If you have started wedding planning, you have probably realized that buying wedding signs is EXPENSIVE. I knew I did not want to pay that much for a custom sign, so I was determined to make my own. Below is a step-by-step process to create your own wedding welcome sign.
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Step 1 - Design Your Welcome Wedding Sign
For this first step, you are going to need your Cricut. If you don't have a Cricut, I would highly recommend making the investment for you wedding decor. If there was ever a time to get one, it is for wedding planning! What is a Cricut, you might ask? A Cricut is a cutting machine that pairs with a computer or mobile app to make your designs come to life. You can cut vinyl, paper, cardstock, and so much more! You can even use it to address your envelopes- the options are really endless. There are several different Cricut machines, but I use this one.
Open Cricut Design Space and create a new project. If you have a Cricut Access subscription, you will have access to many different fonts. If not, you can either use a font that is already on your computer, or you can download other fonts from a site like Font Bundles. I have found several great free fonts, but you can also purchase them if desired. Once downloaded, you will open the file and double click to open the OpenType Font file and install it. You will likely need to close/reopen your Design Space to load the new font.
Click the Text button to add your text. You will likely want to have each line be in its own text box so that you can more freely adjust the look. My design looked like this:
To add the tails, or "glyphs", to your first and last letters, you may need to do a few extra steps.
a) Go to your computer settings and search for "Character Map" or "Find a Character" and open the Character Map on your PC.
b) Choose the font you are using. Find the special character you would like to use and double click on it. It will now appear in the "Characters to copy" line.
c) Click the "Copy" button or Ctrl + C to copy the character.
d) Go back into your Design Space and paste the character into your design.
Step 2 - Prep Your Sign Supplies
Next, you will want to gather your supplies to make the actual sign. I used a 2' x 3' acrylic sheet for this sign. You can get acrylic sheets at your local hardware store or online. I got these from Amazon. If you want to paint the back of your sign, you will need acrylic paint, which you can purchase at many craft stores or online.
It will be helpful to use permanent vinyl to cut your design if your sign will be outside, otherwise you could use permanent or removable vinyl. Just make sure you aren't using heat transfer vinyl (HTV)! I used this Smart Vinyl so that I didn't need to cut on a mat.
Step 3 - Create Your Welcome Wedding Sign
After you have your acrylic sheet, you can then adjust the size of your design in Design Space to fit the size of your acrylic. If you select all of the pieces of your design and click "Attach", you can resize them all at once. Depending on how large your acrylic is, you may then want to "Detach" the pieces so that you use less vinyl when you cut. Once you are ready to cut your design, click "Make".
If you are using Smart Vinyl, you can insert the vinyl directly into your Cricut. If not, you will need to put your vinyl onto a cutting mat. Make sure your vinyl (and mat, if needed) are long enough for your design. Follow the directions on screen and on your Cricut to cut. You will not need to mirror this project.
Once your design has been cut, you will need to weed out the outline of your design so that only the letters remain. Then you will use transfer tape to remove the letters from the backing and transfer it onto your acrylic. Make sure you have removed the plastic film from your acrylic before adding the vinyl! Remove the transfer tape and VOILA!
Pro Tip: You can place a cutting mat underneath your acrylic to use as a guide for spacing and to help ensure your design is straight.
After adding your vinyl, flip over your acrylic and paint the back with your acrylic paint, if desired. I have found that using a foam brush is easier to prevent brush strokes compared to a regular bristled brush.
Step 4 - Build Your Welcome Sign Stand
I used PVC pipes to build my sign stand so that it would stand independently. I found that 3/4" width piping worked well, which I purchased from our local hardware store.
For our 2' x 3' landscape sign, we cut the following pieces of PVC piping:
2 x 4 foot pieces
1 x 3 foot 5 inches piece
4 x 18 inch pieces
The piping is pretty easy to cut with a hand saw (read: no power tools needed!).
You will also need the following PVC pipe fittings:
2 x PVC tees (T-shaped)
2 x 90 degree PVC elbows (L-shaped)
4 x PVC end caps
I spray painted the PVC pipes and fittings black to match the theme of our wedding and to hide the writing on the pipes. This spray paint worked super well and only needed one coat! Make sure to spray paint outside, in a well ventilated area, and wear a mask while doing so :)
After the paint has dried, you can assemble the pieces. To attach the acrylic sign, you will need to drill two small holes at either of the top corners. To do that, I put a few pieces of painters tape over the area to be drilled. I then (very nicely) asked my fiancé to use a very small drill bit to start a hole. Starting with a small drill bit, along with the tape, will help to prevent the acrylic from cracking. He then slowly increased the drill bit size until it was large enough to fit a piece of ribbon through. Tie each piece of ribbon in a knot around the PVC pipe at the height you want the sign to hang.
Note: The sign stand in this picture does not have the two back support pieces attached for storage reasons. When you want the stand to be upright on its own on the day of the wedding, you can then add the two back braces.
You did it!
Congrats, you have made a beautiful, custom DIY wedding welcome sign! After taking some time to admire your work, you can cross this off the list and start your next DIY project :) I can't wait to see what you have created!
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