DIY Silhouette Lampshade Reveal Hidden Vinyl Designs

Instructions

STEP 1: GET MY SILHOUETTE LAMPSHADE DESIGNS

First, download my Silhouette Lampshade designs from my free resource library - look for Design 509. Alternatively, you can use the Save This Project form near the top of this post and the design link will be emailed to you.

TIP: If you're not sure how to upload, go to jennifermaker.com/svgs to learn how to unzip and upload SVG files.

There are five designs in my collection: dandelions, tulips, dahlias, a barn scene with a ground layer, and a barn scene without a ground layer. I’ve also included a toolbox with extra elements if you need to expand a design for your lampshade.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to personalize and apply the dahlia design to a tapered lampshade and how to apply the barn scene with a ground layer to a straight lampshade.

PROJECT 1: BARN SCENE WITH GROUND ON A STRAIGHT LAMPSHADE

STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR DESIGN

NOTE: If using different lampshades than me, use a measuring tape to measure the inside circumference of your lampshade. Hold the tape measure just above the lower inside seam and wrap it along the inside of the lampshade. Keep that measurement handy, as you will need it for the width of your design.



CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

1. Open Cricut Design Space.

2. Click “Upload.”

3. Click “Browse.”

4. Select the SVG file you want. I’ll use the barn scene design with ground.

5. On the Prepare to Upload screen, it will say “Cut image” with the design preview.

6. Click “Upload.”

7. Find your design in Recent Uploads and add it to the Canvas.

8. Click the minus (-) sign to zoom out (50% works well).

9. The barn scene is sized for the straight lampshade in my materials list and is ready to cut.

10. If you are using a different-sized lampshade, you may need to resize the design. Refer back to your measurements of the inside of the lampshade. Make sure the lock icon is closed above the size fields.

11. Click and drag the corner of the design to resize it or enter the measurements in the size fields. I recommend leaving at least 1” of margin around the design.

NOTE: The barn scene with ground will need to be sliced if the design needs to be larger than 23.5” since that is the maximum design length for a 12” x 24” machine mat.

12. Make sure the correct machine is selected in the top right.

13. Click “Make It.”

14. If prompted, click "On Mat," choose your mat size, and click “Confirm.”

NOTE: If prompted, select “OK” to use a larger machine mat. If you do not have a 12” x 24” mat, see the “Modify Design to Fit 12” x 12” Machine Mat” directions in Project 2 below to slice and contour your design to fit on a 12” x 12” machine mat.

15. On the Prepare Screen, click the “Mirror” toggle to the ON position.

16. Click “Continue”

CUTTING

1. On the Make Screen, click “Browse All Materials.”

2. Search for and select the “Premium Vinyl - Permanent Glossy” setting.

3. Select “More” for the Pressure.

4. Place the first piece of vinyl shiny side up on a green StandardGrip 12” x 24” machine mat.

5. Use a brayer to adhere the vinyl.

6. Press the flashing arrows to load the mat into your Cricut

7. Press the flashing “Go” button to begin cutting

8. When it has finished cutting, unload the mat, flip it over onto your work surface, and pull the mat away from the vinyl.

STEP 3: APPLY YOUR CUT DESIGN TO THE STRAIGHT LAMPSHADE

NOTE: Applying one continuous design to the inside of the lampshade takes a lot of patience so that the vinyl does not stick to itself as you try to align it.

1. Use a weeding tool to remove the excess vinyl from your cut design.

TIP: The excess vinyl can become a lot and hard to handle. It helps to trim excess away as you weed the design so that it does not stick to itself.

2. Remove any packaging from the lampshade. Use a small amount of rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth to remove any dust or debris on the inside of the lampshade.

3. Cut five pieces of StandardGrip transfer tape about 8” tall and about 4.5” wide.

4. Cut five pieces of parchment paper approximately the same size as the transfer tape.

5. Remove the backing from the first piece of transfer tape and place the transfer tape on the center barn section of vinyl. Make sure you have at least an inch of transfer tape below the bottom of the vinyl design.

NOTE: Leaving an inch of transfer tape below the vinyl will help with placing the design inside the lampshade.

6. Remove the backing from the next piece of transfer tape and apply it next to your first piece (you can place it on either side). Make sure the tape covers the whole section of the design, including anything in the sky.

TIP: Try not to place the transfer tape so that it only partially covers part of a design element, like a tree. If needed, you can use scissors to trim the transfer tape so that it only covers full sections of the vinyl objects.

