COOL WALL STICKERS

Wall stickers do not stick to canvas

Wall stickers are made of a floppy plastic called vinyl.  Vinyl is a material that has a self adhesive quality, and it is this adhesive that helps it stick to a surface.

It needs to stick to a hard flat surface. Plasterboard walls, smooth wood, melamine surfaces, enamel surfaces are the sorts of surfaces that are suitable for wall stickers.  The thing that these all have in common is that they are rigid surfaces with a smooth texture.

We do not recommend or advise that vinyl be stuck to canvas for decorating purposes.  Canvas is not rigid and and it is pourous so the more the air moves behind the canvas it will lessen the effect of the vinyl and eventually the wall stickers will fall off.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO STICK VINYL TO CANVAS?

If your answer is because you don't want to stick it to your wall.  Well, unfortunately you need to consider other decorating options.

WHAT ARE OTHER OPTIONS OF DECORATING?

1. If you want a design on canvas then you will need to either paint it yourself, or order a design of a custom canvas artwork. 
2. If you want the design to movable but you don't really mind what it is stuck to then there are a few options.  For example, you could buy a frame from IKEA and apply the vinyl to the glass so that you can have the design and move it.  Or you could buy a piece of MDF boards from Bunnings and apply the design to that.

Some people have contacted to say that they have stuck their vinyl onto canvas and it worked fine. Possibly in the first instance it will stick, but within a short period of time it will lift and fall off because of the flex in the canvas and the pourous nature of the weave.

We hope that you will be creative and think of other ways to decorate rather than to waste your money on trying to install vinyl onto canvas.

 

 

 

Self installing wall lettering for schools

Over the years we have consistently worked with schools and educational services throughout Australia to tell their story on the walls, and to infuse some of the school branding ontot the walls.

The below pictures show a project that we are exceptionally proud of.  Not so much proud of ourselves, but at the school for having the vision to choose their wall lettering and wall quotes, and then for this amazing self installation.

10 wall quotes spanning across a 10m wide wall, created by Cool Art Design in different fonts and using a variety of vinyl colours.   These wall quotes are featured on a giant red wall which sits behind the newly refurbished school library at this Gold Coast school.

Inspiring stuff!  If you want to get wall quotes created for your school give us school for an obligation free discussion.

Shop window signage using vinyl lettering

After receiving an inceasing frequency of customers asking for DO IT YOURSELF window singage for their offices or shop windows we have decided to write a post and we will point people to this.

Applying vinyl to glass, and specifically vinyl lettering to glass is not simple.  We have seen plenty of websites that say how easy this process is, and for some situations it might be okay for self installation- but in general- using coloured vinyl to create lettering does require a certain level of installation skill.

If you really want a professional looking glass signage application we recommend using a sign writer or professional installer.  This vinyl lettering below was installed by Cool Art Design.

1. Inside facing out

When applying lettering to glass, generally the vinyl is cut in reverse and applied to the inside of the glass facing out.

2. Effect of bubbles

Because the vinyl is on the inside, it is extremely obvious if the vinyl lettering forms a bubble between the vinyl and the glass. Why? Because customers will be reading lettering from outside/

3. Wet application

Normally vinyl applied to glass is applied using a wet application technique.  This involves wetting both vinyl and glass and squeegeeing out the water from the two leaving a clean application with no bubbles.

4. Waiting time

When using a wet application method you cannot remove the transfer tape (which helps get lettering onto glass) until the vinyl has dried- this can take up to 24 hours.

5. Alignment

When aligning the lettering using a wet application, you need to create guide marks and use a spirit level while the lettering can still be manipulated.  Lots of application fluid is the key to achieving this.

6. White is the best colour for window signage. If you don't want white then you need to use a coloured shade not far off white.  For example, a pale yellow, pale green etc etc.  Using fluro colours is expensive, and using darker colours they get lost against the busy-ness of the backgrounds in shops.

We create hundreds of custom vinyl products for self installation for walls.  But applying logos and lettering for your business on glass, we really advise that you get a professional installer and any local signwriting company will be able to help you. Your brand integrity is vital to your business and you need to look professional.  Spend the money on installation and focus on your business rather than the hours it will take you to master the art of glass installation.

Funk up your office decorating with coloured vinyl for glass

As a big fan of frosting for glass, it has to be good if we are recommending something else!

Loving this ultra clear vinyl we have started working with.  It enables us to print coloured designs onto ultra clear vinyl providing privacy, but also a massive dash of colour and more importantly infusing your branding into your office decorating.

Decorating offices with vinyl gives you the opportunity to create semi permanent branding that can be easily changed if you upgrade branding, or change offices.

Contact Cool Art Design on 1300 281 044 to discuss how we can use vinyl for windows or walls to decorate your office.

Design College ReDecorating with wall vinyl designs and wall lettering

This month we took our unique graphic solutions to the open canvas of the Raffles Design College.

