Pinterest - Framed Vinyl Name Sign

One day as I was browsing pinterest I came across several framed name signs.  

You know the ones, that have various names & dates of importance on them.

 A light bulb went off....

I knew instantly that I wanted to try to make one of these for my brother & future sister-in-law as part of their wedding or shower gift.

Finished product

 So my search began with a post in Facebook asking any of my friends if they had one of those cutting machines that would cut vinyl.  I was going to pay someone to cut the letters for me & assemble the frame myself.

It just so happened that one of my friends was wanting to get rid of her machine since she had purchased a different one.  

So for $30 I got the original Cricut & 3 cartridges - an AWESOME deal!

My next task was to find some 6" vinyl.

Thanks to Etsy I found some & it was very reasonably priced as well.  

I ended up ordering 6 different colors & will probably order more since it worked so well.

If you are looking for vinyl check this seller out! 

Prior to painting the frame.

After playing around with the cutter and borrowing some cartridges from a friend (Thanks a million Liz!) I figured out how I wanted the sign to look.

I used some scrap paper & made a mock up sign.

It looked perfect.

It was then time to go find the perfect frame, which was quite a daunting task.

I needed the frame to be 18 x 24 but not cost a fortune.

I really really wanted a backless frame too.

Well luck has it I found one at Hobby Lobby (or maybe it was Michael's, I can't remember which one right now).

 The only issue was the frame was black, not blue but I figured, heck - I can repaint that, no problem.

 Now I know you are wondering why navy & not black...Well, I had decided to make the sign in navy blue and hot pink, since that is their wedding colors.  

(Of course I learned over this past weekend their colors are navy & pink, not hot pink.  Oh well.)

Bart modeling the frame for me.

 It took me a couple of hours one morning to cut out the vinyl and a couple hours on another afternoon to place them on the frame.

However the painting of the frame took place over about 4 or 5 days & 3 cans of spray paint later we had a finished product.

The issue we had was the first can of paint didn't cover the frame properly so we had to sand it down and start over.  Christi & Tim have Steve to thank for the painting.  He took over that project for me once he saw how much trouble I was having.  Thanks Babe!

I was extremely happy with how this project turned out & now that I know I can cut vinyl on this awesome machine I will probably do more.

Aren't they cute?
 I hope you guys have a very long & blessed marriage.

Want one to give as a gift or maybe just for yourself?

Let me know.