How to Make Faux Leather Holiday Animal Bookmarks with a Cricut

November 22November 22

DIY Faux Leather Cricut Winter Animal Bookmarks

This project is part of my 12 Days of Christmas Crafts Event where I’m sharing a new holiday faux leather Cricut craft every day for 12 days.

Want all 12 days worth of SVG templates, tutorials INSTANTLY? You can get it in the Event VIP PASS – plus bonuses like a 60+ page printable workshop, bonus holiday SVGs, and more.

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Learn how to make Faux Leather Holiday Animal Bookmarks with a Cricut

This project is Day 2 of The 12 Days of Christmas Crafts Event!

I’m Amy Romeu, and in this tutorial I’ll be showing you how to make these cute winter animal bookmarks with faux leather and a Cricut, perfect as gifts or stocking stuffers.

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

Get the SVG in my Shop

Personal or Small Commercial Use Available

SHOP THE SVG

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!

See the full step by step video tutorial

Click the image below to watch the video on my YouTube channel, or click here.

How to make Faux Leather Winter Animal Bookmarks with a Cricut Step by Step

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Materials you’ll need to make Faux Leather Winter Animal Bookmarks with a Cricut

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

Faux Leather:
Light Blue from Amazon here or from The Polka Dotted Peach here
Pink from Amazon here or from The Polka Dotted Peach here
Light Purple from Amazon here or from The Polka Dotted Peach here
Heat Transfer Vinyl:
Siser Easyweed in White, Ballerina Pink, Sweet Mint, Yellow, Black, Cream, Hazelnut
Siser Glitter HTV in Sapphire, Grass Green, Red, Black Gold
Other Supplies:
Beacon Fabri-Tac or other craft or fabric glue
Bookmark Tassels
Purple Strong Grip Cricut Mat
Green Standard Grip Cricut Mat
Cricut EasyPress Mini
Cricut EasyPress Mat & Cover Sheet
Compatible Machines:
Cricut Maker, Cricut Maker 3, Cricut Explore Air 2, Cricut Explore 3, Cricut Joy Xtra, Cricut Joy (with Cricut Joy 12 inch cutting mat), Silhouette
The SVG templates – available in my shop here or inside the 12 Days of Christmas Crafts Event VIP Pass.

Get the SVG in my Shop

Personal or Small Commercial Use Available

SHOP THE SVG

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Starting with a blank canvas in Cricut Design Space, click on Upload, then Upload Image.

Browse to where the ALREADY UNZIPPED SVG file for this project is saved on your device.

Click on the SVG to select it and follow the prompts to upload it.

When the design loads on the canvas, click UNGROUP in the top left of the layers panel. Then choose one of the bookmarks and delete the other two.

The bottom bookmark layer will cut from faux leather. All of the other layers will cut from heat transfer vinyl.

Click the MAKE IT button.

STEP 2: Click on each mat on the left hand side and toggle the Mirror toggle ON. That’s because faux leather and heat transfer vinyl cut in reverse.

NOTE: If you want to cut the vinyl layers from permanent vinyl instead of HTV, you can do that. Just don’t mirror the vinyl mats in that case.

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: Cut a piece of faux leather around three inches wide by seven inches tall. This piece will be large enough to cut out the bookmark shape without a lot of excess.

Before we cut the faux leather bookmark shape, you can add some heat transfer vinyl to the back of the faux leather. This is an optional step that will make the bookmark firmer without adding bulk. It will also give your bookmark a finished back.

To do this, cut a piece of foil HTV slightly smaller than the faux leather piece, place them back to back, and position the faux leather pretty side down on your heat pressing pad.

Press with the EasyPress Mini on low heat, using firm pressure for 10 seconds on each area. Peel back the carrier sheet carefully.

If any areas lift, press again. Trim any overhanging HTV to avoid wrinkles, then give the back one more press for a smooth finish. Let it cool flat for a minute.

Place the faux leather pretty side down (HTV side up if you did that step) 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 faux leather bookmark on the heat pressing pad.

Place the first vinyl layer in place on the bookmark. Be sure to line up the bottom and side edges with the bookmark edges.

Set 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 all the other vinyl layers in order.

When finished, place the warm pressed faux leather bookmark underneath the heat pressing pad for about a minute so it can cool flat.

Step 5: Add a bookmark tassel to the bookmark by pushing the tassel loop down into the bookmark hole. Pull the loop through, then thread the tassel through the loop and pull tight.

That’s it! Your Winter Animal Bookmark is complete. Here’s another look at all three bookmark designs together. Which one is your favorite?

Answers to your questions about making Faux Leather Winter Animal Bookmarks 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 (with the 12 inch long mat).

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.