Hey crafty gals, this is Tay Silver and I’m here to talk about glazing. Glazing is really popular right now in furniture and cabinet finishes but we’re going to show you a super simple way to take it a step further to glaze your craft projects using regular acrylic craft paints.

Here’s what you’ll need:
Wall Glaze (sold in the paint section of home improvement stores)
Acrylic craft paint
Paint brushes
Disposable bowl to mix glaze in

First, you’ll need to begin with your wood piece already cut, sanded and painted in a solid under-color. In our example we started with a plain white board that had already dried. For added detail, we sanded the edges slightly to reveal the wood underneath so it would pick up more glaze color around the edges.

1. Use a paint brush to scoop up a small amount of glaze into the bowl – about 1 tablespoon per 12 inches of wood board. A little glaze goes a very long way!

2. Add acrylic craft paint to the glaze in equal parts if the paint is a dark color. If glazing with white, add two parts paint to one part glaze. Add more paint to darken the glaze color if you wish. We used a dark gray acrylic craft paint then added one drop of black craft paint to create a charcoal glaze.

3. Using a sponge brush, paint the face and sides of your work piece with a quick, thick layer of the glaze and paint mixture. Don’t be precise, a fast and messy application yields the best results.

4. Let the glaze sit for about 1 minute while you go and wet down an old rag or paper towels. Ring out excess water, you only want the rag to be damp.

5. Wipe away the glaze in long, even strokes that run in the same direction if you wish for a ‘linen’ like finish, which we did for our example, or wipe away in a circular motion to leave more whimsical glaze swirls. Your board will dry the way it appears so if you want less glaze, simply wipe it away. If you want the glaze to be heavy and dark, spread the glaze with your damp cloth and leave it.

6. Wipe glaze from the sides last, where a thicker deposit will give your project interest and dimension. Let the board dry for several hours before applying vinyl.

If you don’t like how the glaze is looking, remove the glaze with a drenched rag, let the wood dry and try again. However, the point of glazing is to add rustic, weathered charm so the more you think you have “messed up”, the better your piece will look in the end. You really cannot mess it up. For my projects I have had the best glazing results when I painted the wood with satin wall paint (purchased in sample sizes) then glazed over it. The satin wall paint is water resistant, which means the paint is more durable and stays put when I’m wiping away glaze, allowing for you to texturize the glaze with brush dragging patterns if you so choose.

Once you have discovered how easy glazing is, you’ll be able to take your projects to a whole new level!

Happy crafting and be sure to post your creative works in our gallery!

Tay Silver here with a super simple vinyl craft that is not only easy for beginners to complete but it is useful, too! Create your own resuable ‘Days Until’ Chalkboard Countdown Block for any event or occasion.

Here are the supplies you’ll need:

• 1 inch thick by 4 inch tall (1×4) wood board cut to 11 inches long

• Black Chalkboard paint (craft supply store)

• Days Until Handlettering cut in White Vinyl (we used Oracal 631)

• Paintbrush

• White chalk for writing

How to do it:

1. Measure your board. Our 1×4 inch board was actually 3.5 inches tall so we sized our vinyl design 3 inches tall in the Silhouette software before cutting it in Oracal 631 matte white vinyl.
2. Paint the wood board with two coats of black chalkboard paint.
3. While the wood piece is drying, weed your vinyl and apply application tape.
4. Once the paint is dry, apply the vinyl, placing it slightly off-center towards the left side. This allows plenty of room to write 2 numbers in the blank area on the left while giving ample room on the right to write the name of an event such as “vacation” or “birthday”.
5. Write in your event name and countdown days with white chalk.

Hint: Dampen the end tip of your chalk stick before writing to lay down a thicker, more visible chalk line. Wet chalk will lighten and brighten as it dries and will not harm your chalkboard paint.

Happy Crafting! xo

It’s the time of year when all minds turn towards improving and yet again vinyl shows its staying-power as an easy and inexpensive way to help organize. As children head back to school most households will find the time for a bit of updating. Here are some ideas of how you can organize yourself and then sell the same vinyl cuts to clients:

Calendars: Every family needs one and the dry-erase kind, made by mounting vinyl behind framed glass, have been a popular trend for several years. Glass cleaner will remove just about any marker and application directions are simple – you only need to instruct your client to order the correct size vinyl cut to fit their frame. Even trendier is mounting our Weekly Calendar to the fridge which allows both dry erase markers and magnets to be used. For busy families juggling homework, event tickets, birthday invites and permission slips we created the Clip-Up Calendar pictured above so important little items don’t get lost in the shuffle.

