I bought a Cricut Maker this year and I absolutely love it! I have had so much fun trying new projects and using different materials and methods. One of the things I've been working on recently is heat transfer vinyl (HTV) on wood. Yes, you can iron-on the same decal on wood as you can on a t-shirt or hoodie! When I saw some examples on other websites, I couldn't wait to get started.
I had been playing around on Cricut's Design Space software when I ran across a saying that I knew would be perfect for a sign in my oldest child's bedroom.
Initially, I was just going to cut it out as a stencil and paint it on wood. But after reading about using HTV on wood, I knew that this was the route I wanted to go. I purchased an unfinished birch, beveled board from Lowe's for under $10. I brushed a coat of navy, solid stain on the wood. Then, I cut out the HTV on the Cricut and weeded the saying. After the stain had dried, I used my heat press to apply the HTV to the wood. I have the 9x9 Cricut Easy Press and was able to cover the sign in two presses at 300 degrees for 45 seconds with a cool peel. However, it did not adhere completely, so I had to go over it a couple more time in certain spots. Finally, once I had all the HTV adhering properly, I applied a coat of a water based polyurethane.
I love the finished result! However, there were a couple things I learned that I changed up for the next project.
The next project came to me as I happened to be in Target and ran across an unfinished wood pumpkin and leaf for $5.00 each. They are no longer instock, but you can find similar unfinished wood products at most craft stores. I decided to use these for some extra fall decor around my house.
So for this project, I first painted with regular acrylic craft paint. The wood designs are not very big (around 6-8 inches), so it didn't take much paint and dried quickly. Then I found my design on Cricut Design Space and cut it out with the Cricut Maker.
This time, instead of using my 9x9 Easy Press, I used my Cricut Easy Press Mini--boy, do I love this little guy! (I am now even using it on sewing projects because it's so much lighter than my traditional iron and keeps constant heat.) I set the press to medium and used parchment paper between the press and the vinyl. I will be using parchment for most iron-on projects going forward. It allowed me to see how much of the design I was covering with the press. The vinyl adhered much quicker and easier this way. For the bits that started to come up during the warm peel, the Mini made it a piece of cake to fix before continuing the peel.
Again, I love the finished product. You can add a colorful bow for fun or dress it up with gold and burlap bow.
Apart from the paper crafts that I enjoy so much, this is my favorite project using the Cricut and I will be making something else very soon!