Vinyl Wall Art Tutorial

Step One

Completely clean and dry wall area where vinyl image is to be placed. For best results do not use a a cleaner that will leave behind residue.  This is how your vinyl wall art will come shipped to you.

Note:: Please make sure you smooth over the transfer paper a few times to ensure that the vinyl wall art is still stuck to it good. I smooth over it many times before shipment, but its better for you to run over it a few times as well.

Step Two

Peel backing off vinyl slowly.

Step Three

Lightly place image on wall using a level to ensure correct placement.  Once image is in place, user applicator stick to burnish* vinyl onto wall. For best results overlapping strockes when burnishing.

*Burnishing is a rubbing or polishing action that used an applicator stick or squeegee to spread or apply the vinyl to the wall.

Step Four

Gently peel back transfer tape at a 45 degree angle. If vinyl starts to come off with transfer tape, lay area back down and burnish* again.

*Burnishing is a rubbing or polishing action that used an applicator stick or squeegee to spread or apply the vinyl to the wall.

Step Five

After peeling away transfer paper check for any air bubbles that you may have between the wall and vinyl. If you don't have any then you are a very good at this..but if you do have a few bubbles.. don't worry. Just use the burnishing* method and try and smooth out any air bubbles you may have.

*Burnishing is a rubbing or polishing action that used an applicator stick or squeegee to spread or apply the vinyl to the wall.

Final Product

There you have it. You just applied your first vinyl wall art. Use this same method for walls, windows, cars, wood, etc.

If you have any questions or you find a method that works better please email me or leave a comment on this post.  Thanks for looking!

 

The Hills : Season Five

The Hills - MTV Shows

So, let me just say that this season looks like its going to be full of drama and lots of changes.  Unfortunately, it seems like this will be the last season... I don't know if I can make it without knowing what my BFF's are doing every day.  OMG, I may have to talk to the hubby into moving to LA. haha

I Want it Wednesday :: Urban Outfitters Edition

DIY Eco Speakers by Merkury

This are FREAKING awesome.  I want these SO BAD.  I love music and art and what better way to unite the two than with eco friendly speakers you design yourself?!?! This was just bumped to #1 on my WANT list. :o)

Birds Pillow by Chris Bettig

As you know I have an obsession with birds...and I'm doing the whole "birds" theme in my craft room/office.  This pillow would look awesome in there.  The colors are so bright and would really look good in there.  I actually wouldn't mind to have this fabric and use it for curtains or other things.

Love Love Love Wall Art

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this wall art.  I've got an inspiration (love) wall going on in my craft room so I could totally see this on that wall...but at the same time I could so see this in our bedroom above our bed.  Hmm..that's a tough one.  But either way I would love to have this.  Most of the pictures on my inspiration wall are about love in some way or another and this one is no exception. I LOVE this.

Easter and Mother's Day is just around the corner

So I've been busy lately getting my craft room all ready to start working on my vinyl wall art.  I'm super excited for you guys to see everything I've designed so far.  BUT...I'm not showing anything or putting anything in the shop until March 1.  So, I decided to show you some cards I worked on tonight.  I made 3 Mothers Day cards and 2 Easter cards.  Yes, I know it's only february but Easter will be here before you know it.  Easter is April 12th this year and Mother's Day is May 10th and it's never too early to start thinking ahead. :o)  So below is a few cards I whipped up tonight and added to the shop.  To see more either visit my etsy shop or view my flickr account.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll be giving you guys good news that I was accepted to college.  I called today and they said they were just waiting on my high school transcripts.  So I called my high school to make sure that they were sending them out.  The lady from college said that as soon as they get the transcripts they'd make a decision and then send me an acceptance letter if they decide to accept me.  Hopefully they do.  I'm so nervous...I haven't been in high school since 2002 so I have no idea what my transcripts look like or what my gpa is... errr...wish me luck.

See a font you want but don't know its name?

So, as most of you know I just recently got an iPhone.  So far I love it.  It's also definately going to come in handy when I do get a job and when I go back to school.  I can check my email, facebook, etc. straight from my phone.  There are like millions of applications you can download for your phone.  I haven't purchased any yet but I have downloaded some free ones.  One that I think is SO COOL that someone came up with is called WhatTheFont!
Have you ever seen a font on someones blog or wherever and really like it and wanted to know what is was called...but had no way of finding out??  Well, all you do with this puppy is take a picture of the font and it tells you what its called.  I haven't used it yet, but I can't wait until I do.
Katie, I know you are reading this and this is making you want the iPhone even more. hehe
Oh, and if your not an iPhone user, you can visit this site and it does the same thing as the iPhone application.  Enjoy!

