“How do I upload images in Cricut Design Space?”
One of the most common questions asked about the Cricut Explore ever since it debuted in 2014 has been “How do I upload images in Cricut Design Space?” Users love the idea of having multiple resources available for images, but the ability to upload your own images is intimidating for some users. If you’ve never used this feature before, I’m here to tell you not to be afraid! It’s really a simple process, and I’m going to show you how I use the feature to create cohesive parties that look pulled together but are done with ease (thanks to my Cricut of course!)
Step One: Find the Images or Clip Art You Would Like to Upload
If you don’t have the clipart yet, but have a theme in mind, Etsy is a great resource. Here are a few of my favorite designers (affiliate links):
Make sure you look at the licensing terms – if you plan to sell the item you are creating, you need a commercial lisence. If it is just for personal use, you should be fine with a personal license.
My friend is having a gymnastic party for her daughter, so I looked through my usual go to designers listed above, and found this pack that I loved:
I purchased the pack, and downloaded the file. Before you can use it in Design Space though, you may need to unzip the file. Find the file with your downloads, and if it has a zipper on it, right click and choose Extract All. Once the extraction is done, your images will be in a new folder, ready for use.
Step 2: Upload Images in Cricut Design Space
Next, open Cricut Design Space in your browser. Start a new project, with a blank canvas. On the left hand menu, choose “Upload Image”.
Select “Upload Image” again on the screen that pops up.
Choose “Browse”…
And locate the folder with your images in it. If possible, use the PNG version of the image, as it will have a transparent background.
Select the image you would like to use and click “Open”.
A small preview of your image will appear next, along with a choice to choose simple, moderate, or complex image. My image is in the middle, since the colors contrast pretty well and there is no background.
Next, you will come to the clean up screen. On the right hand side are magnifying glasses to zoom in or out on your image. On the left are tools to clean up your image – the magic wand will select a section of the image that is the same color as where you click, and the eraser will erase just the area you click on. If you image has a background, this is where you would get rid of it.
Once you have cleaned up your image and hit continue, you will have a final preview which will ask if you want to save the image as a plain cut file or a print and cut file. For clip art images like this where I want to preserve the details inside, I always choose print and cut. The cut will just cut an outline of the gymnast.
After you finish that screen, you will be taken back to the screen you started with, where you can upload another image or insert the image you just uploaded into your post. Your uploaded design will be in the strip along the bottom, and you just have to click for it to be inserted onto your canvas.
Lastly, size your image using the diagonal arrows. That’s it, you’re all done! You’ve just uploaded an image to Design Space. That wasn’t so hard, was it? Each time you do it, it gets easier and you get faster, so keep practicing.
These make great projects for a party because they are easy to coordinate and require little work. You could print a bunch of these gymnasts in various poses and make cupcake toppers (print on cardstock and tape a toothpick on the back), cup or favor bag stickers (print on printable vinyl), banner decorations (use foam dots to create a dimensional effect), and so much more!
What’s your favorite feature of the Cricut Explore? This one if pretty far up on my list, along with the iPad app. I’d love to hear how you use the images you upload in Design Space – leave me a comment, or as always, find me on instagram – I’m at @simplycraftedlife.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
Tarra says
How do i add an image inside of another i.e the year 2019 and add custom photos inside of the year image?
Sarah says
Hi Tarra – you would have to do that before uploading, in an image editor like photoshop, or you can upload the photo as an image fill/pattern and use print and cut.