First Vinyl Project

I have been "saving" glass jars for awhile now to make future projects. My Sweetie doesn't appreciate my hoarding tendencies but this time it paid off. My mom gave me some vinyl and transfer tape last month. She was hoping that I could figure out how to use it then teach her. Today I finally got brave and tried it out. It took 3 tries before my projects turned out. But hey it was a learning experience so I would call that a success. I created my design using the Cricut Craft room. The cute little bird is from the Create a Critter 2 cartridge and the font is from the Basic Font Cartridge.



Trial #1

With my first try only the first line of the sentiment came out correctly, the second line was a bit damaged during the cutting process. The bird came out great, except the layers got askew because I put them on the jar 1 at a time. It was really difficult to line them up through the transfer tape. I had changed the pressure to medium but forgot to switch the depth to medium so there where parts of my image where the blade cut all the way through the vinyl and the backing.



Try #2

On my second attempt I made the font bold instead of regular. It seemed to really help the letters not rip during cutting. I also adjusted the dial on the blade (depth) to 3 and the pressure to low instead of medium. The adjustments really helped the blade cut only through the vinyl and not the backing. Also on try #2 I assembled the layers of the bird before putting it on the jar. The results were amazing all of layers were even and looked great. The only problem with try #2 was that the letters were put on to close to the top of the jar.

Before I began Try #3 I scrapped off the letters from Try#1 and then carefully peeled off the bird. I cut out the letters again. This time using the correct settings on the Cricut and once again the bold font. After I got the phrase on the transfer tape I carefully added the bird to the tape. I noticed there was a seem on the side of the jar. I used the seem to center the tape on the jar. This time the images were perfectly centered on the jar.

I'm not sure if I will fill the jars with candy or put some glass stones and a candle in them. Either way I have some cute gifts for my sisters.

 Here are some tips for using vinyl.
Tip 1: Try cutting a scrap piece of vinyl first to make sure settings are correct. I used low pressure and medium depth. You want the blade to cut through the vinyl only and not through the paper backing.

Tip 2: If using words use a bold font or one where the letters are wide.

Tip 3: If you are using an image that several layers, Put all of the layers together before putting the image on the surface.

Thanks for checking out today's post. Hopefully my mistakes will be able to help you!