How to Make Rubber Stamps with the Cricut Maker – Tutorial

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I’m not going to lie and tell you cutting rubber with the Cricut Maker was easy!  It took me several dollars of ruined rubber and my first time seeing the Cricut “On” button turn red, but I can now proudly say I’ve done the necessary troubleshooting and know how to cut rubber with the Cricut Maker.  I made some super cute rubber stamps, and I’m excited to share!

This inspiration for this project started with me getting into sewing more and making my two daughters clothes.  Once the clothes are completed, they have NO idea how to determine the front from the back without tags.

I wanted to find a way to make customized tags to sew into the back of the clothes.  Thus, I needed to have a custom stamp to put on the fabric for the tags.  Thankfully, my Cricut Maker was up to the task.  The finished product was so CUTE, and I’m so pleased with how this worked out.

To save you the hassle of your own experimentation, I want to show you exactly how to make rubber stamps with a Cricut.

I used my Cricut Maker, but I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t be able to use your Cricut Explore, Cricut Air, or other Cricut cutting machine as long as you have the proper cutting blade.  I don’t own a Silhouette, so if you do and try this with success, let me know!

What tip works best when making rubber stamps with the Cricut?

While the Cricut Maker knife blade is AWESOME, I found it didn’t give me enough precision when cutting.  The default fine point blade didn’t cut the rubber deeply enough.  However, the Cricut Deep-Point blade, which has a 60-degree angle, was perfect!

For the record, I was also curious if you could deboss or engrave rubber with the Cricut Maker.  Debossing did nothing, and engraving just made it look like I had used my fingernail to scratch the top of the rubber.  So, not a great solution.

What Cricut mat should you use when cutting rubber?

I recommend using the purple StrongGrip mat.  If your mat is not new and still SUPER sticky, you’ll want to use painter’s tape to hold your rubber down on the mat.  When attaching the rubber to the mat, make sure to smooth it out and press it firmly.  I found this was best achieved using the braying tool.

How to Choose an Appropriate Design

This was my biggest problem when it came to cutting rubber with the Cricut Maker.  My first design was intricate and beautiful, but I learned rubber was too thick to allow any sort of small cutting with precision.  These intricate designs on cardstock or vinyl pose no issue for the Cricut, but the rubber just doesn’t have that option.

My first design was to make a heart with “Aly Designs” cut out from the inside.  The heart cut out no problem, but the small letters did not work.

Simple shapes and larger letters are perfect! Here are a few successful rubber cutouts during my first trial run.

How to Cut Rubber to Make Stamps With A Cricut

First, gather all your supplies.  We’ve talked about this a bit above, but I’ll put it down here again in case you’re an article skimmer like me!

Supplies:

• Cricut Maker
• Blade: Deep-Point blade
• Mat: StrongGrip cutting mat
• Painter’s tape or masking tape
• Brayer (I use my Mod Podge one, but Cricut also has a brayer.)
• Wood for base of stamp (I got mine from a 1″x2″ furring strip from Home Depot left over from my craft room pegboard install.  My husband cut them to size.)
• 1/16″ neoprene rubber sheet (THIS is the exact 6″x6″ one I used from Lowe’s, but Amazon has a similar one as well; just make sure you don’t buy thicker than 1/16“.)
• Craft glue
• Ink

The Procedure

First, create your image using Cricut Design Space.  Make sure it’s not too intricate and is composed of simple shapes.

Next, place your piece of rubber on your StrongGrip Cricut mat.  Use a brayer or other rolling tool to ensure the rubber adheres very well.  If it’s not, the rubber will move around.  If you want extra security, place a layer of painter’s tape or masking tape around the edges of the piece of rubber.

Go ahead and click “Make It” on your Cricut Design Space canvas, and set the material.  I used the neoprene setting with “More” pressure.  The more was necessary to get the smaller letters cut.  The Default pressure setting worked great for basic shapes, but anything fine that required delicate cutting needed “More.”

Make sure your Deep-Point blade is loaded in the clamp.

Move the star wheels all the way to the right of your Cricut, load your cutting mat with rubber, and then press the Start button.

Once the rubber has been cut by the Cricut, unload the mat.  Peel the rubber off the mat like you would cardstock.  If you need to, use the spatula or tweezers included in your tool kit to help.

Now, it’s time to glue the rubber to your wood pieces to make the actual stamps.  Remember, when it comes to gluing, you want to glue to where you’re looking at the mirror image.  I totally whiffed when I glued my first stamp, and it was backward when I went to ink it!

Here are two of my stamps that turned out really well!

Let the glue dry, and then start using your stamp!  I have been using Ranger ink, and so far, it’s been working well for my purposes of stamping fabric.  I haven’t done enough washes yet to give a true report, but I’m hopeful for its longevity!

So, can a Cricut Maker make rubber stamps?

Yes, it can! With a little bit of patience and understanding of the limitations of a Cricut Maker, you can make rubber stamps in no time at all and for a fraction of the price you’d normally purchase a stamp.

Enjoy cutting your own rubber stamps!