Cricut Monogram Video Tutorial: Creating a Shadow Layer

Learn how to easily make a Cricut monogram and a shadow layer too. A layered monogram stands out so much more!

Hi Friends!  I have been working on a lot of glitter tumblers lately and there are so many ways to decorate them.

I have a few more tutorials coming your way on how to add pictures and glitter images, but before we get to those I thought I’d share with you how I make a Cricut monogram.

I also have a video tutorial for you on how to create a monogram shadow so it stands out more.

You can use this technique with any wording that doesn’t come with a shadow layer, which is almost every font you download that is not a true “Cricut font”.

How to Make a Cricut Monogram using Monogram It! Lite app

To make the Cricut monogram, the easiest way is with an app.  I mentioned the Monogram It! Lite app on my Ultimate Resource Guide of Cricut Ideas (click here) and on my glass etching tutorial.

You can download it for free on both Android and Apple play store (Android found here).  After a few months of using it, I ended up paying for the extras for a whopping $0.99!

It is a pretty straight forward app.  Just enter the letters you want to be monogrammed and click on the different fonts on the bottom row.

I have found it easiest to then email myself the file and download it on to my computer.  Or you can share it to a cloud you have and download it from there.

I then upload it to Cricut Design Space.

I always set it to complex but I’m sure the others are fine too.  Once you hit continue you will need to click on the white spaces and make them disappear.

Keep moving your cursor over all the white spaces and clicking so they turn into the checkered pattern.

You can zoom in and out with the magnifying glasses in the top right to get the small spaces. Once you have all the white gone, click continue.

Then save as Cut File and insert the Cricut monogram into your canvas.

If you only want one layer, you can stop there and go on to “Make It”. 

If you’d like to create a shadow (an image that’s slightly bigger like I have), watch my video tutorial at the top of the page on how to make one or keep reading because Cricut Design Space has changed some.

How to Make a Double Layer Monogram on Cricut

Update: You can now make a shadow layer with the new offset feature!

CDS has updated a few times since I posted this tutorial on how to create a shadow layer in Cricut Design Space, so I wanted to show you the new way I do it in case you are having problems.

This is still similar to the video, but I use a different site to convert the PDF.

With your monogram in Cricut Design Space, make sure it’s selected (by clicking on it), then change it to Print. Click on the drop-down Fill menu at the top and change it to Print.

Click on Make it and then Continue on the Prepare Screen. Click on Send to Printer and you should get a pop up for the Print Setup. I am on a PC, so I’m not sure if it’s different on a Mac.

There used to be a way to right click and save the image which saves a few steps when creating a monogram shadow. But for me, CDS is not showing me the image with the bleed on to save.

Soooo, on my Printer options, I get a save as Print to PDF option. If you somehow have a save as JPEG or PNG, that would save the next step!

Make sure the Add Bleed is toggled on (it will be green) and then click Print.

Give it a name and save it to somewhere you’ll remember.

Now we need to convert the PDF to a PNG. In the video, I used a different converter website, but when I went to that same website it now saves it as a Zip file which creates an extra step.

So now I use this website: freepdfconvert.com

Click on Choose PDF and then on your file. It will convert and then click on the Download button.

Go back into Design Space and click on Upload and then on Browse. Find the shadow monogram layer PNG and select it.

Click on Complex and now it’s time to clean it up.

Make sure the wand is chosen in the upper left-hand corner and use you cursor to click on all the white spaces so they turn to the checkerboard pattern.

To get rid of the square, you can either use the crop function or choose the eraser and erase the line with your cursor.

Click on Continue and then on Save as Cut Image (right-hand image) and then Save.

Now insert it into your canvas. You might need to Send to Back. Then drag the double arrows to size it down so that it creates the shadow behind the monogram.

Pretty easy, right?  You can use this technique with almost anything you want a shadow layer of like I did with multiple word shadow in this tutorial.

I cut my top layer out of glitter Cricut vinyl and the shadow out of Oracal 651 and applied them to my glitter tumbler.

For this tumbler, I applied mod podge over the top instead of epoxy.  Click here to check out full tutorial how to make this decorated tumbler with pictures!

If you’d like to apply a split letter monogram to your glitter tumbler, check out my post here where you can download a FREE script letter monogram alphabet file!

Or you can check out another video tutorial if you’d like to learn how to make a split letter monogram.

If you want more tumbler ideas, make sure to browse through my personalized tumbler post.

If you’d like to save this tutorial on how to make a layered monogram on Cricut for later, simply hover over the top left of the image below and PIN It now!

Thanks for stopping by!  Let me know if you have any questions! Have a creative day!