Craft Blog

Custom vinyl lettering is becoming rapidly popular for many applications. It is a great way to achieve a smooth, professional look for home décor projects. It can also be used for business advertising and public advertising. The ideas are endless, and the applications a lot of fun. Vinyl can be applied to walls, tiles, glass, and more. So, when you apply your vinyl to wood, make sure you do it right so that it sticks right and looks great like it should.

When applying vinyl to wood it must be a painted with a smooth, glossy enamel so the lettering/decal can adhere to it easily. Vinyl lettering is ready to apply self adhesive lettering, but it is not going adhere well to paint that is not glossy enamel.

Apply to painted wood using the following steps, but prepare all needed materials first:

1. Before applying be sure to clean the wood surface so it is dust free and clear of anything that would make the vinyl less adhesive. The lettering will not adhere if surface is not properly cleaned. So, take your time, sand down the wood, paint it well, and then use a damp cloth, or a duster to clean it. The cleaner the surface, the better the adherence.

2. Peel off the paper backing and put to the side. Your vinyl will be sticky on the back, so be careful not to let it touch or it will be hard to get it apart. Make sure everything is ready and close by before you peel the back off.

3. Mark the area where the letters will be applied and carefully place the letters on the wood making sure the letters are placed in the exact area and if needed they can be measured to assure they are centered. You would be wise to measure before hand so that it is easy and fast to apply.

4. Depending on the size of the letters or sign, the letters can be rubbed onto the wood by simply using a smooth popsicle stick. Carefully apply the letters to the wood with side to side even strokes to make letters stay on wood. This is a very important step to avoid any air bubbles as you apply the letters. Avoid any hard strokes as it could tear or damage the letters. The thinner the lettering, the more careful you need to be to get it to stick.

5. Once all areas of the letters have been rubbed on the wood the backing of the vinyl should easily peel off and the letters will be applied to the wood to create a professional look for your project. Smooth them over with your finger one time after the backing is removed just to ensure they are stuck down well.

6. Sometimes you may apply a final spray shellac to give it a shiny finish and protect the wood and lettering from dust and sun exposure, but it is not necessary. It will help your vinyl stick better, and protect it, but your vinyl will work fine without this step.

The best thing is that it is a simple process. If you follow the step by step instructions given above, it should very simple. So, get your popsicle stick and wood surface ready before trying to apply the vinyl.

Remember the things we treasure the most are the things we make with our hands. So happy crafting, and many more projects to come!!!!!!

Wood crafting is an enjoyable hobby for many people. Not only does it provide a good creative outlet that allows you to work with your hands, but the things you make can be both decorative and functional.

If you would like to get started with wood crafts, or you are already involved with them but just need some ideas, then consider the following resources that are available for woodcraft ideas.

Magazines
There are a number of magazines dedicated solely to wood working and wood crafts, and these are great resources for wood craft ideas. Not only do they provide ideas, but they also give you step-by-step instructions on how to make the crafts, from the type of wood to use to the tools needed to make the craft.

Many of these magazines can be purchased at a bookstore, craft store, or even the magazine aisle at the grocery store. If you are a wood craft enthusiast, it might not be a bad idea to get a subscription to a magazine or two. If you purchase very many wood craft magazines off the stands, you will often save a great deal of money by spending $20 a year for a subscription, as opposed to $4 or $5 an issue.  You can also save them and refer to them later.

Books
Visit the local library and you’re sure to find an entire section of books on wood craft ideas. These books, like the magazines, show you step-by-step how to make certain wood crafts. Often, there are books dedicated solely to one subject, including holiday wood crafts or toys. They are a great resource for wood craft ideas.

You can also opt to purchase books for woodcraft ideas. If you find one you like that has many ideas you’d like to try, it might be well worth it to purchase a copy of your own instead of checking it out multiple times from the library.

