DIY Bridesmaid Hangers

     When I was planning for my wedding, I made most of the gifts for my bridal party. I had some hangers that I thought would be a good gift for the big day. I personalized them with my Cricut, and they were great to hang our dresses on during the getting ready photos. My sister asked me to do the same thing for her bridesmaids, so she got me some hangers and to work I went!

    I thought this time around, I would take pictures during the process and explain how I personalized the hangers. This is just one way of using your Cricut and how it worked the best for me. Feel free to make changes as you go!

    Materials: 

• Cricut (I use the Cricut Explore Air)
• Permanent vinyl (I use Cricut Premium Vinyl, Permanent Glossy in Gold)
• Transfer tape (I use Cricut brand)
• And the other materials needed when you use your Cricut (StandardGrip mat, scraper, and weeder)
• Hangers
• Ribbon
• Scissors

    Step 1: Find some hangers. My sister ordered some off of Amazon. The hangers I used for my bridesmaid were older and came from a garage sale. Any type will work, as long as it has a smooth surface for the vinyl to stick to.

    Step 2: Open Cricut Design Space to start creating the text to put on the hangers. I used the font Hello Honey from DaFont for these hangers. Here is the link to download the font: https://www.dafont.com/hello-honey.font. If you are like me, I do not download fonts very often. I had to watch a YouTube tutorial to learn how to do it on my computer.

    Once you have the text that you like picked out, start adjusting the size of the text to fit on the hangers. My text was about 3 inches wide by about 0.5 inches high. When the text is the right size, you will want to weld it together to combine it into one unit. Then click on Make to start getting your vinyl and mat ready.

    Step 3: Now you can start getting your vinyl and mat ready. Cut a portion of the vinyl that covers the area the Cricut will cut from. Stick it on your mat, shiny/colored side up. You can use your scraper to press it evenly onto the mat. You will leave the Mirror function turned off. Turn the dial or choose Custom material as your material setting. In the Custom material setting, I chose Premium Vinyl. Make sure your blade is good to go and load your mat. Then let the Cricut start doing its thing!

    Step 4: After you have unloaded your mat, peel the vinyl off the mat and cut each name into smaller squares for you to work with. Using your weeder tool, remove the colored/shiny vinyl that you won't need. Do this slowly and carefully depending on how small/thin your text is. This step was the most time consuming for me. 

    Step 5: Get your transfer tape and cut off a section that will completely cover your text. Peel off the back of the transfer tape, so you are left with clear, sticky tape. Stick it over the text and use your scraper or finger to make sure it is stuck to the vinyl really well. This tape is going to help you transfer your text to the hangers, so you don't want to leave any of it on the vinyl backing.

   

    Step 6: Once the transfer tape is attached to the vinyl really well, peel off the back of the vinyl carefully. Make sure the vinyl is sticking to the transfer tape. You are left with the clear tape and your text.

    Step 7: Grab one of your hangers. Position your vinyl text onto the hanger where you want it to stick. Press it onto the hanger, and use your finger or scraper to make sure all of the vinyl is sticking to the hanger. 

    Step 8: Carefully peel off the clear tape when you think your vinyl is all attached to the hanger. This is my favorite step! You should be left with a hanger that now has text on it. Tie ribbon around the head of the hanger to finish it off.

    And there you go! Personalized hangers for your bridesmaids, maid of honor, or anyone!