Stenciling with Vinyl

 I just finished my first painted wooden sign. I'm so pleased with how it turned out!  


Here's how I did it:  A friend of mine distressed the wood she wanted to use for the sign, so that part was already finished.  I used my vinyl cutter to cut the words "Sandy toes and salty kisses".  Instead of removing the extra vinyl from the letters, I removed the letters to make the negative image.

Then I attached the vinyl to the sign and painted over the letters.

I let the paint dry for about an hour, then carefully removed the vinyl.

This makes such a great personal gift.  If you are crafty and want to try your hand at vinyl stenciling, please let me know.  Any vinyl I cut can be weeded with the negative image for stenciling!

Videos

How to apply your vinyl

How to apply your vinyl video

Here is my first YouTube video! I will be sending a link to this video to all my customers from now on.

And a BIG thank you to Jeni for her help with the video today! I owe you some vinyl!

Some Favorite Fonts

I'm always on the look out for new fonts.
 Here are some that I tend to use over and over again!  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Jeremiah!

This post is not about vinyl. 

Today my little boy turns 2.  Jeremiah was born with Spina Bifida.  Part of his spinal cord did not close and was outside his back.  (I have a picture of his cyst before surgery if you are curious, but it is pretty graphic, so I won't post it here).  Jeremiah was born in the "pike position" with his legs up by his head, and he could not lower them at all.  Our neurosurgeon told us that he would probably never walk.  He was in the NICU for 2 weeks.  He had his initial closure surgery to remove the cyst on the day he was born.  Then three days later, he had a surgery to place a shunt in his brain because he also has hydrocephalus, excess fluid in the brain.  He had another surgery at three months because his shunt stopped working.  He went through a series of casts.  The casts lowered his legs, and he can now bend his knees.  He has no feeling in his feet, but he is learning to take steps with a walker.

A good friend made a video of Jeremiah's progress and I thought I'd post it here.  Thanks, Claire!

We have been so blessed by Jeremiah.  He is a happy little guy!  He has a tender heart, a sweet smile, and an infectious laugh!

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!  We love you!

A few photos of some new projects

I know it has been a while since I've blogged.  I've been really busy filling orders and playing outside with my kids.  I thought you might enjoy a few pictures of some of my new projects.  Let me know if you need anything!

My largest project

When Erin asked me to make a candy land type game board for one of the walls at Imagination Station, the toy store she co-owns, I was a bit intimidated.  I had never made anything so large, and it was a lot of digital design, something that I have just started learning.  After about 6 weeks of planning and tweaking, a new machine, and many rolls of vinyl, above is the final result.

It took about Erin and me more than 6 hours to apply to the wall!  I thought you might enjoy a few process pictures.

Just getting started.

Applying the vinyl

And some more detailed shots:

 

Thank you so much, Imagination Station, for giving me this opportunity!  It was a lot of fun!  

If you are local, stop by the store, see my work, and support local business!