Hey Kids!! It’s seems like it’s been a while since our last digital scrapbook release but have no fear I’ve been SUPER busy making up for lost time. I’ve got a CRAP load of new deliciously fantastic and utterly exciting new kits for you! YEY! And of course…a new FREEBIE too which I will not show you just yet – but it’s a fun one. Coming up shortly we’ve got a USA/July 4th kit (and a Canada Day one as well – GO CANADA).

You will also find coordinating Doctor and Dentist kits perfect for all your tooth brushing, dentist, cavity, braces pictures as well as your boo-boo, cold & flu, hospital, surgery pictures.

AND a really fun Traffic themed kit with loads of cute traffic signs and doodle cars.

PLUS 4 new template sets from Ingrid. Should be enough to keep you busy for a while. So stay tuned!! Just finishing it all up and hopefully it will be all ready over the weekend.

Cheers!!

Crafting with Vinyl and Your Cricut, Silhouette or Wishblade Digital Cutting Machine  By: Tay Silver | Creative Cuttables & Commercial Vector Designer

Crystal Petersen (crystalcangel) is the creative expert behind many of the vinyl home décor projects in the Peppermint Creative Gallery. I decided to tag along for one of her craft nights to see how it’s done so that I can share with you some tips and tricks on how to make adorable vinyl crafts just like Crystal’s!

First you’ll need the vinyl, which can be cut on your Cricut, Silhouette or Wishblade digital die cutting machine using Peppermint Creative’s Vector Shapes for vinyl cutting or purchased from a vinyl store online. Next you’ll need to cut some wood to fit your vinyl graphic. Crystal uses 5.5 x 5.5 inch square blocks to fit her 5 x 5 inch vinyl BlockART designs cut with a Quickutz Silhouette machine. Here is how to assemble the project:

1. Sand all the rough edges from your wood using a sanding sponge or power sander (both available at home improvement chain stores).

2. Paint the wood using acrylic craft paint (99¢ at most craft stores) or flat interior wall paint if you wish the piece to exactly match your décor.

3. Once the paint is dry, sand the edges to reveal the wood underneath to give the block interest and contrast. You may also apply watered-down brown paint to “ink” the edges or even a crackle finish. Spray glitter may also be applied at this stage, after edge sanding is complete.

Tip: Do any edge treatments and/or sanding before applying your vinyl so you don’t accidentally stain or sand off the vinyl decal!

4. Once the painting and sanding are complete, wipe away any surface dust or debris then apply your vinyl graphic.

5. If desired, embellish your piece with wire, knobs, ribbon, flowers, buttons or rhinestones. See Crystal’s Gallery here for examples to inspire you!

6. Photograph your finished project for the Peppermint Creative Gallery so we can all admire your work!

Many craft stores and most home improvement chains sell pre-cut craft wood boards that you can purchase if you don’t have a saw. Although it’s easier to cut wood to fit your vinyl, you’ll need to buy your wood and measure it before ordering vinyl online to ensure the vinyl is cut to fit your board.

In under an hour you can make beautiful vinyl gifts and home décor that are unique and customized to match any interior space. Have fun crafting and be sure to share your tips and tricks with us on the Peppermint Creative Community Forum!

32 brand new designs have just been released for your personal use! Click to view our newest selection of vector graphics designed for use with your Cricut, Silhouette and Wishblade machine. SVG files included for SCAL users.

PLUS it’s all 30% off until June 30th (midnight EST)

And as a special SECRET bonus for checking out this article, use coupon code PAYS2READ to get an additional $4 off your order of any Commercial Vector or Creative Cuttables product.

Expires June 30th (midnight EST). Minimum order of $8 or more.

Don’t miss other related articles:

• Introduction to Vinyl Cutting Machines: Tools & Supplies You’ll Need
• How to Cut Vinyl With Your Cricut, Silhouette or Wishblade Machine
• Custom Vinyl Cutting: Out of the Machine and onto the Wall
• New Uses for Vinyl: Home Décor & Craft Kits
• Creating Decor: Wood Blocks using BlockART
• Specialty Vinyl Technique: Using Multiple Color Vinyl
• Vinyl Lettering: Adding Glitter to Your Vinyl Projects
• Vinyl Lettering: Embellishing Vinyl Craft Projects
• Starting Your Vinyl Lettering Business: Where to Sell Online
• Starting Your Vinyl Lettering Business: Finding Local Customers
• Selling Vinyl Wall Art: 3 Easy Steps to Overnight Business Success

It’s just another Manic Monday (whoa, whoa)…and it’s time for another exciting dose of Mint-spiration! Let’s see what we’ve got this week.

Flying for the first time | glumirk
An amazing take on this week’s MBM Challenge to scrap a page based on a verbal description. This page shows wonderful balance in the the equally weighted clusters in opposite corners. Lovely use of orange to compliment the photos.

Revoilà Noël ! | ingridfasquelle
A little off season but no less jolly, Ingrid knocks another page out of the park with this shimmery, glimmery Christmas confection….mmmm peppermint. The intricate detail and layers of elements add up to one incredible page.

