Sharing is caring!

Creating a quick fun Valentine’s day party plate is the perfect Cricut project for beginners. Using a Cricut machine (I have my eye on the new Cricut Maker) makes the craft project quick and easy even for kids to help with. You can make my design or find a ton of ideas on Cricut Design Space.

After the Christmas decorations are put away, and the snow is starting to pile up, I start planning for Valentine’s Day. When you have little kids cooped up in the house on cold snowy months it is the perfect time to start planning a Valentine’s Day Tea Party.  Bright red and pink colors of Valentine’s Day help cheer up the dreary gray skies. This is also a great time to start experimenting with new recipes and inviting new friends over to a fun Valentine’s Day Party.

Having a Valentine’s Day Tea Party is a fun way of teaching preschoolers and elementary schoolers table manners. Because we are also busy and often don’t all sit down to dinner at the same time, a lot of the basic table manners are not practiced. Having friends over for a tea party gives the perfect opportunity to practice basic etiquette when visiting friends.

How to DIY a Decorative Serving Plate Using Cricut

MATERIALS & TOOLS

• White Serving Plate
• Cricut Cutting Machine
• Standard Grip Cutting Mat
• Cricut Fine-Point Blade (comes with all Cricut machines)
• Expressions Vinyl Your color
• Transfer Tape
• Cricut Weeding Tool
• The “Made with Love” cutting File – Download this file for free by using the form below.

HOW TO CUT OUT THE PROJECT USING THE CRICUT

First, you will need to download the “Made with Love SVG file. Just fill out the form below to get the file for free!

GET THE FREE MADE WITH LOVE VALENTINE’S PLATE SVG FILE

I keep all my downloadable files and freebies in the Resource Library.
Access to the resource library is FREE and open to anyone. Get the password by filling out this form:

Start your project by opening Cricut Design Space and open a New Project.

UPLOAD THE CVG FILE

Then, upload the SVG file by selecting the Upload Button and the Upload Image. Next, drag & drop or select the SVG file you want to upload.

After the SVG is uploaded, add the image to your design canvas.

Look for any of the other images in Design Space that you would like to add to the design.  The heart image I used is “Heart Doily by Martha Stewart #M30976) I separated the layers and only use the solid layer of the image.

When you have all the elements on your screen, resize them to fit the shape of your plate.

I purchased my plate at Target but you can find one just like it: Click on the picture to purchase: 

MAKE A BEAUTIFUL VALENTINE’S PARTY DINNER OR SERVING PLATE

Now it is time to make your project. I always suggest that you make a cut template out of card stock before you cut the more expensive vinyl. This will be a template to make sure the design fits your plate and is the design you like. When I cut my template I realized it was a little too big and I needed to downsize the words and the size of my hearts.

Now laid out your paper template on the plate and decided where I wanted every image to be placed.  Once you have the design as you like it, make these changes to the design space.

I then decided that I needed to add more hearts to the design so I used the Duplicate Button and made extras to be able to design with.

MAKE YOUR DESIGN

The first screen you will see is the Mat Preview Screen. This will show you all of the different mats you will need for the project. If you make the image the same color they will print off on one mat. If you have several colors each color will be its own mat.

Click on the Continue Button in the lower right of the screen.

This will connect your Cricut Machine to Design Space. Make sure that the cut setting is on Vinyl Setting.

It is time to take the color vinyl and lay it on the cutting mat. Press the Go Button and load the Mat to begin the machine cutting your vinyl.

Once your pattern is cut, remove the mat from the machine and cut off any excess vinyl that wasn’t used so you can use this for another project.

Now it is time to start weeding out the vinyl from your design that you do not want on the plate. (just like you weed your garden you will take out the unwanted vinyl from the project)

The Best Magnifying Lamp for Weeding Vinyl

One of my favorite new tools is a magnifying lamp which is a Brightech Magnifying Lamp.  A lot of times when you are weeding your vinyl there are so many little tiny pieces that are hard to see even with readers.  I love this Brightech Lamp as it puts an extra light on my project and I can lift the top and there is the magnifying function to help me see all the little pieces of vinyl I need to remove.  

Transferring Your Design To The Plate

After you have your image weeded, next you need to cut a piece of the transfer tape to lay over the top. Transfer tape does just what it says it helps you transfer the design from the vinyl backing onto your project.  The best transfer tape I have ever found is from Expressions Vinyl Easy Weed Transfer Tape.  By far the best I’ve ever used.

Make sure you rub the Transfer Tape by using a credit card, your hand, or a Cricut Tool to make sure that the vinyl is sticking to the transfer tape.  Remove the vinyl pattern from the vinyl backing which now should be on your transfer tape.

Hover over your plate to make sure that the pattern is where you’re going to want it on the plate. With regular adhesive vinyl, you can re-position a little but if you have little tiny pieces sometimes they stick and are hard to get a handle on.

Again using your fingers a credit card or a Cricut Tool, rob off the pattern onto the plate so that it sticks to the plate and will be easily removed from the transfer tape.

Slowly and add an angle remove your transfer tape from your design, and you have perfect placement of your design on your brand new Valentine’s Day party personalized serving tray or plate.

At this point, I use a smaller piece of transfer tape over my hearts and then cut out each individual one before I removed it from the backing. Play around with the positioning before I repeated the same steps above to put the heart on the plate.  The smaller salad items are much easier to position and get on your item.

While this may seem like a lot of steps your design is finished and easily can be made in about 25 minutes. Just make sure you have all your supplies handy when you start.

Now your Valentine’s Day Party Plate or serving try is ready for the big day. What “Made with Love” food are you going to serve on your plate?

Other Valentines Posts You May Be Interested In!

Valentines DIY Vinyl Coasters

10 Fun Valentines Party Ideas

DIY Vinyl Valentines Placemat

DIY Vinyl Valentines Mug

Valentines Crafts for Kids Chocolate Heart Candies

Easy Valentine’s Day Pom Pom Wreath

VALENTINE’S DAY LOVE LETTER & ENVELOPE ART

You May Want To Watch This Video On How To Use Adhesive Vinyl

For Your Next Party, you need this 12 page beautifully designed Workbook Tips & Trick, Manners & Etiquette, for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, Baby/Wedding Shower, & Birthdays. The E-Book is full of fun facts and tips to make your next party a success.