Cute Penguins & Card Tutorial 🌟 CCC 2025

Today, we’re making not one, not two, but three adorable paper penguins from cardstock.

There’s something about a penguin craft that brings a smile to your face, and these layered penguin SVG designs are no exception.

With three different styles to choose from – a classic black-and-white penguin, a fluffy baby emperor penguin, and a wild-haired rockhopper – there’s plenty of variety to work with.

You can make a whole penguin family to decorate your home for the holidays!

There are so many fun ways to use these penguins. Add them to a greetings card, scrapbook page, or shadow box. Write on the back and turn them into gift tags. Pop a magnet on the back to decorate your fridge. Or add a ribbon loop and make Christmas ornaments. The possibilities are endless!

The second half of the tutorial explores how to create your own custom card backgrounds in Cricut Design Space. You’ll learn how to combine simple shapes and existing images to build designs that suit your penguins perfectly — no design skills needed. It’s an easy way to make your projects look polished and one-of-a-kind.

These little penguins might be small, but they definitely have big personalities. And once you see how quick and fun they are to put together, you might just find yourself cutting more than one. 🐧

Winter penguins craft: materials supply list

Here is a list of the materials that I used to make this project.

Please note that some of the links included in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.

• Cricut machine
• Light blue Cricut cutting mat
• Coloured Card (any thickness)
• Glue (I like Bearly Art Glue and Collall)
• 3D foam pads
• (Optional) Scoring wheel or scoring stylus (don’t have one? Try these tips)

This project is suitable for the following types of Cricut machines: Explore series, Maker series, Joy Xtra and Joy.

Foundation learning

If you're new to making papercrafts with your cutting machine, check out these links to get you started.

They include videos on topics such as: which file to use with your type of cutting machine, how to load the files into your cutting machine's software, how to cut cardstock with your type of cutting machine, how to recolor and modify/customize the cut files and tips for displaying your projects.

• Help guides for Cricut machines
• Help guides for Silhouette machines
• Help guides for ScanNCut machines

The following tutorials are Cricut-specific, but many of the ideas will work similarly with a Silhouette or ScanNCut machine and any cut files that are shared in them are compatible with all types of cutting machine.

• How to score with a Cricut (even without scoring tools)
• Print then cut tutorial
• Design Space tools (Combine, Attach, Slice, Weld, Flatten, etc.)
• Pattern fill tutorial (for making backgrounds & cutting images to a specific shape/size)
• Free envelope SVGs that can be sized to fit any card
• Presentation boxes for handmade cards
• How to write inside cards with Cricut pens
• How to cut layered designs at a small size
• Design Space tips & tricks
• Cricut pens tutorial
• How to mount multiple designs in the same frame with magic guides

DIY penguins video tutorial

Watch the video below to see how to make this project. Keep scrolling for a written tutorial.

PART 1: Making the penguins

This tutorial comes in two parts. The first part (that you’re reading now!) is on making the penguins as standalone designs.

Part 2 shows how to incorporate them onto a greetings card with a custom snow scene background.

Here’s how to make cute layered penguins using a Cricut machine.

Step 1) Download the cutting file & upload to Design Space

Get the files using the box below.

Before you upload the SVGs to Design Space, you need to unzip the download folder that they come in.

• How to unzip a folder on Windows computer
• How to unzip a folder on a Mac
• How to unzip a folder on an iPad/iPhone
• How to unzip a folder on an Android device

After unzipping, upload the SVG file(s) into your cutting machine software.

Not sure how to use cut files with your type of machine? The following links lead to videos on how to open cut files in:

• Cricut Design Space
• Silhouette Studio
• CanvasWorkspace (for ScanNCut machines)

The download folder also contains printable PDF versions of the templates for hand cutting.

If you are using Cricut Design Space, start a new project and then click the “Upload” button on the left of the screen.

You can then either click “Browse” to find the files on your computer, or drag-and-drop them in.