Turn your handwriting into a font, FOR FREE.

I think it's the coolest thing to have your own handwriting as a font on your computer.  My writing isn't the hottest, but I still think its neat to have it as a font.  I went to YourFonts.com and you can turn your handwriting into a font in about 5 minutes.  You download a paper that has a special place for each letter and number.  Then in the box you write down each letter.  Then you just scan the paper back into your computer and upload it to YourFonts.com in less than 10 seconds your font will be ready for download from the site.  Then all you have to do is install in as a font onto your computer and bada boom.  I made a cursive and print font.  I also made a few little pictures instead of some characters.  I think I may get around to making a font of nothing but pictures to use...who knows.  Anyways, visit YourFonts.com.  The best part, It's FREE!!!

My photo was featured on sorryimissedyourparty.com

So today I was looking on my flickr account and looking at my statistics.  Seeing which pictures are viewed the most, etc.  I realized that one of my referrals is from a website called Sorry I Missed Your Party.com.  I was like, there has to be some sort of mistake.  So I typed in the website and boom there it was.  A picture that the bartender took from Robyn's wedding.  It's a photo of Lindsey, Robyn, Tabby, and Me taking shots in the bar at the wedding reception. LOL  The blogpost is titled Sad Grandpa. Chuck, which is Kari's mom's boyfriend, was in the background of the picture.  So the post is about him. haha  People can leave comments about the photo, too.  Check it out!

Take a style quiz from Sproost

Your personal style is a mix of 3 specific styles:

55% Nantucket Style

27% Vintage Modern

18% Cottage Chic

 

Take a style quiz from Sproost and see what is says about your personal style.  I think it got mine right.

One of my valentine cards in action

I got a message on my livejournal from a girl who bought one of my Valentine's Day Cards.  She wanted to show me what she did with it.  She's also a Kurt Halsey fan so she incorporated some of his art with it too.  I love the way the card turned out.  It was my favorite card I made so I'm so glad that someone got use out of it.  I hope her valentine enjoyed it too. The picture to the left is the card she purchased from my etsy shop.  The two pictures at the bottom of this post is the pictures she sent me.  They were taken with her phone so thats why they aren't real clear, but you can still see what she did to it. I LOVE IT!

I love seeing my stuff in use.  It's the best feeling knowing that something you put your hard work into is actually being appreciated by someone other than youself.  :o) 

So, if anyone is reading this and you've purchased something from me in the past or may purchase something from me in the future, please send me over an email with some pics...I love seeing my stuff in action.

I Want it Wednesday : Valentina Designs

It is Love by Valentina Design

You and Me by Valentina

Something Good is Going to Happen by Valentina

I was surfing around on Etsy and came across a shop named Valentina Designs. It is artwork by artist Valentina Ramos. After scanning thru her etsy shop I realized I must see more of her work. So I found her blog and website. I fell in love with just about every single item she has ever made. Including an awesome calendar with owls...but it's not in the shop anymore which totally bummed me out. BUT...her shop is still full of lots more prints that I want to put in my craft room on my inspiration wall and a few prints I wouldn't mind hanging up in our bedroom. I of course added her blog to my blog list that I read everyday and plan on ordering some of her prints one day when I get a job...but until then I'll continue to just drool over all her artwork and try to tell as many people about her as I can. She's an amazing artist and I hope she continues to create for a long time. Oh...and my favorite print...I would have to say would be "You and Me." I love the birds, the tree, the colors...everything about that print is AMAZING..and would look beautiful in our home. That will be my first purchase one day. . .

Hey daddy, your baby girl is gonna make something of herself

So...lets do a recap...Since December 1st, I've went to 5 interviews. 3 out of 5 were extremely terrible pay. 3 out of those 3 had no insurance options. 2 out of the 3 were pretty long drives. 1 out of the 3 was a short drive but the worst pay ever.
On to the good ones, 2 out of the 5 were awesome pay. 1 out of the 2 had insurance. the 1 out of the 2 that didn't have insurance was AMAZING pay. I actually got offered that job and then the next day they called and took back the job offer due to the economy. The 1 out of 2 job that did have insurance was a little bit of a drive but had great hours, great pay, and also had commission. I was told he'd be calling me for a second interview after the first of the year and never heard from him again. He didn't even return my emails.

