My newfound creativity has inspired me, you guys. I’d forgotten the way I thrive off creative thinking! I’ve got a list that’s of a mile-long list of things I’m planning to complete, and I’m getting up eager to discover what I can get done every day.
In this process, I’ve decided to kick my skills with heat transfer vinyl to the next level. I am a huge fan of making HTV products. However, I have issues with the designs lifting. It appears that I cannot exert enough pressure on the design, and my home iron doesn’t heat up enough to bond the vinyl to the fabric.
So, I purchased myself a present – actually a heat press! I purchased this unit (Amazon Affiliate link) just a few months ago and have applied HTV on everything I can. I honestly couldn’t endorse this heat press enough than this, so put it on your list of items to purchase if you are looking to purchase. If you have any concerns about it, please let me know, and I’ll write a post on this heat press.
I came across some adorable sneakers to Emma from Old Navy, and I decided to try to incorporate some HVT-inspired designs on them.
Crazy idea? Yes, it was. Did they turn out to be cute? Absolutely.
This is the simple process I used to make these. For those of you with craft cutters, take note! I have a Silhouette CAMEO (Amazon Affiliate Link) and am completely satisfied with it.
I began by looking up the graphic flamingos with black and white colours on the internet. I loaded the clipart to the Silhouette Designer Edition software and “traced” the design. If you’re struggling to learn how to trace with the Silhouette software, read this blog post.
Then I had the outline of the flamingo. I altered the size so that it would fit onto the shoe’s heel, then duplicated the pattern, and then turned one of them to ensure that the flamingos were facing one another.
I wanted to add her initials on the outside of my shoe. I looked for the cutest font and scaled her name so that it would be able to fit.
I copied her name, then turned the entire design horizontally. You must remove all HVT in reverse!
This design I made from Siser Easyweed vinyl in Fluorescent Pink. I’ve generally only utilized Siser vinyl for my HVT projects for the past several years since they come with a wide range of colours and textures. Furthermore, I think their vinyl is cut cleaner and more durable than other brands I’ve used. I usually purchase Siser vinyl from Expressions Vinyl. However, Siser offered me an assortment of samples recently, with the Fluorescent Pink.
When I cut the pattern, I cut and weeded the design.
After that, while my heat press was heating up, I put elements on my shoes. I applied heat-resistant tape (Amazon affiliate link) to hold the designs in the order they wouldn’t move.
Then I put the Teflon sheet (Amazon affiliate link) around the shoe and then carefully pressing each design on the plate at the top (the heated portion) on the press. I’m wearing heat resistant gloves (Amazon affiliate link) to ensure that I can insert my fingers into the shoe and press the shoe hard. Siser Easyweed HTV is suggested to be applied at 305 degrees (see why HTV won’t work well with regular iron? ). Therefore, I was cautious in case I accidentally stepped onto the upper plate.
Once the vinyl was secure to the transfer sheet, I removed the transparent transfer sheet, which meant her sneakers were now ready to go! They came out so adorable!
Do you do HTV projects? If so, look into the Siser application available for the App Store as well as Google Play. They have all their colours listed, as well as great how-to videos.
How to Make Custom Vinyl T-Shirt Party Favors
I’ve always wanted to create customized shirts for my children birthday celebrations. I’ve decided that these are the ideal party favour!
Not just can I decorate my home for the event and also decorate for the kids! It’s lots of enjoyment to see the kids wearing matching shirts at the event.
Custom-designed t-shirts are far superior to a gift bag filled with candy. Parents won’t have to listen to their children begging for more candy after filling their faces with birthday cake and Ice cream.
What parent doesn’t want more inexpensive party favours in the home?
They’re extremely affordable to make! If you purchase a set of white Hanes T-shirts at Wal-Mart, the cost is approximately $2 to make.
There are many options to design a personalized T-shirt. These are my preferred order!
How to Make a Custom vinyl T-Shirt
Heat Transfer vinyl design mine using the Silhouette Cameo. I prefer the Cameo more than Cricut because it allows me to create my designs and cut them out. The feature for tracing is amazing. It lets you load an image in the Silhouette application and then trace it before cutting it out from vinyl.
I purchase my vinyl for heat transfer from expressionsvinyl.com
It’s a great price, and it’s much easy to remove. This is an enormous benefit since heat transfer vinyl can be extremely difficult to get rid of! They also have a great tutorial video on how to make it. The method is done using the Cricut, but it’s similar to the process once the vinyl has been cut.
If you don’t own a cutting machine for vinyl, many companies that cut vinyl should be able to make heat transfer labels for you.
The vinyl is fairly sturdy, and I have discovered that when it begins to peel off, I can iron it again using a bit of fabric on top and then ironing over it using my iron. I also have learned that glittery vinyl is sturdier.
