All About Vinyl: Where To Buy The Cheapest, Best Craft Vinyl

I use a Silhouette SD (yep, still going strong!) for my cutting. I love how I can make professional looking gifts that are fully customizable and personalized. I can quickly whip up a hostess, thank you or birthday gift at the last second when I haven't had time to shop. I keep a back stock of glasses, mugs, totes and other random items to personalize on a whim, and of course, vinyl! But the selection can feel very overwhelming when the internet is full of options. Let me break it down for ya!

You can see metallic, neon, and glitter heat transfer vinyl here. There are truly mirror finish metallics available as well as a whole host of patterns and colors.

Where to buy Vinyl (in my opinion): 

I recommend H&H Sign Supply, Inc. I first learned of H&H Sign Supply, Inc. through  CardMkrLeslie's blog (which is a treasure trove of vinyl info!) and wow she was so right. INCREDIBLE color selection, metallics, glitter, holographic, flocked t-shirt vinyl, etc. They sell quality vinyl at inexpensive prices, and offer great variety packs for crafters. I promise they haven't paid me, they don't even know who I am (I've only done eight or so orders) but I'm forever their customer! They always ship so quickly it amaze me. They have a new website called Just for Crafters that is awesome as well. The prices are almost identical, but sometimes I want a frosted glass look and need to use H&H if JFC doesn't sell the exact vinyl I need, like they have fewer patterned vinyls, etc.

Coupon Codes for HRH: 

You can use the code FIRSTORDER for your first order (once per address) of $50.00 or more. I suggest adding them on Facebook as they post impromptu coupons like 15% off on Friday's, $5 shipping, or two hour only 25% off your whole order sales! I'm a BIG fan of companies who know their customer base and utilize social media to give back to their loyal patrons.  If you will be going through Just for Crafters, the code NEW will get you 20% off your entire first order.

What is the best buy on H&H:

Getting the sample packs and multipacks are the greatest deal. 

• GT5 Intermediate 
• 30 color options. Permanent outdoor vinyl (it will say "six years" etc. for guarantee but all of their outdoor is excellent) I prefer these packs because of the sizes they offer. I normally get the 12"x24" value packs in the 30, 40, or 50 sheets. H&H writes how much you save, because the larger the value pack, the more you save. This is great if you want multiple sheets and are just a casual crafter/gift maker and want a lot of colors. 5 yard long 12" packs are available just like the Avery and Oracal listed below, and are the cheapest option if you're buying long lengths of single colors.
• Avery IC 600 
• 40 color options. Permanent/outdoor. Comes in 12" wide rolls starting in 5 yard lengths. Great for anyone who wants a lot of one color, more color options (though most of these colors are available in 12"x12" sheets on Just for Crafters, their sister site) than the GT5, or has a vinyl craft business and wants to buy large quantities of vinyl. Slightly cheaper than the Oracal 651 packs in the same size.
• Oracal 651
• 59 color options. Permanent/outdoor. Comes in 12" wide rolls starting at 5 yards in length. The larger packs come in longer lengths. Same as the Avery IC 600, but more color options and $3.75 more expensive for the 5 yard long pack than Avery's. Probably the most popular permanent vinyl.

What About Iron On / Heat Transfer /Tshirt Vinyl?:

• The Siser Easyweed multipack is 5, 12"x15" sheets, you choose the colors, for $14.75 on H&H. There are 32 color options, including florescent.
• The Thermoflex Plus packs are also 5 12"x15" sheets with 44 color options, including neons and metallics. You cannot layer more vinyl on TOP of the neon (for doing outlines, etc.) so keep that in mind. 

I don't want to use them for some insane reason, where else?

If you want to go with another source, here is some of my research. 

Craft Vinyl: If for some reason you only need one sheet of something, they have tiered shipping, so up to $2.99 shipping is $1.95. The tier looks enticing, but every time I've bought vinyl it has been $30 or more, and that would be $8.95 shipping, which is a teensy bit high in my opinion. They offer multipacks, and the same brand (GT) outdoor glossy vinyl, 5 sheets of 12"x12" is $6.95 here compared to $4.95 at H&H. They seem like a good company with good reviews, and great variety of colors/finishes/designs.

