I love all things vinyl and I think decals and stickers are a fast way to spice up a little bit of your house! I would put vinyl decals all over my house if it would look good because it is easy, cheap and fun. But the truth is, it will not look good. You have to make it tasteful and you cannot add too much!
I knew for sure I wanted to add a decal to something in my kitchen, but I just could not decide what I wanted to add. I have seen some cute kitchen vinyl on back splashes, cabinets, dishwashers, signs, pantry doors, trash can signs, cutting boards, and so much more. I like to stay on trend, but also be a little different, so I decided I would do the microwave. I loved that it would be eye level when you walked into the kitchen, it pops just enough to draw your eye over, and with the right font, it just bring the whole kitchen together.
So, here is how I did it using my cricut! If you do not own a cricut, there is a link at the bottom to buy the decal!
1. Pick Your Saying
Although we do not have any kids, eat it or starve, is a big saying in my house. If someone cooks a meal that is the only choice there is for the night.
2. Measure the Surface
This one seems like an easy task, but I always seem to mess this one up. Here is a trick I learned on the microwave! The microwave has 2 rectangles, a darker one on the outside and a lighter one on the inside. I measured the inner, lighter rectangle and mine was 17 inches by 6 inches. Now, I do not want the vinyl to go from edge to edge, I wanted a 1 inch border around the entire saying. So I will make my vinyl decal 15 inches by 4 inches.
3. Go to Cricut Design Space
Type the saying that you chose. I like to mix my fonts with a thicker print and a thinner cursive. I get a lot of my fonts from fontbundle.com. When you have your project typed, sized and ready to print, you are going to weld the entire thing together. Because this project is larger than a standard 12×12 mat, you will have to make two cuts. Below is the way I do that!
- How to make one large project into two smaller slices: Take a square the size of about half of your project. I say about half because you do not want to cut a word into pieces if possible. I took my square and placed it over the words “Today’s eat it or”. Now you will select both the square layer and the welded words, go to the bottom right corner and select slice. Now you will see the square layer, the original welded words, and two sliced parts. Delete everything but your two sliced halves of your project. Now you are ready to print!
4. Print, Cut, Weed and Finish Your Project!
Now this is the fun part! You will print and cut your design on the vinyl setting, there is no need to mirror the image. Once your image is cut, you will weed out everything that is around the letters and inside the letters. Take some transfer tape that is the length of your full project, so 15 inches in my case. You will want to put the tape on top of the letters, once you have pressed all the letters really well with a card, you are ready for the next step!
5. Place it on the microwave and you are done!
I placed the design on the microwave with the paper still attached to the letters, so that I can move it around and get it perfect before I stick the vinyl down. You will want to make sure your image is straight and has one inch all the way around the letters and the outer rectangle. When you feel it is ready, remove one part of the paper and stick the vinyl to the microwave and use a card to make sure it is flat and stuck well. Then, you will remove the other half of the paper and do the same thing! Make sure everything is stuck really well and then remove the transfer tape! There may be some bubbles when you are done, just use your finger to move the air our of the letters. YOU ARE DONE!
If you make your decal, share them with us on Instagram with @lifewithsomesugar so we can see your hard work!