Craft fairs
One of the best resources for wood craft ideas is craft fairs in your area. These fairs are a great way to get wood craft ideas by browsing other people’s tables and products. From there, you can get ideas and then go back home and build off them to make your own unique wood crafts. Often, it is inspiring to see what other people have done.

Workshops
Workshops are great resources for wood crafters for a number of reasons. First of all, they help you to increase your skills, so you can learn new wood craft techniques and how to make your crafts better quality. Workshops are also a good idea because they can provide you with a number of new wood craft ideas. Check your local community center, YMCA, or local college to see if they offer wood craft or woodworking workshops.

Online
The internet is also a great resource for finding wood craft ideas. Simply type in "woodcraft ideas" into a search engine and you can get thousands of new ideas without ever having to leave your house. You can also narrow your search by typing in specific kinds of ideas, such as "holiday wood crafts" or "children’s wood crafts."

As you can see, there are many resources available for wood craft ideas that can help you improve your techniques while also learning new projects.

Tole painting, which originated in the 18th century as a way to paint on metal, is a popular craft hobby among many people even hundreds of years later. Told painting involves painting on wood.

If you’d like to learn how to tole paint your wood crafts, the following are a few tips to get you started.

Buy good quality brushes.

As a general rule, you will need a few basic brushes that will help you as you begin painting your creations. Brush sizes 10, 14, and 16 will help you with floating, used to shade and highlight. A liner brush 10/0 will help you outline, and you’ll need a good base coating brush or sponge brush. You can add more brushes to do different techniques as you develop your projects and skills, but for now these basic ones should be enough to get you started.

Other brushes you will eventually want include:
 Fan: this brush is used to create texture. Used dry or with only tips of brush loaded with paint, the bristles are shaped like a fan.
 Filbert: this brush has the shape of a flower petal or leaf and will help you to create soft edges and create leaves.
 Round: this brush has a pointed tip and is usually used for stroke and detail work like conuna strokes, writing, vines, or eyelashes. This brush comes in a number of sizes, which you will want to purchase eventually.

Practice your stroke work
This is learning to control the brush, which is fundamental for learning new painting techniques. The basic strokes you should practice include the "S," used for curving lines; the circle, for round objects; and the "C," for filling in certain shapes and for forming shadows or highlights.

These are other strokes and techniques you will want to learn as you become more advanced:

 Floating: one side of a flat brush is loaded with paint, and the brush is stroked on palette until you reach your desired blended color.
 Antiquing: this technique is used in finishing a painted item that gives an aged or darkened look to the paint and is usually applied to the wood, then rubbed off.
 Dry brushing: this technique uses a dry brush with a minimal amount of paint on it to add shading or highlighting to a specific design. The brush is dipped in paint, and then most of the paint is removed from brush with a paper towel or rag.
 Wash: with this technique, water is added to dilute the paint and make it either lighter in color or transparent. With a wash, the wood grain can be seen through the paint.

Use the right paints.
When it comes to paints, you’ll have a variety of choices. All you need to do is choose the paint that is best suited to your surface. Choices include watercolor, oils and acrylics, and others. Acrylics are the best for beginners, as they dry quickly and have a number of ready-made colors. They are also inexpensive, so you can easily experiment with acrylics without spending too much.

Tole painting is a fun hobby and a great way to decorate your wooden crafts. If you are interested in taking up tole painting, practice with various brushes, strokes, and paints. You can also take a class to improve your techniques and learn more.

Participating in craft fairs is an exciting way to showcase and sell your woodcrafts. Of course, the more people you bring in, the better your chance to promote your work and make more money. For this reason, it is important to advertise your wood crafts for upcoming craft shows that you are featuring your crafts in.

The following are some tips for advertising your wood crafts for a craft show.

Brochures
A brochure is an excellent, effective sales tool. Using inexpensive desktop publishing software or clip art, you can create your own professional-looking brochures from your home computer. In these brochures, it is important to include the date of your upcoming craft shows and where (if you already know) where your booths will be located.