Each penguin comes as a separate SVG file, so you’ll need to follow the upload process 3 times to make them all.

Select the files in the “01 Cricut Version” subfolders that start svg-01 in the filename.

Press “Upload” on the next screen.

After uploading, the design should be automatically inserted onto your Canvas.

To hide the left sidebar (to give you more space for designing!), click the arrow that’s about half way down the page.

If the design doesn’t get inserted onto your Canvas, it will show under “Uploads” in your “Recently Uploaded Images”. Click on it and then press “Add to Canvas” to put it onto your Project.

Step 2) Size the penguins

Click the penguins on your canvas and use the width/height boxes near the top of the screen to make them the size that you want to cut.

TIP: Make sure the padlock icon above the width/height boxes is CLOSED before you resize. If it appears “open”, click it with your mouse to close it.

I cut the two adult penguins at 4.25 inches tall and the baby penguin at 3.25 inches tall.

My cute animal series is especially designed to work well at small size. You can cut them as small as 2.5 inches tall. Here’s a tutorial on how to cut designs really small with a Cricut.

If you are cutting the penguins on the original Cricut Joy machine, you’ll need to make them a maximum of 4.5 inches on the shortest side.

Want to frame your penguins? Here are some tips for making sure the design fits perfectly into a shadow box frame:

The below video has some tips on how to frame your craft project, including my Number One hack for making sure that your design will fit perfectly every time without wasting any of your craft materials.

Don't have a Cricut? Check out my top framing tips for:

• Silhouette Studio (for Silhouette machines)
• CanvasWorkspace (for ScanNCut machines)

Want to learn more about designing your own shadow box backgrounds? Check out this CWS Premium Class on creating custom backgrounds for frames and greetings cards.

There are matching versions of this video for Silhouette and ScanNCut machines on the Cutting Machine Help page.

Step 3) Cut out all the layers

If you’re cutting all three penguins at the same time, it’s a good idea to check the colours before cutting.

Click the “Material Colors” link on the top-right of the screen.

This changes the layers panel to show all the design pieces organized by colour.

You can drag-and-drop similar colours to combine them into the same colour – that way, you’ll only need to load your Cricut mat once.

When you’re happy with how the project is looking in Design Space, click “Make” and follow the instructions on-screen to cut out all the pieces.

To change the paper size, go into the dropdowns over on the left side of the screen and choose the paper size that you want to use. You need to change it for every single colour.

To save space on your cardstock, you can move things around by clicking and dragging. Make sure when you’re moving things about that nothing overlaps because otherwise, it won’t cut out properly.

TIP: New to using cardstock with your cutting machine? Check out these machine help guides for Cricut, Silhouette and ScanNCut that go through every step of the process, including tips for getting the best quality cuts from your machine.

Step 4) Stick the penguins together

Use 3D foam pads and glue to stick the layers together.

Use these guides to see the order to stick the layers together in.

Printable versions of these assembly guide are included in the folder when you download the cut files.

My favourite glues to use on papercraft projects are Bearly Art Glue and Collall All Purpose Glue.

These are great because they don’t “warp” or bend the cardstock like some glues do. You can use as much of it as you want and the card stays perfect – and it dries perfectly clear too!

Bearly Art Glue comes with a tiny nozzle to make it easy to apply glue to small areas of card. The Collall glue doesn’t come with this, so it’s easiest to decant it into needle tip applicator bottles so that you have more control.

The foam pads that I use are from “Dot & Dab”, but any foam squares will work. If yours are big then you may need to cut them smaller with scissors to fit inside the edges of the layers.

When adding the foam pads to larger pieces of card, make sure you add some in the middles of the pieces of card so it gives stability to the middles.

If you don’t add any foam pads in the middles then it can “sag” under the weight of the other layers which doesn’t look as good.

Continue sticking the pieces together, following the assembly guide, until your penguins are all finished.

PART 2: Custom greetings card backgrounds

Here’s how to design your own greetings card backgrounds in Cricut Design Space.