7. Place the remaining pieces of transfer tape over the design.

8. Burnish the transfer tape to the vinyl.

9. Turn the design over and remove the vinyl backing.

TIP: If the vinyl backing becomes too large to work with, you can use scissors to trim it away from the design.

10. Place the sections of parchment paper over the vinyl, the same way you applied the transfer tape. Make sure the vinyl is covered, but leave the bottom of the transfer tape showing. This will allow us to position the transfer tape and tack that blank part in place before the vinyl sticks to the inside of the lampshade.

11. Make sure the lampshade is upright in the correct direction so that your decal isn’t upside down.

TIP: Work in a well-lit area to make it easier to see the vinyl design through the lampshade.

12. Gently roll the design into a circular shape with the transfer tape on the inside and parchment paper facing out, and position the design inside the lampshade.

13. Center the barn in the front center of the lampshade. The bottom of the ground in the design will be your guide. It will align along the bottom seam of the lampshade.

14. When the ground looks even with the bottom seam, press the transfer tape into place and hold its edge down with one hand.

TIP: The section of transfer tape that is on the lampshade is more of a guide at this point. If you don’t help secure it in place, the transfer tape may move when you remove the parchment paper and the design will be crooked.



15. With the your other hand, gently wiggle out the parchment paper covering the barn.

16. Make sure the design looks straight and use your fingers to press the exposed vinyl into place on the shade.

17. Carefully remove that section of transfer tape.

18. Now, move to either side section. Again, align the ground layer along the bottom seam, keeping it even with the first piece.

19. Press and hold the edge of the transfer tape in place and remove the parchment paper.

20. Press the vinyl onto the lampshade in that area.

21. Remove that section of transfer tape.

22. Repeat steps 18-21 to finish applying the rest of the design to the shade.

NOTE: Do not worry about small bubbles in the vinyl. The lampshades are very forgiving and any small bubbles will not be noticeable when the lamp is lit.

PROJECT 2: DAHLIAS WITH PERSONALIZATION ON A TAPERED LAMPSHADE

STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR DESIGN

CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

1. Open Cricut Design Space.

2. Click “Upload.”

3. Click “Browse.”

4. Select the SVG file you want. I’ll demonstrate the dahlias.

5. On the Prepare to Upload screen, it will say “Cut image” with the design preview.

6. Click “Upload”

7. Find your design in Recent Uploads and add it to the Canvas.

8. Click the minus (-) sign to zoom out (50% works well).

9. If you want, you can personalize the design by adding text. Click the Text icon on the left

10. Click the Font menu dropdown.

11. If you’re using a downloaded font, click “System.”

12. Search for the font you want to use. I’m using Biosha Script.

NOTE: If you need help downloading and installing fonts to use in Cricut Design Space, check out this helpful tutorial.

13. Double-click on your text box on the Canvas.

14. Type the word or name you want - I’ll use “Jennifer” in the default font size of 72.

NOTE: If the personalization is too small or too big, you can select the Text layer and click and drag the corner to resize the text.

15. Select the dahlia layer and text layer.

16. Click “Align and “Center.”

17. With both still selected, click “Attach.”

18. If you need to resize a design, click the layer to select it and enter the dimensions in the size menu. I need to change the dahlia design height to 4.5” since the tapered lampshade is a little smaller. This will make the width about 13.7”. It helps to leave a margin at the top and bottom of the lampshade.

19. Make sure the correct machine is selected in the top right.

20. Click “Make It.”

21. If prompted, click "On Mat," choose your mat size, and click “Confirm.”

NOTE: If prompted, select “OK” to use a larger machine mat. If you do not have a 12” x 24” mat, see below to slice and contour your design to fit on a 12” x 12” machine mat.

22. On the Prepare Screen, click on the “Mirror” toggle for both mats.

23. Click “Continue.”

MODIFY DESIGN TO FIT 12” X 12” MACHINE MAT

All design elements must measure 11.5” or smaller to fit on a 12” x 12” machine mat. To show how to do this, I will use the dahlia design that we just personalized.

1. With the personalized dahlia on your Canvas, select the dahlia design and personalization, which are attached, and click “Combine” and “Unite.”

2. With the united design selected, click the “Duplicate” icon.

3. Click and drag the duplicate layer to move it away from the first layer.

4. Click the Shapes icon on the left and select the Square.

5. Since we are cutting down a smaller design for the tapered lampshade, I’m going to resize my square to 9” W x 9” H. You can click and drag the corner of the square to resize it or enter the dimensions in the size fields.

