Vinyl at Dollar Tree!

 Vinyl At Dollar Tree!

I have seen DIY tutorials, Tik Tok hacks, craft item hauls, You Tube videos, and IG post of people finding vinyl at Dollar Tree. I almost wanted to do research on where these people lived, because every time I went looking for this elusive craft unicorn, no matter what DT I went to, I could not find it. Mind you I didn't hit too many, but when I came across one, or passed by my local spot, I checked. NOTHING! I figured it had to be an east coast thing because, here in California, I was having NO luck. I mean people were finding weeding tools, burnishing tools, spatulas and vinyl? I could not to save my life. I would occasionally find some of the weeding supplies, but that darn vinyl...

 Now I will admit that in the past year or so, DT has stepped up their crafting supply game in a major way. I mean every since the pandemic encompassed our entire being, folks out here trying to be the local Martha Stewart. I can't say that I am mad at them. Go get your crafty on!! I just would have liked to do the same is all I'm saying. 

Gone are the days when DT only carries preschool five color finger paint with that hard plastic bristled bush, or those gaudy plastic beads your kids would string up on some plastic strip that never really knotted right unless you burned the ends, but then you couldn't do that because they were still in the room and you didn't want them to see use any flame throwing devices.

Sorry...got side tracked. Don't get me wrong, you can still get those things there, but NOW you can find DT's crafting supplies under the name Crafter's Square. You can find green Styrofoam forms in the gardening sections, which can be used strictly for gardening or other crafting, chalkboard paint so you can DIY a nice chalk note board, yarn (see Premier Yarn Dollar Tree Review post for yarn review), beads, glue sticks, glue guns **(There has been a recall on the glue guns at DT so please be careful)**, small wooden blocks, double sided, and even washi tape! I mean, you can even find some fabric strips and fleece material. There may not be a very large selection, but it is a bit impressive for a dollar store. 

Buuut....back to the vinyl

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At the time of my initial visit, I only saw two vinyl rolls that grabbed me. They were GLITTERFIED!!! (No it's not a word-mind your business.😜) One was rose gold, and one yellow gold, but GLITTER!! Then I saw TRANSFER TAPE!!! Sorry, didn't mean to keep yelling, but transfer tape is essential if you are going to use vinyl or HTV (iron on). We will revisit the transfer tape in a bit. Truth be told, I wasn't there for vinyl or glitter sheets, but I was there looking for things to make my Halloween costume. ( I had only a week. Not procrastination, last minute notice), So I really didn't have much time to spare. I'll fill you in on the Halloween costume some other time.

I will say that I was not too impressed by the vinyl color selection. But I did give DT the benefit of the doubt. I mean I did just find it in the store, and I hadn't been there on a regular, just popping in on the craft isles when stopping in the store. There's no telling how long it had been on shelves and what I saw could have been what was left after a buying frenzy. What I did find was that street divider color yellow, a tomato red, basic Christmas tree green, and white. I could not find black. This is the color that usually goes quick in pretty much any crafting supply, so I was bummed but not distraught. I couldn't take away points for that. Oh...was I giving out points? Anyway, sometimes lack can't be helped. I mean I came across a leopard print vinyl. No, seriously! I was tempted, but passed. 

In addition to the Halloween costume, LAM (Los Angeles Marathon) was coming up, and I needed to label a few things so that I would be getting those items back once things wrapped up. That's what led me down to the vinyl section of the crafting area. (No. I did not run. I was on Cheer Squad for @movementrunners (mile 19.9🙌🙌)).  

Pressed for time, I headed over to Canva, a free, for basic work, graphic design program for some quick fonts. I Picked out something that wasn't too detailed because I was unsure of how much fine work his vinyl could handle, and I didn't have time for fine weeding.

Now for the review:

My suggestion for you is maybe skip the both the glitter sheets and vinyl there. Just taking the glitter sheet roll out of the box, you could feel the difference in texture and weight of the sheet if you are familiar with that type of paper. Even if you are not, you would be able to tell that this would not be very permanent as the box says.

 The quality really came into question as the roll was spread out to be cut on the cutting mat. Now I know this isn't Cricut glitter sheets, or any of your other well known vinyl brands; Siser Easy Weed, Silhouette, or even some stuff you may run across at Staples if you are really in a pinch. The sheets were pretty, and at the time I had purchased them, they were still a dollar. DT had not yet gone up to the $1.25 that they are at now.

As I said, when you take the sheet out of the box, you know it is not top notch, even if this is your first time using an adhesive type paper. It isn't the best at adhering to surfaces, and cuts up rather easily. I had a vision for the glitter paper, and it just did not work. It was too flimsy to work with. It may have been the image, I chose, but I don't believe that this was the major issue. I could have chosen a very basic geometric shape, and would have gotten the same results. 

 After a few attempts with my image, I had some scraps. I ripped a small section of a scrap piece, and it was like ripping a sheet of notebook paper. So it would not have mattered which shape or font I chose, this was no bueno. Now usually, anything with a sticker backing, has some sort of resistance. This was like cutting butter, which would have been great if I were actually cutting butter.

At first, I thought maybe it was that color that I had chosen, still trying to give the benefit of the doubt, but I got the same result with the rose gold sheet. The paper just would not hold up, and not wanting to risk injuring my Cricut 3 machine I opted to end the glitter paper's usage. 

I recently hit the DT so that I could include a photo for you inquiring minds, sorry about the quality of the light. The colors do pop a bit better in person. I did take this in store and couldn't find a good spot for the photo. I tried to brighten the pic just a bit so you could get a general idea of the aesthetics of the paper. I also didn't want to take it out of the box fully and potentially damage this fragile beast.

Side note: for some reason, the picture of the entire box would not display after uploading. Probably a copyright issue. So, I cropped or covered it just to show the sheets.

