Decal Canvas Art How To

Vinyl decals are great if you are renting and can't paint the walls or you just want a bold graphic on the wall with little commitment. I love the clean perfect look of decals, but I hate that some of them can't be reused after you place them on the wall. I wanted a more options if I am going to spend money on something, I want to keep it as long as I want it. I have gotten cheap or the last few years as I get older. Putting it on canvas seems like best idea.

So I purchased a Tattoo Style Swallow decal from Beepart at www.beepart.etsy.com. The decal measures approx. 25" wide by 22" high so I purchased a 24 x 30" canvas from Micheal's (with a 40% off coupon of course!)

I purchase Apple Barrell acrylic paint in Pool Blue for about $3 at Michael's.

I painted the entire canvas with about four coats to make sure the coverage was even.

I let the canvas piece dry overnight to ensure it was completely dry. Beepart provided wonderful illustrated instructions on how to apply the decal that took a bit more time, but well worth it to go step by step. First place your decal on a hard flat surface and run a credit card or squeegee over the decal to ensure it bonds to the transfer paper and helps the application go smoother.

Position your decal in place you want with painters tape. I moved mine around a few times to get it in just the right spot. Using painters tape prevents the blue acrylic paint from lifting.

Take a long strip of painters tape and run it down the middle of your graphic.
It helps keep your large graphic in place as you remove the transfer paper.

Peel back one side of the transfer paper from the white backing. Use scissors to cut away the white backing paper. I suggest you use something to hold down your white backing paper to keep it from flipping over while you apply your decal. I simply used my roll of painters tape.

Working from the middle of the decal outwards smooth out the decal on to the canvas. You can use your squeegee to gently smooth out any bubble or wrinkles. Try not to press too hard since you are not on a hard surface. You can use a couple magazines under the canvas piece to help support of the fabric.

You can then remove the large strip of painters and repeat on the other side. If you don't feel comfortable removing such a large piece of the transfer paper, just do a section at a time. It takes longer, but this way you won't screw up the placement of your decal.

Smooth out the rest of your decal with your hand. Then use your squeegee to gently rub across the entire decal to help it transfer from the paper to your canvas piece. Take your time and go over every inch of the decal. You will see the decal change color slightly as you use your squeegee to help transfer the image.

My image had a lot of little pieces so I went over each and every section as carefully as possible. Then start to peel back the transfer paper. If you see some of the vinyl not adhere to the canvas then put the transfer paper back down firmly on the canvas and use your squeegee to rub the image onto the canvas. Remember to take your time.


If you see any bubbles or wrinkles you can use the heat of your finger pads to gently smooth out the imperfections.
And then your done! The shiny vinyl and matte finish of the acrylic paint really pops. I can't wait to find a spot in the house for it.

Peace, love & Painting!

Featured Etsy Seller: Beepart

I recently purchased my first vinyl from Etsy Seller Beepart and I couldn't be more impressed. I had been wanting to try a vinyl piece for a few years now, but most sites I found to be too expensive. I tend to change my style every few months so I didn't want something to break the bank.

Beepart has a wide variety sure to please everyone. I settled on a 25" wide by 22" high Tattoo Style Swallow Banner decal that could be customized with wording of my choosing. Since I recently purchased my first home I really liked the example style Beepart had to offer with "Home Sweet Home." Plus I had heard swallows represents love and affection towards family, friends, lovers, as well as loyalty of the person by always returning to them. A fitting design for a new home.

After making my purchase Beepart immediately emailed me to confirm the exact font I wanted. A touch I really appreciated. A few days later I received my decal. Beepart included very detailed illustrated instructions that really helped me a lot. I wouldn't have had a clue how to apply such a large decal.

Since I really liked the decal, I didn't want apply to a wall only to be unusable if I decided I wanted it in a different place. So I put it on a large canvas piece instead! I am quite happy with how it turned out.I will post instructions on how to do a similar piece. It was much quicker than painting something with this much detail on a large scale.

Be sure to check out Beepart's cool decals he has to offer. They are priced just right and he is a great seller on Etsy. Here are a few of my favorites:

I would love this above my bed....


This is soooo 80's......
This reminds me of one of my favorite Hispanic holidays, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

To see more go to www.beepart.etsy.com and support local artists!

Laker Surprise

My guy sure has been the solid rock in the relationship during this whole home buying, fixing up, moving in process. When I found out he was going on a weekend deep sea fishing trip with his dad and brother, I knew this was my chance to give back to him in a way I knew he would enjoy. He is a huge Los Angeles Laker fan. Huge. So during my million of Home Depot trips I saw they have licenses team colors by Glidden (www.mostcolorfulfan.com). He has his own 'man cave' in the house that he plans on making his Laker Room. Perfect!

So I purchased a gallon of the Laker Gold and Purple, a few new rollers, brushes, tape, drop cloth and started my project. Now I pondered for a good 20 minutes on what to do with the actual paint. They are such strong colors I didn't want to do every wall. I picked the wall furthest from the door to do an accent wall.

I then broke out my laser level and painters tape to create stripes similar to the stripes on a home jersey. I had purchased one of those edger tools to help eliminate the taping/cutting in. But honestly, they created more of a mess that needed to be taped and corrected. Save the money and take the time to tape.

I used Scotch Blue painters tape with the edge lock protection. That didn't really work out too well on textured walls as I discovered after I painted and started to pull off the tape. I explain below.

So the bottom wall gets a healthy coverage of yellow. Then the top half. By now it's starting to look a lot like Kraft Mac & Cheese. I am praying it gets better. LOL

The middle gets a coat of the purple. (The blue tape in the middle will be white stripes).


When painting with a dark/light paint combo, I have always heard to start with the lighter color first. In MY case, not so much. I discovered what happened with that and I will explain below. The reason why I say in MY case to paint the dark color first, is because when I applied the purple, it dripped onto the yellow.

Since the purple was such a dark color, I then had to break out a white primer, paint over the spots and let dry. Once it was dry, I had to repaint several coats of the yellow to get it to match. It wasted my time. I think if you are going to do something similar where you are NOT painting right on top of another color, to paint the dark first. It would have been easier to cover up any drips.

The next day I apply a few more coats to get that clean coverage on both colors. Then I started to remove the tape. Looking good so far....until I got up close.


That is when I discovered painters tape works better on a smooth surface. No matter how well I applied the tape and smoothed it out, I still got some spotty areas. So I broke out one of my paint brushes to clean up the edges. Time consuming? Yes. Worth it? YES!

Well after about 10 total hours working on the accent wall making it perfect, I was pretty darn proud of myself. I couldn't wait for my guy to return home the next day. I was dying to post pictures on Facebook, but I didn't want him to see them before he could see it in person.



Finally my guy comes home! He was super excited to see his surprise. He immediately put on his Lakers Jersey and I snapped a photo. I am so glad he enjoyed his surprise!