If you are still looking for a Roland GX-24, then look no further. Roland has replaced it with the new and improved Roland GS-24. I came across this new model perusing the USCutter.com site while purchasing my much -needed supplies. I normally don’t look around for vinyl cutters because a small-time, side-business-guy like me is, […]
Many of my readers have been wondering and asking if my Sunshine Decals wall decal shop is dead and buried… The answer is “ABSOLUTELY NOT“. The owner, meaning me, has been on intermittent hiatus from my wall decal shop due to life’s expected (or unexpected) interruptions that come about every now and then that required my full […]
I get promotional email from My Vinyl Designer: http://www.myvinyldesigner.com/ I always check out what they have to offer anytime I do receive email from them. That’s because sometimes I get a good idea for my wall decal shop. In this case I’m sharing what I think might be a good idea for auto decal dealers. […]
Today will make a week since we got back from our “23 Days in Italy” vacation adventure. You can see it all here: http://jerrycapote.com/category/23-days-in-italy/ Well, after a week back I am almost ready to open my decal business. But first things first. I double-checked my vinyl rolls to make sure I had everything I needed […]
This has to be the trickiest question to answer. Especially when my readers are from everywhere around the United States and from many countries around the world. The fact is there is no one answer. However, here I will provide you with my reference guide to finding the right price for your vinyl signs and other related sign […]
In a previous post, back in September of 2012, I wrote about and created a video regarding how to Merge or Weld Text with Adobe Illustrator and CutStudio. But, only recently I had a request by a visitor and reader to the blog who was interested in knowing how to merge or weld overlapping text using Adobe […]
I chose a 24″ vinyl cutter because I planned on making most of my vinyl designs fit that size. But on occasion I have received requests that require me to cut the vector in pieces in order to fit my vinyl cutter. Otherwise, I would have to refer the customer to someone else. But, sometimes you […]
When I first discovered how to convert a downloaded graphic from the internet into a vector graphic on Adobe Illustrator using the Live Trace tool, I went hog wild. I downloaded everything I thought could be turned into a vector file. In most cases, the file was cutter-ready with not much effort. To be honest, using the […]
For a short time now, I have been working on my own ecommerce website. This has been something I have been thinking of doing for some time now. I finally got started on this natural progression from having my Sunshine Decals Etsy shop to opening my own SunshineDecals.com ecommerce website. It is not complete. I just started […]
For some time now, I have been wanting to shed some light on my current method for shipping large wall decals. I wrote about it back in February of 2013 in this article, “How To Ship Large Decals“. But, my methods have changed with the times. Let me explain… My Decal Business: Humble Beginnings When I first started forging this […]
Hi guys. I thought I would post this one just for fun and also to illustrate how quickly and easily I can make a few bucks in just a few minutes. I will show you in the video below. Making vinyl decals is soft labor, but you get paid for your expertise, your specialized equipment, and the cost […]
Yesterday I got slammed on You Tube for selling my wall vinyl decals too cheap. According to the commentator, he could sell my decals for so much more, he wouldn’t need to invest in a business like mine. He could just buy them from me and resell for a nice profit. It got me to […]
I came across this Apple TV ad video on YouTube demonstrating how MacBook Air users dress-up their MacBook with vinyl stickers that express their individuality. It’s a form of “Different strokes for different folks”, but with one common denominator – They LOVE their MacBook. Check it out.. After watching this video, I decided to do […]
I thought I would put together a thorough checklist of everything you would need to acquire or purchase in order to get yourself started in the Wall Decal Business or any vinyl decal sign business you wish to create. Even if you are thinking of selling decals for automobiles or business window signs, this checklist […]
I found this news clip on YouTube featuring Trading Phrases, a small family-owned wall decal business located in Columbus, Ohio that was started back in 2008 right from their home. Today they have seen their wall decal business grow and are enjoying much success. Watch the clip… Very encouraging for those looking to get into the business…
How is my wall decal business doing these days? I get asked that a lot from curious readers. Probably because my last post was back in September of 2013. I also think people are curious about how long a small online business like mine can last before the owner/operator decides to throw in the towel all because the […]
I made a decent amount of sales this past week. Decent for me, at least. I wanted to share this with you to tie it into the post I wrote last week regarding “My Part-Time Passive Income Home-Based Business“. In that post I described what a week in my part-time passive business could look like in […]
