Last week, I shared a review of the Yoto Mini, a screen-free audio player that has become an everyday fixture in my life as a parent and piano teacher. One of the best things about Yoto is how easy it is to create your own cards with custom playlists. Doing so allows me tailor listening for my kids and for the piano lessons I teach.
In this guide, you’ll find a clear, step-by-step process and two Canva templates to help you design artwork and build custom playlists for “Make Your Own” Yoto cards.
Why create “Make Your Own” Yoto cards?
Yoto offers hundreds of excellent audiobook and music cards. However, Yoto’s “Make Your Own” cards unlock additional possibilities that are personal, flexible, and fun. Here are examples of what you can do:
- Record yourself or a family member reading favorite books, telling stories, or singing/playing music.
- Invite your child or student to record stories or original music.
- Create playlists of audio files for personal use at home or in lessons. These could be recordings or backing tracks provided by the publisher of music books you’ve purchased, for example. Note: Be sure to respect copyright and performance rights whenever you use third-party audio.
- Create themed cards of repertoire lists or certain composers. You could even make your Yoto player available as part of a listening lab, practice station, or a waiting area in your piano studio.
- Link to podcasts via RSS. (See my recommendations later in this article.) These playlists will be updated automatically with the latest episodes.
Now that you’ve heard fun ways to use “Make Your Own” cards, let’s talk about how to customize them!
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How to Customize “Make Your Own” Yoto Cards
What you’ll need:
- Yoto “Make Your Own” blank cards. They are available in a 5-pack (Amazon | Yoto.us | Yoto.uk) or a 10-pack (Yoto.us | Yoto.uk)
- Yoto app on your phone or your account on the Yoto website
- Audio files you own or have recorded yourself
- Optional: A free or paid account on Canva.com, to design artwork
- Printable vinyl sticker paper (here’s the kind I use)
- Printer
- Scissors
Step 1: Prepare or record audio
- Gather audio files you own the rights to. Yoto supports MP3, M4A, and AAC.
- Tip: Create a folder on your computer or a cloud drive called “Yoto” with subfolders for your playlists and artwork.
- If recording new audio, use your phone’s voice recorder or a USB mic with your computer. Name the files descriptively and add track numbers (01, 02, 03) to make ordering easy later.
Step 2: Design the card artwork (optional but fun)
It’s easy to create attractive artwork for your “Make Your Own” Yoto cards. Just design an image matching the card’s dimensions (3.375 x 2.125 in) and print on vinyl sticker paper. I use Canva.com to create my designs, and am happy to share below two templates I made for creating my own custom card artwork. Here’s what to do:
- Open my “Yoto Artwork Template, Step 1” template here. Use a search engine or Canva’s built-in repository to find graphics for your card artwork. When finished, export the image as a PNG or JPG.
- Bonus: Here is a Dropbox folder of some of the card artwork I have created — including for my own book, Keys at Play. Consider these examples you may use, if they are useful to you!
- Repeat for additional cards.
- Then, open my “Yoto Artwork Template, Step 2” template here. Upload your artwork images to the 9-up sheet and download the page as a PDF. Printing onto sticker paper will be covered in Step 5.
If you would prefer to skip this step, you can instead use the stickers included in the box of “Make Your Own” cards and simply handwrite a title/description for the playlist on the sticker.
Step 3: Create a playlist in the Yoto app or website
- Open the Yoto app > Library > Playlists. (Note: Alternatively, you can complete this step on your computer on the Yoto website. Just click “Make Your Own” in the menu and login.)
- Generate a new playlist and add your tracks. Reorder the tracks as desired.
- Optional: Upload the card artwork from Step 2 so it shows in the app’s Library in the “Playlist” section.
- Optional: Add an icon to each track in the playlist. These icons will show on the Yoto screen when a given track is playing. Tap the “+” symbol by each track and then choose from the variety of icon options Yoto provides — or, upload your own (find or make them at sites like yotoicons.com).
Step 4: Assign the playlist to a blank card
- In the app, open your playlist (Library > Playlists) and tap Link to Card.
- Link using your phone or a Yoto player. Follow the prompts and tap a blank card to the top of your device.
- It’s that easy — your card is now linked to your playlist! You can update playlists or reassign cards anytime.
Step 5: Print and apply artwork (optional)
- Print the 9-up sheet from Step 2 onto vinyl sticker paper (such as this paper for inkjet printers). I recommend choosing High Quality in your print dialog.
- Optional but recommended: Laminate the printed sticker sheet for durability and gloss.
- Cut the stickers apart on the guide lines. Round the corners to match the card.
- Peel and apply to the front of a blank Yoto card.
Step 6: Test and tweak
- Insert the card into your Yoto player to confirm it triggers the playlist.
- If needed, edit the playlist or relink the card (see Step 4). Playlists can be edited anytime from both the app or Yoto website and reassigned to the same or additional cards.
And voila — you now know how to create your own custom Yoto card playlists!
More Fun Tips for “Make Your Own” Cards
- You can find audiobooks to purchase at various sites, including libro.fm or downpour.com. Some of my daughters’ favorite audiobooks include classics like Curious George, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Daniel Tiger, etc.
- You can find audiobook narrations that are free and in the public domain at sites such as LibriVox.org.
- Recording your (or a family member’s) voice or music is always a win.
- Encourage your child or piano student to record stories or original music.
- There are a variety of blogs and discussion groups dedicated to sharing tips and artwork for Yoto “Make Your Own” cards.
FAQs
- A student or friend has a Yoto player. Can I create a custom card for them?
Not directly. Custom playlists are tied to the Yoto account that created them. Your “Make Your Own” cards won’t play on a device linked to someone else’s account. But you can show them how to build their own playlists and link their own cards, and you can help with artwork if you’d like. In the Yoto app > Library > Playlists area, you can share your playlists with friends or family who have Yoto players of their own. Just be sure to follow copyright and usage laws. - Can I link a Spotify or Apple Music playlist?
No. You can use your Yoto player as a Bluetooth speaker controlled by the Yoto app, but cards cannot trigger playlists from Spotify or Apple Music. - Can you recommend podcasts and radio stations for kids?
Some favorites in our house: Sound Detectives, Curious Kids Every Day, Classical Sprouts, Clap for Classics, Classics for Kids, Maddie’s Sound Explorers, and RadioLab for Kids. To link a card to a podcast, you’ll need the URL for its RSS feed and this Yoto tutorial. (Note: Some of these podcasts are no longer releasing episodes, but you can still access all the past episodes.)
In Closing:
I hope you enjoyed learning more about the world of Yoto and the possibilities that open thanks to their “Make Your Own” cards!
- To read my full review on the Yoto Mini player, click here.
- To see my Amazon list of recommendations for Yoto cards of books and music or card organization methods, click here.
- If you are a Yoto user and have card artwork to share, please contact me and I can add it to the shared Dropbox folder I mentioned above!
Thanks for reading. Questions? Post them below this article!
