How to Make Signs with Cricut: Beginner‑Friendly Guide

Cricut signs are one of the most popular DIY projects for home décor, weddings, and parties. They’re easy to customize, budget‑friendly, and look professionally made even if you’re brand new to Cricut crafting. This step‑by‑step guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make signs with a Cricut.

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Search more of my Cricut Design Space tutorials to learn how to design rhinestone templates, cards and more. You can also find my free Cricut Wood Signs designs if you want to make your own wood signs without having to design it.

Learn how to make Signs with Cricut

Making signs with a Cricut is one of the easiest ways to create custom décor that looks store‑bought but feels personal. With the right materials and a little practice, you can make beautiful signs for your home, gifts, events, or even to sell. You can create all these designs using Cricut Design Space.

Watch the full step-by-step video tutorial to learn how to make signs with Cricut here:

To Make Signs with a Cricut, You Will Need:

Wood Round – I am using t his wood round in the 16×16 inch size. You can use whatever size you prefer.
Iron on Vinyl – I’ll be using Green HTV and Gold Glitter HTV. I highly recommend using a high quality vinyl, like Siser EasyWeed (which is what I am using), for this because not all iron on vinyl works well with wood.
Acrylic paint – I highly recommend an acrylic paint with a gloss finish.
Heat Press – I use a combination of my EasyPress machine and Mini Press.
Acrylic Sealer
2.5″ Wired Decorative Ribbon for the bow to match the holiday/theme.
Floral Wir e – for making the bow and hanging the sign.
Cricut Maker or Explore Cutting Machine and a 12×24 inch cutting ma t.

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Step 1: Design Your Sign in Cricut Design Space

Start by adding an image in Cricut Design Space and resize it to the shape of your sign. I am using a 16″ round wooden sign, so I’ve added a circle and resized this to 16″. We will use this as a guide when designing the sign.

Next, add the text. I am making a St. Patrick’s Day welcome sign, so my text will say “Welcome to the Shenanigans”. Adjust the font and size of your text to fit it on the sign where you want it to go. I am using the fonts “Lemon Days” and “Lemonade Peach” for my sign.

Select all of your text together and use the align feature to align your text as needed. I am using “Center Horizontally” and “Distribute Vertically”.

Step 2: Create a Stencil for the Designs

I like to create stencils to help with painting designs onto the sign. To do this, start by creating the design that you want. I am using a shamrock to create multiple shamrocks on the bottom of my sign.

Then select the design and shape that you created for the board together. So I’m selecting all of the shamrocks and the white circle together. Then select “Subtract” in the Combine Menu.

Then use the subtract feature again to slice off what you don’t need of your original shape. Since I’m only creating a stencil for the bottom half of the sign, I’m removing the top half. To do this, add a shape (rectangle for me) to cover the part that you don’t need. Then select the board and shape together and select “Subtract” which is found in the Combine menu.

Then you’ll have your stencil to use on your Cricut sign. The stencil that I created can be used 2 different ways. You can weed the shamrocks out to paint the shamrocks on your board. Or weed around the shamrocks to keep the shamrocks the board color while you paint around them.

Step 3: Add Additional Designs to the Cricut Sign

Use the images in Cricut Design Space or SVG files that you have, to add in any additional designs that you want to use. I added a leprechaun hat to Shenanigans to decorate this sign more. To make sure the hat and Shenanigans cut out together on the vinyl, select both of the layers and select “Weld” or “Unite” in the Combine menu. Both of these tools give the same result, but Unite will allow you to edit the design still while Weld will not.

Watch the full video tutorial to learn how I edited the leprechaun hat in Cricut Design Space to work with this design that I grabbed from my St. Patrick’s Day Sticker SVG files.

how to make sign designs in cricut design space

Step 4: Cut the Vinyl for the Cricut Sign

Cut out any vinyl that you need to prepare your sign. For the green and gold layers, I am using iron on vinyl. So I will mirror this layer before cutting it out.

For the shamrock stencil, I am cutting this out in stencil paper so I do NOT need to mirror this design.

When everything is cut out, weed each design by removing the parts of it that you don’t need.

Step 5: Paint the Sign and Apply the Stencil

I like for a good portion of my sign to be painted. This is just my preference, but you can use more vinyl if you prefer that look. If you want to change the color of the sign, start by painting the sign.

I painted my sign white on the top half and gold on the bottom half. To make sure you have the sections correct, use your stencil to mark where to tape off to paint each section. Once this dries, apply the stencil and paint the stencil accordingly.

Step 6: Add the Vinyl to the Sign

Place the HTV vinyl on the sign, in the correct place and press it with a heat press. Make sure to put a piece of parchment paper on top before pressing.

For regular and glitter iron on vinyl, press this at 300 degrees for 40 seconds. Wait for the vinyl to cool before removing the carrier sheet.

If you have a mini heat press, this is helpful for adding small amounts of vinyl on top, like the gold in my design.

Note: I added my vinyl before painting with the stencil to give more time for the gold paint to dry. The order of these steps doesn’t matter.

Step 7: Seal the Sign

Sealing the sign is a very important step, especially if you plan to use this sign outside. Sealing it will help product it from fading from the sun or weathering. I use this acrylic paint with a gloss finish to seal my signs, but any acrylic sealer will work. It’s best to seal your sign outdoors or in a well ventilated space.

Step 8: Add a Bow and Hang Your Sign

Adding 3D elements really help to elevate the look of your Cricut sign. I like to add a bow to the top using decorative ribbon that matches the theme. But, you can also add flowers or any other embellishments that you like.

And then when you are done, add string or wire so you can easily hang your sign. The wood rounds that I get, already come with pre-drilled holes. But, you may need to add your own holes if your sign doesn’t have them.

Thanks so much for checking out this sign tutorial. When you’re done, make sure to post your creations in my crafting group here or tag me if you post them on social media. I absolutely love seeing your crafts and can’t wait to see how Cricut signs turn out.