Using Cricut Maker to Cut Paper Bead Strips – Free Template Links Included

*I WILL INCLUDE A LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR LINKS TO BOTH CRICUT DESIGN SPACE TEMPLATES MENTIONED IN THIS POST VIA MY FACEBOOK PAGE, FREE FOR PERSONAL USE. 

After much trial and error, and almosting giving up entirely on the idea, I finally figured out how to cut paper bead strips on my Cricut Maker. Yes, there is some paper waste, but much of the leftover paper can be hand-trimmed and used to make smaller beads, so it’s not too much waste.

In the first set of photos I’m using mulberry paper, which Cricut Design Space already has in it’s material list. You MUST use the round cutting wheel, not the blade, as the paper is very fibrous and almost fabric-like. Also, you MUST use a light-grip mat, or the paper strips will shred and/curl as you try to remove them. It also helps if the light-grip mat has been used and lost some of it’s grip…try dabbing it with some cloth or a towel to removed some of the stickiness.

In the second set of photos I used regular scrapbook paper and the fine cutting blade. For the scrapbook paper I hand cut the strips in the center after removing them from the mat, shortening the strips by half. For the mulberry paper I used the entire long strip, just folding each strip in half, over itself, before rolling, as mulberry paper is quite thin and I wanted a nice, thick barrel bead. I love barrel-shaped beads.

As for the template, in Cricut Design space I inserted a circle shape, unlocked it to stretch it long and shorten the width to make it thin. Then I copied and pasted it twice, lining the two up alongside the original, then grouped the three and copied and pasted those a few time to fill the sheet.

*IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRY THIS OUT, HERE IS A LINK TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE WHERE YOU WILL FIND TWO SEPARATE POSTS WITH LINKS TO EACH TEMPLATE ON CRICUT DESIGN SPACE: BeadyeyedBeth’s Facebook Page