12 Easy Target Dollar Spot DIYs – Fast & Simple!

Instructions

STEP 1: SELECT AND PREPARE YOUR BLANKS

Before you begin, decide which projects you want to make by reviewing your available items, materials, and the design examples. Make sure your Target items are in good shape and clean them if needed. Prepping now will save you time later! 

I'll show you how to apply layered vinyl to a custom wood signs and also glass jars. We'll also decorate them with paper daisies and fairy lights.

If you’re using any glass items as I am, wash them in warm, soapy water to remove any debris and dry them with a lint-free towel. 

If you have any unfinished wood items that are rough, a light sanding will help. Just brush off the dust!

STEP 2: GET MY FREE TARGET DOLLAR SPOT DIYS DESIGNS

Download my Target Dollar Spot DIYs Zip file from my free resource library, it's Design #395. Upload the SVG to Cricut Design Space and add it to your Canvas to see the whole collection!

TIP: If you are not sure how to upload an SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made. If you are on an iPad or iPhone, here is how to download and upload SVG files to the Cricut Design Space app. 

You can zoom out to see all of the designs by clicking on the minus (-) sign on the lower left. This is what my Target Dollar Spot designs look like on my Canvas.

There are lots of options:

1. “Live Your Life in Full Bloom” decal
2. Rolled paper daisies
3. Cardstock leaves
4. Butterflies decal
5. Two-tone rainbow decal
6. "This is Us" decal
7. Customizable family decal
8. Small layered flower decal

I’ll show you how to resize, personalize, and offset a few of these designs and then you’ll be ready to customize the others, too! Let’s clear away the designs we aren't using first so we can focus.

Make sure the design collection is selected and then click “UnGroup” above the Layers panel. Click and drag the designs you want to make to the side so they’re out of the way. 

Then, click and drag a bounding box around the rest of the designs on your Canvas and hit your Delete key. You can also use the “Delete” icon in the Layers panel. 

If you’re making the same projects as me, your Canvas should look like this.

STEP 3: PREPARE THE SVGS FOR CUTTING

Layered Vinyl and Cardstock Flowers on a Slatted Sign

The slats on the rectangular wood sign are perfect for quote decals, so I'll show you how to resize the elements for the best results. I've created the Full Bloom design with each line on its own layer, which will make this much easier. Select the design and click "UnGroup" to separate the layers.

Measure the slats to find the best dimensions for your lines. Mine will look best at 1.5" tall, so I'll click the first layer ("Live") and enter "1.5" in H (Height) under Size in the top menu. Leave the lock icon closed to retain the proportions!

Repeat for the next two layers.

When you get to the "bloom" line, notice that it's actually made up of two layers in different colors. I created the effect using the Offset tool, which I'll demonstrate for you in the third project. I want this line to be larger, so I'll hold Shift to select both Layers and then type "2.25" in the H field.

NOTE: This size is for both the yellow "bloom" and the white offset layer together. Since the original word fits inside the Offset layer, it will be slightly smaller.

Next, decide how many paper daisies you want on your sign. I'd like two. Since there is only one on the Canvas, I will select it and click Duplicate at the top of the Layers panel.

I want the daisies to cut on different colors of cardstock, so I'll select one and then click the colored box in the top menu. I'll change mine to white.

The leaf is ready to cut, so I'll just duplicate in three times to get four leaves.

Move on to Step 4 to cut this project, or follow along for the other designs.

Butterfly and Rainbow Decals on Glass

Even though these designs look ready, it's a good idea to check your measurements. My jars measured about 5" tall and 10" around. I will make my butterfly design 2.75" tall and my rainbow design 2" wide by typing the numbers in the top Size menu. I made my jars with one design but feel free to apply a design on the backside too!

You're ready to cut these designs! Jump to Step 4 to cut, or stay with me for the big project.

Double-Sided Sign

When you're making a reversible item like the hanging sign, you have to take size, placement, and orientation of each side into account. I want to put the "This is Us" on one side and the customized family design on the other with lots of the small flowers.

First, measure the sign. Mine is 11.5", but I want to leave a 1" margin around the edge, so my decal shouldn't be larger than 10.5". Also check the location of any holes for the hanging string so you don't plan a design element in that spot.

Click the "This is Us" design and enter "10.5" into the W (Width) field under Size in the top menu. Keep the lock icon closed! This decal is ready to cut.

For the family name side. start by selecting the decal and entering "10.5" in the W field.

Next, click the Text icon and type in your name, then choose your font from the drop-down menu. I'm creating Maker using Times, but use a font you like. I recommend using a kerned font to make alignment easier. Kerned means that the word's characters will be perfectly spaced!

TIP: If you need help filtering and finding the best fonts, get my Cricut Font Finder cheat sheet!

If you'd like to include the name's outline like mine, resize the text so it fits between "the" and "family" with about a quarter inch to spare.

With the name selected, click "Offset" at the top to open the tool's pop-up menu. I set the distance to "0.15," kept the rounded corners, and left the "Weld Offsets" box checked. Click Apply.

Design Space changed the name text to gray and the offset to black. You can use the color box to change each layer. I'm going to change the offset to white and text to yellow so they will match the flowers I want to add.

