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Learn how to make Faux Leather Gnome Candy Cane Holders with a Cricut

This project is Day 1 of The 12 Days of Christmas Crafts Event!

I’m Amy Romeu, and in this tutorial I’ll be showing you how to make charming gnome candy cane holders with a Cricut, perfect as ornaments or stocking stuffers.

These whimsical little gnomes are crafted with faux leather and decorated with heat transfer vinyl, making them a fun, festive and easy Cricut craft.

Follow along with this written tutorial including all the materials, SVG files, and tips you need.

Ready to get started with this beginner friendly holiday Cricut craft tutorial?

Let’s dive into the materials and steps!

Want to watch a video tutorial instead? Check it out below!

How to make Faux Leather Gnome Candy Cane Holders with a Cricut Step by Step

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Materials you’ll need to make Faux Leather Gnome Candy Holders with a Cricut

🛒 To shop many of these supplies below in my Amazon storefront, click here. 🛒

Step by Step Instructions

After all the mats are mirrored, go back through each one and drag the shapes apart from the edges (and from each other if there is more than one shape on the mat).

Click the CONTINUE button.

When the material selection screen loads, click on the faux leather mat and then select the Faux Leather (Paper Thin) setting.

If you don’t have that setting bookmarked as a favorite like I do, you can click on Browse All Materials and search for it. (If you are using the Explore Air 2, you’ll need to turn your dial to Custom before you can find that setting in search.)

Then choose “More” from the dropdown Pressure menu.

For the vinyl mats, you’ll choose the recommended cut setting for your brand/type of vinyl.

Step 3: Trim a piece of white faux leather to a size just slightly larger than the shapes that are going to cut. Place the faux leather pretty side down on a purple strong grip cutting mat.

Place blue painter’s tape around all sides of the faux leather. Load the mat into the Cricut and begin the cut.

When the cut is complete, before unloading the mat, lift a small edge of the cut to ensure the cut went through. Repeat the cut if needed by pressing the cut button again.

Once the shapes are cut through, remove the shapes from the mat.

Return to Design Space and cut and weed all of the heat transfer vinyl mats.

Step 4: When all the vinyl layers are cut and weeded, gather your heat press (Easy Press Mini, EasyPress, or traditional heat press), heat pressing pad, and cover sheet like a Teflon sheet, butcher paper, or parchment paper.

Refer to the Layering Guide below for the order to press the vinyl layers.

Place the front faux leather shape on the heat pressing pad. Head the EasyPress Mini to the Low setting (the first green line) or another heat press to 265 degrees.

Place the first heat transfer vinyl layer on the faux leather shape. Cover with the cover sheet and press for 7-10 seconds.

Repeat pressing the other vinyl layers in order.

Then place the warm pressed faux leather shape underneath the heat pressing pad for about a minute so it can cool flat.

Step 5: Glue the front and back gnome shapes using a good fabric or craft glue. I used Beacon Fabri-Tac. Start by placing glue all over the back of one of the shapes.

Be sure to place the gnome shapes so the candy cane slits are open and lined up.

IMPORTANT! Place the glued shapes underneath a heavy book for at least an hour so the shapes glue well with a seamless edge.

If you’re making an ornament, tie a ribbon through the ornament holes. Then insert the candy cane through the slots. That’s it!

Answers to your questions about making Faux Leather Gnome Candy Holders with a Cricut

Q: Which Cricut machines will cut faux leather?
A: You can cut faux leather with any of the current Cricut machines because they all cut faux leather with the standard fine point blade included with each machine. For this project you can use the Cricut Maker, Cricut Maker 3, Cricut Explore 3, Cricut Explore Air 2, the Cricut Joy Xtra, or the Cricut Joy.

Q: What do I need to press heat transfer vinyl onto faux leather?
A: To press heat transfer vinyl onto faux leather you’ll need a traditional heat press, Cricut EasyPress, or Cricut EasyPress Mini.

Q: How do I get the SVG template for this project?
A: Get the SVG file from my SVG Shop here. For even more holiday faux leather crafts project from my 12 Days of Christmas Crafts Event, click here.

Until next time… and happy creating!

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