I will be showing a few projects you can use the Cricut engraving tool and the Debossing tool for. Both of these tools can only be used with the Cricut Maker. They will need a housing to put the tip in, but the same housing can be used for both tools. You can change out these tips. To read about the engraving tool, and see what I made with it, then check out this post here.
Please note: When putting thicker materials into your Cricut or materials that may scratch easily, move this white roller all the way to the right side.
The debossing tip has the number 21 on it. The Cricut Design Space will tell you this number/which tip to use when you go to make your project.
The first project I tried was cardstock. It would not let me select a normal thickness cardstock. So, I selected thin cardstock. It debossed just fine even though my cardstock was the normal 68lb cardstock. The issue was not completely cutting out my card on this setting. For my next debossing of cardstock, I selected the thin cardstock again, but selected more pressure. This gave me the same debossing look, but cut the normal thickness cardstock out completely.
For the faux leather I selected thin leather. I then selected more pressure. The debossing did not work well on the cheap leather I used. I had heard that lightly spraying the faux leather with some water helps, but I forgot to do this. Also, my design may have been to detailed for the small space. It contained a lot of hard turns.
The left side is the engraved. The right side is the debossed.
I tried the leather again. This time I lightly dampened it with water. I also taped it down with blue painters’ tape so it will not come up. I also did the rose pattern that was a little more simple than my previous design. It still did not come out well. I have seen others get nice results. I believe my leather is only good for cutting with the Cricut. I did test it, and the fine point blade did cut through my leather.
For the copper, I did not have a type of metal as a selection option. So, I selected balsa wood, because I wanted to make sure it made a strong impression on my copper. I also used blue painters’ tape (the only tape I had on hand at the time) to help keep my piece in place. This worked perfectly and was very smooth to run my finger across. The lines of my rose showed up nicely.
Depending on what type of material you will be working with will depend on which tool or tools you will want to purchase. If you want to do projects with harder materials like a metal spatula or acrylic, then you will want the engraving tool. If you work more with softer materials, like cardstock or thin metal, then the debossing tool would be better. Either way these are some fun tools to play around with. If you have either one or both let me know what material you like using them with.
If you are interested in buying the debossing tool, then click here.
