Instructions

Creating a Mug Design

If you're creating your own design from scratch, open the Mug Design Setup in Design Space.

If you scroll down, you'll see the option to choose the size of the mug you'll be creating as well as styles for the finished edge of the Infusible Ink paper. I'm a fan of all of them, but for this tutorial on how to use the Cricut Mug Press, I'll be using the 15 oz large ripped edge template.

The Design Space canvas will populate with this image. Notice there is a layer that says "Hide this layer before cutting." The layer is there to help you center your images on the face of your mug. Once you're done designing, just click the eye to hide it away.

The other two layers are important to keep around. The green part is where the Infusible Ink sheet will actually be. The other layer is a double cut that will cut all the way through the Infusible Ink sheet to make a perfectly sized wrapper to fit your mug--it's quite clever!

Since I'm making this mug for my yogi friend, I searched the image catalog for a lotus flower and found this really pretty one. I resized it to fit the template and centered it on one side of the cup using the guidelines. Then I hid the guide line later.

Select all the layers and click "Attach" at the bottom. If you want to only use part of the image like I did in the second mug I made, you'll need to slice and remove the excess pieces of image before cutting. At this point, you're ready to cut!

How to put Infusible Ink on your sticky mat

One of the hardest parts of using Infusible Ink to me is keeping my fingers off the surface of the sheet. If you're unfamiliar with Infusible Ink, the oils in your skin can remove the ink from the paper if you touch it. But without touching it, it's hard to get the paper to stick to the sticky mat to cut it out!

I didn't have much choice but to figure out a way to make things work--the solution was actually pretty simple. I used the XL scraper to gently press the Infusible Ink sheet to the sticky mat. And I love how one sheet of the mug press sized Infusible Ink is the perfect size for one mug! No waste!

Cutting your image

After your machine is loaded up, click "Make" and go through the steps to get your Cricut machine to cut. Choose Infusible Ink for your material, then BE SURE TO MIRROR YOUR IMAGE BEFORE YOU CUT! You can use the Maker, Explore Air 2 or the Joy to cut Infusible Ink.

Usually, you can just crack the Infusible Ink sheets and your image pops off the paper, but the lotus flower was a bit fine so I had to use my weeding tool to get all the nooks and crannies out of my design. Take the pieces off either end while you're weeding and you'll have a little sticky handle to wrap around your mug in the next step.

Wrapping the mug in Infusible Ink sheets

Cricut recommends wiping down the mug with an alcohol wipe and using a lint roller along the surface to remove any stray dust that will keep the ink from sticking to the mug. You probably should do that. I forgot, but it was fine. That's a definitely a couple steps to take if you want a guaranteed good result.

My preferred way of wrapping the mug with the infusible ink is to put the mug in the middle of the wrap and then bring either end of the wrap to the handle. Some things to watch for:

1. Make sure the ends are centered around the mug handle
2. Be sure the top and bottom of the wrap align with the top and bottom of the mug
3. Be sure the wrap is tight against the mug
4. Press down on the cut images to be sure they will have crisp edges from being close to the mug when pressed.

It's really not complicate, you just have to pay a bit of attention while you're putting the wrap on.

One touch pressing

The Cricut Mug Press is SO MUCH EASIER to use than the heat press with Infusible Ink. I literally want to make a new mug every day because it's not difficult at all to do. Press the button on the top of the machine to turn it on. When the light turns green, slide your mug in, making sure it's positioned so the Infusible Ink sheet will be covered when pressing. Press down on the lever on the top of the mug press, then wait for the beep!

Cool it down and unwrap

When the Cricut Mug Press beeps, your mug is ready to come out. Lift the lever, then carefully lift out the mug. The mug is going to be VERY HOT. I recommend using something like your heat press pad or a pot holder to put it on while it cools so it doesn't scorch your table.

The mug and Infusible Ink do have to cool down before you unwrap. It's pure torture, I know, but you have to wait to make sure everything has settled onto your surface correctly and you don't get any unwanted ghosting. Once it's cool, though, simply peel the sticky end off and reveal that amazing image you just made!