I’m using images from Cricut Access for my card, but you could upload SVGs you have found elsewhere if you prefer.

Step 1) Create a base card

Click “Shapes” and select a square.

Click the padlock icon between the width and height box to “open” it up. That lets you type custom numbers into both the width and height boxes.

Size the square to your card. I am making a 5×7 inch card, so my base rectangle is 10×7.

Change the colour to one suitable for your card. I’ve chosen a light blue, to represent the sky.

Step 2) Choose some images

Click “Images” and search for suitable imagery.

I want to build up snow in the background for my penguins to stand on.

First, I searched for “snow drift” and inserted image #M41D0B860

I made the image the width of my card (5 inches) and dragged it roughly in place on my base card.

Then I searched for “hill” and inserted image #3M505D786E

This wasn’t quite tall enough to fill the space I wanted it to fill.

If an image has a straight top, bottom or side then you can extend it by adding a rectangle the same width (or height if you’re adding to the left/right sides).

Use the “Align” tools to make sure the edges are neat.

Then, select the rectangle and the image and press “Unite > Weld” to join them together into one layer.

I had a gap showing the blue base card between my two snowy images, which looked wrong.

So I did the same thing again and added a square, then Welded it to the top image.

Then, I dragged the layer back to underneath the white snow. Now the gap is gone!

Step 3) Tidy up the layers

When you’re happy with your background, spend some time thinking about how the layers will cut in their current state.

Will they all go together neatly, or will you have some untidy “overlaps” of colour?

I was worried about my card getting too thick to post on a regular postage stamp, so I decided to cut my two snowdrift layers apart from each other so that the two bits of cardstock wouldn’t have any overlap.

First, make sure all the images are the full width of your card (they can be smaller if you aren’t having them touch both sides).

“Duplicate” the smaller layer and put it in place, lining it up exactly with the original.

Then, select all three image layers and press “Align > Align Right” to make sure they are neatly aligned.

Select one of the front pieces and the back piece and “Slice” them out from each other.

Delete the unneeded Slice results and you’ll be left with one neat cutout.

It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the green tree layer and the white layer now line up exactly along that “swirl”, with no overlap.

Step 4) Add the penguins

Add the penguins onto your card and resize as needed.

I decided that the baby penguin needed a bit of extra background to give the scene more context and to help with the perspective.

I added image #M505C7B64 to look like a pool of water.

Step 5) Add a score line (optional)

If you have a scoring wheel or scoring stylus for your Cricut then add a score line to the base card to make it easier to fold.

Click “Shapes” and insert a score line.

Size it to the height of your card – in my case, that’s 7 inches.

Select the score line and the base card and press “Align > Center”.

With those two layers still selected, click “Attach” (paperclip icon). Attach is what tells the Cricut to do the scoring on the base card piece.

Drag the base card back to the bottom of the layers panel (or press “Arrange > Send to Back”) and put it back in place.

Your card is now ready to cut!

Step 6) Stick the card together

I glued all my background pieces to keep the thickness of the card down.

I also glued all the pieces of the penguins, instead of using any foam squares, for the same reason.

Finally, attach the penguins to the front of the card with glue or foam squares.

Now your card is all finished and ready to add your message to the inside.

Easy penguin crafts to make with a Cricut

These penguin designs are a great way to add a bit of personality to your seasonal crafting – but they work year-round too, not just for Christmas.

Whether you’re making cards, tags, or framed pieces, their layered look gives just the right amount of detail without being too time-consuming to put together.

And with the added step-by-step for building your own backgrounds in Design Space, it’s easy to personalise each one for different occasions.

Once you’ve tried these penguin SVG files, you might find yourself coming back to them again and again!

Love these cute penguins?

There are lots more animals in this series available, including farm animals, pets, wild animals, big cats, dog breeds, a unicorn, and more.

View all cute animals

Happy crafting,
Sarah x