Not too long ago I was asked how I was able to make money and survive with my small, home-based decal business. The fact is my decal business is really just a part-time business that is, for the most part, very passive in nature and provides me with a little extra spending cash to enjoy. […]
I have recently had readers asking me how I package and ship my decals. I thought this was a good topic to cover so I even made a video to supplement this post. You can see the video below. NOTE: Although this articles discusses a good method for those starting out in the decal business, I have provided an update as […]
!!! Before you read on… what kind of information are you looking for regarding Vinyl Decal Price Calculators? Please click here and share that information with me. And now, on with my story… I thought I would shed some light on how I go about pricing my decals. As of late, I have had that […]
For a while now, I have been thinking about finding folks in the vinyl sign industry to interview for this blog. The truth is I do not know anyone personally who designs decals. I have not had even one face-to-face conversation with a vinyl designer or the like. No one ever directly taught me how to make […]
I was minding my own business one day looking on eBay to purchase a small peace sign for my pickup. I paid about $5 and when it arrived, I became interested in how it was made. It didn’t seem like you needed to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in machinery to make these things. So, I […]
After analyzing my last couple of earnings reports, I have considered the status of my wall decal business on Etsy and I think about what I can do to get my business to earn more. Of course, my decal business is marketing to mostly moms looking to dress up their child’s room with a little […]
Hey folks. I decided to write this post to redeem myself from a previous post on the topic of welding or merging overlapping fonts. That misguided post is still available. It’s called Design a Decal: Solve Overlapping Text / Cutter Issues. That post is dead and gone now. The problem was that I really didn’t […]
Hello friends. I’m happy to create this post mostly because it is a response to one of my Youtube viewer’s questions about “where to purchase wall vinyl supplies and what brand?”. So, I was happy to answer that question and more. Although I do provide reference to the suppliers I purchase from, must say that […]
I created this video to demonstrate how to setup the Roland GX-24 cutter to cut on a “piece” of vinyl. I specifically use the word piece because it is one of the menu options on the GX24 vinyl cutter. This option is actually not required, but it does help when you have a piece that […]
Let me quickly show you how I take one of my vinyl-cut ready wall decal designs and use it to send a photo sample to a potential customer via Etsy Convo. You really just want to make things as easy as can be and provide your potential customer with a good visual sample. For this I use Adobe […]
Once I was done with my online market research, I decided to take the plunge and just have fun with it and see what comes of it. My plan was to upload as many designs that I could come up with and offer my customers a nice competitive price. I was not looking to make […]
Just like weeding the decal, applying the masking tape is an easy skill to acquire, but practice makes perfect. And applying the masking tape can make or break your decal. That means if you do not get it right and you leave bubbles or creases, that might not look too good to your paying customer. […]
There is not too much to say with this step. I demonstrate how to weed the excess vinyl using my tool of choice and my self-taught methods. What is important is that you get a feel for working with vinyl. That means “Hands-on”. You are going to mess up, but you get better at it. […]
This should really be Step 2: Load the Roland GX-24 Cutter and Step 2b: Send to Cut. But, I decided to combine these steps in order not to chop it up so much. I did want to point out that you could really either do Step 1 or Step 2 first – really doesn’t matter […]
In this video 1 of 4 I show you how I go about designing a decal. The fact is all of my designs are already created. I made about 30 designs when I first opened my Etsy shop. I slowly added more designs as i went along. Now I have over 150 different designs for […]
I created this video to show you the process which I follow to create a custom wall decal. I decided I would show all the steps that I take all in one shooting. Later, I will be providing follow-up videos to discuss each of the steps in more detail. But, for now, this is the […]
Before I go into the nuts and bolts of signing up and putting together an Etsy shop, I want to talk about how I came to choose the type of merchandise that I am now selling on Etsy, and how I studied the decal market to determine if this was the right business for me. […]
I started my Sunshine Decals Etsy shop on October of 2010, just over a year ago from this writing. It was my next door neighbor and best buddy, Willy, who told me about the Etsy.com market website. At the time I was considering how to sell wall decals online. I had some experience selling drop-shipped […]