I’m not quite sure where I originally saw these Grinch baubles may be in one of the Crafty Facebook groups, maybe on Pinterest.
Either way, I knew it was something the entire family would love to see on our Christmas tree.
This tutorial does require a Cricut which is a large investment (but totally worth it IMO).
If you don’t have a Cricut then I recommend either getting the vinyl pre-cut online from the likes of Etsy or eBay and applying that directly to a bauble of your choosing or just buying the bauble ready-made.
What You Need
- Cricut (Maker or Air doesn’t matter as they both cut vinyl)
- Cricut Mat
- Cricut Weeding tools
- Vinyl (in a colour of your choice for the Grinch outline – I’ve done this in both black and in white)
- A bauble
- Transfer tape
- Scissors
How To Make A Grinch Bauble
Start by downloading the Grinch Face SVG file.
Luckily, Ruffles and Rainboots have this free one that you can use for personal creations.
Once you’ve downloaded the files, unzip them from the zipped folder and head to the Cricut design space where you can upload the image.
In this case, you’ll want to upload the SVG file.
Add that file to your new project, and adjust the size of the file to the size you want to fit your bauble.
To achieve this I measured my bauble roughly and decided how I’d want the Grinch’s face to sit.
Pro Tip: If you’re struggling to measure your bauble or apply the vinyl consider applying a small amount of blue-tac to the bottom.
You can easily adjust the measurements of your face by using the arrows at the bottom right of the image, or by using the size feature in the toolbar at the top.
Once you’re happy with the size of your Grinch face, weld the pieces together so that the entire face cuts as one.
You’ll find the Weld button on the bottom right-hand side of the Cricut design space on the desktop.
Next, you’ll want to cut your vinyl. In my case, my Grinch face is around 1.5″ x 1.5″ so I’ve cut around 2″ x 2″ of vinyl and applied it to my LightGrip Cricut mat.
Adjust the settings on your Cricut based on the material you’re using – in our case vinyl.
I’m using the Cricut premium vinyl so I went to the slightly higher vinyl+ setting due to the thickness of this particular vinyl.
Then, begin the cutting process.
I avoided using the fast mode for this particular craft again due to the density of this particular vinyl and the intricateness of this cut I wanted to achieve the best final finish I could.
I began weeding the cut vinyl away from the excess and found myself struggling regardless of the settings I’d adjusted to allow for this possibility.
If you’re able to weed away your vinyl normally and apply the transfer tape, great! – If does not then follow the below.
I, therefore, adopted a method I’d seen on Youtube and applied the transfer tape prior to weeding.
Then after using the scraper on the front and back of the vinyl and transfer tape, I removed the vinyl carefully from the transfer tape.
Once the vinyl was on the tape I cut between the smile and the eyes/nose to apply them separately due to the shape of the bauble and the size of the smile.
Pro Tip: The V shape cut helped me apply the vinyl smile on the round surface.
Once you’re happy with the position of your vinyl rub the transfer tape down to secure the vinyl into place.
Then gently remove the transfer tape from the bauble being sure the vinyl remains in position.
ProTip: If the vinyl doesn’t stay in a place you’ll need to rub the transfer tape down further.
There you have it, the finished DIY Grinch bauble.