DIY 4th of July Paper Star Decals with Cricut

Happy 4th of July, friends. Aside from the usual porch pillows and disposable table decor, I do have to admit we don’t really spend a lot of time decorating for this US holiday. Instead, each year I spend more time cooking and getting everyone together to enjoy the fireworks show at the end of the evening.

I thought it would be cool to use my Cricut Joy to create something fun this 4th of July, but things didn’t go as planned.

My goal was to make a quick red, white, and blue star banner for the front porch; however, I ended up getting the wrong materials for this project and ended up creating Paper Star Decals instead. I still got the stars and colors I was going for, but the main difference here is that the paper stock I purchased from Michael’s had sticky backs, so not cool if you’re trying to make a banner.

If you know me, I didn’t want this to go to waste, so I ended up pivoting towards the decals, and I’m so glad I did because they were so fun and the fact that I could place them wherever I wanted to my front porch window made this project totally worth it.

About Cricut Joy

Cricut Joy is your DIY best friend. This smart little cutting and writing machine is ridiculously easy to set up and use. You can use it to personalize, organize, and customize your projects every day. Make labels for your kitchen or office. Bust out those custom cards or a birthday banner. It’s also compatible with Cricut Smart Material for super-easy, super-long cuts without a cutting mat. Just load & go! With plenty of projects that take just 15 minutes. The best part, it’s small and compact so you can move it with you around the house. I use this little machine almost every week.

Cricut Joy Features:

• Weighing in at only 3.9 lbs (1.75 kg), this smart little cutting and writing machine makes it easy to personalize almost anything
• Cuts 50+ materials, including iron-on, cardstock, vinyl, paper, and Smart Materials™ – super-easy, super-long cuts without a cutting mat
• Draws any shape and writes in a variety of styles
• Cuts individual shapes up to 4 ft long or makes repeated cuts up to 20 ft long*
• It fits in a cubby and packs away easily sets up instantly
• The perfect companion to full-size Cricut smart cutting machines
• Bluetooth® wireless technology
• Design Space® software: This is where you get access to tons of templates, cut files, ideas to create your projects.

You can find them at Cricut.com or other craft stores like Michaels, Joanns, Walmart, Target, and even Amazon. I would recommend waiting for a holiday sale like Labor Day or Black Friday. They almost always have discounts or bundle deals on these and other Cricut tools. Currently, a Cricut Joy is $159 retail.

DIY 4th Of July Window Decals with Cricut

What’s more festive than red, white, and blue on America’s favorite holiday? Stars, stars, and more stars. This project basically uses Cricut’s design space and any Cricut machine to cut, peel, and stick wherever you want. With the right materials (card stock, of course, lol), you can use the same instructions, punch some holes, and create a banner using a string or craft twine.

Materials You’ll Need For This Project

• Any Cricut machine, I used my Cricut Joy
• Cricut Design Space App
• Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock Bright Bows Collection
• Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock White Collection
• Mini stars glitter stickers

Tips For This Project

1. Some cardstock can be hard to cut, so you can adjust the pressure on your machine’s needle to achieve a good cut.
2. You can use the star shapes in design space (this is free) or upload your own star shape to design space.
3. You can also create multiple sizes and cut at the same time to create a layered look for this project.
4. I wanted to make the most of the materials I was working with, so I adjusted my size to get more stars out of the cuts I made.

Instructions

1. Open the Cricut Design Space app, I used the app on my android phone, but you can use your computer or iPad.
2. Click on NEW PROJECT.
3. Tap on SHAPES, scroll until you find the star. Alternatively, you can upload your own star for this project as well.
4. Once your star is on the project, adjust the size. You can do this in 2 ways. Touch and drag it with your hands (this works best if you’re using your mobile app), or adjust the size manually if you’re on your computer. I used 4.9 for my Cricut Joy.
5. Once you have the correct size, click on DUPLICATE. I could only get 2 stars on each cardstock, but if you go too small, you’ll end up with smaller stars, and you can always layer them.
6. At this point, make sure your Cricut Joy is plugged in, and the loading tray is down.
7. Click MAKE IT.
8. The app will ask you to connect your Cricut Joy on your app screen in Design Space, then click continue.
9. Your Cricut Joy should automatically connect via Bluetooth and then select your material (Insert Card) here, and click GO once you’ve loaded your cardstock into the Cricut Joy.
10. Once the Cricut Joy is finished cutting the card, click UNLOAD.
11. You will have to repeat this a few times depending on how many stars you want.
12. Carefully peel off your card from the back adhesive, and I used scrap paper stock from the same batch to stick in the center of the starts to easily peel them off after or during applications.

Now you have gorgeous red, white, and blue stars to up your 4th of July decor this year. You can do any shape you want, but I felt the stars really give it a festive look for this holiday.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, please be sure to save and share it. You can find my other Cricut Joy tutorials here and tons more creative ideas on Creative Fabrica.
Feel free to visit my family & lifestyle blog, Life with Kami.

Happy Creating!