Products Used
- Oracal 631 in matte black
- Vvivid vinyl in glossy red and glossy white
- Cricut premium vinyl textured metallic dark metals sampler
- Cricut 2.0mm chipboard
One of my cousins, Michael, who lives very close by and has been a huge inspiration to me ever since we moved to California, has a garden. He has done gardening in the past, but always ended up contending with the squirrels until eventually they won. He’s fighting the good fight once again in order to enjoy making his own home-grown salad whenever he likes. So far, he is fighting hard and keeping them (for the most part) at bay with lots of pepper and a custom-made fence around most of the gardening area.
Another thing to note about Michael is he has a wicked sense of humor. He is quick witted and clever, sitting back until the perfect moment to throw out the most perfectly-timed remark that has people commenting with ‘oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh’ or ‘boo-yah’ in response. It sometimes reminds me of the gif of the group of guys reacting to a verbal smack down by cheering, jeering, and running around with their hands on their faces. This is where the sign comes in.
Michael appreciates and enjoys gifts from others that they have made, giving the gift that much-more-so personal touch. I wanted to make a gift for his birthday that reflected him and his personality, but also had a bit of my own personal flair (because I am not one to NOT use some kind of flair…I WEAR ALL THE PIECES OF FLAIR). After much thinking, brainstorming, going back and forth with my husband, I decided to make a sign to forbid squirrels from approaching the premises of Michael’s house (because, sure, those little furry things can read, right?).
This was my first attempt at using chipboard and it was (almost) a success. I’ll certainly have to toy with the settings a bit more. At first, I was so proud of myself for using the knife blade in the Maker and not breaking the blade. The cuts were smooth and seemingly perfect…until I removed the second piece of chipboard from the mat and part of the mat came with it (a picture of the result can be seen in a previous IG post here). After the hiccup, things went smoothly. I was able to successfully cover both pieces of chipboard with the black and red vinyls without bubbles, cutting away the excess after application. My little bit of flair was using the embossed glossy vinyl to create a squirrel silhouette with a bit of flourishes cut into it. Once it was all assembled, it made for a pretty neat sign.