Labels: Cabinets, cupboards, offices, kitchens and pantries are in constant need of functional organization. More and more people are discovering that the pantry doesn’t have to be a catch-all mess of groceries and are replacing hodge-podge piled shelves with well-organized displays of dry goods that boast an apothecary feel. Pantry staples such as flour, sugar, oats, pasta and rice now find themselves in transparent canisters waiting to be decoratively embellished. Our Pantry Label Shapes feature curvy, chic labels that are trend-forward with a thoughtfully drawn design, making them longer than other available shapes and allowing generous room for whatever custom text your client desires.

Clutter Busters: Young children bring home mounds of artwork, older teens struggle to contain their masses of returned homework papers and somehow the pile of mail, magazines and messages keeps growing. A bit of time spent organizing on your part – and then providing clients with example pictures of how you used your vinyl to help do it – is all that is needed to break into this niche market. If you need to designate a space for your little artist’s work you can use our adorable hand lettered vectors and for containing the general mayhem you can browse our collection of double-duty mats, frames, plaques and label vector graphics.

Have a particularly creative organizing solution you’re proud of?
Post a picture of it in our gallery and view the vinyl projects others have completed!

*Business Building Tip: Include a free sample label that reads something useful like “snacks”, “treats” or “supplies” with every paid order you ship. Your clients will gladly use the freebie, which will be in plain view everyday, making them more likely to order more labels to organize the neighboring clutter. Even if they don’t, their friends are likely to notice and inquire about the vinyl, giving your business enormous opportunity for word-of-mouth sales.

If you are just starting your vinyl business or are wanting to step up sales, designer Tay Silver is going to assist you in identifying market niches where demand for vinyl is booming!

Happy Holidays to you all! I’m Tay and just like you I often wonder what it is our clients want when it comes to vinyl designs so that I can use my working time most productively. After years of watching vinyl market trends, I have identified some areas where even a bad economy actually causes vinyl sales to increase because it is an inexpensive, custom and creative decorating option. Plus, not only is wall vinyl relatively new and exciting but it can easily be purchased online and used by anyone anywhere.

First let’s identify why vinyl sales in some categories have increased:

• Vinyl can fill a large wall area for considerably less than other works of art.

• Vinyl can be customized, giving a finished design the polished look of high-end décor.

• Vinyl goes beyond your walls. There is no end to the items and surfaces you can customize and decorate.

• Vinyl is exciting and new, giving those who use it a label of being more “trendy”.

Now let’s talk about the niches where we have seen vinyl sales grow so explosively that sellers have barely been able to keep up:

1. New Baby Coordinating Nursery Decor

Far and away this is the hottest market. No matter what is happening on Wall Street, babies will continue to be born into loving homes where parents want to give them the best, including comfortable nurseries that are delightfully decorated. Time and again we see that vinyl designs which coordinate with popular nursery bedding, such as our new Paisley Nursery and our Hand-Lettering Nursery Designs, sell so reliably that many shops must postpone accepting other custom orders to accommodate the increase in nursery vinyl sales. What seems to be the most popular? Jungle Animals, including our wildly popular Jungle Nursery Word Art, our Jungle Nursery Animals, our Monkeys Jumping Hand-Lettering, and Princess Vector Designs seem to take the cake! A close second are birds, owl and tree designs. (Keep in mind children grow quickly and most likely Mom will be back in a couple years to buy more vinyl when the “baby” room needs updating so good customer service now will guarantee repeat business!)

2. Custom Children’s Monograms in Decorative Frames

Peppermint Creative’s Shape & Silhouette Category is full of various swirly and scalloped frames for good reason: your customers want them. The biggest name brand children’s décor company shows framed monograms above children’s beds in almost every sales catalog they put out and customizing them requires nothing more than adding a single letter and/or a name inside the frame. If you are not offering these, you are missing out on incredibly easy sales. May we recommend our Whimsical Mats, Loopy Doodle Frames & Scalloped Square and Circle Frames.