To get everything to the right spots, hold Shift and click all three layers for this side. Click Align and Center Horizontally. You can adjust the size of the name, just make sure to keep both layers selected.

While my name fits easily in the design, yours might look different. This is where you can get creative! Try different font, text sizes, or turn off the Offset until you're happy with the result.

Finally, select the flower and click Duplicate to add the number you want. For a sign this size, 20 works well, depending on how much space your name takes up.

Now, to cut!

STEP 4: CUT YOUR DESIGNS

Check to make sure the correct machine is selected and click “Make It” in the top menu.

If you are making the same designs as me, you may see the paper flower designs sharing a mat with vinyl designs since they're set to the same color. There's an easy fix! I'm going to move the paper flowers to their own mats. Select a paper daisy and click the three dots in the upper left corner of the design. Select Move Object.

Click New, set the mat color, and click Confirm to put the paper flower on a new mat. Repeat to move your second daisy to another cardstock mat.

Once your designs are set up as you'd like, click Continue.

Now it's time to select your material. Design Space chooses the cut order, so yours might look different than mine.

For vinyl mats, set your material to Premium Vinyl, use "More" pressure, and place your vinyl shiny side up on a LightGrip Mat. Use a brayer to get the vinyl as smooth as possible on your mat.

For the cardstock mats, use "Medium Cardstock" and "More Pressure" with your cardstock face up on a LightGrip Mat.

NOTE: New Blue LightGrip mats worked well for me, but if your mats are less sticky, try a Green StandardGrip mat.

Load the first mat into your Cricut and press the flashing button to begin cutting. When the cut is complete, unload the mat. Flip your design over and gently peel the mat away from your material. Put the elements of each project in separate stacks so you don't get confused.

Repeat these steps for the other designs, changing your material, settings, pressure, and mat application to fit each layer. 

TIP: Use a spatula to gently lift the delicate parts of the flowers and leaves.

STEP 5: ASSEMBLE YOUR TARGET DOLLAR SPOT DIYS

Live Your Life in Full Bloom Rectangular Sign

Gather your sign, paper flowers, quilling tool, glue, leaves, ruler, pencil, scissors, quote decals, and Standard Grip transfer tape.

You can roll your flowers just as they are, or you can combine the colors following the original Paper Daisy tutorial like I am. Here's how they turn out!

For the quote, use your scissors to trim away excess vinyl and then weed the design.

To help with alignment, I used my ruler to make a small pencil mark at the center of each slat.

Cut a piece of transfer tape slightly larger than your largest text line. I like to bend my transfer tape with both sides up into a "taco" shape and then apply it to the vinyl from the center out. Then use the scraper to smooth out any bubbles. Remove the backing.

Align the center of the vinyl with the small mark you made and press the vinyl on to the wood sign. Use the scraper to burnish the vinyl to the sign. Gently peel away the transfer tape. Repeat for the other one layer lines.

For the layered "bloom" part, we'll combine the pieces and then transfer them. Use the same taco method to apply your transfer tape to the yellow layer. Remove the backing.

Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than your design. Place the yellow vinyl on the parchment paper with a small section of the transfer tape extending past the top. With the parchment paper protecting most of the sticky area, align your yellow layer over the white offset. Once you have it right, press the exposed transfer paper down on the Offset's backing paper so they'll stay aligned. Then, pull away the parchment paper and press the yellow layer on to the white layer.

TIP: For more help on Layering Vinyl, check out my tutorial!

Burnish the yellow layer onto the offset. Gently remove the backing and apply the layered decal to the sign, just like the other words.

Lastly, use your glue to apply the daisies and leaves to your sign. Arrange them however you'd like. I put mine at the top to fill some empty space.

Here's my finished sign!

Glass Jars with Decals and Fairy Lights

Use the same steps for the first sign to transfer your butterfly and layered rainbow decals to your colorful jars. Spend a little extra time burnishing the decals to the glass to make sure they stick. The parchment paper trick works perfectly with the rainbow!

TIP: For extra help on applying vinyl to curved surfaces, check out my tutorial on the subject!

After the vinyl is applied, I added some fairy lights inside the jars. Remove the battery tab and make sure the fairy lights click on and off. Apply a foam adhesive square to the back of the battery pack and adhere it inside the lid. Make sure to give yourself enough room around the inside trim of the lid so that it will still close.

Here are the finished jars!

Double-Sided Family Sign

Even though it's a larger project, you can use the exact same techniques to transfer your decals to both sides of the round sign.

TIP: To help with alignment, use a ruler and pencil to make light marks at the horizontal and vertical centers of your decal and sign, like a compass.

Using transfer tape a bit larger than the "family" decal, layer the pieces in two steps to keep everything aligned. First, add the name to the Offset, then pick up the family decal elements.

Apply the layered design to the sign, using your pencil marks to apply it nice and straight.

Since the flowers are so small, you can either apply them with transfer tape or treat them like two-layered stickers. If your pencil marks don't erase easily, cover them up with flowers!

Use the same alignment and transfer steps for the "This is us" decal on the other side.

Here's my finished result!

STEP 6: SHOW IT OFF

Enjoy your new decor and use these skills on all the other items you can find!