DIY Back to School Chalkboard Sign on Cricut
Now you can DIY this back to school chalkboard sign yourself using your Cricut. This method is super cost-effective and easy to make!
With school just around the corner, capture a memorable first day of school using this DIY sign you can make on your Cricut. All you need is bristol board, chalkboard paint, vinyl, and your Cricut.
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MATERIALS TO SCHOOL CHALKBOARD SIGN
- Standard Grip Cutting Mat (the 12″x 12″ size)
- Transfer Tape | Do NOT use Cricut Transfer tape for this project.
- Bristol Board (you can find these at the dollar store or Staples)
- My free SVG planner template (you will need access to my free resource library below)
Grab the free SVG design file (available in my free resource library – get the password by filling out the form on the sidebar or below).
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HOW TO MAKE A DIY CHALKBOARD SCHOOL SIGN
If you’d rather watch a video on how to make it step by step, take a look at this video here (highly recommended!):
STEP 1: GET THE FILE
Get the free template from the Free Resource Library.
STEP 2: CUSTOMIZE TEMPLATE
Upload the files. There are three different files – 2 PNG files that are used for larger than mat cuts and one SVG file for smaller. The SVG file make take longer to work with because of all of the different cut components.
I am using a 16×20 chalkboard so I will be using the 2 PNG files for this tutorial.
Add the name. I am using a free font called Watershed.
Make sure you adjust the font spacing so the letters touch each other and then Weld so Cricut doesn’t cut each letter out individually. Check out the Youtube video to also see some tricks on how I center everything.
You could add all your text here as well if you would rather Cricut cut out all of the other things (e.g. School name, Teacher Name, etc). I opted to have this as a reuseable chalkboard so I excluded these.
Once you are satisfied with your design Attach the name to the top layer so it doesn’t move around on the screen.
STEP 4: CUT IT OUT
Follow the prompts to cut it out. I used Cricut Premium Permanent vinyl and the 12×24 Standard Cricut Mats.
A tip is to start from the side of the mat when laying down your vinyl to help make sure it is straight and to help with making sure there aren’t any bubbles.
I cut it out 2x on the Cricut Premium Vinyl setting with more pressure.
STEP 5: WEED YOUR DESIGN
Carefully weed your designs. Make sure you don’t accidentally weed something you aren’t supposed to. It’s easy to miss something with this because of all the small dots.
You could also cut out extra negative space and save this vinyl for other projects.
STEP 6: CREATE YOUR BLACKBOARD
I used a bristol board I picked up from the Dollar store for this. I found this the most economical for the size of the chalkboard.
I cut the bristol board to size and then sprayed it with Krylon Chalkboard Spray. When working with chalkboard spray, make sure you read the instructions. I got impatient and sprayed too heavily on one side which caused a lot of wrinkles. Multiple light layers is the way to go!
Spray both sides so you can use the back for the “Last Day of School” as well.
STEP 7: TRANSFER DESIGN ONTO THE CHALKBOARD
Next, we need to transfer our image. You can use Cricut Transfer Paper or other transfer paper for this step.
If using the Cricut Transfer Paper, make sure you align the grid to the text to help lay it down on the chalkboard straight.
If you are using other transfer paper, take a black marker and draw lines using a ruler to make a grid to help line up the design.
You can also draw lines on your chalkboard to help line things up.
Transfer the design to the chalkboard using the tabs and your guidelines you’ve just prepared.
CONGRATULATIONS
You’ve just made a back to school chalkboard sign using your Cricut! I hope you had as much fun with it as I did!
Head over to our Facebook community to show off your chalkboards!