You can place these brochures in a number of places, such as on car windshields in places that people interested in crafts would be, such as a craft store or wood working supply shop. You can also place your brochures at the checkout stand (with permission) of local craft stores. This is a good way to get publicity.

Newsletters
A newsletter is another great way to advertise your wood crafts for a craft show. You can make a paper one and distribute it, but a more effective and money-saving way is to create a newsletter and email it to people who may be interested. You can make newsletters as part of the email, or create it in a program and attach it. Be careful when doing this, however, as some people may not be able to open the newsletter without the program you made it in. For this reason, you should create your newsletter in a program people would be likely to have.

Information to include in the newsletter includes directions to the craft fair, information such as admission and parking fees, where your booth will be located, and what types of crafts you plan on featuring.

Post cards
Another great way to advertise your wood crafts for a craft show is through post cards. You can purchase a number of blank postcards for free and then print off custom designs for them on your computer.

Mail these to friends and family members, or drop them in mailboxes. You can also purchase mailing lists and mail to them, but this is often costly.

The following tips will also help you to advertise your wood crafts: 
 Word of mouth. Whenever you have a craft show that you are participating in coming up, be sure to let your friends and family members know and ask them to pass along the information to their friends and family members as well. Word of mouth is often the best way to advertise.
Make sure all your information is included. Whatever method of advertising you choose, make sure to include all the necessary information, including location, dates, times, parking information, direction, what you will be selling, and where you are located within the fair.
Make your material as professional as possible. The more professional your advertising looks, the better chance you will have of drawing people. If you are doing it yourself, make sure to use quality paper and printers, and be sure to proofread your work.

With a little work and creativity, you can advertise your wood crafts and draw more people to your upcoming craft shows.

Many people have made taken their hobby of handicrafts one step further and turned them into a money making business. Selling your woodcrafts can be very lucrative and a great way to get a little extra money on the side doing something you enjoy.

If you are considering using your crafts to make money, the following are a few steps for selling your woodcrafts.

1. Dedication. In order to be successful at selling your crafts, one of the most important things you will need is dedication to and a passion and commitment to your craft. At times, having your own business and working to market your wood crafts can be tiring and difficult, at best. It’s the love and dedication you have for wood crafting that will keep you going through these difficult times. If you don’t have a passion and dedication to your craft, don’t make it just to sell. You will end up giving up, or producing products that are of sub-par quality.

2. Produce quality items. When it comes to selling your wood crafts, it’s the quality and not the quantity that counts. This is especially important when you begin to make money, and it can be tempting to want to produce as much inventory as possible in order to make more money. However, this often results in poor quality, which in turn will drive away your customers and actually end up costing you in the long run. Make a commitment in the beginning to only produce quality items that are better than your competition’s. Your customers and potential customers will know this and be willing to pay more for better quality.

3. Market your product. The best way to get customers is through marketing your product. This is important because without marketing, no one will know about you. You can do this in a number of ways. One way is to find a niche, or a group of people to target your products to. Maybe you will specialize in making wooden toys. Or maybe you make door hangings. Whatever it is, carving out a niche will help you in the long run and make it easier to market your products. For example, if you want to sell wooden toys, start talking about your products in play groups or to your kids’ friends.

4. Find a place to sell. Once you have your product in place, you need to find a place to sell it. There are many ways to do this. Many people have had success selling their wood crafts on ebay. There, you place descriptions and pictures of your crafts. You can have people bid on them, or you can set a fixed price. Craft fairs are another great way to sell your product. There, you can display them and your customers can check them out in person before buying. Check your city and surrounding areas for craft fair entry deadlines and fees.

5. Persistence. Selling your wood crafts will require persistence. This is because it might take awhile to get a sale or to build up a regular clientele. It will be easy to become frustrated, but persistence will carry you through your inevitable slow periods.

