Skip to Content

Halloween Reverse Sign using a Cricut!

Want to make some Halloween Cricut projects? Find out how to make a reverse canvas Halloween sign and grab a Halloween free cut file!

Hi Friends!  Are you ready for Halloween??  It’s coming fast, right?? 

I am not a huge Halloween decorator, I like to save my craziness for Christmas.  But I have made a few Halloween Cricut projects that I wanted to share with you, plus give you a free SVG cut file.

Y’all know I love my Cricut and make most of my home decor using it.  If you are wanting more information on this amazing machine, click here for my Ultimate Guide of Cricut ideas!

halloween cricut projects pin

For this project, I made a reverse canvas sign.  As you might remember, I made Our Love Story reverse canvas sign with a sharpie instead of iron-on vinyl (click here for a full video tutorial on making a reverse canvas sign without heat transfer vinyl.

Materials Needed for Halloween Cricut Projects

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and/or Cricut.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links.

  • canvas – I used a 12×12 square canvas found here
  • Heat Transfer Vinyl or Iron-On – I used black glitter HTV because that’s what I had on hand and because I love glitter!  Can find at Cricut.com here or on Amazon here.
  • Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker – You can find on Amazon here or at Cricut.com here (always check both places for best prices!)
  • acrylic paints and brushes – I used black on the frame and different orange shades for the moon
  • Contact paper or adhesive vinyl for the moon
  • Mod Podge
  • staple gun
  • orbital sander or sandpaper
  • Heat Press, EasyPress or Iron
  • Ok, let’s get started!  I have a video tutorial further down the page if you are more of a visual learner.  It also shows you how I painted the moon since that’s a little hard to explain!

Prepping the Reverse Canvas Sign

The first thing you’ll want to do is to remove the canvas from the wood frame.  Take out all the staples on the back or use a utility knife and cut the canvas right next to the staples. 

halloween cricut projects

I usually remove them with a utility knife and pliers, just be careful! Or you can take the easy way and just cut the canvas off and leave the staples in (I admit, I do this sometimes!)

halloween cricut projects

Then place the wood frame on top of the canvas and trace its outline.  Just cut a little inside the line and you’ll have a perfect size that you will be using.

halloween cricut projects
halloween cricut projects

Prep the frame by sanding it and painting it the color of your choice.  On some of my reverse canvas signs, I fill in the holes with wood filler but I skipped that step and just painted the whole thing black.  Let it dry.

Cut out the SVG file with your Cricut on heat transfer vinyl.

FREE Halloween SVG Cut File

As with all of my free Cricut files, these are for personal use only!

Download the FREE SVG file by clicking here to use in Cricut Design Space

Download PNG by clicking here and for the moon click here

If you need help on how to download and then upload the file into CDS, click here for my video tutorial.

Designing Reverse Canvas in Cricut Design Space

I insert a 10×10 square behind the image so I can see how big I want it.

screenshot

Once it’s the size you want, hit the “make it” button.  Make sure to click the “mirror” option on the preview page on the left-hand side under the material size.

screenshot

On the drop-down menu for material, I browse “iron on” and then click on “glitter iron-on”.

screenshot

Load your iron-on shiny side DOWN onto your Cricut mat.  Since glitter iron-on is pretty thick, I use a few pieces of blue tape to hold it down at the top and bottom (you’ll see the tape on the video!). 

Since the moon I’m cutting out as a stencil, I cut it out of contact paper.

Weed out the extra vinyl of the big image and negative weed out the moon (just remove the circle!).

Apply the moon stencil to the canvas, seal the edges with some mod podge, and paint it. 

You can see in the YouTube video how I painted mine.  I first painted a yellowish layer over the circle with a paintbrush.  I let it dry a little and then used sponge daubers to add two different oranges to it.

halloween cricut projects

I added a little bit of gold sparkle paint at the end.  I didn’t let it dry long enough before I heat pressed it, because it stuck to my Teflon sheet.  So, if you are going to add some glitter, let it fully dry!

I have a heat press and love it!  If you don’t have one, you can use an iron or Cricut EasyPress.  If you’d like to check out a video of how I use my heat press click here.

Applying HTV to Canvas

I set my heat press to 305 and pressed for 20 seconds.  Removed the plastic, placed a Teflon sheet over it, and pressed for 20 more seconds.

halloween cricut projects
halloween cricut projects
halloween cricut projects
halloween cricut projects

Once your frame is dry, use a staple gun to attach the canvas to the back and you’re done!

Cute and easy, right?

halloween cricut projects
halloween cricut projects
halloween decor diy


You can also tape some fairy lights (on Amazon here) to the back so that it lights up at night!  I just taped the lights so that they would only show through the moon and windows.

halloween decor diy
halloween decor diy
halloween decor diy

The possibilities are endless when it comes to Halloween Cricut projects! Make sure to browse my roundup of even more Cricut Halloween ideas to get more inspiration!

  If you like glitter like I do and want to learn how to make a glitter jack-o-lantern click here or Halloween glitter wine glasses with Cricut decals click here!

halloween cricut projects

You’ll never guess what this pumpkin stuck to my vase is made of!  Find out how to easily make your own by clicking here!

You can even check out more DIY Halloween ideas over on Remodelaholic.

If you’d like to save this idea for later, PIN it now by hovering over the top left corner of the picture below!

halloween cricut projects pin

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a creative day!

leap of faith crafting
diy halloween decor challenge remodelaholic

Michelle James

Saturday 6th of October 2018

I've always wanted to try a reverse canvas and you totally inspired me! Thank you for sharing the free svg as well!

Leap of Faith Crafting

Sunday 7th of October 2018

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jane @SustainMyCraftHabit

Thursday 4th of October 2018

So nice! Every time I see projects such as these it makes me want to get a Cricut even more. Thank you for sharing this idea!

Leap of Faith Crafting

Sunday 7th of October 2018

You should! You'll get addicted to all that it can do!

Sonja

Monday 1st of October 2018

Great project! Can’t wait to get a cricut so I can make own projects like this one.

Mary Beth

Saturday 29th of September 2018

This is such a cute project! I didn't realize that it lit up. I don't know how I missed that but that makes it even more awesome! Pinned!

Leap of Faith Crafting

Sunday 30th of September 2018

Thanks so much! It was fun to make!

LeapofFaithCrafting.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.