Embellish A Sign With DIY Cricut Paper Flowers

Sometimes crafting is pulling that “thing” out of your craft storage that you didn’t like the first time and trying again.

And try something new at the same time.

Owning a Cricut machine provides a means to explore and enjoy something new in crafting.

Today’s blog post is a simple example of how I took an old painted sign project and gave it new life with paper flowers made with my new Cricut Joy Xtra®.

This post contains affiliate links that help to support this blog at no additional cost to you.  I hope you find something wonderful to use in your home or a new craft hobby through these links. 

 

This post is part of the monthly Creative Craft Blog Hop, where I cohost each month with Sara of Birdz Of A Feather blog. 

This month it is my turn to host and I am excited about the projects featured by some of my favorite blogging friends. At the bottom of this post, I will direct you to the next blogger on the list to continue your journey of some wonderful and creative projects.

 

If you are visiting from Carol’s site, Blue Sky At Home, welcome!  I know you will enjoy her project for an Easiest Way To Paint Glass For Summer Decor this month.

 

 

 

It all started with a new Cricut Joy Xtra®

This past Christmas, my daughter bought me the new Cricut Joy Xtra®.  As much as I have enjoyed creating on my first Cricut Joy®, the world of new crafting projects available on the expanded Cricut Joy Xtra machine has been a joy to explore.

Including learning how to make beautiful paper flowers. Embellishing a previously painted sign with paper flowers was a good place to start.

Let me make this clear up front, this will not be a step-by-step instructions for how to design beautiful paper flowers.  In the crafting universe, many other dedicated and talented bloggers with their own YouTube channels and online courses have already tackled that challenge. They do an amazing job of teaching beginner Cricut® owners like myself to discover new creative ways of crafting fun projects.

A few of my favorite Cricut craft bloggers to learn from are Jennifer Maker, Abbie Kirsten, and Elena of Black Sheep 303 Creative .  As well as so many others who have enthusiastically taught me through their Cricut summits and classes.  I am looking forward to trying out each and every one of my saved craft projects.

 

 

 

 

Pulling a old project out of my craft storage.

That “thing” I pulled out of my craft storage was this vintage truck and flower sign I painted in a boutique store paint night class.   Don’t get me wrong, the boutique owners were wonderful, the class was fun, and I liked the sign I decided to paint that night.  However, I wish I had picked different paint colors.

 

 

The finished sign just seemed a bit flat to me. 

Since the class had a limited time frame, I felt I had to rush through the painting process to get it done using the same paint colors that I had started with.  It was also my first time painting one of these types of wood cutouts with line designs.  

Not to mention that the color of blue paint used in the class setting didn’t work in my home very well.  Navy is a better choice for my house. 

 

 

 

 

Chalking up my dissatisfaction with the painted sign due to my inexperience with a new paint brand and the rush to finish the sign in a short time frame, I put the sign in my craft room with a promise to repaint it another day.

And it has just sat there waiting for me to get around to it of course.  Along with several other projects.

 

 

 

Recently, I watched a video by Jennifer Maker on creative wood signs embellished with paper flowers. I immediately knew I needed to recreate this truck sign with beautiful flowers made from cardstock in a new color scheme.

I originally painted this vintage truck sign in the Fall so the paint colors for the truck and the flowers represent that season.

For the new look, I envision something patriotic and summery.  Red and white daisies mixed with the brightness of sunflowers.

 

 

The remake of this sign started with a new paint color for the truck in navy blue.

Red may be the most popular color for the vintage symbol, one which I have fully embraced in the past and even created an entire themed Christmas tree around it. We own a 1960 F100 that was originally red underneath all the current rust. If the new color was up to me, it would be navy.  My husband and son chose black a long time ago, but I haven’t given up hope they will see it my way.  Whenever the truck is finally finished.

 

 

 

Back to the sign makeover.

After repainting the truck on the sign in navy blue acylic paint, next came the task of learning how to make the paper flowers.

Thanks to the wonderful Cricut Design Space® software and my subscription to Cricut Access®, I can download svg cut files from images and other contributor’s projects at no additional cost.

Even if you don’t have a subscription to Cricut Access, many bloggers share downloads for free svg files for their projects in their posts.  A  Google or YouTube search for Cricut tutorials will provide many options for similar paper flower templates and a step-by-step tutorial.  Most of these sites also include a flower template to download to hand-cut the flower designs if you don’t have a cutting machine.  They generously make it possible for you to still make a whole bunch of flowers for any project of your own. 

Before cutting out any of the paper flower designs, I first measured the original painted on flowers to make sure I cut out flowers in different sizes that would cover up the original design.

The original Cricut Joy® machine can cut out paper flowers as well.  It is just limited to much smaller-sized designs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For my project, I did a quick search for paper flowers in the project section of Design Space and found so many options for easy paper flowers to upload to my workspace and cut them out.

Cardstock is required to make paper flower designs and I recommend using 65 lb cardstock for the flexibility in shaping and curling the flower pieces to resemble real beautiful blooms.  65 lb cardstock is sturdy enough to cut out the flower pieces, including the delicate flower center details, but much more flexible than heavyweight paper at 80 to 100 lb cardstock.  

 

 

 

Daisies are some of my favorite flowers for Summer so I cut out several flower shapes in different sizes in red and white.

And of course, I had to include some bright paper sunflowers.

In an attempt to add more depth and texture to the new paper flower bouquet on the back of the truck sign, I tried to make a red rose.  It was harder than I expected and in the end, it didn’t work well with the other paper flowers – so I just stuck to the daisies and sunflowers.

 

 

 

 

Each layer of the flower pieces are cut out by the Cricut machine in individual sections. 

The flowers are easy to assemble by stacking each layer on top of each other and securing them with a dab of hot glue in the center of the flower.  

 

The sunflower templates are cut out in a long curved design. To make the flowers, you start on one end and start rolling the cut paper along the solid section with the petals pointed upward, securing it with hot glue along the way, and closing off the bottom with the last round petal.

 

 

Using a hot glue gun and a drop of hot glue on the back of my gorgeous paper flowers, I easily secured them over the original painted flowers on the sign, filling in the gaps with cutouts of green leaves and stems.

 

 

 

 

Remaking this vintage truck by changing the paint color and embellishing it with some beautiful Cricut flowers was a good idea.

I like the sign so much better now and have hung it in my dining room for the summer.  It was fun making these paper flowers that will never die. 

 

 

 

Pin For Later

 

 

I would like to invite you to visit all the other talented bloggers who participated in the Creative Craft Hop this month.

Starting with Ann’s project for a Wall Vase Makeover.

 

Laser Engraved Chopping Board

Coffee Filter Hydrangeas

 

Hugs,

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above.