Selling your wood crafts, when done with a target market in mind and by being persistent, is a great way to make money from your love of wood crafting.

Some people decide to take their hobbies, like crafts, woodwork, and more, and turn them into a profitable business. The idea of making money making something you love to do is appealing to many people.

However, before you go about starting a woodcraft business, there are a number of things you’ll need to know in order to be successful.

Taxes
If you decide you are going to sell your woodcrafts for a profit, even though it is a hobby, you will have to pay taxes. Technically, your hobby is considered a business if you made a profit from it in three of the past five years and from there you will have to file taxes as a small business. You will need to obtain from the IRS a federal Tax Identification Number, which you can apply for on the IRS’ website. To give you a general idea, most likely you can expect the following:
 Federal, state and local income taxes on your earnings from your business
 Self-employment taxes (roughly 15.3 percent) on everything you’ve earned from over $400. These are paid quarterly.
 You will also need to file Schedule C form (income or loss from a trade or business) with your Form 1040 each year you have your business

Laws and licensing
There are many legal requirements to starting a business. You will need to apply and pay for a number of licenses, depending on the type of business you have. In addition, each state has different laws requiring small business licensing and laws. You will need to check with the Small Business Association branch in your area. Obtaining all of the necessary licensing and laws is costly and time-consuming.

Marketing
Once you have your tax information and laws and licensing in place, you will need to begin marketing your business if you haven’t already. There are a number of ways you can do this; entire books have been written on marketing for a business. One thing you will want to do first is find a niche, and then go from there. A niche is a target market; for example, wooden toys for children, or tables, or chairs. Once you have your niche, you will be better able to sell your woodcrafts to people.

Go to fairs
One of the best ways to make money from a woodcraft business is to start entering craft and woodworking fairs in your city or surrounding cities in your state. This is how many hobbyists make money; some make thousands just from one fair or show alone. Check with your state to see what craft fairs are held and when. You will also want to check out the entrance requirements and fees (some of which can be quite steep), as they vary for each fair. When you find out you will be at a certain fair, be sure to tell your friends, neighbors, and anyone else that you will have a booth at the craft fair, and invite them to come and see. Word of mouth is a great way to drum up business.

Starting up a woodcraft business can be a great way to make money, but there are a number of things you need to know before you should start.

Wood crafts are a great hobby for anyone who enjoys working with their hands or with wood. Wood crafts can be stained, painted, and used as decoration or as functional pieces throughout the house. Many people also sell their wood crafts at craft shows and fairs.

If you want to get started with wood crafts, there are some basic things you will need to begin. This includes a variety of tools. The following are descriptions of the tools used for wood crafts.

Planer
A planer is typically used to smooth out rough wood. When it is cut directly from the tree, wood is very rough and full of ridges. This is usually planed out before it even reaches the lumber mill and stores, but perfectionists and those who want to work with perfectly smooth wood will want a planer.

Sander
Many times, the wood needed for wood crafts can be purchased pre cut and sanded. However, in some cases, it will still need to be sanded to make it smooth enough for painting and working with. You can get an electric sander for larger pieces of work, or you can get a hand sander for smaller pieces or those that don’t need to be sanded down quite as much.

Measuring tools
Most likely, you will need a certain amount of measuring tools for your wood crafts if you want to measure them correctly. If you have a saw, you can measure directly on the surface. But if you don’t, you’ll want a metal measuring ruler, which can be purchased in a hardware store.

Coping saw
If you’re creating small, intricate wood craft shapes, like letters or smaller shapes, a coping saw might be a good investment for you. You can get a number of different blades for this, depending on the type of craft you’re making.

Paints
Once you have all of the wood cut out and sanded, you can concentrate on other tools of the trade, such as paints. There are a number of different options for paint, you need only choose the paint that is best suited to your surface. Choices include watercolor, oils and acrylics, and others. Acrylics are the best for beginners, as they dry quickly and have a number of ready-made colors. They are also inexpensive, so you can easily experiment with acrylics without spending too much.

