Monday Motivation 11/22 Vinyl Lettering

Well, I must admit, this is not the post that I planned for today. I have a beautiful red holiday plaque planned to share with you.... but I am posting this from my hospital bed, and it is at home in StudioBee, so I hope you will be patient and wait for another day to see the other pieces I wanted to share. (I have had some unexpected tests come up, and hope to be home before Thanksgiving.) But, I still want to share the basics of vinyl lettering with you...

These wooden plaques are cut from poplar, sanded, painted, and sanded again. They make wonderful gifts, and are easy to personalize. The letters are cut from Plantain SchoolBook at 3.5 inches tall and the width varies depending on the length of the name. This was done on the Gypsy, or could be done on Design Studio. If you don't have either of these, you might need to adjust the spacing of your letters to fit the length of your board. "Est. and the year" are at one inch.

The most important thing is to adjust the blade depth of your Cricut, so it cuts only the vinyl, and not the backing sheet. (Mine is nearly always set at 2, but some thicker wallpaper vinyl has needed a 3.) This will allow you to maintain the proper spacing and alignment of your wording. After you cut your vinyl, remove everything that won't be placed on your project (this is called weeding). Now you will need to have a transfer material to move the vinyl from the backing sheet to the plaque, glass, wall, etc. I have found masking or painters tape to work very well. Just touch the tape to your clothes a couple of time to cut the tackiness, and it will be just fine. Cover the entire length of your project with tape, burnishing well. Lift and transfer to the desired location. Burnish again, so it will be stuck to the plaque, glass, wall, etc. and then remove the masking tape. Voila'!! Your project is complete!

There are different types of vinyl on the market, and they differ in thickness, as well as stickiness. Some are for outdoor use, and some are for indoor use only. I get a lot of vinyl from an automobile sign shop, so it is thin, and very sticky... and designed for outdoor use. It is color safe, and lasts a very long time. They are glad to sell me scraps. This thin material works well for car window designs, model radio controlled airplane logos, and other pieces that are exposed to sunlight and weather. Cricut and wallpaper vinyl are great for wall words.

If you have comments or questions, please leave them here, and we'll be happy to do our best to answer for you. The HoneyBees will be here on Wednesday with lots of examples of great vinyl projects to show you!

I'll be back soon....
Happy crafting ~

and the HoneyBees