 



 Pretty paper, but sticker paper vibes for sure. Not even good sticker paper, it barely stuck to a few surfaces that I tried. This paper's good to give a child to occupy them and keep them out of your paper that you use for your projects that need more stability. Although, they too may become frustrated at the quality. You can't fool these pandemic babies.

I faired a bit better with the regular vinyl, but not by much. Keep reading...

I suggest that if you have a intricate design and you wanted to use this, don't . It will be too much trouble, and you would be doing too much in damage control, instead of creating. Go on and get your usual vinyl and sticker sheets from your go to craft shop. It is well worth it.

So, as I said earlier, I needed to label just a few things for LAM, so I didn't spend any more time on the glitter impossible and moved on to the regular sticker type vinyl. Now the vinyl does hold together. Just don't choose an image with a lot of detail, or it will get eaten up by your cutting machine, which ever one you use, i.e., Cricut, Silhouette, etc. Do be mindful with font choice as this material does not like a lot of swirls, curly q's, or small cut outs. Choose basic bold lettering and shapes and you should be fine for a quick project such as the one I had. Just keep an eye on your machine as it cuts.

You will still have that same quality issue with the adhesion to your piece unfortunately. For me, it was fine as I was not making something to sell that would be subjected to a scrutinizing eye, such as mine, or give as a gift that still has to be as close to perfection as I can come to. It was simply just to label so that when the run was over, I would know at a glance which objects were mine. I do at some point in time, plan on relabeling with more substantial vinyl as some events are in inclement weather, and require a heartier hold than what I got with this vinyl. 

However, if you are intending to use this for gifts or crafts to sell, I would NOT advise it. You don't want the giftee to have to add anything to fix your gift, or have a client never refer your work or not return to your shop due to poor supply performance. I unfortunately do not have photos of the actual image I chose to cut or the outcome because I was so frustrated that I ripped up the piece like a toddler who needs a nap.

 Now about this transfer tape:

If you have done any work with transferring sticky images onto a surface, you know that it can be a pain in the...um..sticker. Trying to fix the image just so to fit into the designated space is challenging enough, but trying not to remove all the sticky from backing which will cause your decal to not stay in place is almost impossible. Member the old way? A roll of school transparent tape, which was too strong and had to be manipulated just so to get enough of the sticky off potentially ripping your image, or use the frosted transparent tape which wouldn't stick right at all 😕.

Transfer tape is a perfect marriage of the two types of tape. (Insert choir singing and a crowd rejoicing). Sticky enough to hold an image while you "transfer" (move) it to the desired surface yet yielding enough to release the image upon removal. At least in theory anyway. 

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Now I haven't tried a whole lot of transfer tape, so I can only give you the basics of how I learned. Finding the right fit for you may be a bit difficult at first. I mean there are some that have too strong a hold, and then others where they will just slide on off the table if you let them, and if you don't have an idea of what you want your outcome to be can mess up the aesthetics of your project.

The type of hold also depends on the type of image you are placing, and the surface you are adhering it to. Is it flat, round, glass, plastic, fabric, etc.. It also depends on how you are using the tape. Are you using it to transfer your image, as the name suggests, or are you using it for a stencil to paint in place of the vinyl?

You may be trying to adhere an image onto a surface with a really sticky surface and only need the transfer tape to just hold the image for a second, or have a surface that is the exact opposite, and need more hold and control from the tape to keep liquids such as paint from bleeding past the outline. Price may be an issue. You have to play around with it for a bit to get the right fit for you and what outcome you are trying to achieve. I know, crafting supplies don't come cheap, so 💰💰💰unfortunately is almost the number one thing on the craft list.

With all that being said, I will finally divulge my review on the DT transfer tape:

Absolutely, LOVED it!! I could not believe the hold on this stuff. I mean after Glitter Gate, I was very skeptical about the performance of this stuff. Let me tell you, it did the dang thing. So much so that the next time I was at DT, I got several rolls. I did not care. The last trip I had taken to DT after initially using the tape had the shelf wiped clean of it, so I wasn't taking chances! I like the hold, and for $1.25 it was well worth getting several of them. If you are lucky enough to find it at your local DT, get it. Just saying.

 

**** I must inform you that at the original writing of this review, we were well into the pandemic, then with some restrictions lifted. I did have to revise this posting to reflect the current time. So, if some information seems like "duh" no kidding to you, this is why. Also, I don't have the original pictures to show the results of this review since this review has been a while in the making. 😔 You can now find DT vinyl at pretty most DTs you visit with a lot more tools to help with your creativity in the vinyl arts than when initially written. ****

Thank you and happy crafting!

**********UPDATE**********UPDATE**********UPDATE**********UPDATE**********

I just stopped in a local DT last night, April 5th 2023. And let me tell you the wall of vinyl that smacked me senseless was just plain rude and inviting at the same time. The colors!!! That vinyl selection has stepped up! That color selection alone was impressive, but then upon closer inspection, I saw DT iron on sheets! IRON ON SHEETS!! 

Ya'll, I had to do sooo much just trying to add two pictures of DT vinyl. I had to crop, blur crop again switch phones, hot mess. I was trying to show Them love. But alas, the pictures wouldn't load. As I said before, it has to be some copyright issue, which I don't understand because I see reviews on IG or TT and labels are all over the place. So for now, you will just have to imagine the raspberry color glitter "permanent" vinyl, or the rainbow, plumb, silver, gold, rose-gold glitter iron on sheets staring out from that square window in their cardboard box home.

Apologies if photos of these items do not appear. I do believe it has to do with some type of copyrighting issue. This doesn't happen when I post a quick story on IG and the label is seen. Go figure. (FYI) Crafter's Circle is the name that you will be looking for. 👀