Stains and varnishes
This is another important aspect of wood crafts. More than likely, you will use some form of stain and varnish for your crafts. There are many different types, from glossy to matte, so make sure you know what you want before looking in the paint section. Varnishes are also good for sealing paint to the project.

Brushes
It’s important to buy good quality brushes when painting your wood crafts. Otherwise, they will fall apart quickly and leave bristles on your painting surface, which could ruin the paint when you try to remove them. Take care of your brushes as well, making sure to rinse them free of all paint in warm water and detergent after each use, and let them air dry before using them.

These are just a few of the many tools used when working on wood crafts. If you are not an avid woodcrafter or the thought of using power tools doesn’t appeal to you, you can still purchase sanded, pre-cut items for your crafts from craft or wood stores.

There are so many different crafts you can do with wood. There are also a lot of different ideas when it comes to crafts. You can use woods crafts in about anything you want. You can even use wood crafts when going for the country look. Here are some ideas for country wood crafts.

The first idea for country wood crafts is a wood sign. You can make a wood sign by either getting a piece of barn wood, or if you can’t find barn wood even a piece of MDF will work. Then you will want to figure out how big you want the sign to be. Then you can cut it out and then you can paint the board whatever color you want. If you want to put a saying on it use vinyl lettering. There are many places out there that sell it. Using sandpaper you can lightly sand around the wording and even over the wording and around the edges of the sign to get the country look. Then if you want you can take some stain and stain over the whole sign or even just around the edges that you sanded to help give it the old worn look.

The second idea for country wood crafts is a bench that you can either stick inside as part of your décor or even on your porch to add a little bit of hominess to your front porch. You can do this by getting some wood that is string enough that you can sit on it and it won’t break. You will then want to distress it by either chiseling the wood or even sanding it. You want to make sure that you make it looked old and distressed so you will accomplish that country look. It will also help if you painted it old colors like a dark sage green, or a red or cream even use stain to help accent it. Finding wood that has stress marks such as little cracks and things along those lines will help add character. You can go online or even to a craft store to find patterns to help you build the bench itself.

The third idea for country wood crafts is making a little picket fence that you can paint and make it looked white washed. You can put it on the wall in your laundry room or even on the bottom of a mirror. Depending on where your décor is will depend on where you want to put it. But little picket fences are a great country wood craft.

The fourth idea for a country wood crafts is making a box for a planter. This can be done by finding a pattern for a planter. Making a square planter will be much easier than other planters. Then stick on the color of paint you want and then sand it down and make it look worn. This will give you the country look and it doesn’t take a lot of time.

These are all ideas for country wood crafts. Pretty much you can make anything you want and make it a country wood craft. All that it really consists of is sanding the paint down in areas so it wears through to the wood. Then to make it look a little dirty or worn you can add stain. All of this will help you to achieve the country look. Now all you have to do is find what ideas for country wood crafts you want to do and then you will be set to do what ever you want to do.  

There are so many different kinds of crafts you can do. There are also many different woods you can use when doing crafts. Here are some tips on how to use barn wood for unique crafts.

The first tip on how to use barn wood for unique crafts is to use it for old looking signs. If you want to do a cute country looking sign that you want to look warn and old you can use barn wood. You can find barn wood at your local craft store or from an old barn. If you are pulling your barn wood from an old barn make sure to get a piece that isn’t rotted and is not to warped. You want to make sure that the piece of wood won’t fall apart on you and it isn’t to thin to were you won’t be able to sand it down if needed.

The second tip on how to use barn wood for unique crafts is using it for an old looking door. You can do this by getting the barn wood and cutting it to look like an old door that is worn. If you want to can sand it down and get rid of all the paint and then paint a new layer of pain on it and then sand your coat of paint down in different places to help give that worn look. You can then put a glaze or stain over it to help give it the look of being old and worn. Then you can add you hard ware and lean it up against a wall in a corner or something to help give that country feel.

