Finding photos small enough to use in Explosion Boxes is almost impossible! I’ll explain how to get photos in a smaller size and how to cut them to the exact size your design requires in this tutorial.
This amazing Cricut hack helps you trim any photo to the perfect size.
Even cutting non-standard shapes is easy! I was able to position the baby in the very center of the star and rotate the photo in the shape just right.
Here’s a quick, easy way to crop photos to exactly the correct size.
Remember to do a test cut on your photos; photo paper is thicker than cardstock.
In this example, I’m using a folder from the Heart Explosion Box. The SVG has two white boxes where the photos are supposed to go. The star was just meant to be a design accent, but I decided to put a photo there too.
This method is excellent for the Easy Heart Exploding Box and the Pop-Up Cube gift box too!
1) Get your photos printed professionally.
If you need photos for explosion boxes, I highly recommend printing them online in smaller sizes, as the standard 4×6 photos are too big in most cases.
I had my photos printed at Social Print Studio in the mini-print size.
2) Now, open the SVG with the area that the photos will go in Design Space or your cutting machine’s software.
It’s easiest if you turn the photos that you want to cut into another (very different) color so that the mat you need to cut is obvious.
3) Click Make It.
4) We’re going to cut a piece of cardstock or scratch paper first, then will use it to put our photos in just the right place to cut. I’m using inexpensive white A4 cardstock because I have a whole ream of it.
On the Preview screen, arrange the photo shapes so that they are spread out on the mat, yet within the borders of your paper.
5) Cut the cardstock and remove the mat.
6) Lift the corners of the cardstock up to slide the photos underneath it. Adjust them until you have the crop correct, then press firmly on the photos so they don’t slide around.
7) Remove the paper from the mat, leaving the photos in place.
8) Insert the mat, and cut the shapes again by clicking on the preview and cutting the same mat again. Remember to change the paper/pressure setting!
9) Remove the cropped photos from the mat. Now they fit perfectly into the folder.
I hope this amazing Cricut hack saves you lots of time while you are decorating your photo explosion box!
Need a project to use your perfectly-cut photos with? Try these!
Save this for later by pinning on Pinterest!
[…] The red squares and circles indicate the photos in the ornaments. You can also use the red shapes to cut your photos to exactly the correct size. […]