These Spotify frames, or Spotify Plaques, have been popping up everywhere across social media! I decided to try my hand at making one, and after posting – I wound up making over a hundred for family, friends and Etsy customers! I admittedly fumbled through many, but in doing so, have created a process that makes creating these fun, efficient and effortless! I can’t wait to share!
Materials Needed:
- 8.5 x 11″ front-loading document frame – Walmart
- The Paper Studio Printable Vinyl – Hobby Lobby
- Oracal 651 Matte White Vinyl – Michael’s
- 12 x 12″ self-healing cutting mat – Walmart
- Standard Ruler
- Printer
- Cricut
The Design
Open Design Space. Start by creating an 8.5 x 11″ rectangle (shapes panel > square > unlock dimensions > 8.5 x 11).
Download a cut file of a music player. Click here to find some on Etsy.
Head over to Spotify, find the song you like and copy the Spotify URI.
Once you have your code copied, go to www.spotifycodes.com. Paste your code into the box, hit “Get Spotify Code.” Once the page loads, click on the “Download” button. You’ll receive a JPEG of the code.
Go to removebg.com to remove the black background of your code. You can do this in Design Space as well, but by either using removebg.com or Photoshop to remove the background, I find it gives the vinyl a cleaner cut. Download the image.
Head over to bendodson.com to find a High Resolution image of the album art you want to download. Be sure to select “Album” in the dropdown menu. Type in the artist and album name of the artwork you wish to find. Hit “Get the artwork,” then hit High Resolution above the desired artwork. This will open a new window with a High Resolution photo. Right click the image and download.
Upload your music player cut file, Spotify code and album artwork to Design Space. Upload your music player and Spotify code as cut files, and upload the album artwork as a print & cut file. Resize your album artwork to 5.5 x 5.5″ and your Spotify code to 3.967″. Resize your music player SVG to fit. Center the items to the 8.5 x 11″ rectangle we had previously created. Add text. Here, I am using the font Heiti SC. Left align both the song title and the artist name so they are even with one another. Select your text, the music player and the Spotify code and hit “attach” at the bottom of the layers panel. You’re ready to hit Make It!
The album artwork will be a Print & Cut file, and your vinyl will be a Cut file. This is very important – click “Use System Dialogue.” Once the dialogue box for the printer settings pops up (often behind all of your windows), select the best possible settings your printer will allow you to. These will vary depending on the printer. In the past, I have marked “photo glossy paper” (even though the printable vinyl is matte) and “best quality” – with my current printer, I simply mark “photo paper.” Using your printable vinyl, print and cut the file, then cut the rest using your white vinyl.
The Build
Start by unwrapping and popping out the glass of an 8.5×11″ front-loading document frame. Set the glass on the self-healing mat – it’s not essential, but I found it makes it WAY easier to center your material when applying to the glass. I even placed an album art sticker on the mat so all I have to do is line up the new one on the glass to that one – this helped me speed up the process a lot!!
Align and apply the album artwork. Place a ruler along the bottom of the album artwork to ensure the transfer tape won’t fall onto it and lift the color from the image. If spacing allows, I align the bar from the music player with one of the horizontal lines on the mat to ensure it is even.
Place the glass back in the frame, or leave it out! It’s up to you! I’d love to know how this worked out for you! Leave me a comment and let me know 🙂
