This tutorial teaches you everything you need to make your DIY Mouse Pad! Made without cork and ready in just a few simple steps with Cricut Infusible Ink, you can transfer any design you’d like! This tutorial is super easy and requires just a handful of crafty materials that are usually super easy to find.
Make Your Own DIY Mouse Pad
When you’re at the computer or laptop, you want to feel good about where you’re sitting and working. Have you ever thought about customizing your mouse pad? If you’ve ever wanted to look down on some inspirational quotes or words while you’re working, then this DIY mouse pad tutorial is for you because it teaches you exactly how to transfer quotes to the surface of a mouse pad.
Supplies Needed
- Cricut machine
- Cricuit Infusible Ink
- Mouse pad (rated for sublimation like these)
- Cricut EasyPress
- EasyPress mat
- Butcher paper
- White card stock
- Heat resistant tape
- Tweezers
- Cricut cut file
Note: You can also find some of these items at craft stores such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels.
How to Make a DIY Mouse Pad
This Cricut tutorial is so easy and fool-proof. You’ll feel so good about yourself after you’ve mastered this method of creating your own custom mouse pad!
Cricut Mouse Pad Video:
First, if you want to see me make this DIY mouse pad in a video, you can watch that below.
However, if you can’t watch the video or need more help, just keep reading for instructions.
Step 1
First, cut a design from an Infusible Ink sheet. A few things to keep in mind:
- Place the sheet liner side down on the mat.
- Mirror your image before cutting. You can see how to do that here.
- Be sure that your hands are clean and dry before handling Infusible Ink.
- You will want to locate your cut so that you have enough of the sheet to cover your entire mouse pad and the design will be in the center.
Step 2
Once cut, you will need to weed away the excess sticker material.
- Crack the piece by bending several times before weeding.
- Remember not to use traditional weeding tools with Infusible Ink. If you have issues with any of the pieces, just use tweezers to lift.
- I used a reverse weeding technique on this project where I left the background but removed the letters themselves. In this case, you will want to leave the centers of the letters in place.
Step 4
Now, you can add your Cricut Invisible Sheet to your mouse pad. First, start by covering the EasyPress mat with white card stock. Next, lay it on your mouse pad and put the weeded sheet into place. You will need to tape this down really well. I found that taping to my card stock worked best as the tape did not stick well to the mouse pad itself.
Step 5
Next, cover your design with butcher paper and press with Cricut EasyPress according to the instructions in the Cricut heat guide. Pick a substrate close to the mouse pad like a tote bag. I used my large EasyPress so I could do this all in one press. I have made projects like this Infusible Ink blanket where I pressed more than one so a smaller size EasyPress will definitely work in this case.
Step 6
Allow your project to cool completely as it will be really hot. Next, peel away your design from the DIY mouse pad to reveal the magic!
NOTE: Remember to discard the card stock as it will have some excess ink on it and you do not want that to get on other projects you make.
How to Use This DIY Mouse Pad
You can use this mouse pad for all of your gaming needs, office-related tasks, school, and so much more! Basically, anytime you need to use a mouse you can resort to this customized mousepad. You’ll love looking at your creations!
Love the idea for this DIY mouse pad? Try the Links Below as well!
- How to Make Infusible Ink Ceramic Coasters
- Distressed Infusible Ink Shirt How-To Tutorial
- DIY Makeup Bag with Cricut Infusible Ink
- The Basics of Image and SVG Licensing and Your Cricut
- Infusible Ink Baby Bodysuit
- I have so many more tips and tricks over on my guide to Infusible Ink if you have never worked with it before.
Want to print the instructions for making this DIY mouse pad? You can use the card below!
Equipment
- Cricut EasyPress
- EasyPress mat
Supplies
- Cricut Infusible Ink
- Mouse pad needs to be rated for sublimation
- Butcher paper
- White cardstock
- Heat resistant tape
- Tweezers
- Cricut cut file
Instructions
Cutting Cricut Infusible Ink
- First, cut a design from an Infusible Ink sheet. A few things to keep in mind:
- Place the sheet liner side down on the mat.
- Mirror your image before cutting. You can see how to do that here.
- Be sure that your hands are clean and dry before handling Infusible Ink.
- You will want to locate your cut so that you have enough of the sheet to cover your entire mouse pad and the design will be in the center.
- I have so many more tips and tricks over on my guide to Infusible Ink if you have never worked with it before.
Weeding Cricut Infusible Ink
- Once cut, you will need to weed away all of the excess.
- Crack the piece by bending several times before weeding.
- Remember not to use traditional weeding tools with Infusible Ink. If you have issues with any of the pieces, just use tweezers to lift.
- I used a reverse weeding technique on this project where I left the background but removed the letters themselves. In this case, you will want to leave the centers of the letters in place.
Making a Custom Mouse Pad
- Now that you have your Cricut Infusible Ink sheet ready, you can add it to your mouse pad. Start by covering the EasyPress mat with white cardstock. Then lay on your mouse pad and put the weeded sheet into place. You will need to tape this down really well. I found that taping to my cardstock worked best as the tape did not stick well to the mouse pad itself.
- Then cover your design with butcher paper and press with the Cricut EasyPress according to the instructions in the Cricut heat guide. Pick a substrate close to the mouse pad like a tote bag. I used my large EasyPress so I could do this all in one press. I have made projects like this Infusible Ink blanket where I pressed more than once so a smaller size EasyPress will definitely work in this case.
- Allow your project to cool completely as it will be really hot! Then peel away your design from the DIY mouse pad to reveal the magic! NOTE: Remember to discard the cardstock as it will have some excess ink on it and you don’t want that to get on other projects you make.
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How many mousepads do you think you could make with one pack of infuseable ink? I’ve never used it before, so I’m just curious to know how much I can get out of one container.
The listing for the product tells you how many 12×12 sheets you get. If you are covering the entire mousepad, you are probably looking at one sheet per item.