How to Make a Photo Puzzle

Step 1

First, you will need to design your puzzle in Cricut Design Space. First upload your image as a print then cut image and insert that onto your canvas.

Step 2

Then click image and search for “puzzle”. You will find a wide variety of templates that you can use. I am going to choose a heart for my puzzle but you can pick from any of the ones shown.

Step 3

Once that is inserted, you will want to make sure that your image is the right size. It needs to be less than 6.75×9.25 inches in order to do print then cut. You can use slice to crop the image if you need to.

Step 4

The puzzle I am using comes with two layers. A plain heart and the actual puzzle. I am just going to delete the heart layer. You could use this to slice your photo but I want the extra room around the edges to make sure the puzzle looks good when cut.

Step 5

You can change the puzzle layer to white to see a bit better then put if over your image and locate it exactly how you want your puzzle to look. Pick both the puzzle layer and the picture and click attach.

Step 6

You are now ready to click make it and cut your puzzle. I will note that when you print your image, the puzzle itself will NOT print. Those lines are cut lines and will not be on your image. They will only cut with the knife blade after printing is complete. NOTE: I always turn off bleed and use system dialogue box so I can choose best quality when printing pictures.

Step 7

Are you ready to cut your photo puzzle? The process is pretty simple but there are a few tips and tricks you need to remember along the way.

Step 8

Now that you have your design, you can print the image onto printable vinyl.

Step 9

Then peel back the backing on the printable vinyl and stick it to the chipboard piece aligning in the corner. NOTE: You want to orient your image on the chipboard the same way it is oriented on the mat in Design Space.

Step 10

Then add your chipboard piece to the mat and align in the corner. Press the chipboard down well on the strong grip mat. I like to use a brayer to do this. Tape around all four sides of the chipboard using painter’s or masking tape. Just grip the very edge of the chipboard and press the tape down well. Be sure to cut away excess tape on the left hand side of your mat.

Step 11

Then add the mat to your Cricut Maker when prompted. You should have your knife blade installed and your white star wheels pushed all the way to the right. You will also want to pick the 1.5 mm chipboard setting in Design Space.

Step 12

Press the go button when prompted to start the cut. You will see the Maker read the registration marks first then it will begin to cut your puzzle.

Step 13

The cutting process is long and it will take a while. This puzzle stated it would take 12 passes to cut. I start to check the cut at around 7 passes.

Step 14

To check the cut, pause the machine when the mat is mostly out. Then lift the puzzle edge to make sure it is cut through. Curved areas will cut through last so be sure to check those. If it is cut through, click the load/unload button to remove the mat. If it is not cut through, click the pause button again to resume cutting.

Step 15

Once the puzzle is complete, you can remove it from the mat. I find it is easiest to flip the mat over and pull the puzzle off of the mat. Then you will want to carefully remove each piece of the puzzle. If there are any areas that are not cut through, just complete the cut with your craft knife.