step guide including the materials you need, how Print Then Cut works, and the difference between kiss cut and die cut stickers.
Watch the full sticker-making process in action before you start:
What you need to make stickers with Cricut
Before you start making stickers with Cricut, gather these supplies:
- A Cricut cutting machine compatible with Print Then Cut, such as:
- Cricut Joy 2
- Cricut Joy Xtra
- Cricut Explore series
- Cricut Maker series
- Cricut Venture
- A color printer
- Printable sticker paper
- Cricut Design Space subscription Access
Using Cricut printable sticker paper or another printable sticker material designed for Print Then Cut will help you get the best results.
Calibrate your Cricut machine before you start
For the most accurate cuts, it’s important to calibrate your Cricut machine before making stickers. Calibration helps your machine read registration marks correctly so your cuts will line up perfectly with your printed designs.
To calibrate your Cricut cutting machine, go to Design Space settings and click into the “Machines” section. Under “My Machines,” select the machine you will be cutting on, making sure it’s turned on and connected to Design Space via Bluetooth, and then select “Calibrate” under “Machine Calibration.” Design Space will have you print a calibration sheet on your printer, then follow the on-screen prompts for full calibration.
How to design stickers with Design Space guided flows
Making stickers with Cricut is easier than ever thanks to the Sticker project flow in Cricut Design Space.
Step 1: Open the sticker project flow
In Cricut Design Space, select Stickers & Labels from the project options. This guided setup walks you through the process step by step, making it ideal for beginners who are learning how to make stickers with Cricut.
Step 2: Choose your sticker type
Within the sticker guided flow pop-up, you can choose from:
- Decorative stickers
- Stationery Stickers (for planners and journaling)
- Organisation Labels
- Gift Labels
- Custom Stickers
Step 3: Add and arrange your designs
Search for images or upload artwork or photographs you want to turn into stickers. Once your designs are added to your canvas, Design Space will automatically format them for sticker-making.
From this point, you can easily resise your stickers, adjust the spacing, customise borders and offsets, choose between kiss cuts or die cuts, and add editable text. This flexibility makes creating Cricut stickers simple, even for first-time users.
Step 4: Print your stickers
Select “Make” on the Canvas and follow the directions on screen to print your stickers out on a connected colour printer. Allowing Bleed before printing is generally a good idea since doing so allows for any small inconsistencies during printing or cutting and still creates a polished final sticker.
To make sure you are printing with high quality settings, you can also select “Use System Dialog” from the make screen before printing.
Step 5: Cut your stickers
Once your stickers are cut, place the printed sticker sheet in the top left corner of your machine mat and load the mat into your machine. Follow the prompts on Design Space to ensure your machine cuts correctly.
Once your stickers are cut, you’ll simply peel them off the machine mat, and they’re ready to use or gift!
Kiss Cut vs. Die Cut stickers: Which should you choose?
One of the biggest choices when making Cricut stickers is deciding between kiss cut and die cut stickers. So let’s go over what those phrases mean for your sticker-making.
Kiss-cut stickers
Kiss-cut stickers are cut through the sticker layer only, while the backing sheet stays intact. They’re easy to peel individually from the sheet, making them ideal for stickers that will be shared with children.
These stickers are great for sticker sheets when you don’t need each sticker individually cut out, for example:
- Planner sticker sheets
- Labels
- Gift tags
- Party favor sticker sheets
- Themed seasonal sticker sheets
Any designs added while using the Stickers guided flow will be automatically be added to the Canvas with a kiss cut. To change that or make sure it’s correct, you can select your design, go to “Effects,” and click into the Sticker tool.
Die-cut stickers
Die-cut stickers are cut completely through both the sticker and backing layers, creating individual stickers.
These work well for:
- Individual sticker handouts
- Gifts
- Branding stickers to include with orders
- Custom sticker packs
Design Space even includes an easy peel edge option to make peeling die cut stickers easier.
How Print Then Cut works for Cricut stickers
Cricut sticker projects use the Print Then Cut feature, which is a function compatible with most Cricut cutting machines.
Here’s how it works:
- Design Space formats your sticker sheet with black registration marks.
- You print the sticker sheet with the registration marks using your home printer.
- Place the printed sheet onto your Cricut mat.
- Load the mat into your Cricut machine.
- Your Cricut cutting machine scans the registration marks with built-in sensors on the machine and cuts your stickers precisely.
This workflow is what makes Cricut sticker-making so accurate and beginner-friendly.
The best sticker paper materials to use for sticker-making
Choosing the right sticker paper for your stickers can improve print quality, durability, and cutting performance.
Popular options include:
When selecting which type of sticker paper to use, it’s best to consider what you plan to put your stickers on when they’re done and how durable you want them to be.
Printable Sticker Paper
Cricut sticker paper has a paper-like feel and finish to it, meaning it’s great for simple stickers that will go on paper or other dry places. Sticker paper is also the easiest to peel, making it a great option if you’re making stickers for kids.
Printable Vinyl
Cricut Printable vinyl creates a smoother, thinner sticker that can be great for planners or journaling in order to keep notebook and planner pages from getting too thick. Printable vinyl is also a great option for labeling. Just be careful peeling your stickers from their backing if you use printable vinyl as the thin nature of the vinyl means your stickers can rip easily if you aren’t careful.
Waterproof Sticker Sets
Finally, waterproof sticker sets are great for stickers going on water bottles or other items that may be subjected to water or more wear and tear. Waterproof sticker sets come with printable vinyl sheets and waterproof laminate sheets. Once you’ve printed your stickers, you’ll apply the waterproof laminate sheet on top of your printed designs before cutting. For a detailed step-by-step guide to using waterproof sticker sets, see below.
How to make waterproof stickers with Cricut
If you want more durable stickers, you can make stickers using Cricut waterproof sticker sheets, which come with a protective laminate or waterproof top layer.
Here’s how to use Cricut waterproof sticker sets:
- Design your stickers on Cricut Design Space using the sticker guided flows (see above for step-by-step guide).
- Print your sticker sheet.
- Apply the clear laminate sheet over the printed stickers by lining up the printed vinyl sheet and the laminate sheet, peeling off the top strip of the laminate’s backing, and slowly rolling the laminate sheet over the printed vinyl as you peel off the laminate’s backing.
- Smooth out any bubbles by carefully pushing them to the edges of the laminate.
- Place the sheet on your Cricut mat in the top left corner.
- Load the mat into your Cricut cutting machine and let the machine do the cutting for you!
Waterproof stickers are great for:
- Water bottles
- Tumblers
- Outdoor use
- Laptop stickers
Tips for cleaner cuts and better sticker sheets
Want professional-looking Cricut stickers? Try these tips:
- Use a clean cutting mat.
- Calibrate your machine regularly. If you notice your cuts beginning to get less precise, calibrate sooner rather than later.
- Select the correct material settings in Design Space.
- Use high-quality print settings (found in the system dialog print settings).
- Reprint your stickers if the registration marks are smeared, blurred, or faded due to low ink levels.
- Keep an eye on your printer ink levels to avoid faded colors or incorrect colouration.
- Test cut one sticker or sticker sheet before you begin printing and cutting bulk projects.
Final thoughts
Stickers are such a fun way to add a spark of personality to your everyday items, like laptops, water bottles, notebooks, and more. With a Cricut cutting machine and Cricut’s latest sticker guides on Design Space, you can make stickers of anything, including your favorite licensed characters from the likes of Disney and others on Design Space or your own personal camera roll.
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