Here's my beef: Why on earth does this website have to look so confusing? You don't have to restate on every single page that you need your address to be correct before ordering, put it on the first page or the Faq page and call it a day. Quite honestly the amount of information I have to dig through and analyze to make sure I'm doing everything exactly right makes me feel like I'm being cheated somehow. It is difficult for me to feel good about a website with so much fine print.

That being said, the "one of every color"multi packs of Oracle 651 they do every Friday morning come out to .54 cents per 12"x12" sheet, which is amazingly cheap. Unfortunately most of their deals are such that they are the only thing you can purchase. So if I want to get that day's deal of Siser Glitter, and need just a couple sheets of regular black vinyl, I cannot add it to my order I must place a separate order and pay additional shipping. This makes this a more expensive option for me as paying shipping twice starts to add up. 

Expressions Vinyl: This is probably the most talked about and popular vinyl supplier for crafters. I think that's because they've been around for such a long time, and are extremely popular among Cricut users. They have a coupon section on their website and offer 10% off your first order for signing up with Vinyl Values, their rewards points system. Also check out their Facebook page for coupon codes, they often offer free shipping over a certain amount, etc. 

Their 6 12"x12" pre-selected color family multipacks run at $8.99 for the lowest priced, so that's much higher than Craft Vinyl or H&H but their individual sheets are $1.49 which is exactly the same as H&H/Just for Crafters. However, H&H/Just for Crafters sells 12"x24" sheets of the same brand vinyl for $1.89 a sheet. So if you are wanting a bit more of the same color, that's better than multiple sheets at Expressions.  H&H indoor/craft vinyl (non permanent) is $1.03 per 12"x12". Expressions also has a wider range of patterned vinyl. You won't find as much patterned vinyl on Just for Crafter's as you will H&H for some reason. 

Another perk I like is they sell a wide range of replacement blades, mats, etc. for Silhouette and Cricut machines. So it is sort of a one-stop-shop, especially if you have a free shipping code. Because I do eBay for blades and restick my mat, that usually isn't necessary for me. 

I love H&H and Just for Crafters because of the wide range of vinyl colors. You can see here (sort of) that I have five different lavender/purple colors between all the different brands.

Mmm. Vinyl. It even smells good... I'm weird.

I really love the mint and turquoise the best, obviously ;) 

I bought these baskets at the Dollar Tree for, well, $1.00 (go figure) and I like to stand my vinyl like this. That's my collection of craft/nonpermanent vinyl. The vinyl all comes rolled up already so it stands easily like this. I use the middle of the vinyl "donut" to store scraps that are at least 6"x6". Anything smaller than that goes into a scrap basket. 

What is your favorite vinyl craft? Do you order vinyl elsewhere?

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Easy Fabric Iron-On's and Applique with the Silhouette or Cameo

Call me the queen of obvious labeling, but I was dying to have a little camera pouch for my point-and-shoot with this cute little camera design from the Silhouette library. Now if you don't have a Silhouette or comparable cutting machine, you can certainly do handmade applique's like this with the interfacing, some scissors, and some patience. 

This basically works by ironing on some double-sided interfacing (I used Heat Bond) to cotton fabric (nothing heavier or too frail) cutting it out, then using the cut design as you would an iron-on, stitching around the edges afterward if you choose to. Silhouette sells their own interfacing... but I mean, let your wallet be the deciding factor there. It is kinda pricey!

Decide what you want to make, and roughly how large you want your design. Something I realized when choosing my fabric for the above projects is that pattern-on-pattern didn't show up as well, so I backed each design with a solid color fabric. To do that, once in Silhouette you can use the Offset tool to make an outline that is fatter than your design, or you can simply iron on your cutout design to a piece of solid fabric and cut around it with scissors. More on the Offset tool below.

Cut your piece of fabric to the side you need, allowing a bit of excess so you don't have to be precise about laying it down on the cutting mat, then iron on the paper-backed Heat Bond interfacing. It is a cinch to do and you can tell when it has adhered. 

Place the fabric onto your (dirty and neglected) cutting mat. Burnish the fabric down onto the mat so that it adheres well. If it is a new or recently re-stickied (real word there) mat, rubbing it down with your hand will be fine. Otherwise, give it a nice firm burnishing. Note the faint grid marks on the cutting mat, an exact replica of the cutting mat and grid will appear on the Silhouette Studio software.

The "background" in the Silhouette Studio software is actually your cutting mat. Where you place your design on this virtual cutting mat is exactly where it will be cut out from on your actual mat. Really, it is oddly precise... kinda impressive. 

