Design a Plaque with your Cricut Machine
Materials Needed
- Wooden Plaque (any shape or size)
- 2 shades of same color ( light purple, dark purple)
- Contrasting shade of Paint for Cover Color (Black)
- Cricut Machine
- Vinyl
- Weeding Tools
- Transfer Tape or Paper
- Paint Brushes
Optional
- Fine Grit Sand Paper
- Steal Wool
- Card Stock in Coordinating Colors
- Ultra Fine Tip Gold Marker
- Gold Leafing Pen
- Felt in Coordinating Colors
- Antique Wax
- Gloss Glaze by Vintaj (You could also use a clear coating spray for this as well)
- Hot Glue Gun
- Glue Sticks
My best friend rocks, no, she Rules! Of course she knows that already, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded every once in a while. (Like on your birthday, in crafted gift form) I try to stick with handmade gifts for friends for the most part. I just feel weird about putting a dollar amount on a gift I am not sure how often they would use. Plus, I’m crafty, and I like to utilize that. What I mean is that birthdays and such are the perfect way to get in some crafting, and spread the love all in one shot, and if there is one thing I love… it’s combining love AND crafting.
So my best friend has sort of a funny nickname but it’s a well known nickname in our large circle of distant friends. She also owns a fairly popular bar and grill, so this gift will be something she can really showcase! Plus, it kinda shows that, “she’s the boss” which, is what she thinks anyway, but in this setting it will actually be true… and she is pretty awesome so… hey what the heck! Let’s make her something that will feed her ego a bit! What can it hurt? (I’m literally snickering to myself just thinking about how many times her employees are going to have to listen to the story of this sign!)
For this project I am using her favorite colors, but you could use any color combination you like. You simply need two contrasting colors. (black and purple for this project)
Your base color (purple) should be split into a dark rich color and then a lightened version of the same or similar color. Not sure what I mean? Take a look below.
Dun dun Daaaaaa!
While we let this dry, I am going to create my saying in Design Space. Now this doesn’t have to be a saying, it can be a design of some sort, whatever you want. This is more about the technique than the actual project in this case.
Now that I have my saying, I am going to apply it to my sign. I knew that I was going to use some paper flowers that I had made with my Cricut, but I still felt like it needed a bit more, so I found these cute little flourishes to add in for a some extra highlight.
Now I want to cover the entire sign with the black paint. I am using chalk paint but it is not necessary.
Once this is dry we can do the “Peel and Reveal!”
Next, I am going to give it a light sand with some 220 fine grit sand paper and then another sand with 0000 steal wool (the steal wool gives the finish a nice shiny sheen which I really like)
Now it’s time for a little wax job. Note the image above, I used an antique wax by Waverly but again, if you have something else, by all means go for it! For the wax, I applied a thin layer across the entire plaque and then immediately wiped off any excess with a lint free rag. Now you can really see the colors pop! Once waxed, I let it sit for 24 hrs. to cure. At this time you can buff your wax and really give it a good sheen.
Next I am going to outline my letters with an Ultra Fine Tip, gold, Painters, Paint Pen. Whew! Try saying that 5 times fast!
If you notice in one of the photos above, there is a caption that reads “felt flowers”, I was playing around with my design a little. I wanted a little variety in the flowers so I made a couple of felt flowers to add to the mix. They are so cute! I altered the center of my flower a bit to make it more simple but you can make it however you like. Here is the design info:
If you do not feel like searching for this image you can use this reference number #MA3E13. Every image in Design Space has it’s own code. To find this, for future reference you can click the “i” (info) icon in the lower left hand corner any design. This will give you the name of the image, number, and the Cartridge name. All things that are handy to note if wanting to use the same design later or similar designs that fall under the same “Cartridge”.
For the paper flowers, I used colored card stock and my ultimate secret weapon! I use it on everything I can, whenever I can, where ever I can! It’s glorious and I love it! It’s this 18 kt. Gold Leafing Pen by Krylon. They run around 8 – 9 bucks a pop, but if you have a coupon, (heck even if you don’) it’s a fabulous investment! I have done so many projects with this little sucker! It’s just so pretty!
I cut my paper flowers from these designs here:
I simply ungrouped each image, and cut out the leaves for each. Once I cut out all my flowers, I ran my secret weapon over the edges to give them a gold tipped look, Twirled them up and glued em’ down.
Once these were all dried, I coated each flower with a glossy glaze by Vintaj which gave the flowers a richer color, a nice sheen and also made them a bit stronger, as I didn’t want them to be too delicate. A little insurance on my part if you will. This step is completely optional.
I also took this time to guild the edges of my entire piece with my 18kt. gold marker, did I mention how much I love this gold pen!? Well I do.
Looking pretty nifty!
Now I am just fiddling around with the layout. I’m not quite there yet, but we’re getting close…
A few more gold highlights, straighten out, and arrange the flowers a bit… and BOOM! We have a winner! I’m gonna hot glue these suckers down and make it official!
I am super happy with the way this turned out and my bestie is gonna be IN LOVE! (She’s so lucky to have me!)
This plaque already had a chain attached to the back for hanging purposes, so it looks like I am all done here! I hope you enjoyed the project! Happy Crafting!
How to Make A Wood Sign with Your Cricut
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