It's Not Always Pretty!

Paper crafting, that is. Quite often a project turns out absolutely nothing like I planned and sometimes it becomes a horrible mess. That's what happened this weekend when I was making something for a challenge I was doing. The challenge was to create something outside of your comfort zone or try a technique that you've always wanted to try. (It was also a Christmas in July theme) I decided to do a vinyl project using the new Word Collage cartridge. So, my brilliant idea was to put the vinyl cut out on a piece of card stock and then frame it to use a Christmas decoration. I used the E2, and the preset kiss cut, which is supposed to cut the vinyl, but not the paper layer underneath. Well, my first mistake was not doing a practice cut, because apparently my E2 is not set right, so it did cut through the bottom layer, but more about that later.
So, I did the cut at 10.5" and it took 20 minutes to cut (no kidding, I timed it). I pulled the extra vinyl off, did the weeding and all seemed OK at that point. Then I applied the transfer paper and that seemed to go well too. The real problem came when I tried to apply the vinyl to the paper. Apparently, vinyl does not like to stick to paper, not without a lot of burnishing anyway. The transfer paper, however, didn't have a problem sticking to the paper at all! I later discovered The transfer paper I used was made for outdoor vinyl and I think it was just too sticky.

 I spent about 45 minutes working on this before I decided to give up. I had a headache and was feeling a little nauseous at this point! Now the problem with the bottom layer cutting. I could not get that paper off my mat for anything. Some did peel off  in pieces, but some stuck fast and I'm just calling the mat a loss.

But even after all this I wasn't ready to give up on this project. I really liked the way the Word Collage cut looked and decided instead to get a glass frame and apply the vinyl to the glass and just frame the paper. I'm happy to say it was a success! I picked up a frame for 1/2 price at Hobby Lobby the next day, did another vinyl cut after adjusting the settings on the E2, used Provo Craft transfer paper, and this was the result:

The frame is 11X14 and the cut is only 10.5, so I had to add something on the bottom. This strip is from the DCWV Christmas Combo pack and it worked perfectly. I also colored the holly berries and leaves with Smooch inks. I think this is going to be a nice addition to my Christmas decor!
Thanks for reading through this long post. I just thought it would be fun to share the not so perfect side of this hobby!
Maria