DIY Christmas Shadow Box with Siser® EasyPSV®

Have you ever noticed that Siser® EasyPSV® is everywhere?  Take a walk through a shopping mall and you may notice all of the stores displaying their company name, business hours, and of course their 20% off sale. All of this is done with PSV! If you touch these windows, you may not feel the vinyl because it’s usually on the other side of the glass. This keeps the decals protected from weather and human vandalism, making them last many years to come. In this DIY blog post, I’m going to show you how to apply EasyPSV to glass in the easiest way and protect your decals at the same time!

You know how we at Siser are always saying “do not mirror your EasyPSV artwork!”  Well, today’s your lucky day for those who use HTV and occasionally forget to un-mirror your artwork (me included.)  Since we’re decorating glass, we’re going to mirror our EasyPSV!  If this is confusing, continue along this post and by the end it will make perfect sense – I promise!  By the end of this post you’ll know exactly how to apply EasyPSV to glass.

Here are a couple of little tips before we start:

• Make sure to use an EasyPSV with a clear adhesive. Take a look at the sticky side of your vinyl. If it’s the same color as the face of the vinyl then you’re good to go. Our EasyPSV Glitter has a grey/tinted adhesive, so this will not work inside of the glass.
• It’s also important to make sure the glass is clean.  We recommend using 70% isopropyl alcohol mixed with water, or a mild soap such as Dawn dish soap.  Make sure to use a lint-free cloth to avoid further contaminating the glass.

Here are some other supplies that you will need for this how-to project…

Christmas Shadow Box Supplies

1. Vinyl Cutter – Such as Cricut, Silhouette or Brother Scan N Cut
2. Any EasyPSV (except Glitter)
3. EasyPSV Application Tape
4. Squeegee and Weeding Tool
5. ShadowBox

Let’s start this DIY project by loading your EasyPSV (I’m using EasyPSV Permanent Holly Berry) into your vinyl cutter, color-side-up.  And yes, we are going to mirror our graphics!  Just make sure any script text you use is “welded”, as I made this very mistake on this very blog post.

Our cut setting recommendations for EasyPSV Permanent can be found here!

It’s time to start weeding once the cutter has finished doing its thing. Peel back a corner of the EasyPSV and slowly pull the excess vinyl away. It’s easiest when you pull it somewhat against itself, since this releases tension.

When your text/design is the only thing left on the backing paper, grab your EasyPSV Application Tape and remove the liner to expose the adhesive. Carefully lay it on top of your EasyPSV and brandish with a squeegee, securing the application tape to your vinyl.

If you’re using a shadow box like me, disassemble it and separate the glass from the rest of the box. Peel the backing paper away from the EasyPSV and carefully place the decal on top of the glass. When you have it in its perfect place, brandish the vinyl with the squeegee again to bond it securely to the glass. You can then remove the application tape and wipe off any fingerprints.

That’s all there is to it! When I re-assembled my shadow box, I inserted the glass with the vinyl on the inside of the box so that it’s right-reading from the outside. Then, of course, to jazz this project up a bit I used a little scrap piece of Glitter HTV as my background along with some festive garland to complete the shadow box. You can add bells, ornaments, whatever! See, merry AND bright!

Want to save these handy tips for later? Pin the image below!