Playing with vinyl decals

One project I wanted to try with the Silhouette cutter was glass etching. I cut this design (Bone Stitch Border C00225_19547) on vinyl, then stuck the inner piece to this white vase to spice it up. Couldn't let that shape go to waste.

My real intention for the vinyl was to apply the leftover outline to a glass vase, paint in the spaces with etching cream, and peel off the vinyl to reveal the cool design on the vase. Cutting the vinyl went just fine, but then I hit a snag. Silhouette offers transfer paper intended to hold all your vinyl pieces in place while you position them. The idea is to stick it to the top side of the vinyl, then pull the backing off the vinyl. Adhere the design to your surface and pull the transfer paper off the front. All the vinyl pieces should remain attached to your surface.

Only they came up with the paper instead of sticking to the glass. My plans were foiled! Experienced transfer paper users, is there something I'm not understanding?