3. Small Holiday Décor & Teacher Gift Vinyl

This niche requires a bit of extra know-how but we’ve got tutorials to help you out with that. See the list of related articles below. Irregardless of the economy, children still go to school. Every year, multiple times each year, mothers must come up with ideas for cute teacher’s gifts. You may not know it but this simple act has turned into somewhat of a competition to send the cutest gift that will win the most oohs and ahhs…and the pressure is on for start-of-the-year gifts and all the holidays (Halloween, Christmas/Winter Holidays, Valentine’s Day, Back to School & Teacher Appreciation Day) plus thank you gifts at the end of the school year.

At minimum winter and end of year gifts must be considered. Mothers who are short on time will buy up cute vinyl cuts or simple teacher gift assembly kits faster than you can create them. (Keep in mind a household with 2 children in grade school will need at least 1 teacher gift per child taught. This escalates rapidly if each individual child gives a gift to every teacher and there are more children per household. Price your vinyl affordably for best results.) If you’re looking to bring some new traffic to your site, consider offering tutorials that show your vinyl being used to create adorable teacher gifts and enjoy many add-on and repeat sales from new and existing customers! View our blog posts on Making Vinyl Décor and Vinyl Embellishing for some clever ideas.

4. Vehicle Decal Designs
I’ve got one and maybe you do too. Vinyl decals on your back windshield are a great way to personalize your ride and require nothing more for you than purchasing a single roll of white vinyl that is superior-rated for outdoor use. (Such as Oracal 751 in Glossy White, rated 8 years or longer for vehicle graphics.) Monograms are never out of style so the same monogram frames you are using for nursery monogram décor double as excellent vehicle graphics because they cut reliably, even at 4 inch vehicle decal sizes.  

As with everything you sell online, you need to ensure you are providing your client with crisp, clear example images and the better the example image, the better your sales. You can find all the details about this in our Overnight Business Success Blog Post. I hope this sneak peek into the current selling trends helps you capitalize on your work time and design dollars in time for the holidays and the always-present nursery rush!

Don’t miss other related articles:

• Introduction to Vinyl Cutting Machines: Tools & Supplies You’ll Need
• Raster vs. Vector Images: What’s the Difference & Digital Die Cutting Explained
• 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
• Vinyl Decal Signboards: Create a Chipped Edge Paint Effect
• How to Create T-Shirts with Iron-On Vinyl
• Specialty Vinyl Technique: Using Multiple Color Vinyl
• Vinyl Lettering Craft Tips & Tricks: Embellishing Vinyl Craft Projects
• Starting Your Vinyl Business: Where to Sell Online
• Starting Your Vinyl Lettering Business: Finding Local Customers
• Selling Vinyl Wall Art: 3 Easy Steps to Overnight Business Success

Vinyl won’t peel from its backing? Join the club! Vector designer Tay Silver was so frustrated with her vinyl that she sprayed, nuked, sunbaked and ironed her way to figuring out the best trick to get stubborn vinyl to do what it’s supposed to do!

Hey vinyl pros, this is Tay and I’m here to help you overcome that all-too-frequent problem when vinyl lettering sticks to its own backing paper instead of pulling cleanly away with the tape. Typically this occurs when cut depth settings are very slightly too deep and the fresh-sliced gluey edge of the vinyl is pushed into the backing paper by the cutting blade, making it stick to the paper more firmly than usual. I have personally run into this issue many times with my Silhouette machine. After being asked to head up a craft project for a youth group, I found myself faced with 100 vinyl decals that were refusing to peel so I set about to find some easy household remedies that both you and your customers can use to overcome vinyl stubbornly stuck to it’s backing.

Tay’s Easy Remedy #1: Microwave the Decal for 3 seconds
This may sound like it would ruin the decal but after several tests, all the vinyl decals were fine with a quick 3 second zap. The decal will emerge feeling only slightly warm in your hand but it’s enough to convince the backing paper to let go and the design should peel away smoothly. This trick was not only the easiest but also worked the best, even on the most thick, stubborn navy blue vinyl I had. Works best when peeled & applied within 20 minutes.

Tay’s Easy Remedy #2: Bend, Wiggle & “Pop” the Decal
Ever seen someone hold the edges of a crisp dollar bill, move their hands close together to arch the paper and then abruptly pull their hands apart to make the paper bill “pop”? When you’re in a pinch you can use the same trick with your vinyl. Hold the decal facing you with the application tape side up. Bend the entire design slowly but firmly, curving the tape side upward and outward and the backing paper inward. Wiggle-wave the paper or “pop” it a few times to help those dug-in letter edges release from the backing paper. The backing paper and perhaps even the application tape will appear crinkled but the flexible vinyl will be unharmed and should peel away from the paper more easily. If not, microwave it.

