Sign Party Tutorial

    Thanks for your patience as I know I've taken awhile to write the tutorial and upload the video.  This tutorial is for anyone wishing to host a sign-making party using silhouette materials.  There are 3 individual parts to this post.  1.  Step-by-Step Instructions for planning your party.  2.  A video showing you exactly how to make the signs at the party, as well as written instructions for you to copy, paste into a word document, and print as a reference guide.  3.  My top DOs and DON'Ts for hosting a party.

    Please remember, creativity is a subjective avenue and there is no right or wrong way to do things.  I am merely showing you what has worked (and hasn't worked) for me and you are free to embrace or disregard my methods based on what works best for YOU.  I am no expert, only someone who has attempted to learn how to use the silhouette to run a small business. I still have much to learn.

    After reading the post and viewing the video, if you see me doing something that is painstakingly difficult but doesn't need to be, please TELL ME!  Like everyone, I want to hear from you how to work smarter, not harder.  I would love tips for how to be more efficient!

Part 1  Step-by-Step Instructions for Planning your Party:

1.  If someone else is hosting the party, talk with them about what kind of signs they would like to make. Is there a theme?  Spiritual, funny, family, holiday, etc.?  This should give you an idea of what kind of designs to create or choose.  Then create 3-5 designs, find them online, or buy them from the silhouette store.  If there is no theme chosen, choose a variety of signs that are generic and popular. If you are going to trace the designs, make sure they trace well in the program before presenting that as an option.

2.  Create a way to sign up for the party, choose a design, and RSVP.  Personally, I like to create an event page on Facebook so people can RSVP there.  It makes it easy to keep track of.  As shown in the picture below, I found 12 images online and asked people to vote for their 3 favorites.  After a few days, I picked the ones with the most votes and narrowed it down to 5.  Giving them 3 options instead is totally reasonable, especially if you are just starting out.  The picture below shows how I set up the voting.

3.  You can either have everyone make the same size of sign or give them options.  I gave them the options of small or large.  The small was 12 in x 12 in and the large was 12 in x 18 in.  Set your price point as you see fit.  Generally, $20-$40 is reasonable.  I tend to charge less so more people come in the door.  Pick a price point that is best for your area.  Some people will want to make 2 signs at the party.  If I charge $25 per sign, I let them do the second one for $20. Next, I simply asked them to comment under the picture they wanted to make, using the word "Large or "Small".  See picture below.

4.  Gather all of the requests and put them into a word document or excel spreadsheet.  Figure out the total that each person owes you and send them a message or invoice.  They can pay you through paypal, send you a check (if you prefer) or if there is a hostess, everyone can get her the money and she can pay you in one lump sum.  Make sure this is done well ahead of time as you don't want to lose money!

5.  Post your final list on the facebook page.  I don't include the prices but I just copy and paste my spreadsheet into a facebook post and ask people to message me if there is any incorrect information about their sign choice.  I've discovered a few errors on my end this way, especially if it is a large party.

6.  GO SHOPPING!  Oooooh, the fun part!  It is best to do this after you have received payment.  That way, the money is not coming out of your own pocket.  Here is the list of everything I buy:

- Small bottles of acrylic paint from Walmart. 50 cents each.

 (For a party of 20, I bought 40 bottles of paint).

- Makeup wedges  (32 for $1.97 or 100 for $5.39) Walmart

- Foam paint brushes (20 pack for $3.97) Walmart

-Patterned Peel and Stick Contact Paper (makes 20 12inx12in signs for $5.97) Walmart 

- Clear Contact Paper (you only need one roll, $5.97) Walmart

- Small, detail paint brushes (pack of 5) for touch-ups if necessary. ($3-4) Walmart

- Pointed tweezers (Revlon is my favorite, around $7) Walmart or Target

- Wood (I use mdf from Home Depot.  I buy a 2 ft x 4 ft piece, 1/4 in thick and have them cut it for me.  I get four 12in. x 18in signs and two 12in. x 12 in signs out of that. If you are only doing small signs, you can get 8 signs out of the big piece. It comes to about $1.20 per sign (if doing small and large), as the big piece is $7.00 total.  Real wood costs more but some people prefer to use it instead. 

