Posted by ">Meghan on 30th November 2009

Tips For Using Vinyl When Scrapbooking with Cricut

Don’t be afraid of new things

Vinyl cutting isn’t what it used to be. The cricut machine was inspired by machines that cut vinyl in the first place! It knows how to do it, all you have to tell it is what and how hard to press.

Kiss-Cutting isn’t as cute as it sounds!

Kiss cutting is when you want to cut through the vinyl, but not the backing paper. It’s not a huge deal to cut through both but if you want to save time and your fingernails, you have to play with different pressures of your blade to see exactly how hard you must press for each type of vinyl.

How much do you want to spend?

If you want to spend the most money, then certainly go with Cricut vinyl. It’s backed by their satisfaction guarantee and is made specifically for the cricut. I use Oracel 631.

If you want to spend a bit less, try Wall Pops from any hardware store. These are made for sticking to walls, specifically what you want to do with the cutouts.

If you want to spend EVEN less, try drawer liners found at any dollar store or Wal-mart. They come in a variety of colors and hues made to match common kitchen themes.

If you want to spend nothing, try going to your local vinyl and sign-making business and see if they will give you scraps. Who knows if it will be free, but a smile goes a long way in a craft like this!

Try putting Vinyl decals on your cars as opposed to expensive custom logos that you can find at car stores.

White vinyl looks the best on any color car’s windows because of the tinting.

Tempted to use sign or vehicle vinyl on walls?

Don’t do it unless you want to repaint! You can however layer it on top of regular wall-vinyl, but that’s a lot of work!

Try using vinyl on cards and in scrapbooks

Vinyl is actually better for cutting very intricate designs on. Now you can finally cut snowflakes without the cardstock breaking apart everywhere!

If you don’t have any real tools on hand…

Try using credit cards or anything with a flat edge to smooth vinyl securely to all walls, and before cutting, to the mat.
Contact paper, or spray adhesive can also be used as transfer tape depending on how complex your design is.