So...the last 2 1/2 months have been a bit of a roller coaster in the job/career area, to say the least. I have contemplated for a long time about going back to school. I'm a very smart person (sometimes you can't tell, but I am) and I know that I have no limitations. The sky's the limit. I've always known that I'm the type of person that, no matter what it is, I can do it. I just have to be shown. I seriously have no doubt in my mind that if I wanted to be an astronaut, I could. But see here's my biggest problem. I'm lazy. I don't want to go to school and sit in class all day and "learn." I'd rather be put out in the job and taught there and start making money right away.. I don't like having to do all that learning and crap first. Yes, I called school and learning crap because...well it is.

See, I'm a very confident (cocky) person. I don't like to be bossed around, I don't like to be told what to do. I like to do my own thing. I've always wanted to own my own business. I love working, don't get me wrong, I'm not lazy when it comes to working. It's just all the stuff that you must do before that.

Like for the interviews for instance. I am actually much smarter and more qualified than the people that are interviewing me. I can't stand sitting in a room, going thru the whole interview process with someone and just talking. I think an interview should be hands on. You say you can do this job...show me. I get so frustrated going to interview after interview and getting offered crap jobs. Bad pay or bad hours...whatever.

So I've decided to do something about it. I hate school and the whole system with a passion but I realize that I can not do what I love without it... So as much as I hate the fact that I'm about to say this... I am going back to school. It's going to be a long and hard 4 years ahead of me but I am ready. By 2013, (wow...that sounds forever) I will be a college graduate....and finally.. I can do something that I love and get paid for it accordingly. :o)

So, today I filled out my FAFSA. They go off last years income which sucks because last year JC was employed and so was I for half the year. So I'm not sure how much, if any, I will get on it. But if all else fails I'll just have to take out student loans and pay them back later. I mean it won't be like I'm the only person that has ever done that. Hopefully JC gets a good full-time job between now and the fall so that this will all be able to happen. I'm still going to have to get a job but I'm hoping I can just do something part time and maybe even get a job at the university.

I am so beyond excited...and if you know me...school and excitement have never been in the same sentence together...EVER!! haha I don't think I'm actually excited about the school part, its about the part where in 4 years I'll be something. If only I would have done this years ago... I'm finally gonna make something of myself, my daddy is gonna be so proud!!

Which site is best for hosting a blog?

Please help me decide which site is best for hosting a blog. I've used blogger for the past year. I've had ups and downs with it but overall am happy with the results. I have also heard of typepad and wordpress, so I'm wondering which out of the three is the best. Also, maybe there is another that i've never heard of... Please vote in the poll below. If you chose other please leave me a comment letting me know what the site is called so that I can check it out. Also please feel free to leave me a comment letting me know why you voted the way you did. Thank you so much in advance!!!

<><><><>

<><><><> Help me decide! Which site is best for hosting a blog? Blogger Typepad Wordpress Other view results

Look what she did with her Yudu

So back on this post I told you about Provo Craft's newest invention, the Yudu.  I have yet to buy one due to low funds but one day I hope to have one.  Meanwhile, I'm filling the void in my life by seeing the cool stuff Erin makes with her Yudu.  She made her first t'shirt and shared it with her readers.  I wanted to make sure that any of you that read my blog also got a chance to see the Yudu in action.
I think her shirt turned out REALLY well.  I love it.  She also answered some questions people had about it and if you have a question about it you can leave a comment on that post and she'll try and answer it for you.
I hope she keeps making lots of new items with it because I can't see what else it can do.  So please check out her blog...

Our Valentine Tradition: Handmade Valentine Cards

Hope ya'll are having a great Valentine's Day.  I don't "celebrate" Valentine's Day by spending alot of money on gifts, dinners, candy, flowers...etc.  But I do love making things for Valentine's Day.  My husband and I started a tradtion about three years ago where we make eachother handmade Valentine's Day Cards.  This year I downloaded the Kurt Halsey Valentine's I told you about and used them to make a card for him.  I think it turned out great...he liked it.  He's not that into Kurt Halsey but he appreciated my hard work and creativity I put into it.  He got much more creative this year when he made his card.  Usually he just takes some sharpie markers and draws some funny picture of us... This year he used markers, stamps and even cut a piece of felt and used it as a tongue on a dog.  The dog was made completely out of hearts.  I love it!! 

