I got a new toy the other day - a Cricut Joy cutting machine. It's a very compact device that connects to the computer via bluetooth and can cut shapes out of vinyl or paper, and can also cut iron-on transfers and infusible ink for permanent designs on cloth and other materials. Literally five minutes after taking it out of the box I cut this decal:
I made the decal on the small sample of decal stock that comes with the machine. I didn't buy the Cricut machine to make coffee cups, but while I was waiting for the rest of my Cricut supplies to arrive I put my test decal on a cup:
I've got a lot of Jeep logos I can do, here are a few. All of these are replicas of original decals/emblems and can be done in the same size as the originals or sized as needed. The 4 "Jeep" letters, for example, are sized for the embossed Jeep logo on a CJ tailgate.
When my supplies arrived I began experimenting with the machine to learn its capabilities. I got vinyl in several colors and stickiness (permanent and removable) along with iron on and infusible ink materials. A few things I've made...
I made a few larger 4 Wheel Drive decals like the one I made with the sample vinyl that came with the machine but these are the same size as the original stencil that was painted on the back of early CJ's. This white one is removable vinyl and I stuck it on the back of an extra Dinoot jeep-style trailer tub that's set up in the workshop. Obviously a trailer wouldn't be 4wd, but it's removable vinyl, I put the decal there to see how it might look on the back corner of a TJ. I've also got a graphics file for the large Jeep letters on the tailgate so if I ever decide to finish that tailgate I can make decals for it.
Another one I cut from permanent silver:
When I do a large project like a hardtop, I usually make graphics for it. I designed a Safari logo for my JKU Safari Cab hardtop and had a local sign shop make decals for the side of the hardtop. I used the same graphics file to make a Safari decal with the Cricut and looking for a place to stick it I tried it on the new cargo box I recently finished up for my roof rack. It also is removable vinyl so I'll peel it off.
I made another 4 Wheel Drive decal, this one in tan to match the tan Sahara decals on the JKU, and stuck it on the rear corner. I didn't wash off the entire salt-encrusted Jeep for this photo, just enough to make a clean place to apply the decal.
Over the years I've collected a bunch of original Willys/Jeep emblems, some of the collection is in this photo:
When I built my Wrangler pickup, I scanned some of the original Willys emblems, turned them into vector drawings and had a sign shop make decals for me.
I used one of those graphics files to make a pair of "4-Wheel Drive" script decals today in the Cricut. The original metal emblems were on the cowl side of some years of Willys pickups and station wagons, and I used the decals the sign shop made for me in the same place on my Wrangler pickup as you can see in the photo above. Here are the ones I cut in the Cricut:
I've got a few more things to try - the Cricut can make multi-color decals so I am going to try a "TJ-7" decal. Some years of the CJ5/7/8 had die-cast emblems on them; they had silver letters on a black background. I've done the artwork to make a "TJ-7" version so I'll try cutting that.
I also have both iron-on and infusible ink materials so I'll be trying to add artwork to cloth next.
The Cricut Joy is a small machine with a capacity only 5 1/2" wide. They sell larger machines but the Joy will meet most of the needs I can think up now and if I ever need something a lot larger I can have the sign shop do large decals for me but one very cool feature of the Joy is that it can handle cutting up to 4' long. The material comes in rolls, and the machine can automatically feed and cut up to 4' at a time. A 5 1/2" height and 4' width is more than enough to make hood-side decals like the factory Rubicon hood decals.
I don't plan to put hood-side decals on any of my Jeeps but I've always liked the camel train graphics on the side of the Mahindra Savari so maybe I'll try something like that...
I still have a lot to learn about the capabilities of the Cricut but pretty much anything I can scan/draw can be turned into a decal so I'm sure I'll find plenty of uses for it.
I made the decal on the small sample of decal stock that comes with the machine. I didn't buy the Cricut machine to make coffee cups, but while I was waiting for the rest of my Cricut supplies to arrive I put my test decal on a cup:
I've got a lot of Jeep logos I can do, here are a few. All of these are replicas of original decals/emblems and can be done in the same size as the originals or sized as needed. The 4 "Jeep" letters, for example, are sized for the embossed Jeep logo on a CJ tailgate.
When my supplies arrived I began experimenting with the machine to learn its capabilities. I got vinyl in several colors and stickiness (permanent and removable) along with iron on and infusible ink materials. A few things I've made...
I made a few larger 4 Wheel Drive decals like the one I made with the sample vinyl that came with the machine but these are the same size as the original stencil that was painted on the back of early CJ's. This white one is removable vinyl and I stuck it on the back of an extra Dinoot jeep-style trailer tub that's set up in the workshop. Obviously a trailer wouldn't be 4wd, but it's removable vinyl, I put the decal there to see how it might look on the back corner of a TJ. I've also got a graphics file for the large Jeep letters on the tailgate so if I ever decide to finish that tailgate I can make decals for it.
Another one I cut from permanent silver:
When I do a large project like a hardtop, I usually make graphics for it. I designed a Safari logo for my JKU Safari Cab hardtop and had a local sign shop make decals for the side of the hardtop. I used the same graphics file to make a Safari decal with the Cricut and looking for a place to stick it I tried it on the new cargo box I recently finished up for my roof rack. It also is removable vinyl so I'll peel it off.
I made another 4 Wheel Drive decal, this one in tan to match the tan Sahara decals on the JKU, and stuck it on the rear corner. I didn't wash off the entire salt-encrusted Jeep for this photo, just enough to make a clean place to apply the decal.
Over the years I've collected a bunch of original Willys/Jeep emblems, some of the collection is in this photo:
When I built my Wrangler pickup, I scanned some of the original Willys emblems, turned them into vector drawings and had a sign shop make decals for me.
I used one of those graphics files to make a pair of "4-Wheel Drive" script decals today in the Cricut. The original metal emblems were on the cowl side of some years of Willys pickups and station wagons, and I used the decals the sign shop made for me in the same place on my Wrangler pickup as you can see in the photo above. Here are the ones I cut in the Cricut:
I've got a few more things to try - the Cricut can make multi-color decals so I am going to try a "TJ-7" decal. Some years of the CJ5/7/8 had die-cast emblems on them; they had silver letters on a black background. I've done the artwork to make a "TJ-7" version so I'll try cutting that.
I also have both iron-on and infusible ink materials so I'll be trying to add artwork to cloth next.
The Cricut Joy is a small machine with a capacity only 5 1/2" wide. They sell larger machines but the Joy will meet most of the needs I can think up now and if I ever need something a lot larger I can have the sign shop do large decals for me but one very cool feature of the Joy is that it can handle cutting up to 4' long. The material comes in rolls, and the machine can automatically feed and cut up to 4' at a time. A 5 1/2" height and 4' width is more than enough to make hood-side decals like the factory Rubicon hood decals.
I don't plan to put hood-side decals on any of my Jeeps but I've always liked the camel train graphics on the side of the Mahindra Savari so maybe I'll try something like that...
I still have a lot to learn about the capabilities of the Cricut but pretty much anything I can scan/draw can be turned into a decal so I'm sure I'll find plenty of uses for it.
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