Chalkboard Vinyl Project – A Christmas Countdown Calendar!

Chalkboard vinyl is a super fun product for a range of applications!

Chalkboard vinyl is often used for:

• kitchen storage decals
• mason jars as a wedding favor
• kids wall decals
• and a whole lot more!

As Christmas is coming, I’m using it to make a Christmas countdown calendar – each day I can erase the previous number and write in the next!

Chalkboard Vinyl

If you’ve got an old photo frame laying around that you don’t know what to do with – here’s an idea! This is a fun DIY project you can display during the holiday season.

Materials needed:

• Large photo frame or sign
• Cricut cutting machine
• Cricut Chalkboard Vinyl
• Gold glitter cardstock for the background
• 12″ x 24″ StandardGrip mat (or you can tape two 12 x 12 inch mats together like I did)
• Cricut StrongGrip Transfer Tape

Here is how I made the project!

1. Arrange The SVG

The design I used for this project can be found here on Etsy.

I downloaded it to my computer and uploaded it to Cricut Design Space. This is what I did to prepare the file for cutting, after bringing the design into a new canvas:

1.  I started by welding my design together – this makes it one layer so that I don’t have to deal with all the individual pieces
2. Next I used the shape tool to make a rectangle the same size as my photo frame (13.5W x 10.5H), and placed the design over top
3. I resized the design over the rectangle so that it filled up most of the space
4. I selected the design and the rectangle behind and clicked ‘arrange’, and then ‘center vertically’ and ‘center horizontally’ – this centers the design

Once I had everything the right size and perfectly centered I sliced the design out of the rectangle:

1. I selected the design and rectangle and clicked ‘slice’ (bottom right corner)
2. I moved the sliced letters away from the design and deleted them

The only layer left now is the rectangle with the design sliced out of it. This is what the design will look like when I put it on the glass photo frame. However, I will put gold glitter card stock behind the glass which will show through the cut outs.

I clicked ‘Make It’ to continue to the next screen.

This project is slightly too long to be cut on a 12×12 mat. In this case we’ve got two options:

• use a 12×24 inch mat
• tape two 12×12 inch cutting mats together with painters tape (what I’m doing!)

I don’t need to mirror this project because I’m using adhesive vinyl. I will apply the vinyl the right way around using transfer tape.

2. Select Cut Settings

Next I selected the material I am using for this project. I clicked ‘browse all materials’ and searched for ‘chalkboard’. I selected ‘chalkboard vinyl’.

If you are using something other than Cricut Chalkboard Vinyl, it’s a good idea to do a test cut first.

3. Cut Your Design

Whether you’re using a 12×24 inch mat for this project (or two 12×12 mats taped together), you’ll need to make sure you leave plenty of room behind the Cricut Maker machine.

If you are using two 12×12 mats taped together, you’ll need to pay extra attention while your design is being cut. I held the end of the mat up slightly to make sure the overlapping part didn’t get caught on the machine.

4. Weed Design & Apply Transfer Tape

After the design is cut, it’s time to weed it.

Normally, you would weed away the background and leave only your design remaining. However, for this project I’m actually going to do the opposite and weed away my design, leaving only the background. The gold glitter cardstock behind the glass will show through the design.

Next I applied Cricut StrongGrip transfer tape on top of the chalkboard vinyl. I tried regular transfer tape first, but it was nowhere near strong enough.

To do this, I just cut a piece of transfer tape the right size, and then starting applying it from one end of the design to the other. As I burnished the tape down with a squeegee, I simultaneously, slowly removed the backing paper from the transfer tape.

5. Apply The Design

I turned the design over and cut off half of the vinyl backing paper to make it easier to work with.

I positioned the design over the frame and once I had it perfectly centered, I pressed it down along the center. I burnished the design with a squeegee from the center out towards the side.

After completing one whole side, I started to pull away the backing paper from the other side. As I pulled it away I burnished once again from the center of the design out towards the other side.

Make sure you only press down and burnish one small area at a time, working from the center outwards, to minimize any chance of air bubbles.

Cricut Chalkboard Vinyl

All done!

If you have any air bubbles you can use an exacto knife to cut a tiny hole and let the air out, and then press down the bubble.

Thanks for checking out this project.

You can of course use this as a peel and stick chalkboard, without really needing to use a vinyl cutting machine. But that’s a bit boring, isn’t it?

Let us know what you’re thinking of making with Chalkboard Vinyl below!

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