Last night we went and saw the new Friday the 13th movie.  It was okay.  It wasn't as good as the originals but what movie is, right?  I mean basically the EXACT same thing happens in this one as the other 11 or how ever many there is.  Jason...is the killer...obviously. Dumb kids go to Crystal Lake to stay....and they get killed.  Sorry if I spoiled it for any of ya. haha  But it was a fun "date nite" with the hubby... Then we went by our local Circut City that is going out of business to see if there was any good deals.  I am really interested in getting a new printer/scanner/copier combo that is wireless but they really weren't on sale that much.  So I think I'll wait a little while.  JC is wanting a GPS but they really didn't have good sales on that either.  I'm hoping when it gets closer to their closing date or whatever they'll really mark some stuff down.

I also wanted to say thank you to Jennifer over at Earth Friendly Weddings Blog, for featuring some of my eco-friendly felt keychains and coasters on her blog.  I really appreciate her doing that.  I was totally suprised!  I was just going thru my google reader, catching up on blog posts for the day and all of a sudden saw pictures of my keychains and coasters.  I was like...hmm...I didn't post anything today.  I don't think I had a post scheduled for today...what the heck?? Then I realized it wasn't a post from my blog it was a post from Earth Friendly Weddings... I was soooo excited!! I have NEVER been featured on someones blog before.  So Thank you Jennifer, that meant so much to me and really made my day.  She has over 100 people that follow her blog so if anyone of you are reading this and made your way to my blog, welcome and I hope you find something that interests you.  Please leave me a comment so that I can check out your blog.  I LOVE reading new blogs.

Well, I'm off to watch the All-Star Dunk and Skills Challenge.  If you want to see more of the card I made my husband for Valentine's Day check out my flickr account and look in the Set titled Paper Crafts.  Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!

My craft room renovation is coming along quite nicely.

Wouldn't you love for your office/craft room to look like this? I sure do. I really want those shelves... I have a perfect wall in my craft room for that exact shelf unit... Of course mine would never look that clean and organized....

Anyways, speaking of home offices and craft rooms I figured it's about time I show you my progress in mine. If you remember back in October I showed you what my craft room/home office/spare bedroom looked like. Then back in November I showed you the desk that I designed and my hubby made for me. Well now here it is almost 4 months later in full swing. I'm at this desk every single day and I'm constantly changing around the layout figuring out better ways to work on it. I still need to purchase some shelves to put on the wall to hold my supplies and I still need to paint the room but so far its coming along really nicely.

I finally made a curtain to go around the bottom of my desk. I got in on sale at Hobby Lobby for $2.00/yard. It's super cute! Yes, it does have pink in it and Yes I do HATE pink...but it actually looks really good in the room, plus you really can't see the pink... I think I'm gonna make some curtains out of it and a cover for that ugly blue chair...if they still have some left. I still have a LONG WAY to go as far as making my craft room exactly how I want it but its came a long way....

I plan on painting the walls eventually. I'm not exactly sure on a color yet. I want something different than the rest of my house but yet at the same time I still want it to go with the rest of the house. I may just eventually have to just pick a color and learn to love it because I am so indecisive. Also as you can see I've got my "inspiration wall" in full swing. So far I've got some Kurt Halsey prints, a picture my husband drew me years ago and a print I made. I plan to completely fill that wall up with images that inspire me and that I love. I actually just ordered another print from Kurt that I'll be adding up there as soon as I get it. For more details visit my flickr site and view the notes on these images.

I Want it Wednesday - Etsy Edition

This "I Want it Wednesday" is a special "Etsy Edition."  Everything on here you will find on Etsy, on my favorites list.

Promise our Planet Pocket Wallet by MercysMark

I love this fabric.  I would love to also have some pillows made out of it and maybe a bag to put this wallet in. LOVE IT!!

Would You Love Me Magnet Set by BlockPartyPress

Ever since I was little I've always been facinated with trees, wood, bark, etc.  I always would draw a tree in almost every picture I drew.  I grew up in a smalltown where their were trees everywhere, I could never imagine living in a city with no trees.  Anyways, I love these magnets.  You can also get this same design in jewelry.

Spouts by Marmar

Speaking of Jewelry I've been looking around for some cute jewelry for the upcoming Spring Season.  I came across this necklace and fell in love with it.  I think it is the cutest thing.  I added him to my favorite's on Etsy and hope when I get a job he will be one of my first purchases.  He just looks so lonely.