Tay’s Easy Remedy #3: Iron the Back of the Backing Paper
With an iron set on low or medium-low, iron the paper back (not the tape side) for 5 to 10 seconds or long enough to warm the entire design. Warming the backing paper causes it to flatten and the movement, along with slightly heating the adhesive, seems to cause the vinyl edges to pop free of the paper. Apply quickly, within 10 minutes of ironing for best results.

Tay’s Easy Remedy #4: Spray the Back with Rubbing Alcohol
Anything that flattens or alters the shape of the backing paper while leaving the vinyl and tape in place seems to unstick the letters. Rubbing alcohol evaporates very quickly so it will not drench your decal’s adhesive, just the backing paper. Using a spray bottle, spray the paper back with a light spritz until it feels damp to the touch, rub the alcohol into the back of the backing paper with your fingers and then blot dry with a paper towel. Let dry completely before peeling. This technique, when dry, leaves the backing paper looking normal but has the longest lasting effects, making it a suitable treatment to use before shipping vinyl so customers experience easier peeling.

Tay’s Easy Remedy #5: Let the Vinyl Warm Up Outside
Warming the vinyl and the paper seems to do the trick so if it’s a hot day and you have the time, place your vinyl outside, away from direct sunlight in a warm place such as your mailbox. After 10 or 15 minutes it should be ready to peel cleanly. If not, try popping the vinyl as described in Tip #2 and then peel.

Hopefully these tricks give you a way to cut down on vinyl frustrations and time-consuming customer issues, especially during busy holiday seasons. If you have other tips of your own, please feel free to post them in our comment section!

Click here to purchase the Good Choices Rock BlockART Vector Design for Vinyl and Digital Cutting shown in this post.

If you’ve taken a look at the hybrid gallery here at Peppermint Creative any time in the last year, you definitely would have noticed these amazing worn sign boards everywhere using Tay’s amazing Commercial Vector designs. These wood signs are so popular these days, I see them every time I’m out and about in one of those home decor stores. From super high end stores to the discount stores I’ve  seen them everywhere and have been very tempted to buy but couldn’t help but think ‘I could SO make that myself’. With Tay’s amazing Vector products now you actually can and Tay has been kind enough to share some tips on how to get that awesome worn chipped edge effect.

Hi Gals! Tay here. A few years ago I spotted some gorgeous Halloween signs that had the cutest chippy-edge painting technique that I wanted to recreate for some vinyl décor in my home. Only problem was no one seemed to know how to do it! After a lot of Googling I found some very vague directions and with a bit of trial and error, came up with this process for getting those sweetly spooky effects!

1. Paint your wood with one or two coats of the base color. This is the color that will show through. Let the wood dry completely. (30 minutes if using craft paints on unfinished wood.)

2. Take a candle or votive with white or clearish white colored wax and, using firm pressure, rub it heavily and repeatedly along the edge of your painted wood and in towards the center by at least 1/2 inch. You should have small flakes of wax crumbling off the edges and visible smears all over the wood. Do this step over your kitchen sink – the wax shavings will ruin your project if left to sit.

Note: To get a more dramatic effect, select a rough cut piece of wood, like a fence plank, and do not sand it. Paint and then wax the entire surface, applying an extra-heavy coat of wax to bumps and raised surfaces.

3. Using your hand, gently brush and smooth away extra wax flakes. (Again, do this over the sink because it is somewhat messy.)

4. Paint your wood in the overcoat color, using 2-3 or more thin-to-normal coats. Most projects will require 3-5 coats. Let dry between coats.

5. Once your project is completely dry (2 hours), use an old cotton wash cloth and gently begin rubbing along the edges and areas where you applied candle wax. The wax will not allow paint to adhere to it and both the wax and top coats of paint will rub away, leaving a grungy edge that has the appearance of old, chipping paint.

6. Apply vinyl lettering or surface decoration.

7. Use a clear coat spray sealer on the wood when you have the desired effect and after applying vinyl lettering. I use a Clear Satin spray urethane that I bought at Lowe’s. This protects the project from having any more paint rubbed away.

That’s all it takes to get that trendy irregular chippy paint look!