Lately, I’ve been trying to “jazz” things up a bit around our home, and my office is no exception! This past weekend, I took some inspiration from some gorgeous images I found online and I figured out how to make a mandala MacBook cover using a Cricut Maker! As complicated as it sounds, it really wasn’t hard!
I’m a big fan of PicMonkey, the program I use to edit all my photos and create images for my blog. So when I decided to create a fun mandala cover for my MacBook, I hopped into PicMonkey to see what I could come up with. Once I got the design just how I wanted it, I uploaded the image into Cricut Design Space and got to work! Because this is the first mandala pattern I’ve ever made, I kept it fairly simple.
Here is the pattern that I uploaded:
Using a program like PicMonkey makes creating complex-looking designs easy!
I used Cricut Holographic Vinyl as the material for my mandala, and I’m so happy with it! Depending on the light that hits it, the mandala can be orange, blue, pink or lilac, or all of those colours at the same time!
My Cricut Maker cut this pattern out in no time and did a really nice clean job. It only took me about 20 minutes or so to weed the image, as it is pretty simple. More complex designs can take an hour to cut and twice that long to weed! I’ll try that next!
Once I finished weeding my mandala design, I used my Cricut Transfer Tape to lift the vinyl from its backing and onto my MacBook. Before placing the vinyl, I cleaned the surface of my laptop with a cleaning wipe designed for computer screens. You can also use alcohol wipes. You need to be sure that there is no residue on the surface; otherwise, the vinyl won’t stick to the MacBook.
I measured my design and MacBook cover to make sure that I got it centred because that’s how I roll. You can certainly eyeball it if you want. After I placed it lightly and made sure it was straight and centred, I used my Cricut scraper to press the vinyl onto my laptop and VERY CAREFULLY started lifting away the transfer tape. Take your time with this step. I found a few spots where the vinyl wanted to stick to the tape and not the MacBook. When this happened, I used a weeding tool to lightly pull the vinyl from the tape. If it happens to tear, you can always place the piece where it belongs, making sure you line up the edges. The more intricate the design, the less likely it is that a tear like that will be noticeable.
This design turned out so well that I think I might make more! After all, the vinyl is removable, so the possibilities are truly endless! I’m thinking that I might make some seasonal designs – leaves for the Fall, snowflakes in Winter – you get the idea.
To create this same design for your MacBook, pop into my Member Vault and download the file. You can then upload it to Cricut and let your Maker do the work for you!
I’d love to see how your mandala turns out! Of course, you don’t just have to put this on your laptop. You could use it on a t-shirt or bag using Infusible Ink – WOW, that would look great! Be sure to upload your finished project to Instagram and tag me @the.real.tanya.jorgensen in it so I can see how amazing it looks. For some other fun Cricut projects, check out these posts:
Why You Need to Get a Cricut Maker
Easy DIY Valentine’s Day Heart Garland
Don’t yet have a Cricut Maker? Click to visit the Official Cricut Site and get started!
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