Instructions

STEP 1 - DOWNLOAD THE SVG CUT FILE

Download the SVG Cut file for this School Milestone Chalkboard (#25) from The File Vault. Get access by joining the club.

STEP 2 - UPLOAD THE SVG FILE TO CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

If you aren't familiar with uploading SVG files into Design Space, take a look at my quick and easy tutorial here. If you are on your smartphone, here is my tutorial on using the Cricut App.

STEP 3 - MEASURE INSIDE CHALKBOARD DIMENSIONS AND SIZE ACCORDINGLY

Once the image has been uploaded into Cricut Design Space, change the size of the artwork to fit inside your chalkboard. You want to make sure the LOCK button is not clicked to UNLOCK. This will ensure the dimensions of the image stay intact as you are resizing. For this tutorial, I am using the Darice Chalkboard (link above) and the artwork is sized accordingly.

STEP 4 - UNGROUP THE IMAGE

Click the ungroup button to separate the layers.

STEP 5 - ADD YOUR CHILD'S NAME

For this tutorial, I am using the KG Penmanship font that I downloaded and uploaded from DaFont.com.

If you need help uploading fonts into Cricut Design Space, check out my tutorial here. I go over how to upload fonts using a Mac, PC, and mobile device.

Select the TEXT option on the sidebar.

TYPE your child's name out.

Go into the TEXT drop down menu to search for your uploaded font and SELECT it.

Change the LETTER SPACING if necessary. For this tutorial, I changed the spacing to ZERO (0).

STEP 6 - PLACE YOUR CHILD'S NAME INTO THE DESIGN

Add your child's name to the chalkboard design above "First Day Of".

RESIZE and CENTER to your liking.

SELECT your child's name layer and the layer with the rest of the WHITE artwork (i.e. the dots, "I am years old", "I stand inches tall").

Click ATTACH in the lower right hand corner. This will ensure everything cuts on the mat where together.

Optional: You can repeat this step of attaching like colors together to help you with the placement of your vinyl. I like to do this sometimes to ensure everything is straight and lines up perfectly!

Before we are ready to prep our mats, make sure to deselect the BLACK rectangle. This is not needed on the final project. I just wanted to have that to visualize how the final chalkboard will look.

Select the GREEN Make it button.

STEP 7 - PREPARE YOUR MATS AND MAKE MATERIAL SELECTION

Select VINYL as your base material.

STEP 8 - LOADING YOUR MATS AND CUTTING YOUR MATERIALS

Attach your vinyl to the Cricut StandardGrip Mat. Make sure to smooth out any wrinkles in the vinyl!

To load the mat into the machine, press the double arrows button. Do make sure that the mat is positioned under the mat guides.

Hit the "C" button once it begins to flash and you are on your way to cutting out your vinyl!

Once the cut is complete, the double arrows will flash again. Press it and the mat will unload.

When removing the vinyl, peel your mat away from the vinyl rather than peeling your vinyl away from the mat. This will help prevent excess curling.

Repeat step 8 until all layers are cut.

STEP 9 - WEED YOUR VINYL

I like to weed intricate cuts on the mat before I move on to the next cut. It is a personal preference and is totally up to you. However, the mat does act as a third hand!

Weed all layers of your chalkboard sign.

STEP 10 - ASSEMBLE YOUR SIGN

To start, apply transfer tape to the white vinyl layer.

Remove the backing from the vinyl.

Apply to your blank chalkboard.

Use your Cricut Scraper to help adhere the vinyl and remove any air bubbles.

Repeat for all remaining layers. I recommend the following order:

Brown

Cream

Red

Blue

Orange

Darker yellow

Pink and light blue

Green

STEP 11 - ADD YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL INFORMATION

To do this, I recommend chalk markers. I have a link to the set I use in the blog post.

After you have taken your photos, you can wipe off the chalk marker with a damp cloth and your sign is ready for next year!