Make it Monday // DIY Unicorn Paper Clip & Free SVG Cut File

There was once a time when I was heavily against planner paper clips.  I remember this time fairly well....as it was probably about 3 months ago.  I am also warming up to the idea of planner tassels and this forces me to lay awake at night wondering about my planner identity.  Was I abducted by planner loving aliens who are far more advanced in planner cuteness than me?  Where did this new love of planner clips come from?  What am I turning into?!?!

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Enough with the planner drama, because today I have for you something amazingly awesome that I've actually brushed my shoulder off, done the cabbage patch, and toasted to myself right after I created it.  I made a paper clip cut file for free, for you, for everyone.  Yay!  I used my favorite illustration program Inkscape (it's free, download it, do it.  Works nearly exactly like Adobe Illustrator) to create a new vector cut file from an image from FreePik.com (my favorite resource for vector images), that you can totally upload to Cricut Design space in order to create a unicorn paper clip.  How cool am I?  The answer is very cool, and I should also calm down a bit.

So, if you're down for making your own unicorn paper clip go ahead an download the SVG here.  Be sure to read the Terms of Use attached to the file.  This project and the files are for personal use only.  Please play nice - do not use this file commercially, do not sell the final product made from this tutorial, do no sell the file itself.  Do not claim any part of this project as your own.  If you'd like to link to this project, share the DIY with friends, or pin to a Pinterest board please pin this blog post.  I'd love for you to share this!

Supplies // Cricut Explore Cutting Machine, SVG cut file, paper clips, various pieces of colored card stock or scrapbook paper, liquid glue (Mod Podge, etc), E6000 (the best adhesive ever), small paint brush to apply glue

First, upload the SVG file to Cricut Design space by selecting Upload Image from your canvas.  Select Browse to locate the SVG file on the hard drive (it might be in your downloads file) and select Open.  Name your file and select Save.  The file should now be in the uploads section.  Select the file, then click Insert Images.  The image should be added to the canvas.

The image may be too big for a paper clip, so scale it down by clicking on the image and using the blue diagonal arrows to shrink the size.  Or scale the image by clicking on the Edit tab in the right hand column and entering a value under the size, being sure to keep the proportions locked.  A good size is about 1.5 inches wide.

Select the vector, right click, and duplicate the image.  Under the edit tab select the horizontal mirror option to mirror the image. This will create a double sided paper clip so that you can see the unicorn from each side.

Choose the scrapbook paper or card stock you'd like to use, click on Go, and cut out your unicorn shapes.

The reason I chose to do this project using my Cricut Explore (rather than my Silhouette) is because the Circut Design Space opens vector images for free.  You'd need to upgrade the Silhouette software to Design Edition ($50) in order to open an SVG file.  Additionally, for quick cutting projects and paper crafting my Cricut Explore is my go to.  Design Space is easy to use, very user friendly - its an open file, select go, here's your project kind of machine.  I love my Cricut Explore for that reason.  No fuss, open, cut, done.  I highly recommend the Cricut Explore for paper crafting!

Once all shapes are cut, adhere them together in layers using an adhesive.  I found that a liquid glue (I used Mod Podge) and a brush work the best for this project.  Sandwich a paper clip between the two unicorn heads using E6000 around the paper clip and another layer of liquid glue around the paper.  You may have to press your clip between two heavy objects to make sure the glue adheres consistently all the way around the clip.

Hooray!  You have a paper clip!  I love this project and honestly plan to do a lot more free SVG files for cutting machines - especially for making paper clips!! 

You can find more Cricut Explore tutorials on the blog here and on my YouTube channel here.

Are you a paper clip person?  Are you a planner decorator to the extreme?

xoxo, Moe

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