How to Cut the Free Cookies for Santa Christmas SVG on Cricut & Silhouette

When the snow's piling up outside and the woodstove's going, there's nothing better than a little Christmas crafting at the kitchen table. Here's a free cut file from our Rustic Christmas Sayings collection, Cookies for Santa, our way of saying thanks for supporting a small Northern Ontario shop. Below you'll find the download, then a step-by-step for cutting it on a Cricut or a Silhouette and putting it on a cookie plate, a mug or a tea towel.

Download the free SVG

What's in the download

• SVG: ready for Cricut Design Space and most cutting software (single colour, text converted to shapes)
• DXF: for Silhouette Studio Basic Edition and other machines (units in inches)
• PNG: transparent 300 DPI image for print-then-cut, sublimation layouts and previews
• README: cutting tips and terms of use

Download the free SVG (ZIP, 182 KB) Free for personal use. Please don't share the files themselves; send friends to this page instead. Full terms are in the README.

The design comes sized about 10.5 in wide (no more than 11.5 in tall). Resize it freely for your project, but keep it above about 4 in wide for small vinyl so the thin bits stay easy to weed.

What you'll need

• A Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine, a cutting mat and a weeding hook
• Permanent (outdoor) adhesive vinyl and transfer tape for a plate or mug, or iron-on / heat transfer vinyl (HTV) for a tea towel
• Rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth, a scraper or old gift card, and a heat press or household iron for HTV

Every vinyl is a little different, so always check your material maker's recommended cut and heat settings. The settings below are general starting points, not gospel. A small test cut first saves a lot of grumbling.

Cutting it on a Cricut (Design Space)

1. Unzip the download on your computer. You'll find the SVG inside the 04-cookies-for-santa folder.
2. In Design Space, start a new project, click Upload, then Upload Image, and choose the .svg file. Add it to your canvas.
3. It's one single-colour layer, ready to cut. If any letters look separated, select everything and click Attach so it all cuts in place.
4. Size it: with the lock on, set the width to fit your project, at 4 in wide or wider. Measure the flat spot on your plate or mug, or the space on your tea towel, before you commit.
5. Click Make It. Pick your mat type and place the vinyl on a clean mat, coloured side up for adhesive vinyl.
6. For HTV, turn on Mirror on the mat preview screen and load the vinyl shiny carrier side down. Forget the mirror and your words will read backwards. (Ask us how we know.)
7. Choose the material setting that matches your vinyl (for example a permanent vinyl or an iron-on setting), checking it against your vinyl maker's recommendation. Load the mat and cut.
8. Weed: peel away the background, then use your hook to lift out the insides of letters and small pieces. Work slowly around the thin parts, and keep the outline of the plate or mug in mind.

Cutting it on a Silhouette (Studio)

1. Unzip the download. In Silhouette Studio Basic Edition, use File > Open and choose the .dxf file (it's set up in inches). If you have Designer Edition or higher, you can open the .svg instead.
2. Check the size on screen and scale it to fit your project, keeping it at 4 in wide or wider. If any shapes seem out of place, select all and group them.
3. For HTV, right-click and Flip Horizontally (mirror) before cutting, and load the vinyl shiny carrier side down.
4. Open the Send tab, choose your material type, and confirm the blade depth, force and speed with your vinyl maker's recommendations. Do a small test cut in a corner.
5. Make sure the design has a cut line (the outline should show highlighted), load your mat and send it to cut.
6. Weed it just as you would for Cricut: background first, then the letter centres and small bits.

Applying permanent vinyl to a cookie plate or mug

1. Clean the surface with rubbing alcohol on a lint-free cloth and let it dry completely. Fingerprints and dish soap residue are the usual culprits when vinyl lifts.
2. Cut a piece of transfer tape a little bigger than the design. Lay it over the weeded vinyl and burnish firmly with a scraper, front and back.
3. Slowly peel the backing away at a sharp angle. If a letter wants to stay behind, lay it back down and burnish again.
4. Position the design on the plate or mug. For curved mugs, start in the centre and smooth outward, and snip the tape edges if it starts to wrinkle.
5. Burnish well onto the surface, then peel the transfer tape back slowly at a low angle.
6. Let it cure before using or washing it. Check your vinyl maker's recommended cure time; giving it a few days is a good habit.
7. Hand-wash only. Keep vinyl-decorated plates and mugs out of the dishwasher and microwave, and keep vinyl away from where food or lips touch it. For a cookie plate, place the design so the cookies sit on clean plate, or decorate the rim.

Applying iron-on (HTV) to a tea towel

1. Wash and dry the tea towel first, without fabric softener, so it doesn't shrink after you've pressed it.
2. Preheat the towel for a few seconds with your heat press or iron to drive out moisture and smooth wrinkles.
3. Place the weeded, mirrored design shiny side up. Use a ruler or fold the towel in half to find the centre.
4. Press using the temperature, time and pressure your HTV maker recommends for cotton. With a household iron, press firmly and don't slide it around; cover with a pressing sheet or parchment if your vinyl calls for one.
5. Peel the carrier according to your vinyl type: some are hot peel, some warm peel and some cold peel. If any edges lift, lay the carrier back down and press again for a few seconds.
6. Wait before the first wash (again, follow your HTV maker), then wash inside out on gentle and skip the dryer's hottest setting.

A few friendly notes

The full terms are in the README: unlimited personal use, and please don't resell, share or redistribute the files themselves as digital files. If you post your finished plate or tea towel, a little credit to Designs by The Chalk Shop always puts a smile on our faces. Have a question about cutting it? Send us a message; we're happy to help.

Locally made · Meaningfully yours.