Grab your Cricut EasyPress and a store-bought wood door hanger, and you can create a personalized DIY door hanger in just a few minutes!
Do you love those paint and wine nights? Door hanger paint parties? I do because I love making a new door hanger design for my front door, chatting with friends, and of course sipping on some delicious wine.
However, I have a little secret. I HATE my handwriting!!
So when they say ānow just write (your last name, some cute phrase, whatever)ā I just go refill my wine and snacks and wait for everyone else to be finished. I always tell the host, āIāll just finish it at home,ā ā but I NEVER did.
Until now! Today I am sharing with you the perfect way to make custom door hangers that can say whatever you want, but without you needing to break out a paint pen!
{FTC disclosure: I received some of these products for free but was not compensated for writing this post. This blog post contains affiliate links which means I may make a small commission on sales at no additional cost to you.}
DIY DOOR HANGER:
To add that custom wording to my door hanger design, I broke out my Cricut Maker!
Yes, my Cricut Maker!
In case you didn’t know, you can put iron on onto wood! That may sound a bit crazy, but along with a little help from my Easypress and BrightPad, I found that I could add my own design in no time and create some eye-catching door hangers!
I also found that this was a much better way to customize my own door hanger because I could get more creative! For instance, in Cricut Design Space, I could pick from hundreds of fonts, adjust the sizing, adjust the placement, and write as short or as long of phrases as I wanted.
This has been a game changer for me, I am actually USING the door hangers I create, and I am no longer lying to these poor host-y people, which means Iāll be invited back for more wine.
LETāS TALK PERSONALIZED DOOR HANGERS:
Before we start crafting, I wanted to briefly talk about door hanger signs and how you can use this technique in a few different ways.
As I mentioned before, I am adding custom lettering to signs that I have created at wine and paint parties. However, that doesnāt have to be the case for you! Whether you are super crafty or more of a semi-homemade type of crafter, this technique is a fun way to update handmade signs or large door hangers that you buy premade from the store.
If you are starting completely from scratch, there are tons of door hanger templates or DIYs out there to make! You can even look in Cricut Design Space, and some find free templates/projects that you can use to create your door hanger.
THIS TECHNIQUE GOES BEYOND REGULAR DOOR HANGER DESIGNS:
Along those same lines, donāt limit yourself to just one-word door signs like āWelcomeā! Even though that is what Iām talking about today, you could use this technique for so many other types of signs. Below are just a few examples.
- Yard Signs ā This would be great for the holiday season or dog lovers if you want to give everyone a heads up about all your dogs (LOL)!
- Business Door Hangers ā Where are all my small business friends?! This would be ideal if you run a business because you could display your company logo, communicate something to your potential customers/potential clients, or list the details of your retail locations! Talk about a unique marketing tool!
- Parties ā If you have a ton of family members like me, then you know there is always a party happening somewhere! You can use this technique to display a special message for a birthday, wedding, or retirement!
- Wall Art ā Door hangers are basically wall art for your door, so you could always use this technique for adding that personal touch to wall art as well!
- Gifts ā Did someone just buy a house? Why not makeover a plan initial door hanger as a housewarming gift?!
As you can see, the possibilities are truly endless!
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- Door Hanger (I recommend using wood door hangers for this project)
- Iron on (I used black permanent vinyl, but you could go full color and use whatever matches your sign!)
- Cricut Maker (also available at Amazon)
- Cricut EasyPress (also available at Michaels and Amazon)
- light pad or light box
- Weeding Tool
QUICK NOTE:
Before you begin personalizing your door hanger, I recommend looking it over to see if there is anything you want to update. This might be touching up the piece with acrylic paint and a foam brush, adding other embellishments with your hot glue gun, etc.
The reason why I say to do this first is because your door hanger is much easier to customize BEFORE adding the personalization. – This is just food for thought!
TUTORIAL: HOW TO MAKE PERSONALIZED DOOR HANGERS:
1. Cut your iron-on on your Maker (or any other Cricut machine) – don’t forget to mirror the image and put the shiny side on the mat!