With new term starting the idea was to add a little bit of personality to the space without breaking the budget.  Adding effective smaller designs to spaces can be extremely worthwhile and worked perfectly in this design college.

Cool Art Design did the design and installation of the below areas.

A multi coloured wall quote and simple directional signage helped this space.

These lantern wall stickers have an artsy and fun feel and are super easy to self install.  To see these on our website as a product visit our Cool Art Design lantern page.....

Chalkboard stickers can be used effectively in custom designs- and in this case we have used three different designs of chalkboard wall stickers.

Fresh off the keyboard- this brand new wall art design- world map decal-  is not yet available on our catalogue but to talk to us about getting one in your office just email us at art@coolartdesign.com.au

Block style wall quotes are a great way to decorate the office.  The font is readable and looks professional and smart.

A great fun project, designs were tweaked for the space and installation provided by us.  Very happy with the result and we know the students will enjoy studying in this newly decorated environment.

High quality vinyl wall lettering contours to surface

The lettering that we use in the manufacture of our vinyl wall lettering is special for these reasons:

1. Ultra thin means it contours to the surface it is being stuck to
2. High quality means the vinyl is durable and will last on the wall until you are ready to remove it.

We often have customers complain about other brands of wall stickers and that they start to curl on the corners, or fall off after a short period.  This cheaper quality vinyl is more like plastic- looks like a sticker on the wall- not hand painted- and will not have the durable qualities of our vinyl.

Here are some photos which show the close up nature of the vinyl we use.

This is a matt finish vinyl on a matt wall.  Looks absolutely hand painted.

This is a gloss finish vinyl on a matt wall.  You can see the texture of the wall beneath.

To discuss any of the technical aspects of our wall vinyl, give us a call on 1300 281 044 or email us at art@coolartdesign.com.au

Will vinyl stick to canvases?

If we had a dollar for every time during a conversation a customer says, " oh I was just going to stick your vinyl lettering to canvas", we'd be very rich. And then in reverse, us saying, "noooooo".

Vinyl is supposed to stick to a flat hard surface such as painted gyprock, wood, glass, mirror and the likes.  Canvas is too pourous, and floppy for it and even if you do defy the initial odds against it, the vinyl won't stay stuck for a long time.

If you want a movable canvas, then you need to buy a canvas artwork with the design already on it.

If you really want to move your artwork, and you want to use vinyl, then you are better off applying it to a mirror, or a picture frame or some other hard surface.

Our sister website Cool Art Canvas helps customers who want designs on canvas, and you can always ask us to do a custom design for you but produced on canvas.

Avoid wasting your money by purchasing vinyl lettering if your intention is to stick it to canvas.

Some of our canvases include:

Custom travel canvases

Word art

Keep Calm Canvases

 

 

Summer Decorating with Wall Stickers

If you are looking for summer decorating ideas then look no further.  An easy way to add some sunshine and fun to your home during the summer months is to use wall quotes or wall sticker designs to decorate your space:

WALL QUOTES:  Choose from our catalogue or email us your favourite saying or quote and we can make it into a trendy wall quote using vinyl lettering that will look fabulously hand painted on your walls!

VINYL GRAPHIC:  Add geometric shapes, or clean fresh branches, trees or go REALLY summer and add some beach and water themed wall decals to your walls.

We are going to have some lazy days over summer, but mostly we will be adding BRAND NEW designs to the wall sticker range that will be fun and funky for you in 2012!

Have a safe festive season! Remember don't drink and INSTALL!

Sunset surfer wall decal- looks cool as a wall sticker many different decorating spaces!

Summer Surfer Boy or girl wall decal looks great in a living area or beach house

 

Top idea to decorate your windows this Christmas in 2011

Decking the halls with boughs of plastic holly is a thing of the past.  There are numerous way to decorate your shopfront or office in a modern yet cost effective manner. Both financial cost and environment cost can be avoided and you can give your customers a better Christmas too!

SIMPLE, REUSABLE, AFFORDABLE

A top idea for decorating your shop windows is to use mega kits of stars and dots to create wonderful festive season designs on your shop front.

The kits come in various sizes and consist of dots and stars.

Using intuitive worksheets, you peel and stick and arrange the shapes into Christmas wreaths, Christmas swirls, Christmas trees and as many ideas as your imagination allows.

Keep the backing paper and when it is time to remove, place the dots and stars back on the backing paper for next year.

View the Christmas window sticker packs by clicking here...

Brighten dark rooms with full wall colour graphics

Working with rooms where there is no natural light can often be a challenge when decorating offices and commercial spaces.

A tidy idea for bringing some of the outdoors inside is to install a full wall graphic of a bright and colourful outside scene.

This example below is an image of Busselton Pier which has some nice light tones of blue and was used to lift the general mood of this computer training centre.  We combined this with some wall quotes in a soft blue on an adjoining wall to carry the colour around.

It is pretty cost effective as well, and well worth getting a quote so you can start planning enhancements for your internal offices.

You can visit our commercial wall art gallery to see other ideas for decorating internal offices.