You know when you just do a project on a whim? This tutorial on How To Upcycle A Coffee Table With Cricut Vinyl is one such project. I wasn’t looking for a new table, but just stumbled across it in Home Bargains, and thought wow £12.00 for a coffee table, that screams craft project to me?
Also, as Jack is currently turning our shed into a chill room, this felt the perfect opportunity to buy said table and have a go.
How To Upcycle A Coffee Table With Cricut Vinyl
Obs you need a table to start with, charity shops and the garage or shed are a great place to look. However, I picked up this little bargain for £12 so it seemed perfectly acceptable to use as a craft experiment. I mean, I could have re painted it, if it all went horribly wrong. But it never, my little upcycle coffee table was a spectacular triumph.
So much so, I now have to create one for Joe too. And you know? I dont mind, as it was one of those projects that was quite relaxing and satisfying, a bit like weeding.
You Will Need
- A Cricut machine
- Cutting mat
- Permanent Vinyl (Or removable if you plan to varnish or resin the top
- Weeding tool
- Brayer or scraper
- Table
- Clean dry cloth
How To Upcycle Your Table With Vinyl
Preparing Your Table
Start by cleaning and drying the table top to ensure there is no dust, residue or finger prints.
Cutting The Vinyl
Then in Cricut Design Space look for a geometric pattern to fit your desired style. Here is a link to the project I used. I found a pattern I liked, but the surface area of my table was bigger than the size of my cutting mat (12×12) and I also wanted use a mixture of colours.
Initially I planed the size it correctly, slice every triangle and cut as a planned design with all colours in a plan. However I decided this would take too long, so simply cut the same pattern out 4 times in 4 separate colours which worked well.
There was slightly more wastage than there would have been if I have sliced every triangle separately, but cutting this way also meant the outline of the cut created a template, which made the process so much easier.
Cut each vinyl sheet the same size in all of you chosen colours.
Now carefully peel of the outside from one of the sheets. I found it easier to peel the vinyl directly backwards, rather than upwards. Which meant it never stuck together, this will become your template to start the table off.
Adding The Vinyl To The Table Top
Remove any unwanted edges and place the template onto the table, this work better with removable vinyl. Now you can start to build up your pattern using the template, I had no strategy for colour placement and did it by eye.
Once you have filled the area within the template you can remove and either place elsewhere on the table or cut into strips to use as guides. I found cutting into strips worked as I could build my pattern visually using the pattern I already had a guide.
Every time you place a new triangle, mask around it just like below. This enables you keep the spaces between each triangle the same.
You want to keep building up your pattern, but also keep the pattern quite random yet still with equal spaces between.
Creating the vinyl top on your upcycle table sounds quite complicated but its really isn’t. My advice is make a cuppa and put some music on and chill. It’s like doing a jigsaw but making up your own rules as you go along.
Don’t worry if your triangles go over the edges. You can either make this part of the pattern or neaten them up when you have finished.
Keep going until the whole table is finished. Also using the smaller triangles in the pattern to fill in any gaps, whilst still keep in the guide gap.
Once you are finished use a deep cutting mat and blade to carefully neaten up all the edges.
Finishing Off The Table Once You Have Completed Your Upcycle With Cricut Vinyl
If you are using permanent vinyl you will not need to add a protective layer. Although if the table is going to be well used a protective layer will stop staining or damage.
A layer of clear varnish, a large sheet of clear vinyl, pva glue or resin with finish off the table and protect it from spillages and stains.
How To Upcycle A Coffee Table With Cricut Vinyl
How to upcycle a coffee table and create a geometric table top with cricut vinyl. This is an easy circut home project for affordable stylish furniture.
Materials
- Permanent Vinyl (Or removable if you plan to varnish or resin the top
- Table
Tools
- A Cricut machine
- Cutting mat
- Weeding tool
- Brayer or scraperClean dry cloth
Instructions
Preparing Your Table
Start by cleaning and drying the table top to ensure there is no dust, residue or finger prints.
Cutting The Vinyl
Then in Cricut Design Space look for a geometric pattern to fit your desired style. Here is a link to the project I used. I found a pattern I liked, but the surface area of my table was bigger than the size of my cutting mat (12×12) and I also wanted use a mixture of colours.
Initially I planed the size it correctly, slice every triangle and cut as a planned design with all colours in a plan. However I decided this would take too long, so simply cut the same pattern out 4 times in 4 separate colours which worked well.
There was slightly more wastage than there would have been if I have sliced every triangle separately, but cutting this way also meant the outline of the cut created a template, which made the process so much easier.
Cut each vinyl sheet the same size in all of you chosen colours.
Now carefully peel of the outside from one of the sheets. I found it easier to peel the vinyl directly backwards, rather than upwards. Which meant it never stuck together, this will become your template to start the table off.
Adding The Vinyl To The Table Top
Remove any unwanted edges and place the template onto the table, this work better with removable vinyl. Now you can start to build up your pattern using the template, I had no strategy for colour placement and did it by eye.
Once you have filled the area within the template you can remove and either place elsewhere on the table or cut into strips to use as guides. I found cutting into strips worked as I could build my pattern visually using the pattern I already had a guide.
Every time you place a new triangle, mask around it just like below. This enables you keep the spaces between each triangle the same.
You want to keep building up your pattern, but also keep the pattern quite random yet still with equal spaces between.
Creating the vinyl top on your upcycle table sounds quite complicated but its really isn’t. My advice is make a cuppa and put some music on and chill. It’s like doing a jigsaw but making up your own rules as you go along.
Don’t worry if your triangles go over the edges. You can either make this part of the pattern or neaten them up when you have finished.
Keep going until the whole table is finished. Also using the smaller triangles in the pattern to fill in any gaps, whilst still keep in the guide gap.
Once you are finished use a deep cutting mat and blade to carefully neaten up all the edges.
Finishing Off The Table
If you are using permanent vinyl you will not need to add a protective layer. Although if the table is going to be well used a protective layer will stop staining or damage.
A layer of clear varnish, a large sheet of clear vinyl, pva glue or resin with finish off the table and protect it from spillages and stains.
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