Vinyl Subway Art - A Silhouette Project

I am really loving playing around with my Silhouette Cameo. I made some Vinyl Subway Art for my nephew's two kids. I have seen this all over the place, and have always wanted to try it, so I decided to start small.

For his little boy, I made this for his cowboy-themed bedroom:

Up close shot:

I wanted to use fonts that looked cowboy or western. I went to fontspace.com and typed the word "cowboy" in the search box. It gave me all kinds of neat (free!) choices. Here are some of the ones I downloaded:

• Let Me Ride
• Western Swagger
• Westerner
• Helldorado
• HFF Young Wanna Plain
• Heffer
• HFF Quick Draw
• Cowboy Clips (for horsehoe)

In the Silhouette Studio program, I put in the measurements of my piece (10 X 10) and figured out where I wanted all the words to go. I cut each word out and used clear contact paper to transfer the vinyl onto my wood piece.  I then added 2 coats of Mod Podge on top to seal it. 

For his little girl, I took something her Mom put on Facebook the other day that she had said that I thought was so funny:

Too cute, right?

I used white vinyl, but I decided the white was too stark and plain, so I mixed up some brown and tan acrylic paint and lightly sponged it over the letters. You can see it better in this photo:

There, that's better!

Both of these projects started out as plain Canvas Panels that I found at Wal-mart for less than $5 each in the craft section.:

The other side looks like this:

You could use either side - I just chose to use the flat side (didn't have to do a hanger on the back this way).

I primed each panel first, then applied spray paint to each one. After the paint dried, I applied my vinyl, then my Mod Podge. So fast and easy!

One thing I have found out when printing words on vinyl in Silhouette is that you have to make sure you choose the "cut edge" option on the word before you cut it. If I don't do this, the vinyl seems to want to slide around on me and then not cut straight. 

To do this, simply click on the word and then click on the button at the top right that looks like a pair of scissors and then choose "cut edge."  I have also turned down the speed to about a "3" when I cut vinyl and that also seems to help make smoother cuts. 

I love how these came out. Think I will tackle a bigger subway art project next time.