Thought we'd do something a little different with this contest .....

We look forward to seeing your entries **** On the day of the contest, please type "CONTEST ENTRY" in your facebook post. The contest entries will be posted alongside our weekly Strut Your Vinyl Stuff photos. We recommend that you watermark your photos with a personal or business name.

DATE:  Friday, November 18, 2011 (midnight to midnight)

DESIGNS ALLOWED:  Christmas or Winter-Themed Designs from My Vinyl Designer

SUBSTRATE:  Your choice .... just have LOTS of fun.

NUMBER OF ENTRIES:  1 to 3 photos

WINNERS:  We encourage everyone to simply "like" all their favorite photos, since that is how we will tally the winners. Those with the highest number of "likes" on their photos will be chosen as the winners. All family, friends, customers, and visitors {including yourself} are welcome to vote. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, we'll record the number of likes as a post under the photo and announce the winners on facebook. :)

PRIZES:  1st Place - $50 shopping spree on our site; 2nd Place - $40 shopping spree; 3rd Place - $30 shopping spree, & 10-Honorable Mentions - $20 shopping spree

Best wishes to everyone!

CLICK HERE to see what we look for in contest entries

CLICK HERE to visit our inspire-me photo gallery of finished photos

CLICK HERE to visit our website

CLICK HERE to find us on facebook

We decided to go into the SCAL forum last night and ask the following question: 

Can UNWELDED elements be ungrouped and grouped within the SCAL software, without using Inkscape?

This is the response we we received:

Under Objects in the menu across the top is Group and Ungroup, but whether the element is unwelded or welded, I don't know....I generally use two other software (won't say here!!) for my designing and than export to SCAL2 and cut out there. Put the element on the page and making sure it's selected, click on Object and than ungroup.

HERE is the thread if you'd want to follow or ask further questions related to the topic.

To celebrate reaching 3,000 fans on facebook, we offer you two special gifts: 

A FREE ALPHABET ... http://bit.ly/nNa8c3

A RARE 30% SAVINGS ON A NEW SPORT-THEMED PAGE ... http://bit.ly/qUjxia.

Only available through this coming Monday night, September 19th. Thank you for being the greatest customers ever!!  Enjoy! :)

Although it is fun to download and save other people's finished photos across the web for reference ideas, IT IS NOT OKAY TO USE OTHER'S FINISHED PHOTOS in your websites, blogs, stores, and other advertising efforts.  Even if you crop out watermarks.  It is a form of theft.

We address this issue because it is more serious than some might realize.

TO THOSE WHO SHARE PHOTOS:  In an effort to protect our customer's Strut Your Vinyl Stuff photos, we kindly remind everyone that no photo is completely safe in the digital world.  It helps to use a watermark of some kind, but sometimes that isn't an option.  Just know that when you share a photo on facebook, others may download it and use it for personal reasons.  It's an unfortunate reality.  We want to do what we can to help protect your awesome photos from being misused.  Hopefully in time, we will be allowed to disable the download feature.

TO THOSE WANTING TO USE OTHER'S FINISHED PHOTOS:  We understand that it takes a lot of time to create your own finished project photos, and when you see a particularly cute idea, it's doubly tempting to use that photo.  Especially if you have the premade design to create it.  May we suggest asking the designer of photo if you can use her/his photo on your website/store/blog/facebook page, giving credit where credit is due.  Alternatively, may we suggest pooling with a few individuals where you each share one another's photos with customers.  There are several ethical options for creating finished photos.  CLICK HERE ... to learn about using stock photos.

TO THOSE WHO FIND A SITE USING OTHER'S FINISHED PHOTOS WITHOUT PERMISSION:   Even on a worldwide web, avid crafters are a tight-knit community who take care of one another.  It's quite easy to recognize a particular artist's style and creation, whether it in digital art, photography, scrapbooking, vinyl, etc.  Please let us know immediately at vectorart@myvinyldesigner.com when you see other's finished photos being used without permission.  Your name will remain anonymous.

If you happen to find your photo used without permission, we gently remind you to approach the situation with professional kindness.  Sometimes, there is an honest misunderstanding, especially if the photo retains its watermark.  It just becomes an education thing where the person needs to know that finished photos, in general, may not be shared without the owner's permission.  Just a gentle reminder.

