How to Carve a Christmas Sign with an Inventables XCarve!
Hi friends! Happy December! I adore this time of year. Not only do I get to break out my hoodies over here in California, but also I get to start dreaming about Christmas. My favorite holiday! This year, I started celebrating early by designing and carving this gorgeous Christmas tree sign.
You guys know I am a huge fan of my Inventables X carve machine. I love it! They sponsored this project and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how the sign turned out.
If you want to see how I created this gorgeous sign, then keep on reading. And heads up, it was a lot easier than it seems!
Carving a Christmas Tree Sign with an Inventables X Carve Machine
I learned so much by completing this project. And honestly, at every step along the way I had to learn something new. While learning something new can definitely be daunting, I’m realizing that all these opportunities have really helped me grow in using this machine.
So let’s walk through the journey of creating this beautiful Christmas tree sign. First and foremost, designing.
Designing the Christmas Tree Sign
In order to design a sign, I actually used the software that comes with the machine. I’ve said in the past what a big fan of the easel software I am. And for this project it was true as well.
To begin, I put in the material dimensions and material type. I knew for this project that I would use MDF, and I use the 2‘ x 2‘ quarter inch type that I got from my local hardware store.
I used MDF because it’s a relatively inexpensive material and I knew that I wanted to sign to be big. BIG. I was all about impact.
Once I entered in the material type I was ready to design.
I used the fonts that came with the easel software and I added in some lines to embellish. I always think that using fancy cursive fonts looks really good with using kinda plain serif or sans serif fonts. And they were definitely some really good front options to choose from with the easel software.
I imported the truck as an SVG file. Don’t be afraid to find SVG files online! Just make sure it comes with a commercial license if you plan to sell your work.
Once you upload all your assets you easily select all and click center to material to make sure everything is lined up the way that you want.
Easy DIY Woodworking Projects & Ideas for Beginners!
Unlock your inner woodworking enthusiast with our ultimate guide on Easy DIY Woodworking Projects – packed full of ideas for beginners!
Whether you’re a seasoned DIYer or just starting out, this guide has something for everyone.
From simple yet stylish projects to helpful tips and tricks, get ready to embark on a creative woodworking journey.
For this project, I actually designed the whole project in one workspace then divided up the project into two different workspaces copying and pasting the fonts over so that they were separate from the truck. Doing this allowed me to use a different bit to carve out the fonts versus carving out the truck.
I hadn’t thought to do that, but the Inventables community forum was really helpful and recommended that I try that for the first time. And honestly it cut down the carving time by four hours so it was definitely a great idea! If you haven’t played in the forum yet be sure you check it out. People are so helpful.
Once you have your design done then you can connect your computer to your controller, and you should be good to go.
Carving Your Christmas Tree Sign
To carve the letters, I used my 90° V bit, which gave the letters are really nice beveled edge. I carved the truck with a 1/8th straight bit since I had more material to clear out.
Because I was using MDF it was important that I used my dust collection system so that I didn’t have MDF dust in the air. You don’t wanna breathe in that glue.
Once I hooked up my dust collection system and made sure the dust shoe was attached, I was ready to go.
So I hit carve and watched the magic happen.
Honestly what’s so funny about using this machine is I just end up watching it work. I find it so mesmerizing to watch. The carve took about two hours total and halfway through I changed the bit. I started with one workspace. Then when it was done I changed a bit and carved the second workspace.
Finishing the Christmas Tree Sign
I knew I wanted to sign to have a kind of rustic, vintage feel so I broke out my tried-and-true white and gray spray paint. I first in a layer of gray spray paint, then did a layer of white.
The trick of course with spray paint is patience, which might just be the hardest part. You have to work in thin layers and you have to keep your distance. If you put the paint on too thick or if you get too close, you’re going to mess it up. Trust me. I know that this is true.
This technique worked well because the gray settled into the letters and the white stayed on top. In the future I’m gonna try using film to block off certain parts of the project when I paint it, but I was actually really pleased with how the paint looked this time since it kind of had a distressed feel to it.
Once the paint dried, I grabbed my sanding paper and sanded off some of the white paint from the edges to give it a distressed feel.
I absolutely love how this project turned out! This project is sponsored by Inventables, and I hope that you get a sense that I love love love the machine and highly recommend it.
So lay it on me! What questions do you have? Would you try a project like this?