Butterfly Subway Sign Made with HTVRontvinyl

I loved doing this Butterfly Subway Sign. This subway sign is a twist on the usual. This project uses graphics along with words. I used the HTVRontvinyl that they sent me and will review the product at the same time. They even list Cricut projects

But what is a Subway Sign? It is done the same way as a messy canvas in that you apply vinyl to canvas. See that project here. But instead of painting over it and removing the vinyl, you just stop after applying the vinyl.

I actually tried to do a messy canvas but the HTVRontvinyl stuck so well to the canvas that I couldn’t remove it! So I had to make another and stop with the subway sign. It still looks wonderful.

What You will need:

- - - a canvas ( I used a flat 8X10 one I got at the Dollar Store)
    - HTV vinyl at least that big
    - Pick
    - Light source
    - Acyrlic craft paint
    - Foam brush
    - Heat Source (I used an EasyPress)

Picking Colors for your Butterfly Subway Sign

The colors you pick decide the tone of the subway sign. Since this is butterfly subway sign, I chose pastels for the background. As I said earlier, this started out as a messy canvas project so I prepared the canvas that way. The vinyl I chose was the yellow HTVRontvinyl.

Prepping the Canvas for Your Butterfly Subway Sign

With a foam brush paint the canvas several different colors. Put small swatches of color all over the canvas randomly. There is no pattern and you don’t even have to clean your brush in between colors. Just make sure the whole canvas is covered. Let the canvas dry overnight.

Be careful that there are no ridges of paint. If you take a dry brush and brush over the canvas after you are done painting it this will smooth out any ridges.

Cutting the Vinyl for Your Butterfly Subway Sign

I wanted to try the vinyl I received on this project. The design is done so cut the vinyl using the non Cricut brand HTV setting and change the setting to more just to make sure it cuts through all the way. Make sure you mirror the project or your text will be backwards.
Weed the design using a weeding tool and a light source if needed. The HTVRontvinyl cut well and I didn’t need to use my BrightPad though.

Applying the HTVRontvinyl

After you weed the vinyl, center it on the canvas. Then iron it with an EasyPress or other type of heat press. I used the setting of 340 degrees for 30 seconds which I selected by looking up the heat settings at the Cricut heat settings page and copying the settings for Cricut HTV. HTVRontvinyl is a cool peel HTV so after I let it cool for about 5 minutes I pulled of the carrier sheet. The sheet came right off.

If you have a flat canvas from the Dollar Store like me, you can iron directly on the canvas. If you have a regular canvas that has a wood frame, the center is not stiff enough to iron on. A easy work around for that is to roll up a towel or t-shirt and place it under the canvas. Make sure it tucks inside the wood frame and is at least as thick as the frame. This supports the center of the canvas.

And your Butterfly Subway Sign is done! Frame it or hang it as is.

Review of the HTVRontvinyl

I was impressed with how easy the vinyl weeded! I hate weeding and this design has some really small lines and thin cuts. It weeded like a dream! I included a light source in the list of materials, but I didn’t need it with this vinyl. It cut perfect on the non Cricut HTV setting and I had no problems with incomplete cuts or pulling up vinyl I didn’t want to remove. It sticks to the carrier sheet beautifully.

Ironing went super too. It stuck with only one try ironing. And the carrier sheet came right off.

I have used other brands of HTV before to do messy canvas and had no problems removing it when it came time to do the messy canvas thing, but the HTVRontvinyl wouldn’t come off. It stuck that well.

Fun Facts About Butterflies

Butterfly wings are transparent.
A Butterfly use their feet to taste.
Butterflies have a liquid diet.
A Butterfly actually have four wings, not two.
Butterflies only live for a few weeks