When I got my Cricut Explore Air I was so excited with all the possibilities! There were (and still are) so many things I want to make. One of the first things I knew I wanted to make was a sign for my office/ craft room. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out- especially because it ended up being one of the easiest projects ever!

I wanted the sign to reflect my personality and blog design, so that meant sticking with my color scheme of mint and navy. The sign is the highlight of the wall, but the wall also features polka dot decals, which is what made me want to make it round. In all- I really couldn’t be happier with it. I think I just have a love of customized signs ever since the ones I made for our wedding!

I played with a lot of different ideas for the sign lettering- different fonts and phrases. And Procrastination Studio seemed to be the perfect name for my workspace. If you couldn’t tell just from the name of my blog- I am a bit of a procrastination expert.

So after a big response from sharing my sign on social media I decided to finally write a post about it! Keep reading for step by step instructions on how I made this adorable and easy sign on the Cricut.

Supplies:

• A Cricut cutting machine (I use the Cricut Explore Air)
• Cricut mat
• Vinyl 
• Vinyl transfer tape
• Wood sign (I used this one)
• Craft paint
• Paint brush
• Mod Podge (optional)
• Cricut tools (optional)

Step One: Paint sign back

Pick out whatever color you want your sign back to be and paint your sign that color. I mixed a mint color with white to get a lighter color and painted my sign using a simple paint brush with craft paint. Let it dry in between coats.

I also used mod podge over the paint to give it a glossier finish, but this is totally optional.

Step Two: Design Sign

The first step is to design your sign. Decide what words you want the sign to say, and pick out fonts. You can do this on Cricut design space, or on a photo editing program. A .png file is the best format to upload to Cricut design space in my experience, because the transparent areas will be treated like empty space.

When you upload an image into cricut design space, you can “select and erase” out the white space. This will tell the machine where to cut. Don’t forget to select the spaces inside letters, like the circle inside the letter “o.”

Make sure your layer is set to cut.

(If you’re a cricut newbie and this sounds confusing to you, I previously wrote a more detailed post with pictures you can refer to).

Step Three: Cut vinyl on cricut

Once you have your design ready, you’ll want to cut your vinyl. Stick the vinyl onto your cutting mat, load the mat into the machine, and press cut!

When the vinyl is cut, you want to peel or “weed” off the excess vinyl, leaving only the letters you want to transfer. You can use the cricut weeder to get out the small pieces, like the insides of letters.

Step Four: Apply vinyl with transfer tape

I’ve given the instructions here for using transfer tape- but if you want to see step by step pictures on how to use transfer tape, I have a detailed how to you can refer to in a previous post

Peel off the back of the transfer tape, and place the sticky part on top of your design. Use a credit card or a scraper tool to scrape the design to make sure the vinyl is well-adhered to the transfer tape. Slowly peel the transfer tape up. The vinyl letters should come up, but if they don’t, just replace the tape and scrape over the top again. This may take a few tries.

When you’ve got the design on the transfer tape, align the tape onto your sign where you want it to go. Press down firmly, and you can use a credit card or scraper here again. Slowly peel away the transfer tape, and the design should stick to your sign. If it doesn’t stick down, put the tape back down and rub again.

Then your sign should be finished! I told you this was easy!

Step Five: Hang

Now your sign is ready to go! You can hang it up. I’m a huge fan of the command hanging strips, and I used those to hang this sign.

And now just step back and admire!

This was my first lettering project with the cricut, and it went really well! The sign turned out EXACTLY how I imagined. You may recognize the above photo from my about me page.

I mean seriously, who DOESN’T want a procrastination studio?

The sign is definitely the highlight of the office. I’ll be doing a full office reveal sometime soon so you get to see the whole thing! But the combination of the polka dots with my sign is by far my favorite part of the office.

Which is my favorite room of the house.

I love how it looks hanging in my office. It makes me smile every time I see it!

My office is definitely my procrastination studio- I spend most of my time in there procrastinating- making crafts, organizing, editing photos, painting watercolors… you name it.

What are you waiting for? Let me know how making your own sign on the Cricut goes for you!

