{diy fall signage}

Weekend before last we had a little scuffle with Tropical Storm Lee and that just so happened to be the hubby's weekend to work at the hospital. So, I had 4 days off with nothing to do. It was also Labor Day weekend so we had that Monday off and just to stretch it a little more, I decided to take the Friday before off, too. Love 4 day weekends!

I bought a Cricut as a "wedding" purchase and though I wish I had used it more for that purpose, I did get a few uses out of it. Needless to say, after spending $100 [definitely find a good sale, they're always on sale!] on it, I want to find as many reasons to use it as possible. I love looking at something & saying, "hey, I can make that. And probably for much less to boot.

With a Hobby Lobby less than 3 miles away from where I work, I'm in there WAY too much.. I only shop their sales, it's silly to buy at full price- just wait long enough and it'll eventually go on sale. I even prefer to not use the 40% off coupons.. But sometimes, I just need that wreath and can't wait for it to go 50% off! Some things I feel I can either make or find somewhere else for less, but some things, I just can't pass up. I love all their seasonal decorations and saw one that I had to make.

I don't have a picture of the one I was inspired by, but when you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. It was a series of wood blocks attached to each other spelling out autumn. There was also one that said fall. I looked at it, then the price tag, realized it wasn't on sale that week & marched my butt over to the blank wooden signs.. 2 for $1. I already had green & red paint, but needed to pick up orange. After I chose a good pumpkin orange, I realized that I needed a better color green. And a better brown. And maybe an off white to try white washing them. Haha.. Good thing they're like 75 cents. Yes, I got the cheapies. Whatevs.

I took all my supplies home and pulled out the Cricut and my laptop. There's a program called Sure Cuts A Lot which enables you to download any true type font, [I get mine from dafont.com] and you can then cut it. You can even do simple wingdings! Cricut cartridges are $40 to $60 each.. NO WAY! Not unless they were on major sale and I had a worthy cause.

 

Step one: Choose your font. I ended up choosing the second one, but I couldn't tell you what it is. Bad blogger! I knew I wanted one with little feet, that's what I call serif. Haha.

Step two: Cut your vinyl. Eesh, my cutting mat is gross, yes? It's sticky so it'll hold the vinyl but it also likes to pick up every thing else apparently! 

 

Step three: Line up your wood block and paint and decide on a color pattern and order of blocks. The first block for the "F" was $1 and the rest were 50 cents each. 

 

Step four: Paint your blocks! I used one coat on all but the brown. For some reason, that one wasn't opaque at all. Not good for someone as impatient as me! 

Step five: Paint the backs! Except that stupid brown one. Paint his front again. 

Step six: While you wait for that darn brown to dry enough to pain the back, enjoy some lunch. Make a chicken, salsa & cheese burrito like I did. You won't regret it! Heck, add beans if you have some. I didn't but it's tasty with them!! 

Step seven: After you've devoured that burrito, blot that terrible brown block down with a paper towel and curse him for not drying as quick as the others. It's ok, the vinyl will cover his naked spot. Kinda. Anyway, put down your vinyl. I don't have transfer tape [I hear contact paper works better = cheaper] so I used scotch tape. Whatever works, right? Right. 

Step eight: Decide you want them to look a little more rugged, a little more not too crisp and try your hand at a white wash of sorts. Realize you hate the way it looks and continue painting the rest of the backs so they can be ugly together. No one will see it, so whatever.

Step nine: Go the lazy route and hot glue your hinges on instead of nailing them on. So what if they fall apart, you can always just glue them back together. I didn't take pictures of this part, I was too busy burning myself with the glue gun as I was sitting on the kitchen floor. It's ceramic and I couldn't ruin it with glue. Because glue got everywhere. Like it always does.

 

Step ten: Put signage somewhere you can enjoy it everyday. The bottom of a console table is a great spot. Then change your mind, order another console table off of Walmart.com and put it there instead. I need to take a picture of the sign on that table.. We don't have a huge entryway, but there is a spot under a mirror near the front door that was just calling for a table. So I filled that desire with said table. And that is this signs new home. I'll take a picture tonight and post it tomorrow. Maybe. 

 

Maybe I'll sand the edges to give it that not so crisp look? I doubt I will, but it's a good idea. 

So there ya go, my DIY Fall signage. Isn't it pretty? HobLob wanted like $10 for it. Yeah, maybe theirs looks better than mine, but this was about $3 to make. I'm not including the price of the paint because those will, I'm sure, get used on many other projects. I like to paint things. 

And just because I love you, I'll show you what else I made with my Cricut that afternoon. 

 

Transformers decals! So I married a nerd. And being a nerd is contagious. And makes me happy. These are now on the mini windows on my car. Hubby has since passed on a few Transformer shirts that he bought then washed and shrunk to me but I must say that my decepticon shirt is my favorite. I have a little love affair with that face. Haha. I also have a decepticon keychain- hubby has the autobots one. [For those of you not in the know, autobots are the good guys.. decepticons are the bad guys. Haha.]

 

To do this, download the Transformers font and open the Sure Cuts A Lot program. Choose which one you'd like to cut and you're good to go. I made mine 2 x 2 inches. It also helps to have a needy puppy stare at you while you're working. Luff her face. 

 

That's what the Cricut looks like, there on the right. It's a pretty cool toy. I really wanted the Silhouette, but it was MUCH more expensive. That one cuts on a 12 x 12 mat while this one cuts on a 12 x 6 mat. Oh well. It's been big enough for everything that I've needed it for. So far. 

 

These are the colors of vinyl that I currently have. I got them and the Sure Cuts A Lot program from Expressions Vinyl. I want more colors, but I don't want to order until I have more ideas. Each sheet is $1. Adds up QUICK. Haha. They also have iron on vinyl that the Cricut can cut.. I made some tote bags with my bridesmaids initials on them for the wedding. And they have semi permanent and outdoor vinyl. The outdoor stuff will last much longer and not peel off. Just depends on what your needs are.

So there ya go. I used my Cricut and brought you along for the journey. It's a really simple machine to use and though this post was supposed to be about making a fall sign, but I just love that little machine!



*All pictures taken by me. All products mentioned were purchased by me, too. Should I mention that Cricut nor Expressions Vinyl [or even HobLob] even know of my existence? Well, they don't. I just lurve them.