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Updated on July 23, 2024
Engraved Charm Bracelet | Cricut Maker Engraving Tool. Learn how to make a personalized engraved charm bracelet for a beautiful custom gift.
Gift-giving season is upon us! I love to make personalized gifts, especially for my family. I have made a lot of photobooks in the past, which are wonderful, but sometimes I want to create something else to give along with the photos.
Today, I will show you how to use the Cricut engraving tool to create an engraved charm bracelet.
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How to Make a Custom Engraved Charm with the Cricut Maker
The Cricut Maker makes adding a personal touch to custom bracelets easy. Custom engraving is done with a special tip and the Quickswap Housing. This tool is exclusive to the Cricut Maker family of machines.
This is a special gift for your mom or grandma to include all the kids’ or grandkids’ names on a personalized gift. You could also make charms to say best friends for a special friend.
Supplies:
- Cricut Maker
- StrongGrip Mat
- Engraving Tip and Quickswap Housing
- Metal Jewelry Blank
- Birthstone Charms
- Bracelet
Create The Design
Start by creating a design in Cricut Design Space. I wanted to engrave on a circle and a heart charm. I added the shapes to my mat and resized them to match the size of my blanks.
Then, I sized the text to be sure it would fit on the charms. I used the Soiree Lettering – Grace Script font I purchased from Design Space.
Cricut Design Space File: Engraved Charms
Set Linetype to Engrave
You want to choose Engrave from the drop-down menu under Linetype whenever you use the engraving tip.
The trickiest part about using the engraving tool is getting the design lined up on the mat to match up with the blank you are engraving on.
I first tried to line up all three at once and engrave them simultaneously, but I found doing them one at a time easier to ensure all of the designs turned out correctly.
Line Up the Design to Cut on the Mat
Start by choosing Select All for your blank outline and your text or image. Line it up to be centered over the cross lines for 1″ down and 1″ across on the mat.
Note: The lines on the mat you see on your design canvas align with the actual cutting mat.
Once lined up and centered, I used the eye tool next to the heart layer to hide it on the canvas.
Now, you can see where the writing is in relation to the lines on the mat. The letters are centered and right on the 1″ line.
When you click Continue and go to the mat preview page, your design will move up to the left corner of the mat.
Drag your design so it is lined up just like on the design canvas. You can use the zoom tool (at the bottom) to make this easier. I zoomed in to 200%.
Once you have your design lined up, click Continue.
Choose Material
Select your material from the drop-down menu. I tried both the aluminum sheets and stainless steel settings for my metal blanks, and they worked the same.
You may have to test a few different material settings to get the amount of engraving you want. Then, it will display to load the engraving tip (41) in clamp B.
Place your blank onto your mat, centering it over the two intersecting number 1 lines on the cutting mat. Use masking tape to secure your blank to the mat.
Note: With a fresh StrongGrip mat, I didn’t need to tape my blank down, but as I used my mat, I needed the tape, so I would suggest using the tape each time. Ensure the tape doesn’t cover where the engraving tip will be used on your blank.
Engrave The Blanks
Load your mat into the machine and click Go.
You can see below how I tried to line up all three engravable charms, and “Grandma” and “Olivia” were too much to the left.
When I engraved each individually, I could line them up more precisely. So, I did them one at a time.
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Color The Blanks
Once your blank has been engraved, use a lint roller or cloth to wipe away any metal fragments that could be released when engraving.
To darken up the engraving so you can see it better, I wrote over the engraving with a black Sharpie marker.
Use a damp cloth to wipe away the excess marker from your blank.
Create The Charms
I found cute birthstone charms at the craft store. Open the jump ring at the top using needle nose pliers and add the engraved jewelry blank to the charm. Before closing the jump ring, attach it to the bracelet.
Repeat these steps for all of the engraved charms. You can add any number of charms to the bracelet as you need.
It is so special to make a beautiful charm bracelet for Grandma with her grandkids’ names on it.
You can also add these charms to a necklace or even a keychain, depending on what the person you are making it for would like best!
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Klickgolv says
I love it! I’m a newbie to using my cricut, and I haven’t tried the engraving tool yet, but I might give this one a try! Thanks for the tips!!
Laura Silva says
You will love it! It is so much fun.
Laura
Green screen says
thanks for sharing this info with us
myveteransday says
Thank you for sharing this Detailed tutorial … it’s really amazing
Laura Silva says
You’re welcome! Have a great week.
xo,
Laura
Mark says
it is really amazing :D
Bonnie Hewett says
I engraved a dog tag. It was scratched all over in no time. Do you seal them with anything to keep them from getting scratched? I was thinking of nail polish or resin? I think all of the aluminum ones are pretty easily scratched.
Laura Silva says
Bonnie,
I will be honest, I haven’t done many engravings yet with my machine, so I haven’t had to deal with too much scratching. You could definitely use some type of clear sealer, and I am sure that would help. You could use a spray sealer, Mod Podge, or resin, depending on the intended use or desired look.
xo,
Laura
Melissa says
This is awesome Laura! I cannot wait to get this engraving tool! Thank you for sharing! ❤️
Laura Silva says
Melissa,
The new tools are so much fun to work with! I would love to see what you make.
xo,
Laura
Tami says
I love it! I’m a newbie to using my cricut, and I haven’t tried the engraving tool yet, but I might give this one a try! Thanks for the tips!!
Laura Silva says
Tami,
You will love all the things your Cricut machine can do! They have come such a long way and have so many great new features. I would love to see what you create. Feel free to share pictures or ask for help in our Creative Community!
xo,
Laura