NOTE: If you are at a loss as to what to put on your sign, or don’t want to deal with the design tools in Cricut Design Space, simply search Cricut Design Space for ideas, and you can use a premade project!
2. I used my light pad to help me weed the image; black is usually hard for me to “see through,” but the light pad makes it so easy!
3. Lay the iron-on on your wood surface – in my case, a snowman door hanger.
4. I put a towel down because I wasn’t sure about applying heat to something that was painted – but it worked like a dream!
Creating a project that is bigger than your EasyPress surface? Just heat the project in sections.
5. Peel off the backing and voila! A personalized door hanger!
NOTE: As you can tell by the photos, I have an ”interior door” (where the door hanger sign is on) and an outer door. If you just have a regular door and are worried about your sign being affected by the weather, you can always add a protective coat on top that is designed for outdoor use.
Also, if you are someone who loves that ”beautiful shine” sort of look when it comes to ”high-quality door hangers”, now would be the time to add a topcoat to your door hanger before we move on to hanging.
HOW TO HANG YOUR CUSTOM DESIGN DOOR HANGER:
You have spent all your time making a great quality door hanger, but now that youāve made it ā how will you hang it?
Iāve been using this trick for years, and it’s a great way to hang both wreaths and door hangers ā and it doesnāt ruin your door! Plus, you don’t need a drilled hole or need an ugly door hanger hook!
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- 3M Command Hooks – Large
- fishing line
- scissors
NOTE: I think Command Hooks are a great product, and they are my go-to for hanging anything on my door. This is because they are strong, the adhesive lasts, and they don’t ruin the door. However, if you can’t find Command Hooks, you could use another brand as well.
Hang the hook UPSIDE DOWN on the BACK of your door. Add fishing line to door hanger, bring it up over the top of the door, tie to Command Hook, and cut off the excess.
This is totally gonna be my new thing. I did it for my Fall acorn door hanger, too, but was too lazy to tell you all about it. Ha!
And finally – a little “behind the scenes” with my two biggest helpers.
If you make your own door hanger, I would love to see them! Make sure you tag me on social media @thekingstonhome so I can see all your door hanger creations!
How To Personalized A DIY Door Hanger With Cricut
Materials
PERSONALIZED DOOR HANGERS SUPPLIES
- Door Hanger
- Iron on
- Cricut MakerĀ (also available atĀ AmazonĀ orĀ JoAnn)
- Cricut EasyPressĀ (also available atĀ Michaels,Ā JoAnn, orĀ Amazon)
- light padĀ or light box
- Weeding Tool
DOOR HANGER SUPPLIES
- 3M Command Hooks ā Large
- fishing line
- scissors
Instructions
HOW TO MAKE PERSONALIZED DOOR HANGERS
- Cut yourĀ ironāonĀ on your Maker (orĀ any other Cricut machine) ā donāt forget to mirror the image and put the shiny side on the mat!
- I used my light pad to help me weed the image; black is usually hard for me to āsee through,ā but the light pad makes it so easy!
- Lay the iron-on on your wood surface ā in my case, a snowman door hanger.
- I put a towel down because I wasnāt sure about applying heat to something that was painted ā but it worked like a dream! Creating a project that is bigger than your EasyPress surface? Just heat the project in sections.
- Peel off the backing and voila! A personalized door hanger!
HOW TO HANG DOOR HANGER
- Hang the hook UPSIDE DOWN on the BACK of your door. Add fishing line to door hanger, bring it up over the top of the door, tie to Command Hook, and cut off the excess.
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Lori says
I loved this! But where did you get your wood snowman?
Amy says
I was wondering the same. Where did you buy them? The acorn and snowman are adorable on their own. I love the addition of the words.
Beth Kingston says
Hi Amy! They are just cut wood shapes that we bought blank and painted. Our local craft store sells them that way – we love them so much!!