MBM#36 the good times | nina81
Another fantastic take on this week’s MBM Challenge. Another great example of letting your photos dictate your color scheme. Love the off centre design!

margarita mama | kirstiegai
A fun page with a punch of vibrant color. Beautiful layering of flower and buttons add great depth and dimension.

Chip Off The Old Block| nakers6776
Fun and FUNKY! This page is a gorgeous mix of spring time color. Great layering and shadowing as well!

Thanks for posting your pages ladies!

Create Your Own Educational Magnet Calendar
By: Joscie Cutchens

Aloha all! It’s Bossy Joscie checking in. I was out shopping at the education store the other day and was considering getting an educational calendar to help teach my 5 year old the calendar. When I looked at it, I thought; why not just make it myself? So that’s what I did.

I started with Miss Mint’s Epox-o-Dots Numbers and Miss Mint’s Epox-o-Stickers p365 Dates. In Photoshop, I opened a new document sized at 8.5”x11” 300 dpi and arranged one of each month, day and number 1-31.

I printed this on a sheet of matte photo paper, trimmed roughly on my paper trimmer and finished up with my scissors.

I took some plain 12×12 chipboard and trimmed it into .75” x 12” strips. I adhered the month and day strips to these pieces of chipboard and trimmed them again on the paper trimmer.

I used my Paper Gator to round the corners off these pieces. You could also use a Corner chomper, a round it all or a rough nail file or a scissors to do the same job.

For the numbers, I dug into my stash and found these round chipboard pieces. I counted out 31, lay them on a piece of paper towel in a plastic container that was once the home to some croissants from Sam’s Club…

I misted these with Turquoise Glimmer Mist and set them aside to dry

When they were sufficiently dry, I adhered the numbers in the center of the circles.

I wanted these items to have a glossy surface, so I used Glossy Effects on the top in a thin layer. You could also use mod podge or versamark (or this embossing ink) and clear embossing powder.

I glued the super strong magnets to the back of the chipboard using e6000. It was old-ish and kind of thick. I would probably use different glue in a future project.

To create my calendar base, I picked up a medium sized white board from my local store.

I measured the width of the board and divided by 8 so I could have one column for each day of the week and one extra for the other months. I made a small mark and then used my thin Japanese masking tape to mark the columns. I made a small space at the top for the month and then measured the rest of the height and divided by 5. Then I placed more Japanese Masking tape to mark the weeks.

I hope you like my calendar! Please do let me know if you have any questions, and as always, if you are inspired to make something, please share that so I can enjoy your creation.

Love Love,

Joscie, rhymes with bossy.

Selling Vinyl Lettering: 3 Easy Steps to Overnight Business Success
By: Tay Silver | Creative Cuttables & Commercial Vector Designer

To understand why one home-based vinyl business does thousands of dollars in sales in each month while another goes under you must understand why people choose to buy vinyl from one shop and not another. The answer is simple: It’s all about appearances.

As creative as you may be, you need to assume anyone viewing your vinyl will not be able to envision the design in their home so you must show off your vinyl’s full potential. You’ll also need to add new designs regularly and post professional images of each new design on your site and do it quickly so you will have time to fill incoming orders! Let’s begin with our 3 steps to online vinyl selling success:

Step 1: Obtain high-quality “blank room” photos

It’s no secret in the vinyl industry that most example pictures are fake but you don’t need to make it obvious to your clients that the vinyl in the photo isn’t actually on the wall. (Step 2 will further help you remedy this.) For now you need crisp, clean photos of painted blank walls on which you can superimpose your vinyl designs for the purpose of making website example images. Stock photography is an excellent option and is offered on dozens of sites. I recommend using search terms such as “blank wall” or keywords like “minimalistic, simplistic, stark, plain, interior, design, simple, unbalanced, décor, modern, illustration.” (Illustrations are digitized rooms that look real) This should help turn up images that will be unique and unlike what others are using. Opt for front-on shots of simple furniture on large, blank walls. Purchase small sized stock photos in 72 ppi for web example images and 300 ppi high-resolution photos for any type of brochure or catalog printing. (If the cost is the same for both, select 300 ppi. Otherwise purchase a few at 300 ppi and the rest at web resolution 72 ppi to cut down on your costs.)

Step 2: Make vinyl example photos look real

Using Photoshop, open your stock photo image and your vinyl design. (Peppermint Creative vectors come with transparent-background PNG files for the very purpose of making fast & easy example images!) Place the vinyl design in a new layer over the stock photo and size the vinyl to visually fit the space. (Ctrl-T to transform in Photoshop.)

Now for the fun part! You’ll notice the vinyl design appears stamped-on and looks unnatural against the photo so we’re going to make the pixilation and blending of the vinyl layer look more like the overall pixilation of the stock photo:

1. In Photoshop, click on the vinyl layer go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Amount should be 2-5% at 300 ppi and 10-15% at 72 ppi, depending on the size of the vinyl in your image. (I often use 3% at 300 ppi or 12% at 72 ppi ) Distribution should be set to Uniform and select the check box next to Monochromatic. Click OK to apply.

