When making labels for Giving Quilts, I go to Word on my computer to print out the message on paper. I stabilize the fabric, usually muslin, by ironing Freezer Paper to the back.
My "light box" is a plastic shoebox with a piece of plexiglass on top. Harbor Freight has a dandy little blue square flashlight (sometimes it's free) that can shine upward. The paper goes on the plexiglass, then the stabilized fabric. I use a Pigma Pen to trace the message.