How to use acetate to create a faux floating look in your projects - grab this free rubber ducky SVG & bubbles and lets get crafting!

If you are curious about how people have been utilizing acetate in their cake toppers and other Cricut projects, you have come to the right place. Acetate is a thin plastic that is transparent and used in crafting and baking regularly. In this project we are going to use it to create a floating effect with bubbles. You can find the free SVG files here for the project including a rubber ducky SVG, splish splash SVG, and the bubbles!

If you are having any trouble - learn how to download and upload all of the free SVG files on my website here.

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Materials Needed for the Acetate Technique

Since we are learning how to make a floating design we will be focusing on a cake topper assembly. You can technically use this technique in other projects like 3D letters - you can try those out for free here - or banners but today we will be making a rubber duck themed paper project.

You will need:

• Paper Cardstock - I tend to use 65-80 weight and have been loving Printworks DIY 
• Craft Glue - I use Bearly Arts and this link and code DINOMAMA save you 10%
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue - I get my glue sticks from the Dollar Tree now and I have a Lynn Lilly cordless glue gun (here is a similar option)
• Acetate - I tend to by 12 x 12 sheets and maximize my space on these.
• Foam Tape Squares - I get mine from the Dollar Tree but any foam mounting tape will work to add height to your project!
• Optional: Heat Transfer Vinyl & Heat Press/Iron

Cutting Your Project in Cricut Design Space

The bubble SVG file do not have the offset included in them so we have to add it onto the file. This is easy to do now that Cricut Design Space has the offset option on the desktop and the iPad versions. You want to make sure your offset is big enough to connect to each other. Once it's at an appropriate size you can add it to the back.

I like to change my color to something really different from the project so I went with purple. I had to use the contour feature in the bottom right hand corner of Cricut Design Space to get rid of the holes in the center of the bubbles offset. Make sure you check this before cutting!

I then pulled a rectangle from the free shapes and resized it to make a small handle and welded it to my offset. Remember the weld button is a one-and-done kind of button. You cannot un-weld your project, so take your time on this! If you want this to be even sturdier - make a second rectangle within design space to attach to the duck. The more points of contact, the easier it will be to stand up.

Once you arrange the rest of your project you can cut. I only did one layer of acetate, if you want it to be sturdier, duplicate your offset layer within design space and we will glut them together for more support.

I also want to mention that I doubled my bubbles - not for any design reason other than wanting more height in my project!

For my free rubber ducky SVG file - I doubled the body and the wings for height as well - a lot of cake toppers look so beautiful because of the immense amount of layering they have.

I cut my acetate with my Cricut Maker using the acetate material setting - you can use a Cricut Air however, I use the transparency setting on more pressure and I always cut it twice!!

Assembling SVG File with the Acetate

Once we have everything cut out with our card stock and our acetate - we can start assembling. Make sure to keep all your small pieces together in little containers. Nothing is worse than having your project ready to go and then realizing you're missing an eyeball.

I started with the bubbles, these are tedious because of those tiny foam squares and the cover they have on them. I use my tweezers to pull them off but doing this over and over again becomes sort of a pain - but again crafting is a process!

Once they were all assembled, I glued the bubbles onto my offset using hot glue. You can use craft glue for this as well however, I have found that hot glue is more secure (my opinion). This is also the step where I would double up my acetate if I were doing it! I would not double it before gluing down my bubbles and here is why: I don't want you to see the hot glue in the empty space. I know it would be clear but for a nice clean look, I would want to glue under where the bubbles are placed so you absolutely could not see the marks.

You can utilize this floating technique in so many designs including space, construction, and trains. Honestly, most designs can have floating effects, it's super fun to add on.

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Happy Crafting!