Vinyl, vinyl everywhere! Every home decor and furnishing store seem to have vinyl quotes and decorations in them. Oh, and don’t get me started on all of the vinyl car decals I see as well! Vinyl crafts seem to have sky-rocketed in the past year, especially for us crafters that have electronic die-cut machines. I was actually upset to see that my sister purchased a vinyl quote for her children’s bathroom. I gasped in astonishment, “I could have MADE you that!!!” And it doesn’t take much more than a google or pinterest search to see all of the amazing vinyl crafts out there these days!
Disclosure: product provided for review purposes. Some links below may be affiliate links.
While at CHA this year I came across the Brookie Craft booth. They have TONS of different kinds of vinyl to play with and choose from. I honestly have never seen so many options! They have frosted (which is absolutely stunning), printable magnetic vinyl, metallic, a gorgeous matte vinyl, sticky-back stencil vinyl and I haven’t even scratched the surface with those and what is available! I was fortunate enough to get to play with the “Chalk it up!” Chalkboard vinyl, the “Write it off!” dry-erase vinyl, a green metallic shimmer and copper brushed metallic vinyl from the “Bling it On!” collection.
Firstly, the quality is amazing of all of the kinds I was able to test. The vinyl itself is very nice and thick. All of the sheets are backed with slick paper so when you cut with an electronic die cutter, you can weed (“Weeding” is the process of carefully removing the parts of vinyl around your design that are not being used or are not part of the final design.) and use transfer tape with ease. The “stick” of the vinyl is really great. And when you go to peel it off of your medium, it comes off remarkable easy. I smell everything and guess what? The vinyl has no smell whatsoever. I thought the dry-erase might be a little stinky, but nope! Now to the cutting tests. Let’s just get the obvious out of the way and state that the vinyl with its backing cuts very easily with scissors and your standard paper trimmers. I wanted to try it with electronic, manual die-cutters and handheld paper punches:
All came out very nice. Like Buttah! The green metallic shimmer vinyl is a bit thinner than the others. I suggest when using an electronic die-cutter to steer away from finely detailed shapes; they definitely cut but are a little more difficult to weed around. Here’s a little plaque I made using the green metallic shimmer vinyl and cut with a Silhouette:
(Everyone has their own pair of ruby slippers, right?)
The chalkboard vinyl is so cool! I had endless ideas on how to use it; labels for party drinks, clipboards for teachers, kids crafts, etc… I ultimately decided on something pretty traditional. I really despise being asked, “What’s for dinner?” so I cut a fun shape using my Cricut Expression and put it up in my kitchen. Now nobody can whine, “Mooooooooom, what’s for dinner tonight?” the second they walk into the door. I’m just going to point to my pretty vinyl chalkboard from now on. Plus, it’s another place where I can doodle when gabbing on the phone. (Tip, if your wall is textured you can slide a peice of flat cardstock that slightly smaller than your die-cut behind it to have a smooth surface to right on.)
The dry-erase vinyl is equally as awesome as the chalkboard. I tried using markers and even dry-erase crayons on it and the colors were bright and cleaned away easily. I covered a simple wooden frame in this for one of the kids. I think it would be fun for them to decorate a picture frame over and over as they see fit with the picture inside! I even enlisted their help to decorate the frames!
I really loved the look of the metallic vinyl. It’s nice thick and the matte shimmer is very appealing. I ran the vinyl through my embossing machine and it came out so pretty! I covered a smalled wooden box in the embossed vinyl then dry-brushed and wiped off some black paint giving it a very old antique look; and in a very short amount of time! I didn’t have to worry about covering anything in messy adhesive.
I LOVED playing with the Brookie craft vinyl products. I want to play with MORE of them! It was so difficult choosing what to make with my samples. Again, the quality was great and it was easy to use with different die-cutting machines. Brookie Crafts vinyl can be found at online retailers.
What do you think fellow crafters? What kind of vinyl hijinks could you get into using these fun products?
Disclosure: Sample provided for review.
If you are considering purchasing Brookie Craft Vinyl, please support CTD by using our affiliate links:
(Note that each package has 10 sheets- enough to buy and split with friends!)
- Brand New Tim Holtz & Ranger Ink Distress Oxide Review - April 12, 2017
- Rhonna Farrer Chalkboard Wall Art Tutorial – - December 15, 2016
- Make Distress Paints into MARKERS! - March 15, 2016
- CHA 2016 – Ranger Ink Designer Challenge – - January 16, 2016
- Craft Product Comparison and Overview: Ranger Ink Paints - November 11, 2015
- Product Review: Ranger Ink – Dina Wakley Media Paints and Fine Tip Applicator - August 16, 2015
- Product Review: Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Paints From Ranger Ink - June 9, 2015
- CHA 2015 – Tim Holtz Idea-ology Booth Tour - March 18, 2015
- CHA 2015 – Heidi Swapp Booth and Minc Video - March 13, 2015
- CHA 2015 – Beadalon 3D Bracelet Jig - March 12, 2015
Brandi says
cool projects I especially like the metal look vinyl.
kathy/NorthCarolina says
Such versatility! I am wowed by your “metal” box. Fantastic! Guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and look into this product.