Why Cricut Stencil Making & Sign Painting Confidence Is Overrated

Waiting until you are super confident using your Cricut machine to cut stencils or paint signs is not only an overrated goal but is also holding you back from creating SO many gorgeous signs, porch leaners and door hangers like Babs the Bunny up there ⬆️.  

 That voice telling you that you'll do it when you feel more confident is holding you back because the only thing that gets you closer to feeling more confident is just doing that project, practicing all the steps, rinse & repeat. 

Here's some really good news...You don't have to be a super confident painter or hand lettering expert to be an artist...believe me! I would not consider myself a freehand painter and my shaky hand (neuropathy from chemo) would not behave if I wanted to hand letter something either. Being able to design and use svg stencil designs was a game changer for me! It gives me the shapes to start with and then if I want to add details and layers on top, I can using very simple painting techniques.  

Take my newest project tutorial "Babs" the bunny door hanger (pictured above). Using stencils that I cut with my Cricut allows me to paint her entire silhouette so I can relax and "paint in the lines" for the hard part and then add all the fun details and "dimension" after, which is my favorite part of painting and teaching in my step by step stencil and sign making process.

The beauty of slapping that paint brush down on your wood surface is that when you let it dry, you can ALWAYS just paint right over it. Most of the time, little touch ups or adding a few new layers will do the trick. So there goes the idea that it ever has to be "perfect"...right?! Some of my favorite creations are the ones with the most loose, whimsical details and layers.  That's were the magic happens because you can really bring a piece to life and give it personality. AHEM..Babs with glasses 👓  keep reading if you want to find out how I painted those on!

Imagine if I just waited and waited until my "confidence" came? No amount of tutorials would get me there.  I'd be doing more waiting than painting and that's where all the joy is!

I mean look at just a few examples of the DIY Decor Maker versions of Babs.  All unique and all beautiful! Most importantly, the artists that made them feel proud of what they accomplished even if they didn't have complete confidence jumping in.  I can tell you a little secret after teaching this for over 5 years and creating signs for 8 years, I'm still never completely confident and that's probably why I have made hundreds of projects that I'm proud of.  It's a creative journey to enjoy and grow into along the way.

There's something to be said about seeing our creative process that way.  

It really does allow us to take the pressure of being "super confident" off of the table altogether so we can let the paint brush flow and use our Cricuts without fear.  

I hope you felt the well intended and full of love nudge from me to get started because all of those projects in your mind, screen shots on your phone and pins on Pinterest are waiting for you to bring them to life...even if you're afraid, the growth comes with practice.  

Happy Creating,

❤️Reta Frekot 

Owner of Picked and Polished 

p.s. if you are already a DIY Decor Maker member, the full tutorials for cutting your Babs stencil, painting, supply list and svgs are on your member site in the "spring/summer sign category"