- Small foam plates (dollar store)

- Disposable plastic table cloths (dollar store)

- Plastic cutlery, napkins, cups, and plates if food is being brought.  I often ask people to bring appetizers and desserts and I just provide the paper goods.

I ask party-goers to bring the following supplies if they own them:
- tweezers
- a pair of scissors
- a small paint brush
- a credit card for smoothing down the stencil

This way, I don't have to provide 20 pairs of tweezers, scissors, etc.

7.  Cut your contact paper.  If you are doing 12x12 signs, cut the peel and stick paper into 12x12 pieces OR run the whole piece through your machine if you know how (I don't know how to do it yet.) Help? lol.  If you are making 12x18 signs, you can cut your peel and stick paper to that size and run it through your silhouette without a cutting mat.  I'm not confident with that, so I cut the pieces into 12x12 and 12x8 because the contact paper is 12x20.  Then I just cut the design onto two separate pages.  It would be much easier to cut your paper to 12x18 and run it without the mat.  If cutting all your peel and stick paper beforehand, place the cut pieces in between two pieces of cardboard so they don't wrinkle or crease.  Once they do, they won't cut properly.  These are the cut settings I use on the silhouette WITH a mat.  2-8-6

8.  Weed your designs.  I always do this in front of the TV because it takes a long time.  DO NOT choose designs that are super small and cursive.  You will regret it.  Choose designs with large, chunky letters if possible.

Leave the middle of your letters, like the pieces in the B and the middle of the e in place.

9.  Using your excel spreadsheet, organize your weeded stencils and put post-its on them with the names of the people at the party in alphabetical order.  This is super helpful if you are hosting a big
party.
.

10.  Cut your clear contact paper.  It's best to do this before the party so you don't waste valuable time at the party.  Cut your paper so that it is slightly bigger than your stencils.  You do not need a piece for every person.  I have a table of 6 people share 2 pieces between themselves.  It actually works better the more people use it because it becomes less sticky.

11.  Organize all materials and put in your car a day ahead of time, with a printed off tutorial from this blog if needed.  If there is a host/hostess, contact them to confirm plans and any last minute changes.

12.  Give yourself a big pat on the back....you are done with prep!!

PART 2   How to Make a Sign
Please note:  The first video I created (which I mention at the beginning of this video) was accidentally deleted so just disregard that.  All I did in the first video was paint the wood by squirting 1/4 bottle of paint on it and spreading it out evenly with a foam brush.  This video continues from there.

Step 1:  Paint your background.  One coat is good enough for dark colors, two for lighter colors.  Simply squirt some paint directly on the board and spread the color in large, sweeping motions with a foam brush.  Don't forget to paint the sides of the board.  Let dry for 5 minutes.

Step 2.  Take the backing off of the contact paper and de-sticky it on your clothes.  Lay the sticky side directly on top of your patterned stencil.  Press all over with a credit card.  Turn the entire thing over and press with card again.  Using tweezers, start peeling the backing at the corner, pulling at an angle and making sure none of the letters are coming off with the paper.

Step 3.  Place your stencil on your board.  Do not press down until your stencil is straight and placed where you desire.  Next, press down all over with the credit card.  Again, in one corner, start pulling off the clear contact paper from the top, making sure you don't pull up any letters.  If letters start to pull up, simply put the contact paper back down in that spot and press some more before trying again.

4.  Place a quarter-sized amount of paint on a small foam plate.  Dip your makeup sponge in the paint and dab off any excess on your plate.  You should not apply on the stencil if there are any blobs of paint on your wedge.  Lightly dab the sign in an up-and-down motion over your words.  You should still see the background color at this point.  Let the first coat dry, wait one minute, and apply another coat.  If needed, continue until the letters are as saturated as you wish.  If you get carried away and try to rush this part by putting on the paint too heavily, it WILL BLEED!

5.  Five minutes after your last coat, pull up the stencil.  Use a pair of tweezers to remove the middle of any letters from your stencil.

6.  Spray with semi-gloss sealant if you so desire.  This needs to be done outside.

7.  You can choose to offer hangers for the back of the signs if you want, but most of my attendees just place their sign on a mantel or an easel.  No one has even mentioned hangers to me, so I don't bother with it.

