Dollar Tree Pumpkin Sign with Vinyl Decals and Paint


Last week I cut a bunch of designs out on my Silhouette Cameo (v.2--it's an oldie, but still kicking). I made a couple of signs, but I'm back this week with more. This time, I used the vinyl decals as a resist to create a painted sign.


I started by setting up a bunch of designs in the Silhouette studio. I think the Pumpkin Spice design came from a page that was doing a free trial. 


Then, I cut all the designs out on black permanent vinyl. The removable variety might work for this project (since I'll be peeling it off after painting), but I've used the permanent vinyl before to make signs with paint like this, so I knew it would work and hand it on hand.


After the design was cut out, I separated it from the rest of the sheet of vinyl with scissors and got started weeding.


I carefully peeled away the excess vinyl to prepare the design. This was so much easier now that I picked up a new blade. Then I set aside the vinyl to prepare the pumpkin.


I used some brown and burgundy craft paint along with water to create a paint wash for the wooden pumpkin sign. I'm sure stain would work, but acrylic paint is easier to work with.


After I had a light wash of paint on the pumpkin, I set it aside to dry. It is such a thin sign, that it warped from the water in the paint. I set a couple of blocks of wood on it after the paint had dried to the touch, and it turned out fine after I left it overnight to finish drying out.


After the sign had dried (and flattened out), I applied some transfer tape to the vinyl decal. I rubbed the transfer tape onto the vinyl decal to make sure it would stick.


I peeled back the paper backing from the vinyl and placed the decal with the transfer tape onto the pumpkin sign.


Then I peeled the transfer tape back to reveal my design. This is my favorite part of any Silhouette project. If I had picked out a better contrasting vinyl color, I could have been done, but nope, I was planning to paint.


I mixed some white craft paint with a tiny drop of brown and orange paint.


Then I painted the sign. I didn't add any water (for fear it would warp again), but that meant I didn't make quite enough paint. It soaked it right up and looked a bit blotchy. So I knew I'd have to come back for more coats.


I used some fine grit sandpaper between coats of paint to remove any paint clumps and get a smooth finish for the next coat. I did another coat in white with just a drop of brown and then a touch of coat after that. I sanded the last coat down to reveal the vinyl and remove imperfections.


Then I used my weeding tool and craft knife to start pulling up the vinyl.


Once all the vinyl was pulled back, I used the sandpaper to carefully sand off any ridges from where the vinyl was. Then I wiped off the dust with a damp paper towel.


I'm really happy with how this little sign turned out. I can't wait to make more!

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