All things vinyl....

I have used a variety of vinyls: Oracal, Cricut, and the American Crafts from Tuesday Morning, too. I do NOT recommend the latter, especially for someone who is new to using vinyl, but they all worked. I did get better results with the Oracal vinyl, but Cricut works.

I have also used heat transfer vinyl (HTV), mostly the Siser brand, but also Cricut and Silhouette. I prefer the Siser Easy Weed HTV, but I have used a variety, and mostly I choose based on the color.

Sometimes the results just depend on what I am adhering the vinyl to, and how careful I am able to be. Larger surfaces are more difficult than smaller ones. I have never put vinyl on a wall. I have applied to glass for etching, and also to tiles, chargers, and painted wood for home decor.

I have bought the Cricut brand from the Hobby stores, Oracal from Amazon, Regional Supply And the Vinyl Outlet in Salt Lake City while visiting there, and the Siser from Vinyl Outlet, Amazon, and Heat Press Nation.

I have used sheets as well as rolls that I cut into sheets (I always, always, always stick my vinyl to the mat after I have cut it to the size of my project). Sometimes it does bubble when putting it on the mat. If need be, I will carefully peel back, restick, and smooth down the areas that bubble before cutting.

To some extent, it just comes down to practice, trial and error, and experience over time, but even the most experienced can have things go wrong. I recommend starting with small, smooth tiles and simpler designs, then try more difficult ones. It sounds like you tried a more intricate design when you were less experienced, and the more intricut the design, the bigger the pain it is to weed and apply. I recommend adding weeding lines.

You probably already do this, but to apply my vinyl,I peel off the non stick backing only from one small section (about an inch) along the shortest side. It is easiest to apply a small section, smooth it down, carefully peel back a little more, and do small amounts slowly and carefully. I am far more likely to mess up if I try to rush the process, no matter how careful I am. Even though I have a lot of experience at this point, I still sometimes just have an "off" day. Applying to curved and/or textured surfaces can be definitely more challenging than flat and smooth ones.

Lately I have done mostly HTV, and I have gotten pretty good at it. I made custom shirts for several members of our family for a Disney trip, and I got better and better as I got more practice. I saved most of my own shirts till last, and a couple of them were very detailed, with multiple colors.

What types of projects have you done?

I made a thread asking the same things that I just deleted! LOL I will follow here. I did just place an order at Expressions Vinyl for a project that my SO wants me to do. Thanks for the suggestion!! This is my first try at using vinyl too!