Random and funny story…I created one for my daughter in honour of his Water Wars Party. We refer to her as “The Anarchist” because she is crazy, and it was an appropriate army name to put on her shirt. However, whenever I allowed her to wear the shirt out to places like the grocery store, I realized that I was receiving many snide looks. Then one day, someone was adamant in my tone, “Does that shirt say “antichrist?”
Oops. It turns out that “anarchist” looks almost exactly like “antichrist” when written in all caps. While it’s kind of humorous to refer to your kid as an “anarchist,” calling your two-year-old”antichrist” or the “antichrist” is not socially acceptable. Since then, the t-shirt was moved to the pile of PJs.
Fabric Paint Stencils
I love using stencils and fabric paint because you can create amazing effects depending on applying the paint or rubbing it on. It’s also extremely sturdy and will last through many items of washing.
It’s easy to make vinyl letters that can be purchased from a craft store to make stencils, much like what I did here, but without the mess. It is also possible to cut specific shapes using contact paper and use them as stencils.
I’ve discovered that it is more effective if I apply the paint with a dab instead of using the brush. The paint doesn’t leak through the stencil as easily.
Iron-on Transfer Paper
Before I bought my Silhouette Cameo, I was using iron-on transfer paper. They’re simple to make and inexpensive since you only need a printer. You can also print images that have various shades. The issue is that the result isn’t as professional, and the photo isn’t as durable. However, for creating kid-friendly shirts, They are perfect in a pinch.
DIY CURTAINS WITH A METALLIC TWIST
This past weekend I had the great occasion to present a class in The IKEA Bring Your Friend event in Draper, Utah. I’m always excited to visit IKEA, and it was great to show people how their products can be upgraded to reflect the modern trends in home decor. In my presentation, I demonstrated three easy methods to make curtains using a metallic look.
Use Metallic Paint to Create a Pattern (Copper Painted Curtain)
The first set of curtains I designed was an accidental happy accident. I came up with the idea of creating an intricate pattern on the curtain using a Bronze Sharpie. When I sketched the first patterns, all the metallic colours soaked into the fabric and appeared dull brown. Therefore, I decided to go with Plan B… My copper craft paint!
To paint metallics, I would recommend Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint. This shade can be described as Rose Copper. To make sure the curtains are ready for any embellishments I’ve made, I ironed them for an even surface. I laid each of the panels on the tablecloth made of plastic before I began to paint. To make my first lines, I traced the horizontal lines at intervals of 14 inches along down the entire panel. Then, I employed a yardstick to join dots to create an elegant straight line. (I employed the Sharpie to draw this line. However, I’d recommend using pencils not to see the lines once the paint has dried.) After all those horizontal lines had been drawn, I then painted them over using Copper paint. I wanted the strokes to appear messy and painted by hand:
Then I completed my triangle pattern and then free-handed the design. It was much more efficient because I didn’t need to measure anything. I’m in love with the final product! It helps me achieve the look I wanted to achieve.
Use a Fabric Paint Marker and Stencil (Silver Hexagon Curtain)
I designed this curtain because I wanted to create a clean style. I chose the hexagon with a diameter of 12 inches and traced each one at a time to make the geometric design. As my template employed a wood hexagon similar to the ones above, you can cut out the same shape of cardboard and trace it around it. I employed the Fabric Paint marker in Silver, and you can buy them at any craft shop. This was the simplest and fastest of the three curtains I created, and I’m thrilled by how it came out!
Utilize the Heat Transfer vinyl to make simple patterns with repeated forms (Gold Triangle Curtain)
I think this one could be my favourite! I went with one of the VIVAN curtains from IKEA, and they cost only $9.99 per pair. With the vinyl included, I paid less than $18 on the golden triangle curtain! This is the ideal opportunity to try an idea that may be slightly away from your normal style or even on the trendy side, as you will not be embarrassed if you become tired of them after 6 months and have to replace the curtains.,
The triangles I made were cut using a Silhouette machine, but they’d be a breeze to cut manually too. I put 40 triangles on the 12×12-inch piece of heat-transfer vinyl in gold which was the complete panel. I get the vinyl I need from Expressions Vinyl… Their quality and customer service is the best!
After all the triangles had been cut, I laid my curtains on the ground, then plugged into my iron, and got to work! I began in the central part of the curtains, at the top, and then bonded to the top triangle. Then I added one to each side to make that “row” of the pattern. I then alternated them in the following row and placed two triangles between the three above it. I was observing it, did not take any measurements while I was going.
A few triangles I added another one to create a unique double-triangle arrow. I liked how it came out!
Now, I’ve got an additional exciting piece of news! This is my first blog post on Tatertots and Jello today as an all-new Decorator for the Home! Decor Contributor! Jen has been the most dependable and source of inspiration for us since the starting of this blog. It is your responsibility to inform me if you test any of these curtains at Home. We are truly grateful to have this chance. I hope that you will show me some love here and take a look at the steps I took to make this dresser out of wood:
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