Vinyl is many arts and crafts enthusiasts’ favorite material to work with for many reasons. One reason, and the most obvious one, is that vinyl is so versatile that it can be used for many projects. It comes in different kinds, colors, styles, and designs. With so many of them and so many possible projects, you could be looking for inspiration. What should be your next project be?
Types of Vinyl
It might seem like there are too many kinds of vinyl these days. But generally, there are two main types. There’s heat transfer vinyl (HTV) and adhesive vinyl. For all your vinyl needs, get in touch with reputable suppliers such as Vinyl Outlet and check out what they have in store for your projects.
Heat Transfer Vinyl
Heat transfer vinyl or HTV is an iron-only type of vinyl. This requires heat transfer with the use of an iron to transfer a design or print onto a piece of fabric. HTV has a wide range of varieties. Different brand and manufacturers have their own classifications of it too, which can be confusing. But generally, the HTV types include glitter, foil, holographic, patterned, among others.
Adhesive Vinyl
Adhesive vinyl, as its name suggests, involves sticking a sheet of vinyl onto a solid surface. These solid surfaces can include basically anything that one desires, from their office desk to the exterior of their car. Basically, these can be metal, glass, wood, plastic, and more. Just like HTV, adhesive vinyl has many types for many uses. But for the sake of arts and crafts, let’s stick to how adhesive vinyl is used in this realm.
There’s matter, glitter adhesive vinyl, to name a few. But generally, adhesive vinyl can be either permanent or removable. The general difference between the two is that removable vinyl can be removed anytime without leaving any sticky residue on the solid surface. The same cannot be said about permanent vinyl however both types are usually waterproof.
DIY Projects Using Vinyl
As aforementioned, vinyl has many uses specifically in DIY projects. With the wide selection of vinyl, there’s an overwhelming amount of possible projects to get your hands busy on. To help you with the choice fatigue, here are awesome vinyl projects using either HTV or adhesive vinyl:
1. Custom Phone Case
Your phone case does a good job at protecting your phone, but it sure could look better. Because of vinyl’s versatility and variety, there’s a great number of ways one can design their phone case. It can be designed in any style you want! Great vinyl variations to use for this would be holographic or glitter vinyl for a touch of flare.
2. Kitchen Labels
If you like to recycle jars and bottles to store spices and other ingredients, vinyl is your best friend. Anybody can feel frustrated after adding sugar to their specialty recipe when they were supposed to add salt. To prevent this from happening, label your kitchen ingredients with vinyl! For this project, any vinyl should do. There’s a wide variety of colors to choose from, which makes it possible to match your kitchen’s aesthetic.
3. Customized HTV T-Shirt
Thinking of recycling old plain shirts? HTV is here to help! Before you start transferring the design, be sure to insert a piece of cardboard inside of the shirt to prevent one side to stick to the other. After placing the HTV on the shirt, press the back of it with an iron for a few seconds. The heat transfer will allow the vinyl to transfer to the fabric. Be sure to peel the clear sheet as gently as you can, so it separates from the sheet smoothly.
4. Tote Bag
Is your tote bag looking a little plain? Add some life to it with HTV! Just like an HTV t-shirt, a design is transferred to the fabric of a tote bag with the use of iron. The process is still the same. After all, a tote bag is still fabric in the material.
5. A Decorated Wall
Yes, wall vinyl stickers are a thing and a fun thing at that. Wall vinyl stickers are a great addition to an otherwise plain, boring wall. With many designs and colors to choose from, you’re bound to find something that suits you and the style of your room. Before you start putting the stickers on your wall, be sure to prep the wall so the stickers stick directly on the surface. With a damp cloth, wipe the surface free of dust and debris.
Arts and crafts enthusiasts love vinyl because of the endless projects it can be used for. Vinyl can be used for DIY projects in the kitchen, bedroom, and for everyday things. It’s a great way to decorate and personalize items and spaces.
