I have no idea why it took me so long to experiment with vinyl decals in my home. Now, I might be addicted. Vinyl is such an easy way to add a graphic element to just about anything. For my first few vinyl projects I couldn’t just do something simple like slap it on the wall. No, not me, I have to be different. I applied vinyl decals to three totally different surfaces and I am happy to report all the projects turned out beautiful.
After I shared the Be Inspired tour of Miroslavich Photography Studio, Faith reached out to me to introduce herself as the mastermind behind the vinyl decal in the studio viewing room. Faith is a Demonstrator for Uppercase Living, a complete line of vinyl expressions. When she offered some vinyl products for me to try at home, I was very excited. The toughest part was choosing from their vast selection of vinyl decals. You can even customize your own. Knowing I wanted to showcase three very different projects, I chose three very different decals to work with.
There are thorough vinyl application instructions on the Uppercase Living site, so I am going to skip the how-to for today and just show you what I made.
Vine Crowned Globe
The first project I tackled took 5 minutes. Holy cow, I was in love! How can you not love a cute project that only takes 5 minutes from start to finish? I found this adorable globe at Tuesday Mornings for $12. I love the wood stand and the beautiful blue color. Sadly, there is a rough spot on the metal that was scraping the globe when it spun. There was a white scratch almost all the way around the globe. It is the reason it was marked down to $12.
The scratched globe called for a cute coverup job. I chose this Eucalyptus Branch decal in Lemon Chiffon. I cut the decal apart and applied each stem individually. I carefully positioned them to cover up the scratch. The result is a bit of a crown for my globe. It is so adorable!
I think the globe will find a place in the new family room. I think it goes wonderfully with the carefree, fun style we want in the room. It will also play well off the “Let’s Get Lost” sign on the picture ledge.
The globe project was super easy, but I did learn that applying vinyl to a paper surface can be tricky. The transfer paper is a lot stickier than I thought, and in one spot it peeled off part of the paper on the globe when I was trying to remove the transfer paper and leave the decal behind. After that I made sure to only burnish the vinyl to the globe and not the entire transfer paper. I also removed the transfer tape very slowly.
Graphic Desktop
For my second project, I chose a very large decal. This Nouveau Large Scale decal measured 48 x 19″. It was just large enough to add a cool detail to the end of the zebra wood desk in my studio. So far, there is very little pattern in my studio. The embellished curtain panels hardly count, and other than that the only other pattern is on the giant pin board. I was craving more!
I LOVE my zebra wood desk, even though it sits in a somewhat awkward place in my studio. When you enter the room it is the first thing you see, except part of it is hidden behind the corner by the closet. The desk sticks out in the room like a peninsula.
I applied the quatrefoil vinyl to the end of my desk to create a lace, graphic effect. I LOVE it. I positioned it to wrap around the sides and the ends… it’s like the design just drips down the edges of the desktop. Quatrefoil is one of my favorite patterns of all time. I think the decal dresses up the desktop a bit and helps it stand out more against the cork floors.
Applying vinyl to the desktop was really simple. However, if I were to do a large decal like this again, I would probably have someone help me. The large decals are a bit to manage on your own. As for durability, the center of my desk is used the most, and this far end is usually untouched. If you wanted to do a decal in the center of a desk or table, it might be wise to cover it with plexiglass or glass. A large decal would also make an amazing table runner down the center of a table.
Faux Educational Pulldown
This last project was actually the first stencil I selected. I am a sucker for a cute quote and nice typography. A lot of vinyl decals sport lots of script fonts, which I am not a huge fan of. The font on this I Knew When I Met You decal was simple, but cute. I also loved the simple swirly frame.
This quote will ultimately hang in the pirate playroom. I love the look of educational pull down posters and wanted to mimic the look in a pirate-y way. That called for a driftwood look and brass details.
First, I applied the vinyl decal to a 17 x 19″ sheet of book cloth. I bought the roll of book cloth at Dick Blick Art Supplies. It is a nice smooth fabric with a paper backing. I found I had to really burnish the vinyl to get it to stick to the fabric. This would not work on a more textured fabric.
To create the educational pulldown style “frame”, I stained two wooden dowels with weathered gray. It gave an aged, driftwood appearance. I sprayed small eye hooks (leftover from a picture hanging kit) and one curtain ring clip with Krylon Gold Leaf spray paint to give them a brass look.
After applying the vinyl to the book cloth, I stapled the top and bottom edges of the book cloth to the back of the dowels.
I inserted two eye hooks on either end of the top dowel. I tied a length of string to the two eye hooks on top for hanging.
I inserted one eye hook into the center of the bottom dowel. I clipped the curtain ring onto the bottom eye hook. I used E6000 glue to fix it to the eye hook.
It turned out better than I could have imagined. I love the simplicity and nostalgia of this pull down map look. It will be right at home with the other art and decor I have in the works for the pirate playroom.
I absolutely adore all of these vinyl projects and know I will be doing more vinyl in the future. It was so easy. I love the instant gratification of transforming something in a few minutes. I am totally addicted! If you haven’t tried a vinyl project yet, hop on over to Vinyl With Faith and get your first decal.
So tell me, what is the coolest way you have used a vinyl decal? Can’t wait to hear your ideas for my next vinyl project.
Sharing this project here:
Tatertots and Jello
Liz Marie Blog
Design, Dining, and Diapers
It’s Overflowing
Disclosure: Uppercase Living (Faith) provided me with the vinyl decals shown here to try and review in my home. All opinions in this post are 100% mine.
This isn’t my favorite trend because it looks temporary. The globe looks really cute. The desk decal looks like an unfinished project, when the rest of your office is so nice and put together. I probably would only use these decals in a kids room, or not at all.
I applied a decal to a canvas I painted myself. It was SO difficult to apply the decal (because it didnt stick too well) but with an extra set of hands I managed. Then I Modgepodged it so it wouldn’t move. Ended up with a unique piece of art!
Thank you for introducing me to decals out of vinyl. In my younger years circa 1970’s–my mom let me have free reign with spray paint and such to redo a bedroom and I used a decal on a sprayed metal chair to brighten up the back. I’m sure it was a floral design. Then I was young and used decals on painted boxes to make jewelry boxes for my nieces (they were nearly my age!). And a teddy bear went on a painted box for my nephew. But decals went by the wayside as stickers became the rage. I’d long for a decal. More permanent. Not paper glue. And now I’ve found them again. In my dream, I actually want to respraying the folding metal chairs my Dad found and sprayed for my girls and they decorated with stickers. But this I’d like to do as their home made Christmas gift…with a vinyl decal on the back. Their GrandDad chair, remade new…for their adult homes. I’m teary eyed. We do home made gifts and WOW!!! I’m able to do this!!! Thank you
I love these projects! I’m also not as much a fan of the run of the mill decals that are seen all over the place, but these have so much character and are very unique. My favorite: the pull down quote!! I might just have to copy something like this for my own home. Keep up the great work and unique projects.
Thank you for sharing your creativity and passion for vinyl decorating! Uppercase Living sells high quality custom vinyl that can be used to transform your home, add inspiration to your office or create very personalized, meaningful gifts! For those who want something that looks more permanent you can use UL vinyl as a high quality stencil and then paint or stain over the vinyl. I encourage anyone who is curious to try the products to check out my Facebook albums for many more photos at http://www.facebook.com/uppercase faith or go to my website to browse all of the professional designs or create your own custom designs!
Personally, I love these cute touches! I always appreciate a fast project that turns out SUPER CUTE! XO, Aimee