Here you can see I've done a flower design, and my camera design is at the bottom. I like to use extra paper, vinyl, fabric, whatever I'm cutting and go ahead and cut out designs to use for future projects. After you have placed your design, make sure it isn't too intricate to be cut from fabric (though you can get kinda intricate!) and that you have enough fabric covering the area of the mat where your design will be cut. 

Tip: If a design is a bit too intricate, like a font that looks a little too thin, click on the design to select it, then select the Offset tool. Play around with the width and "corner" or "rounded". Essentially this is like bolding your design as you would text, to beef it up a little and make it less thin. After you have made your new bolder design/font, simply click the older too-thin design and then delete it. 

Load your fabric/cutting mat into the machine by placing it under the roller bar and pressing the "Enter" button on the machine. It will grab the mat and you are all set to cut!

Click on "Silhouette Cut Settings" in the Silhouette Studio software and select "Fabric (with interfacing)". Above you'll see that mine has "Custom Media" selected. This is because I bumped the thickness up from 32 to 33 after I selected Fabric With Interfacing, and anytime you change something in the Fabric or any other setting, it considers it a Custom setting. To be honest, 32 is fine but my blade was a little dull and whenever that's the case, I pump down speed and bump up thickness. It will tell select which color cap to use for you, above it indicates pink, the .3mm blade cap.  If you have a newer blade it will tell you what thickness setting to turn it to. 

Click "Cut!"

 The machine will begin to cut the design and when it stops, press the same "Enter" button on the machine you pressed to load the cutting mat, and it will eject it. 

Now it is time to "weed" the design, meaning getting rid of the excess material (negative space) to reveal only the design itself. I find a dental pick is ideal for removing any small portions of the design (it works especially well when weeding vinyl).

 Once you are left with just your design, peel it off the paper backing, place the pieces carefully where you would like them on your project, then iron them into place just as you ironed the interfacing onto the fabric in the beginning.

 If you have multiple intricate pieces, instead of having to transfer each one by hand and praying they stay still while you work, get some Rhinestone Transfer Film from Ebay or save a piece of the clear plastic that tshirt vinyl comes on. It is the same stuff. Lay it over your design, rub until the fabric has adhered to the plastic, then simply place the entire plastic piece where you would like on the fabric piece you intend to iron your design on. Place a piece of cloth (extra fabric, something thin like cotton or a tshirt) on top and then iron down. Don't peel off the plastic until cool. 

If you wanted to back your design with a different fabric as I did for each of mine, select your design and then use "offset" which will create a border around the image allowing you to tinker with how wide a border you would like. Once you do this, delete (or move off of the virtual cutting mat on screen) the original design leaving only the offset design. If there are "holes" in the bolder offset you created (like the heart on my camera) that you don't want for your border/backing piece, simply right-click on the design and select "Release Compound Path" then select the pieces you want to delete and delete them! Cut this out of your contrasting fabric and iron your design onto it after ironing it onto your project. 

I hope that wasn't too confusing, I probably should have taken more photos! You can do lots of things with this, from little pouches like the ones I made, to shirts, monogrammed items, throw pillows, anything you can imagine. You can hand embroider or carefully machine sew around the edges of your design to give it a truly appliqued look if you wish.

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10 Step Easy Pleated Tote Bag Tutorial for Beginners

I fell in love with a bag kit from Walmart of all places, it had beautiful damask in hot pink and pink polka dot fabric with a pretty handle. When I took it home, the instructions were ridiculously confusing, so I just took a gander at the pattern for five seconds and winged it! What lies below is my tutorial for this bag, sketched out and explained to the best of my ability. I like bag tutorials without too many measurements, because I like to grasp a concept of how to make something, then be able to make it in any size I'd like to. You can use this pattern to make a bag for a doll, or a giant tote and how you do it will always remain the same, you just tweak the size a bit! It is a great bag for beginners but I'm not so sure about my tutorial making skills, so drop me a line if you have any issues!

The photo above shows the bag after many washings and uses over its lifespan of 2 years. I never ironed it as I should have so it has lost some of its beauty, but it is a better quality photo than what I have below...

This is the bag right after it was completed, which shows how nice the pleating once looked before a trillion washings. I wish I had taken a better photograph of it back then!

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