The third tip on how to use barn wood for unique crafts is using it to make a bench. Make sure to build a stable bench but then you can put the barn wood on top of it so it gives the look of being made out of straight barn wood. This will help give that look of being old and warn. If you are going to use it for the top of your bench you will want to sand it down and repaint it and then if you want the warn look sand it in a variety of different places. If you do not sand it all the way down you might end up getting slivers from the wood.

The fourth tip on how to use barn wood for unique crafts is to use it for an old looking tool box. If you want to make a tool box that looks really old and used you can achieve this through barn wood. All you have to do is find a pattern of a tool box that you can follow. You can look on the internet and probably find a pattern for free. You will then want to sand it down and repaint it then assemble it. After you assemble it you can then sand it in different places to help give the old barn wood look to it again.

The fifth tip on how to use barn wood for unique crafts is using it for decorative shelves. If you are going to use barn wood for a decorative shelve you will want to make sure that it is relevantly flat. This way when you put stuff on the shelf they won’t roll off. Find a pattern if you want something in particular. Then take a piece of sand paper and sand it all the way down and repaint it and use it for an old looking shelf.

There is so many unique craft that you can do with barn wood. Barn wood is such a fun wood to work with. It is great because it is so old and authentic that is great to use to help achieve the country look of being old and worn. So get a piece of barn wood and see what kind of unique crafts you can use it for.

There are so many different kinds of crafts that you can do these days. You can do crafts out of metal. You can do crafts out of glass, and you can do crafts out of wood. But then you can do so many things with the wood depending on the look you want your crafts to have. Here are some tips on how to make rustic wood crafts.

The first way to make rustic wood crafts is to choose a rustic wood. For example if you want it to look rustic by being old and worn you can use barn wood. Barn wood can be found at a lot of craft store, or you can find it on any old barn. This wood is great for using on crafts because it gives it the authentic look of being old. You need to make sure though when getting barn wood from an old barn that it isn’t to brittle. If it is warped to bad you will want to choose another piece.

Once you have gotten your piece of barn wood you can start your project. If you know what you are going to make for your rustic wood crafts or have a pattern go ahead and measure what you need and cut it off. This way if you have a long board you won’t have to work with the whole board just the piece you need. Once you have measured it all out cut it out.

Once you have cut out your pieces for your rustic wood crafts you are going to want to figure out what pieces you want to do what with. Some pieces you might want to leave the old paint on and put a light coat of color over the top to make it look more rustic, or you might want to sand off all of the old paint and then put on your own paint.

Next after you have decided what you want to sand down and what to don’t want to sand down repaint everything you want repainted. It you have more than once piece that you will be painting you are going to want to paint it before you assemble it. This will make sure that you get everything covered and won’t have any bare spots.

After you have painted all of your pieces you are going to want to sand around them. To get the rustic wood craft look you sand down edges and sometimes even the tops of all of your wood crafts this will give the look of it being worn and old looking.

After you have gotten everything sanded you can take a toothbrush and lightly dip it in your paint. Then hold the tooth brush with one hand and taking your pointer finger of your other hand flip the tip of the tooth brush making little speckles of paint all over giving it a little bit of a dirtier look making it rustic looking.

After you have gotten your rustic wood craft to you liking take some stain and wipe it over your craft. This will help fill in the spots where you have sanded giving the wood a worn look. This will help also give it a little rustic look because of the different contracts from the paint and the stained parts.

All of these are ways to help make rustic wood crafts. These are just some of the many techniques that you can use to make rustic wood crafts. It all depends on how rustic you want your wood crafts to be. Experiment and see what fits you best. Even just doing one of the techniques will help get the rustic look you might be going for. So have fun with your crafts and try something new like making your wood crafts rustic.