Top Tips for Vinyl

Top Tips for Working with Oh My Crafts Vinyl

From decorating a card to adding your family mantra to a plate, vinyl lettering can be used for a number of creative tasks. This type of lettering is durable, easy to clean and inexpensive to apply. We have pulled together our Top Tips for Working with vinyl to help you be successful and have fun!
 

• Always use the proper tools for the job. You wouldn’t try to hammer in nails with a screwdriver, would you? I didn’t think so. The three must-have tools for working with vinyl are a pick, spatula, and burnishing tool.
  

• Have fresh or new Oh My Crafts Vinyl for your projects. The newer your vinyl is the better it seems to work.  

• Prepare your surface. Make sure that the surface of your project that the vinyl will be attached to is clean and dust-free. You can use glass cleaner and a dry, soft cloth to remove any dust and dirt particles. Also, make sure that your work area is clean and well ventilated. 

• Make sure the settings on your Cricut machine are set to handle vinyl. Adjusting your cutting depth may vary from one machine to another. Generally the cutting needle is set on 3, the pressure is on med, and the speed will need to be adjusted to slower speeds depending on the intricacy of the image.  

• When cutting your image, adjust the depth of the cut so that only the vinyl is cut and the vinyl backing is still in tack. This will simplify removing the vinyl from the backing.  

• Transfer paper is very important in moving or transferring your image from one location to another. Transfer paper also helps in aligning your letters and images before placement.  

• On detailed projects, where you are layering items, use your pick to position and move the vinyl around.  

• Success with vinyl projects is something that requires practice and patients. Try not to rush the cutting, transfer or applying of vinyl or you will end up with undesirable results.  

• When cutting script letters, try to fit all the letters in your word on the same line to make it easier to keep letters aligned. If your word is sized too large, the word will break somewhere within the word and finish cutting the letters on the next line. Add a space (or break) after the word to help. For example, if you are cutting out the phrase, “Live, Laugh, Love,” adjust the size so that only one word is cutting per line. For horizontal or small projects, you can cut the whole phrase on one line.  

• Have fun!

 

Click HERE to view all the OMC Vinyl options.
 

Happy vinyling!