Part 3 :  DO'S AND DON'TS OF SIGN PARTIES

DO:

- Charge what you are worth!  This takes a considerable amount of time, so include that in your costs.  In my area, people are always looking for a deal, so I choose to offer somewhat lower prices in order to get more clients.  This, in turn, gets me more custom orders and parties in the future.  Whatever you do, don't undercharge to the point that you feel like you've been taken advantage of.  That will lead to burnout.

- Recruit help and delegate.  My husband goes with me to help set up at parties often.  I ask two of my girlfriends to come over and weed stencils while we sip coffee and chat.  In turn, I let them make a free sign for their home.  Find people to do the mindless work because you have more important things to do.  Just make sure there's something in it for them too ;)

- Finish everything 2 full days before the party.  TWO FULL DAYS!  I make sure all choices are in 10 days before the party so I have plenty of time to do everything.  Trust me, you do not want to be weeding stencils the day of the party.  You will arrive at the party and hate everyone there, lol.  You need a few days to look at things other than stencils and tweezers so you can be refreshed and upbeat at the party.  I repeat TWO FULL DAYS!

- Get there early to set up.  At least 30 minutes early, even if you feel like it won't take long.  It will take longer than you think.  At my large parties, I put my organized stencils in 4 separate piles on a table (A-F, G-L, M-R, S-Z) and instruct people to find their stencil when they come in, pick the size of board accordingly and pick a background color of paint from the table.  By doing this, you are free to welcome people instead of passing things out.  (I already have foam brushes, wedges, paper plates, etc. on the tables).

- State the obvious.  Don't assume that people know any crafting lingo.  They don't know what contact paper is, nor do they know what the words burnish, weed, or mdf mean.  Explain everything as you go using layman terms.  Example = instead of "weed" say "pick letters out with tweezers."

- Monitor, Correct, Teach. Your job as a party planner is to make sure all is running smoothly.  Calmly walk around the room after giving instructions and I PROMISE you, you will see someone doing something that you specifically said not to do.  This is why you walk around, so you can catch these things before it's too late.  Kindly tell them that there is an "easier way" to do it :)

- Bring extra stencils.  Inevitably, someone will mess up or lose some pieces from their sign.  Bring one extra of each design.

- Use this as an advertising opportunity!  - When else do you have a room full of potential customers with their attention on you?  Tell them about your business, take examples of signs you want to sell or whatever else you may sell locally or on Etsy, bring custom order forms, give them handouts advertising your sign party business.  This is an awesome way to get your name out there and sell your items or book more parties.  I gave the ladies my card and told them if they booked a sign party with me, I would design and make a sign for them for free.  I already have two more parties out of it!

DON'T! 

- Bend over backwards for people.  Sadly, people will always try to take advantage.  They will want you to design a complicated stencil, ask you to bring 4 different kinds of specifically colored paint, and a custom-sized piece of oak and 3 extra stencils so their sisters can make some at home.  DO NOT give in to these requests.  Simply say, "I would be happy to make that sign for you and bring it to the party.  It will be $50 for your custom sign."  If you do give in to these requests, be sure to charge accordingly.

- Tell people all of your secrets.  "What kind of machine do you use?"  "Where can I get stencils like this?" "Can you tell me more about the silhouette program?"  Keep in mind that this is your business and your livelihood. The people at the party have no idea how much work it takes to prepare everything and you are not obligated to give them more information, especially if you feel that they may want to run with your ideas.  Keep your answers vague and short.

- Yell. Trust me, Ladies love to talk!  Especially at parties!  When giving instructions, don't raise your voice to talk over them. That will only make them talk louder. Talk normally, or even somewhat quietly.  The other ladies will hush them because they can't hear you and they want to hear the directions!  :)

- Procrastinate. Yes, some of you will wait until the last minute because you say you work well under pressure.  No matter how much I advise against this, some people will do it anyway.  At least make it easy on yourself and pick designs with big, chunky letters so you are not fighting against the inside pieces of a capital cursive S an hour before the party, haha.

- Talk about your inexperience.  Don't mention that this is your first sign party or that you aren't sure what you're doing.  You can say these things to your family beforehand, but once you are at the party, put on your best, professional business demeanor and act like you own the place, your creativity and the materials!  Practice the techniques at home beforehand so you have confidence.  Your business depends on your ability to make others confident in your skills.

- Stress.  Relax and enjoy the party!  The hard part is over!  (Except for the tearing down.  And that is why I have a husband :P)