Believe Christmas Ornament with Vinyl (Free SVG for Cricut)

Believe is one word, short enough to fit a tree ornament. The file adds a star with two small sparkles above the word and a thin rule with a dot below it. In our picture it is red on a pearl white ball. One ornament takes about twenty minutes and a scrap of vinyl, so you can make a few for the tree. A ball curves in every direction, though, and a flat decal has to be coaxed around it. Steps 6 and 7 deal with that.

How to make it

1. Measure across the widest part of your ornament. For a ball, size the design to about two thirds of that width. On a common ball of roughly 2.6 to 3 inches, that is around 2 to 2.5 inches wide. A flat disc can take a design nearly as wide as its face.
2. Set the size and leave the design unmirrored. The word should read normally on your screen. Adhesive vinyl is cut from the front.
3. Cut it from permanent vinyl, color side up, using the vinyl setting in your cutting software. Weed the background and the centers of the closed letters. The two sparkles and the dot in the rule are the smallest pieces. At 2 inches wide the sparkles are about an eighth of an inch across and the dot is smaller still, so pull the waste past them slowly.
4. Rest a ball ornament in a small cup or inside a roll of tape, cap side up. This holds it still and leaves both hands free.
5. Wipe the surface with rubbing alcohol and let it dry.
6. Apply transfer tape to the word and peel off the backing. Trim the tape close to the lettering, then snip small cuts into the tape between letters, above and below the word.
7. Touch the middle of the word to the middle of the ornament. Press outward one letter at a time, letting the snipped tape overlap itself where it needs to.
8. Rub each letter down with a fingertip, and peel the tape off slowly. Thread a ribbon through the hanger loop.

Tips

• Handle glass ornaments gently and burnish with your finger, not a hard scraper.
• If a letter wrinkles at its edge, warm the vinyl with your fingertip for a few moments and smooth it from the center of the letter outward.
• Skip ornaments with a loose glitter or flocked coating. Vinyl sticks to the glitter, not the ornament, and falls off.
• Line the star up under the hanger loop. Hold the ornament by its cap and check that the word sits level before you press it down.

FAQ

Is a flat ornament easier than a ball?

Yes. Ceramic discs, wood slices and acrylic rounds are flat, so the decal goes on like a sticker. They are a better choice for a first ornament or for crafting with kids. Raw wood should be sealed or painted and fully dry first, so the vinyl has a smooth surface.

Can the vinyl go inside a clear ornament instead?

Not easily. The opening is too small to apply a decal neatly. Put the vinyl on the outside and fill the inside with faux snow, ribbon or paper shreds for color behind the word.

Should we use permanent or removable vinyl?

Permanent vinyl is the safer pick, since ornaments are packed away and handled every year. Removable vinyl works if you want to change the design later. Store the ornament wrapped in tissue so nothing rubs against the lettering.