DIY Fluted Arched Menus with Cricut!
Elevate your long lunches and dinner parties at home with these beautiful menus.
I am back with another fun DIY project using my Cricut Maker 3! It's my wedding anniversary soon and I'll be making a 3 course lunch for Jason here at home on our back deck. The babysitter has been arranged and I am so excited! I am pulling out all the stops and cooking him 3 courses. I also wanted to create a beautiful tablescape with fluted arched menus, you know, just to go that extra mile. And that's where my Cricut Maker 3 comes in. For this project, I'm using Smart Vinyl, Transfer Tape, Portable Trimmer and my Weeder and Scraper tools to make the menu, which I'll transfer onto the fluted polycarbonate. Let's get started!
To see how this DIY project came together, make sure you watch this video!
Project Details
🕒 Project Time Estimate: 1 to 2 hours
💰 Materials Cost: $25 (assuming you already have the Cricut Maker 3, materials and tools)
👷♀️ Skill Level: Beginner
⚒️ Tools: Cricket Maker 3 and Cricut Basic Tool Set
Materials
Bowl, ruler, whiteboard marker
Craft or Stanley knife
Ps. In Australia, you can shop Cricut in a variety of stores including Officeworks, Spotlight, Harvey Norman and Big W.
How To
Start by opening the Cricut app. Create a new project in the Canvas and using the “Text” option (in the menu on the left) to write the menu. I used the Curve tool to create a nice arch for the menu heading. You can add other decorations but I decided to keep my simple.
It’s important to choose the right font for this project because my menu was on the small side (15cm x 15cm) and therefore the letters had to be small, and I had issues weeding the Smart Vinyl off the sheet for finer fonts. After some trial and error, chose Arial in uppercase. My best advice is to keep it simple and avoid fonts with thin letters for a small project like this.
When you are happy with the design of the menu in your Project Canvas, with your mouse select and hover over the design, then click “Attach” (which you’ll find on the menu to the bottom right of your screen). Then click “Make It” on the top right of the screen. Follow the prompts until you have your cut sheet of Smart Vinyl.
Weed the Smart Vinyl using the Weeding Tool - take your time, replace any letters that drop off and pull the sheet down straight so you don’t lose any letters (particularly “i”). Apply transfer tape on top and use the Scraper Tool to make sure there are no bubbles.
Lay the menu on top of the fluted polycarbonate sheet (this is to ensure the menu fits onto the fluted arch), then grab a bowl and draw a semi circle on top and over the menu and draw two lines straight down using a ruler. Take the menu off and cut the menu out using a craft or stanley knife.
Place the menu (transfer tape down) onto the front of the fluted arch and use the Scraper to stick it on. Slowly peel the transfer tape back and your first beautiful Fluted Arched Menu is done! Create as many as you need.
Ta daaaa! Taking your tablescape from ordinary to extraordinary has never been more fun!
I love how creating a bespoke menu for a tablescape, even if it’s just for a long lunch or dinner party at home, makes the experience even more memorable. It’s these details that make your guests (and in my case, my husband) smile. There are so many options with this project too, you could use balsa wood, card stock, MDF or perspex! And there are lots of coloured Smart Vinyl to choose from. I hope you enjoyed this little DIY as much as I did. And I can let you know that Jason loved the tablescape, menus and the 3 course meal I cooked for him :)
This project is in collaboration with Cricut.
