Need to make a large light-weight sign quickly and have less than $25 for materials? We got you with this easy instructable!

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

We bought 8 foam boards, at $3 each (total of $24 CAD). Two red, two yellow, and four blue. Have your exacto knife, pencil, metal ruler, and glue at the ready. Oh, and that laser cutter you have in the back room.

Step 2: Make a Plan

What is your sign going to look like? This was our detailed sketch.

Step 3: Use Software to Create Shapes

We used CorelDraw and a font called Comix to create the shapes of the letters. to make sure that we didn't waste materials, we fit as many letters on one foam piece as possible. This took a bit of adjusting.

Step 4: Laser Cut Your Shapes

Remember to have your smoke extractor on! The settings for the vector cuts were 45 power, 45 speed, and 15 frequency. Each sheet of foam board took about 3 minutes to cut. So easy!

Step 5: Pop Out Your Letter Shapes

Pop out your letter shapes from the foam board. In places where the laser cutter didn't quite cut all the way through we used an exacto knife to finish the cut. Once you have all your letters, lay them out and congratulate yourself on almost being done! Call your significant other and let them know you'll be home soon.

Step 6: Create the Backdrop

We were making a light-weight sign for our cosplay repair booth at our local comicon, so our backdrops were the 'shapes you see around the POW! in comic books'. I'm sure there is a word for these in German, but I am not aware of it. We drew the shapes on the square foam boards in pencil and then cut out with our handy exacto knife.

When you are cutting out your backdrop and want nice straight lines but your backdrop is too large to fit in the laser cutter, use a metal ruler and draw the exacto knife along it. This will keep your cuts very sharp. So smart!

Step 7: Glue It All Together

Lay out your letter shapes and backdrops and glue it all together. We used glue guns, but most kinds of glue will work. Leave it to dry, step back, and admire your work. You are amazing!