An in-depth post and video on how to make a wood sign with vinyl using the small but mighty Cricut Joy. You can apply this technique to any Cricut machine and start making wooden signs with vinyl lettering today.

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If you are reading this, you are interested in learning how to make your own wood signs. I have a host of tutorials and videos to walk you through every option out there.

From building a pallet or framed sign, to all the different ways to stencil on a design. Check out the full wood sign playlist on YouTube for details on all of these projects.

Today, I’m focusing on how to cut vinyl with a Cricut Joy and apply it to an already built and painted wood sign.

Cricut Joy

The Cricut Joy is the smallest of the family of machines but has a lot of capabilities.

Small and compact, does not take up much space to store or use.
Connects via Bluetooth and can be powered with your phone.
Cuts long continuous pieces of vinyl for big projects.
Create custom cards in minutes with a special card cutting mat.

The Joy is intended for smaller projects. But at a low price point, it’s a great way to get into a cutting machine and see if it’s right for you.

Take a look at these Joy projects for more inspiration.

I’m showing you how to create a large wood sign with this small machine.

Wood Sign Supplies

Here are the key supplies you need to make today’s project.

Cricut Joy You can apply this technique to any Cricut machine, but the instructions below are specific to the Joy.

Smart Vinyl in black and gold. The Joy is able to cut vinyl and other material without a mat. It cuts down on prep time and makes this machine even easier to use.

Transfer tape a roll of this tape will help move the vinyl onto the sign. You can purchase Joy-sized vinyl so you don’t have to cut a larger roll down to size.

Cricut tool set The Joy doesn’t come with tools, so this set is essential to making all kinds of projects. You’ll get a cutter, a weeding tool, and a scraper among other items.

Cricut Design Space app You can connect your Joy to a computer tablet or phone. I often use my Joy in the kitchen or with my kids so I opt to pull up Design Space on my phone. This is the software that powers Cricut.

Creating Designs with Cricut

Cricut allows you to use premade designs that you can cut from any material, but it also gives you the option to upload or design your own.

For this project, I used the text tool to type the words I wanted and size them appropriately to fit my sign. You can download this design below and use it to make a wood sign, or create your own.

Download Design File

When cutting with the Joy, the key to making larger projects is to keep any one item smaller than the width of the vinyl. For the words on this sign, no letter is taller than 5 inches. This allows me to cut everything from the narrow Joy vinyl.

How to Make a Wood Sign with Vinyl and Cricut Joy

Yield: 1

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Difficulty: Easy

Learn how to make a large wood sign using the Cricut Joy.

Materials

Wood sign
Black Smart vinyl
Gold Smart vinyl
Transfer tape

Tools

Instructions

Start with a painted or stained wood sign as a base.
Open Cricut Design Space and upload this SVG or create your own. If you are creating your own it's helpful to size your canvas to match the size of your wood sign. Then add text and graphics. Make sure no one letter is taller than 5 inches so you are able to cut it with the Joy.
Click Make it and plug in the Cricut Joy. Ensure the fine point blade is loaded into the machine.
Follow the prompts on the screen to cut the vinyl. Select Smart vinyl from the material list, no mat required, and when prompted load the vinyl into the machine.
Repeat for each color of vinyl.
Lay the vinyl flat and use a weeding tool to pull up any excess material. If you have an intricate design, the Brightpad can help you see the cut lines.
Roll a piece of transfer tape over the final design and press in place with the scraper tool. Then pull off the backing of the vinyl.
Move your design to the wood sign and use the scraper tool to push it down in place, then peel off the transfer tape.
Reuse the transfer tape for all parts of the design.
For added security, press down all pieces of vinyl with your fingers and the scraper tool. Permenant vinyl will hold up really well, there is no need to seal a sign like this.