Supplies used in this post

The post Easy DIY Sign Lettering: Cricut Project appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I’m going to walk you step-by-step through this easy tutorial. There’s pictures for every step- so you really can’t go wrong. Soon enough vinyl transfer paper will feel like a breeze for you.

It’s actually very easy to use- but it’s worth going through all the steps for Cricut newbies like me. I added text instructions in case you need it, but you will probably be able to figure out how to use the transfer tape just from the pictures.

This tutorial will also apply to any other cutting machine you may use- everything but the first few steps in the design studio. So don’t be discouraged from using this post if you don’t use a cricut. And if vinyl isn’t for you, I’ve also written a great tutorial on how to make custom wood signs with paint!

So let’s get to it!

supplies:

• A cutting machine (I use the Cricut explore air, which you can buy from Cricut or on amazon)
• Vinyl (I used this one, and expressions vinyl sells tons of great inexpensive vinyl)
• Vinyl transfer paper (aka vinyl transfer tape)
• The object you are putting your vinyl design on (I used a cute wood sign like this one)
• Scraper or a stiff card like a credit or gift card
• Weeder (optional)

step one: design

The first step will be to use your cutting machine’s design software to make your vinyl design. I’m going to talk about the Cricut design studio because I use a Cricut.

You can use the editing tools in the design studio to make your design. You can write words with any of the cricut fonts or any fonts on your computer, or you can upload an image. If you upload a .png file, it should leave the background blank. But if you upload a .jpg or other file format, you may need to “select and erase.” All that means is that you select the white space around and between letters to leave only the letters you want to cut.

Make sure your layer is set to cut, and you should be ready to go!

step two: load and cut

The next step is to cut your design out of the vinyl.

You’ll want to apply your vinyl to a cutting mat and load it into your machine. In the Cricut design studio, you press “go” and then make sure the Cricut has the correct settings before cutting.

When your vinyl is cut, you will be able to see the outline of your final design, like in the photo below.

Step three: weeding

Weeding is when you remove any excess vinyl so that only your final design remains. You should be able to do this easily by just peeling up the excess vinyl. If the design starts to come up with it, just push it back down with your finger. You can use the awesome weeding tool to help get any small pieces like the circle inside the “p.” You can see all this in the images below.

When you are done you should have just your final design remaining on the mat.

step four: apply vinyl transfer paper (vinyl transfer tape)

To apply your vinyl transfer paper, first peel the backing off the transfer paper. Press the vinyl on top of your final design. You can use the scraper tool or an old credit card to make sure the design is attached tightly to the transfer paper.

You can see this in the photos below.

step five: peel vinyl transfer paper (tape) with vinyl attached

This step can be a little tricky, but if you are slow and careful it should be easy. You’ll want to peel up the vinyl transfer paper with the entire design you want to transfer attached. Some of it may not peel up, in which case you can put the transfer paper back down and go over that section again with the scraper or your finger until it comes up when you are peeling.

In the pictures below, you can see that the S was being stubborn and not peeling up, so I put the tape back down to reattach it until I got the full design on the transfer paper.

step six: place vinyl transfer paper (tape) and apply

Once you’ve got your vinyl design on the transfer paper, you’ll want to place it where you want it to go on your final design. You can put vinyl on all kinds of things- decorative signs, water bottles, mirrors, walls… whatever you can think of!

I’m using a sign for this tutorial, so I placed my design in place. I then used my scraper tool (or you can use a credit card) to firmly apply the design to the sign.

step seven: peel off vinyl transfer paper and admire!

Once your design is firmly applied, you can just peel off the transfer paper and admire your final design!

If the vinyl transfer paper does not peel cleanly leaving the entire design behind, you can place the paper back down and scrape again. In my experience, this step is usually the easiest.

Woohoo- you made it! I told you it’s easier than it looks!

So there you go- I told you it’s easier than it sounds. Once you get the hang of the vinyl transfer paper you will be able to customize and design anything you set your mind to.

I love the new sign I made for this tutorial!

So, what do you think? Are you a vinyl transfer paper expert now? Get going on those craft projects!

supplies used in this post

The post How to Use Vinyl Transfer Paper (Vinyl Transfer Tape) appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.