CLICK HERE ..... to learn more about STRUT YOUR VINYL STUFF

CLICK HERE ..... to visit our facebook page

CLICK HERE ..... to view our copyrights

STRUT YOUR VINYL STUFF* on our facebook wall every Friday (from midnight to midnight).  Show us your finished photos (using your designs or ours), how-to tutorials, and project ideas.  We LOVE to see all your fabulous ideas!

* Please kindly refrain from sharing vector resource links and names on our wall. Thanks!

CLICK HERE ..... to view past STRUT YOUR VINYL STUFF photo albums

CLICK HERE ..... for info related to using other's finished photos

"This is my favorite paint finish, but I'm not sure how to do it.  Can you explain how it's done?"

This is a FABULOUS finish!  APT VINYL did a great job creating a rustic washed out look for this sign.  To achieve this look, you need to use acrylic paint.  We prefer the Deco Art Patio Paint as it has just a little sheen to it.  The only drawback is that it doesn't come in many colors. 

1)  With a foam brush, paint the board black and let it dry.

2)  The next step can be done two ways: a) Either take the cream paint, and with a 3-4" foam brush, paint over the black color and quickly wipe the paint off, lightly showing the black through the cream. Or,  b)  Slightly water down the cream paint (our preference) and use a 3-4" foam brush to paint over the black.  The black color will naturally show through.  If you don't mix your paint and water well, it will cause a variegation in the opacity of the paint (like below) which is also nice. 

3)  After the paint has dried, sand the edges.  We like to use a belt sander as hand sanding takes TOO long and is too uniform. 

For a finished look, stain the sanded edges with a foam brush using a water based stain (be sure to shake it well) and quickly wipe off any excess with a wet rag.  Experiment on practice boards first.  It may take a few tries to get the hang of it. Make sure the surface is completely dry before applying vinyl.

CLICK HERE to view photos of other finished wood projects

"How about the following photo?  How did they do it?"

This is another fabulous inspire-me project by WENDY STEENECK!  To create this look, use the same painting technique as described above, to create the background.  Then create a reverse-weed vinyl stencil and apply paint in the negative spaces.  Depending on the type of paint you use and how dry it is, determine how quickly the stencil should be removed afterward.

CLICK HERE to visit our website

Is there anything else I need to know? ... Yes -- My Vinyl Designer reserves the right to edit, change, or delete any ..

Yes -- My Vinyl Designer reserves the right to edit, change, or delete any information on this website, at any time, as needed. We also sell only what is believed to be a top quality, optimally prepared, vinyl-cutter-ready product. If at any time you see an adjusted same-catalog-number image that you previously purchased, you are welcome to request the adjusted file at no charge. If that adjusted image came in a collection you purchased, you may also request an updated catalog at no charge.

We stand behind our vinyl-ready artwork 100% and are committed to being the best, and offering the best in the vinyl market!

We do not claim ownership of the quotes or sayings in our 1000+ Vinyl Quotes or in our vinyl-ready designs on the website. They are what we believe to be in the public domain for public use. However, if any are found to be copyrighted, they will be immediately removed. Discontinued and/or replacement designs are announced in the LATEST NEWS section of our website.

For assistance and information regarding copyrighted materials for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please contact the Church's Intellectual Property Office. Here is a link to the Rights and Information, including a Copyright Request Form.

Sometimes when our computer freezes during one of our bigger cuts, we just click "enter" on the keyboard and the "freeze" stops. The simple click allows the remaining information to transmit to the cutter. If this step does not fix your problem, you may want to contact the manufacturer directly.

How do I know what designs are in a collection and which ones are not? ... There are several ways to determine if .... (click here to learn more)

1- When you open a category and look to the right of each picture, you will see what collection that design is housed in, if any. The number "888" means that it is a loose design.

2- When you type "888" in the subject search box, you will see the designs NOT housed in a collection.

3- When you type the following codes in the subject search box, you will see bigger images of all the designs in each collection: #1... xxx; #2... yyy; #3... zzz; #4... sss; #5... uuu; #6... qqq; #7... ttt; Christmas1... 111; Christmas2... aaa. A quick fingertip reference for finding what designs are grouped together. Click here for all the collection downloads.