6. With the square selected, click the Color menu and select white.

7. With the square still selected, click “Arrange” and “Send to Back”

8. Place the first dahlia design over the square. One edge of the square should go through a mostly-blank area in the design. The other edge should be outside the design. I’ll position my square so that the right side of the square covers the left three dahlias and the personalization.

NOTE: It is okay if you cannot get the entire edge of the square along a blank area in the design - just get it as close as possible. You can use the Contour tool to remove any partial sections of the design later.

9. Select both the square and the dahlia layers and click “Slice.”

10. Delete the sliced square layer, the duplicate white dahlia layer, and the section of the dahlias on the right side of the design. My remaining sliced section is a little over 8” wide.

11. You’ll notice a partial dahlia on the lower right of the design. We only want to work with complete design elements, so select the new layer and click “Contour.”

12. Click on the sections of the partial dahlia to hide them. Then click the “X” in the upper right to close the Hide Contour window.

NOTE: If you notice that you missed any pieces, you can click on the “Contour” tool again to go back in and hide any other bits of the design.

13. Repeat steps 4-10 to create a square and slice the three right dahlias in the second design that you duplicated.

14. Use the Contour tool to hide any parts of the personalization that are in the slice result.

NOTE: If you remove part of a design that you can not slice cleanly, you can always upload the design again to cut it apart from a different angle. You can piece the design together any way that works for you.

NOTE: If you need to add additional design elements to fit the full size of your lampshade, upload the Toolbox SVG and add it to your Canvas. You’ll find elements for each design that you can add if needed.

15. Once your design is prepared, follow Cricut Design Space steps 20-23 to proceed to the Make screen.

CUTTING

1. On the Make Screen, click “Browse All Materials.”

2. Search for and select the “Premium Vinyl - Permanent Glossy” setting.

3. Select “More” for the Pressure.

4. Place the first piece of vinyl shiny side up on a green StandardGrip 12” x 12” machine mat.

5. Use a brayer to adhere the vinyl to the machine mat.

6. Press the flashing arrows to load the mat into your Cricut.

7. Press the flashing “Go” button to begin cutting.

8. When it has finished cutting, unload the mat, flip it over onto your work surface, and pull the mat away from the vinyl.

9. Repeat for the second mat, if you have one.

STEP 3: APPLY YOUR CUT DESIGN TO THE TAPERED LAMPSHADE

NOTE: Although we’re placing the Dahlia design in this tutorial, I used this technique for all of the designs. You will apply the vinyl in sections to accommodate the taper and curve of the lampshade. If applying the barn scene, make sure you are using the SVG without the ground for an easier application on the tapered lampshade.

1. Use a weeding tool to remove the excess vinyl from your cut design.

TIP: The excess vinyl can become a lot and hard to handle. It helps to trim excess away as you weed the design so that it does not stick to itself.

2. Remove any packaging from the lampshade. Use a small amount of rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth to remove any dust or debris on the inside of the lampshade.

3. Cut a piece of transfer tape slightly larger than the largest, top center dahlia.

4. It works best and is most forgiving if we work from the center of the design, which will be on the front of the lampshade.

5. Remove the backing from the transfer tape and place it over the top center dahlia.

6. Burnish the transfer tape onto the vinyl with your scraper.

7. Remove the vinyl backing away from the transfer tape.

8. Place the flower on the inside of the lampshade, slightly to the left of the front’s center, with the flat edge along the top edge.

NOTE: Remember that your lampshade designs are mirrored. You can place the pieces wherever you’d like but if you need guidance, you can always refer back to the SVG on the Design Space Canvas.

9. Burnish the vinyl to the lampshade with a scraper tool.

10. Remove the transfer tape.

11. Next, repeat the steps above to place the bottom center dahlia slightly to the lower right of the shade’s center.

NOTE: Be sure to leave enough space to add the personalization between the two center flowers.

12. Repeat steps 3-10 to apply the personalization to the center of the inside of the lampshade.

13. Continue to apply the remaining dahlia pieces staggered around the lampshade.

NOTE: For the dandelions, tulips, and barn scene, cut a piece of transfer tape that is slightly taller than your design and about 4.5” wide. This size works well if you made your decals the same size I did. Apply the vinyl in sections, starting from the center of all designs and work to the sides.

STEP 4: SHOW IT OFF!

Place the lampshade on its base, add a light bulb, and set it on display!

Here are what both of my finished silhouette lampshades look like!