diy vinyl decals

i got it in my head the other day that i wanted whales in my shower.
by that i mean i wanted to put whales on the wall of my bathroom. i rent, so painting them on isn't really an option - not to mention I can't really wield a paintbrush. i've been seeing these wall decals lately in decor and design blogs and i love the idea of being able to temporarily decorate my walls - they stick really well and look like they are painted on, but peel right off when you want a change.

so when i got my whale urge i stopped over at etsy to look for whale wall decals, but they were too pricey for me so i decided to make my own. i read somewhere that you can make your own vinyl stickers using regular vinyl you can buy at the grocery or hardware store (think shelf liner section). and it worked! i bought a roll of black vinyl for about $3 and made a bunch of stickers and still have a ton leftover. stoked on saving money.

here's how i did it.
first i google image searched pictures of humpback whales. did i mention i don't draw? i saved the ones i liked in a folder on my computer. images that translate well to stickers are obviously fairly simple shapes that don't require shading to tell what they are. i recommend clicking the "black and white" filter on the left sidebar of google image search to narrow down your results.

 once i had the images i liked i borrowed the projector from work, taped the vinyl onto the wall and projected the image onto it. you can adjust the size of the image on screen or by moving the projector up/back and then trace it with pencil. you can get creative with placement of the images close together on the vinyl canvas so you're utilizing the vinyl to the max and reducing waste.

after that i grabbed my trusty exacto knife and cut the shapes out. one thing to keep in mind is that the finer and skinnier your pieces the harder they are to apply to the wall without getting tangled. i had some complex shapes with one of the whales and it worked out, but good to keep in mind.

and that's it! make sure your wall surface is clean and dry, peel off the backing and stick! here's how they turned out:

i'm quite pleased. the whales make me happy every time i shower.
my little sister, aliana, came for a sister sleepover party for spring break, and we made some more stickers together.

i went a little nuts with my stickers. i wanted cattails in my kitchen, and i found an image i really liked, but it took a looong time to trace and cut out. i had intended to make the cattails span my entire counter, but after doing this one i gave up.