2. Now go to Layer>Layer Style>Inner Glow. When the control box pops up, set your options to this:

Blend Mode: Screen

Opacity: 15%

Noise: 0

Technique: Softer

Source: Edge

Choke: 0%

Size: 2 px

Lower the opacity and size as needed for your individual image. The effect will be a nearly imperceptible color blur & blend where a camera would naturally pixilate some of the wall color into the vinyl color. (You may be able to skip this step if you have placed dark vinyl on a rich colored wall. Otherwise swap the default yellow inner glow color for the color of the wall & continue.)

3. Re-size your finished example image for your website and apply your logo or a watermark before saving. This can be done by lowering the opacity to 50% on text typed in white to make it semi-transparent.

Now that you know how to create realistic vinyl photos that capture the eyes of potential customers, let’s discuss the last step to making it or breaking it in the vinyl world.

BEFORE:

AFTER (WITH DIGITAL COLOR):

Step 3: Use premium-quality graphics for unique, clean-cutting designs that please customers

This last step is actually the most important because it is what determines the ultimate success of your business. Vinyl shops that use vectors created by professional graphic designers have a product that is more artistically appealing than their competitor’s typed-text designs and they enjoy more frequent and higher-dollar sales because of it. In addition, purchasing outside graphics and stock photos allows you to then spend your time creating stunning example photos which in turn generates feelings of desire to buy the vinyl in the customers who view your site. It truly is all about appearances! Whichever shop makes the investment in outstanding photography and superior vector graphics is the shop that enjoys higher sales volume and is more successful than all the others.

CLICK TO VIEW OUR SELECTION OF PREMIUM VECTOR GRAPHICS 
(SVG, EPS, JPG format)

Starting Your Vinyl Business: Finding Local Customers
By: Tay Silver | Creative Cuttables & Commercial Vector Designer

Last time I described the ins-and-outs of setting up your vinyl business online. Now I’m going to tell you more about selling your vinyl locally:

While selling online is the best way to reach potential customers, chances are you are the only vinyl business operating in your community. This simple fact gives you an excellent opportunity for reaching dozens of new clients and word-of-mouth will always be your best advertising. Luckily this involves little more than recruiting a couple friends who would like to have one of your vinyl designs applied on their front door or entryway where guests will see it and be more likely to inquire about it. Similarly, a bit of generosity often goes a long way. You’ll find, for one reason or another, you always have extra vinyl things already cut, waiting to be used. Including one of these extra vinyl pieces in every order as a free sample will thrill your clients and they will be excited to use it, doubling the chances of someone else seeing your vinyl and being referred to you.

Here are some other creative ideas about how to advertise locally:

• Invest in a small ink stamp that has your business name, e-mail, phone number and website address. Stamp the back of each vinyl cut that you sell or give away. (Backing paper accepts ink but it will take several seconds to dry without smearing). This ensures your customer will be certain to see it and be more likely to remember your info whereas business cards are often thrown away with the mail packaging your product was shipped in.

• Donate vinyl lettering and/or completed vinyl home décor projects as prizes for local fundraisers and silent auction events. Include a small stack of business cards. Consider placing a small sticker with your website on the back or bottom of completed décor pieces and stamp the back of donated wall lettering so the recipient knows where to order more.

• Host a decorating workshop or craft night in your community where the public can see, touch and view demonstrations on how to use your vinyl. Schools, churches and community centers are often looking for interesting activities such as this. Even if they do not allow advertising, your business name stamped on the back of each vinyl piece is usually acceptable.

• Surprise your child’s teacher with vinyl cut for her classroom and incorporate vinyl into teacher’s gifts and personalized items for your child. Other parents will often track you down quickly for orders!

• Customize gifts by adding vinyl to the gift tag or the recipient’s name or a birthday cupcake shape to the front of the gift bag. Exposure generates questions which then generate sales so don’t be shy and get creative!

• Contact your local sign shop to see if they sell wall vinyl. Most do not take small custom orders but they don’t know where to send customers who call in looking for the services you provide. Leave them with your contact information so they can relay it during phone inquiries.

• Get in touch with local embroidery shops. Several would like to add vinyl lettering to their line of customization without the expense of purchasing a machine. See if they would be willing to outsource to you or, if not, refer customers who want vinyl monograms to you.

• If you’re going to sell car decals, put one on your car along with your business name, phone number or website address on your back windshield. Be sure to drive politely!

• Place listings in local online classified advertisements. Most cities have at least one, if not more, of these sites available. Be sure to include your best product images and emphasize local pick-up or delivery that will save your customer shipping costs versus ordering online from someone else.

Easily Encourage Word-Of-Mouth Advertising: When a client places an order, have them pre-select a design they will get for free when they refer a friend who also places an order. Keep a detailed record of this and follow through on your promise of a friend-referral freebie with each paid order. (Hint: Cut their design when you need to fill extra space while cutting other orders and remind them you have it waiting!) Word will spread like wildfire through groups of friends and you’ll double your income for just the cost of one cut of vinyl. Ask new clients if they were referred by anyone and then present your friend referral freebie program to continue the cycle!