Acrylic signs are becoming all the rage on the wedding scene. People use them to make the seating chart for the wedding or reception, show the day’s order, and much more.
This type of wedding decoration has become so popular that there are now endless Etsy stores dedicated to making these signs.
While this is very convenient for you if you don’t have the time or patience to make your own wedding signs, they can often be very expensive to order and have shipped to you.
Making your own acrylic signs for your wedding is actually very easy to do, even if you aren’t the most crafty person. And by making it yourself, you’ll be saving a lot of money that you can put into other wedding activities (or maybe even save the cash for your honeymoon!)
This guide will show you the two best ways to make acrylic wedding signs on your own, including methods that don’t require a cutting machine.
Keep reading to find out how to make a perfect acrylic wedding sign!
The Trace Method
If you don’t have a cutting machine and want a budget-friendly wedding craft, then this way of making acrylic signs will be ideal for you.
To make these signs, you only need 4 things, one of them being a home printer, making this one of the easiest methods to make acrylic signs.
This craft can be a bit tedious though, and you need a lot of patience and a steady hand to make sure that you get the design right. But if you’re willing to put a bit of time into the project, then you should give this method a go. Here’s how to do it.
You Will Need:
- Acrylic sheets
- Paint pen/marker
- Tape
- Printer
Method
1. Get Acrylic Sheets Ready
Acrylic sheets often arrive with a protective backing already attached to both sides of the sheet. Take the backing off of one of the sides of the acrylic sheet.
2. Print The Design And Cut It Out
Hopefully, you already have a design in mind for your wedding sign. Using your printer, print off this design and then trim it down removing any unnecessary scraps of paper.
3. Stick The Design To The Acrylic Sheet
The third step is to affix the design on the reverse side of the acrylic sheet. You can secure the pattern to the reverse side of the acrylic sheet by using tape. Take special care to ensure that it is positioned correctly as if it’s off-center you won’t be able to fix this later.
4. Trace Design
Once you’re sure that the design is in the right place, use a paint pen to trace the design onto the acrylic sheet. Then fill in the rest of the design with the pen.
Paint pens are surprisingly tricky to use if you’ve never tried one before, so maybe practice a bit before starting this craft. The best kind of paint ben to use in this craft is one that creates a thicker line, as this will make it easier to fill in the design.
5. Remove Backing From Acrylic Sheet
After the paint has had enough time to dry, you can remove the design as well as the backing from the acrylic sheet. And just like that, you’re all done! You should now have a beautiful acrylic sign ready to use at your wedding.
You may also paint the reverse of the acrylic sheet to make the design stand out more clearly when it is viewed from the front.
The Vinyl Method
The vinyl method is probably the way most people would make acrylic signs, especially those who love arts and crafts as they probably already have a cutting machine in their home.
The vinyl method has a few advantages over the tace method, with the biggest one being that it’s much easier to get the sign perfect as the machine does all the work rather than you cutting the design yourself. If you have shaky hands, this might be the best method for you.
This method also makes the most striking and professional-looking signs thanks to the vinyl. This is also helped by the fact that vinyl is very easy to clean, so once you finish this craft you can easily wipe away any fingerprints.
The biggest issue with this method though is that, as we said, a cutting machine is used.
The additional processes, tools, and materials needed for this method may not be available to everyone, as it will cost a lot to buy these materials (especially a cutting machine) if you don’t already have them.
If you want to give the vinyl method a go, here’s how to do it.
You Will Need:
- Cutting machine
- Acrylic sheets
- Vinyl scraper
- Transfer tape
- Masking tape
- Weeding tool
Method
1. Cut Out Design Using Machine
It doesn’t matter what brand of cutting machine you’re using, they will all work fine for this step.
2. Weed Vinyl
Using the weeding tool, cut away the excess vinyl so that you’re left with just your design.
3. Apply Transfer Tape To Vinyl
With a steady hand, apply transfer tape to the top of the vinyl stencil. Make sure the transfer tape is firmly adhered to the vinyl surface by using the vinyl scraper tool.
After that, flip it over and scratch the design on the reverse side of the vinyl. Remove any extra transfer tape.
4. Attach Vinyl To Acrylic Sheet
Very gently stick the vinyl to the acrylic sheet. This step will probably take you the most time as you have to make sure that the design is perfectly placed on the sheet.
5. Take Off The Sheet Backing Of The Acrylic Sheet
After this final step, your sign will be done!
Summary
No matter which design style you go with, acrylic wedding signs will lend an air of refined sophistication to either the ceremony or the after-party.
After the wedding is over, they can even be used as decorations in the home or as keepsakes from your special day!
